Cycling from Jinshan to Taipei: Relaxed Round Taiwan Trip Part Four
This is the longer day of the two and it can be extended into a ride back along the river into Taipei City. Depending on where you stay in Jinshan it might be nice to wind through the fields and coastal bike paths before following the main highway. The Ju Ming sculpture Musuem is also not far from the town though, I believe it's a bit of a climb to get to it. Whichever route you take through Jinshan you'll pop out near what is clearly a popular surf spot called Jhungjiao.
Winding through the Jinshan paddies and the surprisingly busy surf spot
There's a not a lot to write about the stretch of coastline after Jinshan. There's not a lot of traffic, but the scenery is also nothing out of the ordinary. It's easy going and there's a segregated bike path. You'll pass a small lighthouse, a giant taro, and another nuclear plant, before reaching Shimendong (stone door cave).
This is also a tour of North Taiwan’s nuclear infrastructure
Cheesy pics at Shimendong
This is a pretty cool natural arch with a trail going over the top of it and it makes for a good photo stop. After the cave you'll pass by this unusual boat shaped hotel and restaurant, and it's kitchsy collection of European landmark models.
Hitting two squares on Taiwan Travel Bingo here: A big warning for a non-existent danger, and a tacky olde Europe inspired attraction
Laomei
Laomei is famous for its green reef, a platform of deeply grooved rock which between April and May turns a vibrant shade of green. It's very photogenic and even though we were there in February it was still quite green. Make sure you don't stand on the green areas though as this damages the reef!
Laomei Beach from Fugui
Beyond the reef Laomei is a small settlement with a few tourist shops and winding lanes. I recommend following the lanes along the coast and heading out to Fugui Cape, the northernmost point in mainland Taiwan. It's both possible and allowed to bike around the cape, with just one short set of steps. The cape isn't terribly dramatic but it's nice to try and hit all the extremeties in Taiwan on the huandao. Leaving the cape you'll pass the very quirky Fuji Fishing Harbour market building which is full of seafood restaurants.
Before the popular Baishawan Beach you'll pass the semi-ruined Haiwan New Town building, another overly-optimistic vacation development for this often windy and damp coastline.
Passing behind Baishawan follow the trails around Linshanbi Cape. These are sometimes a little narrow and aren't really designed with bikes in mind, but on a quiet day at least they were fun and scenic. The little beach on the other side of the cape is calm and pretty and I'm not sure why we don't go there in summer rather than Baishawan. The boardwalk though the forest was also very a nice break from the sun.
To Tamsui
Wind along the coastal bike paths for a few km until you reach an area that’s unfinished, then turn inland and follow Chexin Road back to the main highway. This next part is a little unpleasant and it's best to get it over with as quickly as possible. The highway starts out quite wide with a good shoulder but the closer you get to Tamsui the more narrow and congested it is. There's a little pier and a few stalls at Qianshui Beach that we stopped off at but I don't feel like it's a loss if you skip that.
An abandoned house on Chexin Rd and the nicer part of the highway ride
After about ten kilometers you'll begin to drop down into Tamhai New Town and then Tamsui itself. A ton has been written about Tamsui over the years, and I drew it recently too. Take a look at some of the points on the Hidden Taiwan Map for an overview of the sites there, and also for this bike route and the sites mentioned here.
The pier at Qianshui and a fog bank
From Tamsui it's a flat ride on the river path back to Taipei. Alternatively you can board the MRT with your bike at Hongshulin. I decided to cycle back to Taipei, got very sunburned, but also got to see some beautiful sea fog roll in at Guandu.
The next parts cover Taipei to Daxi, and Daxi to Zhubei!