Now that I've organised and finished my first cycle tour in a new country, I thought I'd jot down a few reflections on the experience - what I enjoyed, and what I might tweak next time.
- The Taiwanese people have been really kind and lovely overall. Despite our broken Chinese and general awkwardness at showing up in random places with our heavy bicycles, many panniers and sweaty selves, most people have been helpful or at least patient with us. Many cyclists and scooter-ists have also turned on the road to give us a thumbs up and a friendly, "Jia you!" That lifted my spirits, especially on the longer, hotter days. The politeness and consideration extended to the roads, where the drivers tended not to be aggressive - there were plenty of occasions where I know cars would have honked at us or passed by much more closely and quickly back home, and I was grateful that the Taiwanese drivers mostly didn't do those things.
- For the first few days along the west coast, I thought I didn't much like road cycling because hundreds of kilometres alongside highways with no views got old pretty quickly. That all changed after we left Checheng and headed towards the east coast - the mountain road descents were exhilarating, the coastal highways were scenic, and the country roads fairly peaceful. I'd happily do that stretch again. I'm also happy with how much steadier I became at navigating busy traffic - from freaking out and sticking to the sidewalks on day one, through to holding my own for 20km+ at a time by the end of the first week.
- Navigation is an interesting one. I've historically found directions and maps quite challenging - and will regularly get lost even in areas that should be familiar to me. That said, modern day cycling navigation is very much a technology-assisted process. Pre-tour planning on Komoot was all me, using a mix of other people's GPX files and my own attempts at routing to points of interest or less busy streets. On-the-day navigation ended up mostly with Bruno, but I was pretty comfortable taking turns at leading outside of the cities, where the sheer amount of traffic (car, scooter, bike and pedestrian) and the frequency of turns could throw me off course. Having a navigation device on each bike was definitely a good decision though, as it let us swap leads more easily, as well as catch missed turns when they occurred. The Garmin Edge Explore 2 did the trick nicely, though to be honest, I still found Komoot on my phone easier to use. It's nice to feel like I'm slowly improving my navigation skills.
- Our kit was pretty on point for our first proper attempt at bike touring. We did burn through sunscreen quicker than I expected, and we'd want a better bike repair kit before our next tour (plus the ability to use said kit - which could be a bullet point in its own right, except it's pretty self-explanatory), but overall, nothing seemed excessive and very little was unused. I'd need to pick up a tube or handlebar bag to fit the repair kit, and may change my cheaper pannier set for another set of Ortliebs, but we didn't find ourselves really missing anything this time besides zip ties. I did miss having a simple dress to just slip into though, and would probably indulge in bringing one for any tours of over a week in the future. Quality of life improvements matter.
- Have sodium - and not just through rehydration fluids! I started the tour mostly ingesting carbs (including sugar) and proteins whenever we had a snack break, but on the 130km day, when the heat and activity were both getting to me, I had a moment of realising that my body really didn't want any more sugar and might just reject it violently. Instead, I had a chicken and abalone soup with a bit of rice (thank you, 7-Elevens in Taiwan) and felt so much better. The hot broth went down a treat despite the warm temperatures outside. I've since looked a bit more into nutrition and learned some things, but that was a very experience-based moment of realising that I needed balance in my diet. Perhaps obvious in hindsight, but at least I caught myself before a full-blown bonk.
- Music works well for pacing and energy, but podcasts and audiobooks are better for keeping the brain engaged for multi-hour stretches of road cycling. I only ever had one earbud on because I wanted to be able to hear the road, but the entertainment did help a lot on this route - especially during the bigger days. I realised I enjoy being left to my own thoughts, but not necessarily for 6-8h at a time, so it was good to have options.
- Overall, I've confirmed that I enjoy multi-day cycles more than multi-day hikes or drives. I can cover much more distance and carry less weight on me than when I'm hiking, which means I can see and experience more while expending less effort. (That's not to say I'll give up hiking entirely, because I still love the sheer joy of a ridgeline walk - but I don't think I'll end up doing, say, the Appalachian Trail or anything similar. Our longer adventures will be on wheels.) On the other hand, I'm more connected to the experience than in a car, and also don't get carsick on a bike, so that's a win. My waistline is also grateful, because at least I burn off some of the calories I consume.
- I learned a lot about the pace and distance I find enjoyable rather than purely manageable, which is valuable data for planning future trips. On an ideal bike touring day, I'd probably want to be actively cycling for around 4-5h and on the road for 6-7h (including stops), starting at around 9-10am after a sit-down breakfast, and finishing by 3-5pm. That's enough to feel like a solid amount of exercise and to cover a decent distance, while still feeling like a holiday rather than an exercise just for the sake of it. There's also time left to wash clothes in the evening and have them good to go by the morning, which is an important logistical consideration. I got a lot of reading and journalling done at night too - a nice bonus.
- Rest days, rest days! I'm glad I budgeted some flex in our itinerary, and would definitely continue doing so in the future for weather, injury recovery and a change of pace. In the future, 4-5 rest / tourist days per fortnight would probably be on point, with 2-4 cycling days per rest day, and one block of 2 consecutive rest days somewhere comfortable. The rest days offer more room to explore a new location, whereas the on days tend to be full enough that I don't want to do much exploration in the evenings beyond dinner hunting.
- Hot baths are nice. Clean beds are nice. Air-conditioning is very, very nice. I'm not sure I want to do summer-ish bike touring in humid countries again, but I was very glad to be bike-touring and not bike-packing. Maybe this is a bit soft of me, but in all honesty, if I'd been in a tent each night, I would not have had a good time. I was pushing my limits and trying new things during the cycling portion of each day, and was happy to have my luxuries in the evenings. Starting each day feeling safe, comfortable and recharged was important.
Overall, I'd highly recommend Taiwan for bike touring. There is good infrastructure, signage and facilities; drivers are non-aggressive; the food is plentiful and delicious; and there are many, many route options that go through beautiful and interesting places. We already have a spreadsheet started for our return trip!
I can also safely say that I'd love to do bike touring again, with some of the tweaks mentioned above. It's a fun, liberating way to travel and explore - there's a good blend of self-sufficiency, simplicity, comfort and flexibility. As an introvert, I also enjoyed doing an activity with company but not constantly interacting. Being able to lose myself in my thoughts, podcasts or music for hours on end while still going places felt both indulgent and productive at the same time. Everyone's travel style is different, but this style works for me. I'm glad we did this trip and look forward to many more.