Taiwan is a quality ride

By Ron Brownlow
STAFF REPORTER
Wednesday, May 30, 2007, Page 13

For your information The Taiwan Cyclist Federation (中華民國自行車騎士協會) is organizing a ride around the island, Cycling Taiwan 1,000km (台灣真行大專單車環島隊), which will take place from Aug. 5 to Aug. 15. Those interested must register before July 15. The race will be limited to 100 cyclists, including 30 foreigners. The group can be reached by calling (02) 2215-2585. Their Web site is at www.cyclist.org.tw.

Taipei's first experiment with a public bicycle program in 1998 was a lesson in how not to run a public bicycle program. For an NT$50 deposit -- the price of a cheap lunch -- anyone could borrow a bike. The results were predictable.

"People threw them into rivers. Children rode them down stairwells and crashed them into walls. Other people just stole them," recalls Ho Li-chin (何麗卿), then with the Cycleland Foundation (自行車新文化基金會), which sponsored the project. Soon, less than one-fifth of the initial 526 bikes remained in working condition. The program was quickly put out of its misery.

"We embarked on the project with the principle that `man is basically good,'" Jack Chen, then Cycleland's vice chairman, told the Taipei Times in a 2000 interview. "It was a test."

So they tried again. In 2000, a more ambitious program was launched by the Taipei City Government and the non-profit foundation, then associated with but now independent from Giant, Taiwan's largest and best-known bicycle brand. Giant donated 1,000 bikes. Rental stations were set up at four city parks. This time precautions were taken: a deposit of NT$1,500 or an ID are required to rent a bike; there are hourly fees; and vandals are fined.

For your information The Cycleland Foundation (自行車新文化基金會) and Taipei City offer a comprehensive map showing, among other things, the locations of all bike trails, rental stations, MRT lines and stations with bicycle access, and ferries that carry bicycles. Visit Taipei City Hall to get a map. More information can be found at www.cyclingland.org.tw, or by calling (02) 2719-2025. Chang's CKS shop is located in at 60-2 Chongqing S Road Sec 3, Taipei (台北市重慶南路三段60之2號). Call (02) 2305-1089.

The results have been spectacular. Now, some 5,000 bikes can be rented at 18 locations in Taipei City and Taipei County. The rental lots are open seven days a week and many lie within walking distance of MRT stations and access points to Taipei's riverside bicycle tracks. It is possible to rent a bicycle, take it by MRT to Xindian, ride it all the way to Bali (八里) along riverine track, drop it off at another rental station, and take the MRT home.

Taiwanese companies like Giant and Merida have long led the world in bicycle production, not only in quantity but also in quality and innovation. But only in the past decade have significant numbers of Taiwanese -- who usually zip around on scooters -- discovered the joys of bicycling.

Initiatives like Cycleland's and races organized by groups like the Taiwan Cyclist Federation have helped a small but growing cycling culture take root. City and county governments are laying down bicycle lanes, encouraging children to ride bicycles, and stepping up enforcement of safety rules. There is now an average of one cycling race each month, often along the island's scenic east coast.

Last summer, former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) -- who circumnavigated the island on a bike when he was a college student and started Taipei County's bicycle tracks when he was magistrate there -- announced plans to construct 2,600km of bicycle lanes by 2011. Cyclists say the project is being implemented with an efficiency not often seen in many government projects. Su also ordered the country's schools to teach children about bicycling.

"Taiwan is perfect for cycling," said Ho, who now heads the Taiwan Cyclist Federation (中華民國自行車騎士協會), which she co-founded to promote the competitive sport aspect of bicycling. "It has good terrain; the weather allows for cycling any time of the year; and in Taiwan you can buy a quality ride at a cheap price."

Ho, whose group has supplied 2,000 illustrated bicycling books for children to Taipei City schools, said Taiwanese began to take up bicycling after the introduction of the two-day weekend allowed for more leisure time. Better awareness of health issues has also helped, and the SARS crisis scared many Taiwanese into taking better care of their health.

On the government side, Taipei City has led the way. In the 1990s, it built its first bicycle lane on Dunhua North Road. By 2001, there were 40km of connected bicycle tracks along the giant "U" shape formed by the Keelung (基隆河), Danshui (淡水河) and Xindian (新店溪) rivers. The city's MRT system has several stops where cyclists can enter with their bikes, and now, depending on who you ask, Taipei City and Taipei County contain as much as 250km of bicycle lanes and tracks. There are even bicycle-only lanes inside the city, notably a long track down Renai Road to Taipei 101.

Cyclists credit current Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信) Chairman Hochen Tan (賀陳旦), himself an avid cyclist, for initiating the projects when he headed Taipei City's transportation department under then-mayor and current President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). The programs continued under former mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬­英九), and current Mayor Hau Long-bin (郝龍斌) is reported to enjoy bicycling -- though he recently wiped out and suffered nasty scrapes to his face.

"Hopefully, this won't affect his attitude towards bicycles," joked former champion racer Chang Sheng-kai (張勝凱). In Chang's shop on Chongqing South Road, there's a replica of the bike he designed for US President George W. Bush, painted with stars and stripes. Like the larger Giant and Merida shops near Da-an Park on Jianguo South Road, CKS sees a constant stream of customers on weekends.

Last Sunday, Ah Hsin (阿信) was visiting to fine-tune his ride. Every weekend and some weekdays too, he cycles along the river from Xindian to Bali, starting on the Jingmei Stream Bikeway (景美溪河濱腳踏車道), continuing on the Xindian Stream Bikeway (新店溪河濱腳踏車道), then the Danshui River Bikeway (淡水河河濱腳踏車道) to the Dadaocheng (大稻程) wharf, where he crosses on a boat to the Taipei County Bikeway (台北縣河濱腳踏車道).

Ah Hsin said that, currently, the only obstructions he faces are the boat ride and the Zhongzheng Bridge (中正大橋), where he has to walk his bike over a skybridge or through an underpass. At night, lights at the basketball and tennis courts next to the track illuminate his path. He never has to worry about running into a car or scooter; the path is unobstructed, unless there's a typhoon. Cyclists say Taipei City and County governments promptly removes detritus after floods, though a major inundation four years ago in Dazhi closed a section of the track for several months. There was so much debris that local residents planted gardens in the mud.

Recently, when riding around in Taipei, Ah Hsin has noticed police officers have started paying more attention to bicycle safety. Last September, the city announced it would begin fining bicyclists who run red lights and violate other traffic laws, a move cyclists say will improve conditions for them. Enforcement begins this September.

"Taipei just keeps getting better and better for cyclists," Ah Hsin said.