Fellowship

It’s 6am, and in the park by the Keelung River in Taipei the Taiko drums beat a welcome
to 150 Rotarians as we assemble for the start of the 9-day cycling tour of Taiwan. And
here I get the first of many surprises on my first visit to Taiwan – everyone has an
English-language ‘nickname’ so I’m quickly meeting Sam, Beryl, Dean, Builder, Marketer
and many, many more. All kitted out in striking green kit for this years ride, we get a final
briefing from the ride master (rule number 1 – do not overtake the ride master. Guess
who managed to break that on day one . . .) before we set oR en masse on the riverside
path and head towards the East coast.
Surprise number two comes just an hour later when we stop for a food station. This will
be a regular part of the ride as the catering van leapfrogs us and somehow manages to
set up & serve hot food all the way around the island. Being more used to one cake stop
per ride, the prospect of ‘café legs’ many times a day was a concern but this was soon
dispelled and I’m a convert! Even better was the lunch stop; a full sit-down lunch with
as much superb Taiwanese food as we can eat, and an opportunity for me to show oR
my chopstick-using skills to the locals and get to chat to a diRerent group around the
table every day. The subtle upside of the food stops is, of course, that it reforms the
peloton each time so the marshals can keep things manageable.
The riding itself proves to be very pleasant. The first three days follow either dedicated
cycle paths or well-marked lanes by the East Coast main road, which undulates along
with the Pacific Ocean on one side and tree-covered hills on the other. Plenty of
beautiful scenery to admire as we pass, and of particular note was the stop at the
monument which marks the transition into the Tropics on day 2. As well as the catering
truck, there’s a team of mechanics waiting for us at every stop, along with a trio of
masseurs who, not surprisingly, become very popular as the days progress.
Day 3 brings the first real climb of the tour, a 450 metre winding road up and over the
spine of hills that run down the whole country. Here we see some damage to the road
from recent typhoons, but there’s a marshal there at every rough patch to warn us and a
welcome food stop at the summit to top up again.
One thing I should mention is the range of cyclists that take part in this event. The age
range is from early 20’s to early 80’s (one exception being 12-year-old Melody who was
on her third tour in 2025!) and there are equal numbers of e-bikes, city bikes and road
bikes being used, this really is an inclusive event. For anyone struggling, there’s a coach
laid on to pick them up and transport them for the rest of the day so no-one’s left
behind. The biggest surprise that came part-way through the tour was that I was the
first European to take part in the event in its 19-year history. We’ve been missing out on
one of the best-organised cycling events anywhere!
Having completed the East Coast in three days, the West Coast takes up the remaining
6 days, due to a combination of the prevailing winds, a more meandering route and a
couple of days of urban riding, plus an optional diversion into the hills to tackle the
“Taiping 36 Bends” – an 800 metre climb giving lovely views of the Chiayi-Tainan Plain.
Once completed, we’re all carefully marshalled back down and on to our hotel in the
only night-time finish of the tour.
The hotels. Superbly chosen by the organisers, it’s probably fair to say that the tour
uses the best hotels (of suRicient size) available at each of our overnight stays. Each
arrival sparks the same routine from the riders – get your room card, grab your luggage,
find the room, shower, wash riding gear in the sink and then go find the spin dryers
which followed us around the island to dry it, hang the gear in your room to finish drying
overnight and by then it’s time for dinner.
The last 3 days of the tour are thankfully fairly flat, with a day spent back on the coast on
day 8 and the final run back on the Keelung River to be welcomed by the same Taiko
drums and a great sense of achievement in completing 9 full days and 1,100km of
riding. Over those 9 days my eyes have been opened to just how friendly and
welcoming the people of Taiwan are and the cycling opportunities the country oRers
(including a 6-day tour to coincide with the 2026 Rotary International Convention).
I can’t finish without a huge thank-you to Louise Wang, President of Rotary Club of
Taipei Lohas Cycling and Fellowship representative for Taiwan. Louise was a huge help
in getting me registered after the cutoR date had passed, advising on hotels in Taipei
and a host of other small things that enabled me to be in the right place at the right time
throughout the tour. Thank you Louise!