# Taiwan - An undiscovered Biking Paradise!



## inmotionasia (Dec 17, 2007)

Taiwan is often overlooked as a biking destination but contains some of the gnarliest riding and scenery on the planet! I live here and would like to share some photos of my backyard.

One of my favorite MTB trails is called the NengGao, perfect high altitude single track that starts at 200m, takes you up to 3000m before bombing down to an incredible 1100m!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/inmotionasia/sets/72157601398714320/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inmotionasia/sets/72157604097014441/

Another beast of a trail is called the NengGao, a 6 hour epic through Taiwan's mountainous interior
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inmotionasia/sets/72157600348922192/

We recently completed a 10 day / 800km road bike tour from Taipei in the North of Taiwan all the way to Kenting in the South. Awesome riding, stunning scenery and one of the best trips I have done in my life!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inmotionasia/sets/72157603813313078/

Click the slideshow button top right
Enjoy!


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## cyba (May 8, 2008)

looks like fun! im also from taiwan


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## inmotionasia (Dec 17, 2007)

Check out this cool clip....be sure to turn it up LOUD!!


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## redandy (Oct 14, 2004)

Shhhhh...don't let the secret out 

Whenever we visit my wife's family there I always do a little local riding. Even just the little trails near her town are fantastic. Once you get out of the big cities it's truly a gorgeous country (hence the Portuguese name "Ilha formosa" = beautiful island) and has terrain to match almost anything I've seen in the U.S.

(BTW -- for any roadies there's also some fantastic road riding, right near Taipei if you're there for business or something)


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## austin_bike (Apr 2, 2005)

If I am in taipei on business is there somewhere to rent a bike and ride?

I will be in a hotel downtown so I have to rely on public transportation to get wherever I am going.


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## dft (Apr 9, 2004)

do you have any really technical trails for descending? ie, nice long vertical descents that are technical


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## inmotionasia (Dec 17, 2007)

How about this....start high up in the central mountain range at 2000m, climb 13km - 3.5 hours up to 3000m through epic mountain vistas, turn around and bomb down to just above 1200m - 2.5hrs on single track - rough rocky sections, pine covered trails and mountain roads to a hot spring finish and beers


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## dft (Apr 9, 2004)

that's cool! so there is alot of true singletrack (not talking fireroads, your pic is very nice, but is kinda fireroadish). 

there was a thread alittle while ago about riding in dali part of china and it looked great also.


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## BikeSATORI (Mar 20, 2004)

Going to Taiwan for only 5days next week. Staying in hotel in Taipei.

Any recommendations? Places that are a "Must see"? Either from a cycling standpoint, or even just that of a typical tourist??? I unfortunately will not have a bike with me this time....


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## basslu (Oct 14, 2007)

BikeSATORI said:


> Going to Taiwan for only 5days next week. Staying in hotel in Taipei.
> 
> Any recommendations? Places that are a "Must see"? Either from a cycling standpoint, or even just that of a typical tourist??? I unfortunately will not have a bike with me this time....


you can check out Alan's Mountain Bike,
We ride almost every week.:thumbsup:


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## basslu (Oct 14, 2007)

dft said:


> do you have any really technical trails for descending? ie, nice long vertical descents that are technical


We do have some technical trails for descending. Although it's not up to the World Cup level, it's a lot fun to ride.

For anyone who is interested in MTBing in Taiwan. You can also check the archived website -Formosan Fat Tire Association.


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## BikeSATORI (Mar 20, 2004)

basslu said:


> you can check out Alan's Mountain Bike,
> We ride almost every week.:thumbsup:


Thanks. 
Man, I've really got to get back here in the near future, but with my bike! :thumbsup: Very beautiful. I guess it would just come down to deciding which bike to bring.

Also, I've got to say.... I'm in Taipei at the moment... pretty crazy, more so than expected! I thought Tokyo was crowded, haha. Yeah, it's pretty packed here too, and fairly chaotic at times. Those damned scooters, ALL over the place, wow! Biking in the city is not easy. Public transportation here in Taipei is phenomenal though.

And completely surprising to me is the incredible lack of bicycle use here (based on my very short and limited experience here anyway...). For being one of the world capitals of bicycle manufacturing, I can't believe there aren't more here. 
You don't even see many of the trendy fixed gear riders around town that seem to have invaded the worlds' cities. Nor millions of granny bikes like in many other countries, which is kind of what I unconciously expected.


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## inmotionasia (Dec 17, 2007)

Welcome to Taiwan Bikesatori!

Outside that city is a adventure paradise waiting to be explored.....this one from Kenting last weekend!


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## MTBAlex (Mar 29, 2006)

I never knew there was so many trails in TAiwan. I found this guy on vimeo named bike forest steven and there are some video of DH/FR action. 

I visited my extended family back there in october 2008 and wish I had known. I would've rented a bike!


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## inmotionasia (Dec 17, 2007)

A little video I put together......enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/channels/inmotionasia

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/video/video.php?v=109975446114&ref=mf


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## andy85 (Apr 27, 2009)

wow!!!! i thought Taiwan was just skyscrapers!!!
nice photos!!
love it =]


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## Jerk_Chicken (Oct 13, 2005)

Wow, thanks for bringing this thread back. I never saw the photos before. Amazing.


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## chomxxo (Oct 15, 2008)

Gorgeous photos. Thanks for showing that side of Taiwan. I am married to a Taiwanese woman. At the time we were in school together and dating, I wasn't as into mountain biking as I am now. Interesting how things work out. Next time we go I plan to do some heavy bicycle touring, maybe even visit a factory if we can.


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## BikeSATORI (Mar 20, 2004)

Yeah, good thread.

That area around Taroko Gorge is beyond amazing. All that Marble and cliffs that are so tall they seem to invert towards the sky above your head... and the area that makes the shape of the island of Taiwan in the sky... hard to explain but impressive beyond words I guess.
Remember doing the tourist thing around Chufun (sp?) and it was beautiful as well. Had bad weather, but almost made the views that much more epic...

I'd love to go back again in the near future. More to see.


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## rip420tide (Apr 3, 2007)

I am in Kaohsiung for the next 7 weeks. Can you recommend any trails in the area, and (more importantly) a shop that will rent a trail-worthy bike? thanks.


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## jekytwleezkao2 (Oct 14, 2010)

i am going to post some pictures of a mtb trail in taiwan

it's near the mid-cross of this island


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## jekytwleezkao2 (Oct 14, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao2 (Oct 14, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao2 (Oct 14, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao2 (Oct 14, 2010)

this trail is near a river.


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## jekytwleezkao2 (Oct 14, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao2 (Oct 14, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao2 (Oct 14, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao2 (Oct 14, 2010)

i live in Kaohsiung , it is a southern city in Taiwan.

Taiwan is a island which isn't very big but gets a lot of mountains.

we go to many trails in Taiwan by SUV, usually 2~3 days mtbiking trip in the weekend.



also Kaohsiung has some good place to ride , there is a rocky little mountain just in the city for offroad biking.


I am going to post some pictures below of this Kaohsiung city mtb trail .


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## jekytwleezkao2 (Oct 14, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao2 (Oct 14, 2010)

I am wondering is there any foreigner in taiwan who also like to have some offroad mountain biking ?

if they do, then i worry about could they have some good information about those wonderful trails all around this island?


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## jekytwleezkao2 (Oct 14, 2010)

well , i will keep posting fotos about some other trails in Taiwan here.

those trails in mountains are so beautiful.

real beauty.


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## TunicaTrails (Jun 29, 2009)

Where can you rent bikes, specifically XL 29ers? My wife's family is from Taiwan and I travel there every 2 years.


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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)

want to rent a XL 29er ?
i think that would be a problem.


it's very easy now to rent a good bike but 29er , because 29er is not a common spec of mtb here.
in Giant bike shops i can see 29er bikes but so far i don't think they provide renting service.


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## TunicaTrails (Jun 29, 2009)

jekytwleezkao2：可以請你告訴我這些地方是哪裡嗎？我是上面TunicaTrails的老婆,還有你知道台灣有讓人參觀的腳踏車工廠嗎？這個美國人想去參觀跟去騎腳踏車, 謝謝


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## TunicaTrails (Jun 29, 2009)

jekytwleezkao2：因為我老公他196公分,如果沒有29er,台灣有他的尺寸的登山腳踏車可以租的嗎？


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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)

那我這幾天去熟悉的車店問問看再來跟你講嘿












我就是 jekytwleezkao2 ，第一次註冊的時候用 jekytwleezkao 結果送出之後說伺服器有問題，

於是我就註冊第二次、改用 jekytwleezkao2，就OK了，

結果過了三天，mtbr 伺服器又來信說第一次註冊的 jekytwleezkao 沒有問題了，

就這樣，我變成有兩個帳號。同一個人啦～


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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)

對了忘記回答你的問題，那是去中橫合歡溪步道拍的照片，非常美的一條高山林道，

上面最後一張則是在高雄市柴山礦區拍的。







能高也是很棒，不過能高的照片在另外一台電腦，等我翻出來再貼，
能高的照片真的是。。。。。等我貼出來一起欣賞吧～


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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)

TunicaTrails said:


> jekytwleezkao2：因為我老公他196公分,如果沒有29er,台灣有他的尺寸的登山腳踏車可以租的嗎？


答案是沒有

因為身高太高了，合適他的腳踏車要XL尺寸的車架才行，
用租的租不到，要買也沒有，需預定。
你也知道，畢竟台灣沒有幾個身高196的呀，車廠這種尺寸的車架都是by order
沒救啦
除非自己帶過來


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## TunicaTrails (Jun 29, 2009)

謝謝你的回答！你們有團騎嗎？能高在哪裡？我家在麻豆你可以多介紹一點南部的騎點嗎？謝謝你！還有你知道友人參觀腳踏車工廠的嗎？


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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)

我們有團騎、能高在中部山區是從中橫附近進入

麻豆，真是神奇，我也是在麻豆出生長大的，我在小學之前都在麻豆玩（外婆家）

參觀腳踏車工廠沒有聽說過不過可以問問看、可能有機會，但明天禮拜一才會上班。


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## TunicaTrails (Jun 29, 2009)

恩恩,謝謝！那你們歡迎一個米國人跟你們一起去騎嗎？我們計畫明年回台灣,可我現在懷孕年底要生,我們又有一個兩歲兒,所以如果他回去要騎我可能不能陪他去～

麻豆是個好地方～現在白柚正在產好想吃阿～


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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)

可以啊、到時候約一約，時間ok的話就一起騎騎車，當然是很歡迎的。互相交流一下這樣很好。

上週五我跟媽媽回去外婆家有吃白柚了，很好吃，挖哈哈你吃不到

參觀腳踏車工廠的事情我問到的答案都是這不太可能，因為工廠有一些工廠的考量，
突然有一個外國人想去參觀，他們好像覺得怪怪的，不太願意。


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## TunicaTrails (Jun 29, 2009)

他想去參觀工廠的意思是台灣是做最多腳踏車外銷的國家,想要去朝聖一下,又我翻譯給他說台灣沒有人在租XL size的腳踏車,他又在那吱吱叫說要台灣推銷觀光,他怕他騎L的比較難控制～又他是腳踏車狂人-非常瘋狂的每天路騎50-60miles要不就登山騎15-20miles（有兩條路可以讓他選怎麼去上班）

說到白柚,好想打人阿～


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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)

我也是騎單車上下班，不過路程只有四公里多，
你老公騎幾十英里上下班，路程真的還挺長的。


站在腳踏車店的立場來思考的話，很容易就明白為何沒有xl的單車出租了，
畢竟開腳踏車店的人也是必須養家活口啊，
超大尺寸的登山車在台灣完全沒有市場，
S號的車架最普遍，m號車架有時還看得到，l號的車架根本沒見過，xl就更不用說了。


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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)

參觀腳踏車工廠！應該沒問題了！！哈哈

找到門路了！


你們啥時要回台灣？？


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## TunicaTrails (Jun 29, 2009)

Cool! 謝謝你～
我們最快也要明年的夏天或秋天
因為寶寶預產期是一月一號
也要等她長大一點才好坐飛機


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## simonuk (Aug 17, 2010)

I will be in Taipei Mid December .for business .and plan to stay on for 2 or 3 days of riding .. any reccomended guides .. The forest / mountain singletrack riding posted above looks great

Is it easy to carry own bike in taxis etc ?


Thanks Simon (Thailand)


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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)

hi , simonuk ,

about those forest and mountain pictures posted above , i took them in the mid cross and south of Taiwan.

The weather of winter time in Taiwan gets quite different from Taipei to Kaohsiung ,
Kaohsiung City is a south city of Taiwan but Taipei is in the north end of Taiwan.
It's usually rainy day in Taipei but sunny day in Kaohsiung when winter.


In Taiwan, it's quite alright to carry own bike on the train, bus, and subway (with some safety restrictions),
but taxi I am not sure.
If you only stay in Taipei City, maybe you can try to use some subway;
I think taxi would be ok if you have a wheelset bag for wheels and a large thin plastic bag to cover bike frame.


2 or 3 days for riding your bike in the mid of December ?
well, we are planning a trip to a high mountain trail recently ( we order some parts from CRC and will test them in this trail ) ,
maybe this trip will take place in the mid of December.

we can keep in touch here , look what can I help


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## basslu (Oct 14, 2007)

simonuk said:


> I will be in Taipei Mid December .for business .and plan to stay on for 2 or 3 days of riding .. any reccomended guides .. The forest / mountain singletrack riding posted above looks great
> 
> Is it easy to carry own bike in taxis etc ?
> 
> Thanks Simon (Thailand)


you can contact Alan's Mountain Bike in Taipei...
http://www.alansmountainbike.com.tw/


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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## jekytwleezkao (Oct 13, 2010)




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## Nürburg Nomad (Jan 23, 2012)

Who wants to join me for mountain biking outside of Taipei next week? I'm flying into Taipei mid-day on Monday June 4th and will be there until the morning of Saturday June 9th... I'm hoping to get in 2 solid days of mountain biking + outdoor exploration!

I decided to visit Taiwan prior to a brief China study abroad trip foremost for the mountain biking (even though I'm a roadie & a beginner in the school of mtb!), and school obligations have limited me from time for proper planning until now... so here goes nothing, aiming to do it on the super-cheap!

I've read Alan's is a good place to rent bikes? I'll be looking for a 21" full-suspension bike; ideally 29'er as that's what I'm accustom too but I could get by on a 26". I also plan to bring my mtb shoes, pedals, helmet, CamelBak etc. as half my luggage. 

Any advice, recommendations, suggestions etc. are greatly appreciated. Essentially all I have right now is a flight to Taipei and enough Taiwan dollars to rent a proper bike!


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## SpokaneTim (Jan 2, 2004)

I lived in Taiwan from '96 to '04. 99% of the locals never took their mountain bikes off road. No complaints from me. For eight years, my wife and I enjoyed having the trails to ourselves. Most of the riding I did was in Pingtung and Taitung counties. Never got used to the big spiders.


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## crewjones (Aug 24, 2007)

I love Taiwan. My wife is from Hualien and i've been there many times. She is trying to convince me to move there for 2 years. Might happen, good to know that there are people MBing there. Last trip I saw lots of people touring on road bikes


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## lkfoster (Apr 2, 2004)

SpokaneTim said:


> I lived in Taiwan from '96 to '04. 99% of the locals never took their mountain bikes off road. No complaints from me. For eight years, my wife and I enjoyed having the trails to ourselves. Most of the riding I did was in Pingtung and Taitung counties. Never got used to the big spiders.


Same thing with me from '97 through '03 in Tainan. Virtually all roads or double-track, not too many single track trails. Would love to go back to see if things have changed.


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

dang..

i am in Taiwan often..might need to box up a bike.


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## lkfoster (Apr 2, 2004)

It's a bit off topic, but check out Island Etude, a movie from a few years back where a kid rides around the island. Makes me homesick every time I watch it.

If you ever make it to Tainan look up Cowboy. He had the best bike shop on the island.


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## SpokaneTim (Jan 2, 2004)

Just popping in to keep this thread alive for those who might be interested in mountain biking in Taiwan. Below is a link to a site that has now been archived, yet the information is still relevant today. A few of the guys who ran this site were/are professional photographers.

Offroad Biking Trails and Other Mountain Bike Rides in Taiwan from the Formosan Fat Tire Association


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## 274898 (Nov 29, 2005)

Check out this rider's channel on youtube. Legit technical trails. I don't think I would get very bored with these trails. I think they are very close to Taipei.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbxWRWJpQZilf5a-rWKuwlA


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