Location: Taoyuan County/New Taipei City
Distance: 98km Elevation Gain: 800m
Alright, let’s kick this one off at the Taoyuan Station, in Taoyuan City. From the station, head towards Luzhu; this is about 10km of city riding. You can use the Taolin Railway multi-use path. I recommend using Mapy or downloading our GPS file in this post to navigate to the path.
Our first checkpoint is Linkou. To warm up the legs, we used Dakeng Road, which runs directly underneath Highway 1. It’s about 7km, and it starts with a 1-2% gradient before gradually ramping up to 3-4%, with a couple of steep sections near the top as you summit in Linkou.
Once you arrive in Linkou, the ride becomes a big loop. We’re heading into New Taipei City, crossing two bridges, the older Guandu Bridge and the brand-new Danjiang Bridge. But before we cross the bridges, we’ll be climbing over Guanyinshan, the main climbing event of this route.
In Linkou, there’s some flat city riding to cover. You don’t need to ride straight through Linkou itself; it is better to hug the outskirts. There’s a big hospital here you can skip entirely by staying on the edge of this district. Linkou is laid out in a grid, so it’s easy to navigate. You’re aiming for County Road No. 108; follow it through this urban area. This road carries you toward Guanyinshan. There is a nice downhill out of Linkou; this road is Fenliao Rd., which is usually not congested, so you can really get rolling.
After 4.5km of downhill, you will come to the main climbing event: a 3.5km climb up Minyi Road or Bei 53; this road is also known as Wulin Road since it connects Wugu to Linkou. This climb has an average gradient of 4.6%. If you’re gunning it, you’re looking at 10-12 minutes; taking it easy, more like 15-20 minutes. There are a couple of steeper moments near the top, but nothing brutal. At the summit of Bei 53, you will arrive at the Guanyinshan Visitor Center.
During our ride, we stopped here; it was summer and rather hot, so the vending machines and water were very welcome. There are also some worthwhile photo spots and info panels if you want to poke around. If you are interested in hiking in this area, have a look here for more information. Guanyin Mt. is part of the official “Small 100 Peaks – (小百岳) Xiao Bai Yue” hiking trails on the island.
From the Visitor Center, you’ve got a few options heading down to Bali or Wugu; check your GPS if you want to deviate. We took Bei 53-1 down. It’s about 4.5km of descent, all downhill with some nice zigzags, dropping you out near Wugu on the edge of Taipei. Some of the asphalt on this stretch had been freshly repaved, which made it rather nice.
Once you’re down near the river, hop onto Zhongtai Road for a short climb before connecting to the riverside path. This is roughly where the Danshui River meets the Keelung River; worth noting they’re two separate rivers. The Danshui River is the wider river that empties into the Taiwan Strait, while the Keelung River cuts deeper into central Taipei.
From the riverside bike path, head toward the red bridge, the Guandu Bridge. Cross it; there is a proper bike lane that will drop you down onto the opposite riverside bike path. When we rode it, there was a fair bit of construction going on, so expect roughly 10km of slightly bumpy, all-paved riding (no off-road sections, just a bit of a bone-shaker) from Guandu Bridge to the new Danjiang Bridge. In the near future, this section should be rather pleasant.
The new bridge is genuinely worth the trip. The Danjiang Bridge, which opened in May 2026, is 920m long; this is an impressive piece of infrastructure with excellent bike paths. It connects Danshui district to the north with Bali district in the south over the Danshui River. It is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world. On the other side, you’re in Bali, and from there it’s a straight shot out onto Provincial Highway 61 toward the west coast.
Out on Highway 61 it’s a coastal run all the way home, flat, easy, and fast: if you’re riding in winter you’ll usually get a strong tailwind pushing you south. Summer can flip that into a headwind instead, so keep that in mind. From here we looped back toward Luzhu, finishing out near the High Speed Rail station.
In terms of numbers, all in, this one comes out to right around 98km with about 800m of climbing, a solid day out, especially if you do it in summer heat as we did. No one was gunning it on this ride; we kept it relaxed and enjoyed the scenery. That said, if you’re feeling strong, this route works just as well as a proper workout.
Here is the GPS info: