May 12, 2008 - Taipei, Taiwan. Riverside bikeway along the Keelung River with, I think, Mt. Guanyin across the Danshui River ahead.


The left bank of the Keelung River ends here at the confluence with the Danshui River. They've developed it into a little park, which is nice.

You know, when I first started riding around Taipei after I arrived two and a half years ago, there was room for improvement in the riverside bikeway system. I can't be too critical about it, because such recreational facilities and urban beautification projects are a luxury in many urban settings. But there were problems with access, maintenance, and passage as construction was ongoing.

Two years on, now I want to know where else in the world is there a recreation bikeway system that tops Taipei's. I haven't gone around the world looking for them, I don't know what other cities have them aside from San Francisco and New York, but in my ignorance, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Taipei has one of the world's best recreational bikeways.

Some ridiculously high percentage of Taipei's riversides are now dedicated to recreational use, thanks to the rivers not being commercially viable, of course. The bikeways are extensive, and I do want to measure them one day. Along both banks of all the rivers - some of which I haven't even been on yet, particularly along the Dahan River, I think the mileage may come close to 100 miles.

As development and construction is completed, they are becoming increasingly seamless. Just the other night, at 2 in the morning, I realized I could "time trial" 27 miles from where I live by the Keelung River to where I used to live by my old apartment in Xindian on the Jingmei River. I couldn't time trial it (I just mean prolonged riding at a relatively high pace; over 20 mph is a high cruising speed for me) during the day because there's too many people, but at night, it's more or less a straight shot, albeit with places requiring slowing down.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Don't Let Me Down (The Beatles)
2. Give Peace a Chance (John Lennon)
3. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (live) (Genesis)
4. Underdogs of Nipomo (Archers of Loaf)
5. In My Body (Smashing Pumpkins)
6. There Goes a Tenner (Kate Bush)
7. Pressure (live) (The Kinks)
8. The Fly (U2)
9. Will You Love Me Tomorrow? (Carole King)
10. La La Love You (The Pixies)