Guides · Cycling in Taiwan
Taiwan Cycling Route No.1｜Distance & Closed Roads
Taiwan's round-island cycling route, officially Cycling Route No. 1, is a long-term goal for many riders visiting Taiwan. It follows provincial highways through every county on the island. The Directorate General of Highways and the Tourism Administration quote slightly different total distances, and a few sections are closed to bicycles outright. This guide pulls together what the Directorate General of Highways, the Tourism Administration, the Central Weather Administration, and Taiwan Railway have published, covering the route, the direction, and how to split the loop by train if you can't ride nine days in a row.
The Official Status of Cycling Route No. 1 and Its Two Distance Figures
Cycling Route No. 1 was planned by Taiwan's Tourism Administration and links provincial highway sections across every county and city on the island. It opened in late 2015, and the Directorate General of Highways published a consolidated route announcement the following year, in 2016. The Tourism Administration handles travel information, while the Directorate General of Highways handles highway construction and mileage announcements. Each agency publishes its own total distance, and the two figures differ slightly.
The Directorate General of Highways lists the main line at 968 km, of which about 929 km (77%) runs along provincial highways. Loop spurs near Nantou and Dapeng Bay add about 235 km, for a combined 1,203 km. The Tourism Administration's Taiwan Bike travel portal lists the route at 960.8 km. The two figures differ by about 7 km, and no official document explains the gap, so plan around a range of roughly 960 to 968 km. Both numbers have been published by a government agency.
Where the Route Goes, from the Provincial Highway Backbone to the East Coast Alternatives
The main line is a chain of provincial highway sections linking every county and city, and the rest is made up of connector sections and a few stretches of cycling path. Loop spurs near Nantou and Dapeng Bay let riders detour off the main line to specific attractions or inland sections, and they are not counted in the 968 km.
The east coast needs the most route planning. Highway 9, the Suhua Highway, is the traditional north-south corridor there. The Suhua Freeway (the mountain-section improvement project for Highway 9) opened in stages and was fully open in January 2020, at 38.8 km with eight tunnels. Its long tunnel sections are closed to bicycles, so cyclists use Highway 9D, the surviving stretch of the old Suhua Highway. Between Taipei and Yilan, the Xueshan Tunnel on Freeway No. 5 is also closed to bicycles entirely. Riders usually detour via Highway 2, the north coast route, or take Taiwan Railway past this section.
Clockwise or Counter-Clockwise? Reading the Monsoon and Typhoon Season
You'll often hear that riding counter-clockwise avoids the headwinds on the east coast, but the Directorate General of Highways, the Tourism Administration, and the Central Weather Administration have not published any recommendation on riding direction. Clockwise and counter-clockwise are both choices riders make from their own experience, and neither has official backing. The official data you can use is Taiwan's general monsoon and typhoon pattern.
According to the Central Weather Administration's science portal, the northeast monsoon blows from October through the following April, seven months in all, and is strongest from December to February, when the north and northeast tend to have long rainy spells. The southwest monsoon runs from mid-June to mid-September, peaks in August, and brings clear afternoon rain to central and southern Taiwan. The Central Weather Administration's climate service portal also lists June through November as the typhoon forecast season. These periods overlap, and you can use them as a reference for weather risk when choosing a month. Direction and departure month are up to each rider and their schedule, and there is no official recommendation either way.
Sections That Need Extra Care on the Suhua Highway, Suhua Freeway, and Xueshan Tunnel
Tunnels make up 63% of the Suhua Freeway by length. When it opened, the Directorate General of Highways posted prohibition signs at the tunnel entrances. Large motorcycles, motorcycles, and bicycles may not use the long tunnel sections of the main line. The agency's official explanation says the enclosed tunnel space hurts air quality, noise, and temperature for motorcycle and bicycle users, and that some tunnels run over 3 km with a single lane shared with large vehicles, which raises the risk. The official bicycle alternative is Highway 9D, the surviving stretch of the old Suhua Highway, which the agency classes as a 'tourism and leisure' road open to slow vehicles, motorcycles, and bicycles.
The roughly 5 km Heren to Daqingshui stretch of the old Suhua Highway was formally decommissioned by an Executive Yuan announcement in early 2026, after slopes kept collapsing following an earthquake. In its place, the Suhua Freeway's Renshui Tunnel is now open to bicycles and pedestrians, so the alternative for this short stretch has moved from the old road to the new tunnel. The Dongao to Nan'ao stretch of the old Suhua Highway still carries general traffic, including bicycles, and its follow-up improvement project is still under review. Between Taipei and Yilan, the Xueshan Tunnel on Freeway No. 5 is a different case. Under Taiwan's expressway traffic control regulations, slow vehicles (which include bicycles) and motorcycles may not enter freeways at all, with no exceptions. Riders have to bypass this whole section, via Highway 2 along the coast or by Taiwan Railway. These rules change with construction progress, so check the latest notice from the Directorate General of Highways' eastern engineering office before you go.
Splitting the Loop with Taiwan Railway's Bike-Friendly Trains
Cycling Route No. 1 has no official breakdown into a set number of days or segments, but the Directorate General of Highways' route announcement mentions the idea of riding the loop in stages. The route includes spurs to Taiwan Railway stations, so riders who can't finish in one go can use Taiwan Railway's bike-friendly trains to complete it over several trips. Several sources give about nine days as a common benchmark for the main line, so treat it as a planning reference, since neither the Highways agency nor the Tourism Administration publishes a fixed itinerary. Certified rest stops sit every 15 to 20 km along the route for resupply.
Taiwan Railway lets you bring a bike aboard in a bike bag, on the bike-friendly trains, or as checked baggage. The bike bag is free. Pack the bike fully into a bag no longer than 150 cm and no more than 220 cm in combined length, width, and height, and it can ride any train at no extra charge, though Taiwan Railway may suspend this during long holidays. The bike-friendly trains let you roll the bike straight into the carriage without disassembling or bagging it, at half the adult fare for that train class. This is limited to designated reserved-seat trains (eight services in the official listing), tickets are sold only at station counters and not online, and each departure has a limited bike quota. The group and dedicated-train service is suspended during holidays of three or more consecutive days, but the bike bag remains available to individual travelers as usual. Baggage check-in works with or without a bag, at NT$20 per 10 km per bike with a NT$60 minimum, and has to be handled at a station with a baggage counter.
Where a Support Vehicle Fits Into a Round-Island Trip
A round-island trip runs for days, and each day means reconnecting distances, resupply points, and where to sleep. If you carry all your luggage, spare parts, and tools yourself, your energy over many days in the saddle takes a hit. Where bicycles can't or shouldn't go, such as the Suhua Freeway and the Xueshan Tunnel, a vehicle has to carry riders and bikes past that section before you pick the route back up. 24EZGO has supported cycling races and events since 2020, typically 10 to 20 events a year and more than 3,000 riders served. We run four support vehicles, and a single dispatch can carry up to 8 riders and 8 bikes.
On a round-island trip, a support vehicle can follow your planned route and schedule, carrying luggage and supplies each day. At sections closed to bicycles, like the Suhua Freeway and the Xueshan Tunnel, we take riders and bikes ahead to the next starting point. Clockwise or counter-clockwise, with or without Taiwan Railway for part of the loop, we can adjust the daily pickup and meeting points. If you're planning to ride Cycling Route No. 1, tell us your planned days, direction, and which sections need a shuttle, and we'll arrange support around your actual itinerary.
Sources
- 交通部公路局（公路總局）, 自行車環島1號線公告
- 交通部公路局, 蘇花改公路未開放機車通行說明
- 交通部公路局 蘇花改工程處
- 全國法規資料庫, 高速公路及快速公路交通管制規則
- 交通部中央氣象署, 數位科普網
- 交通部中央氣象署, 氣候服務入口網
- 臺灣鐵路公司, 兩鐵列車（對號列車）
- 臺灣鐵路公司, 兩鐵列車（非對號／區間車）
Rules and road conditions change, so always check the official announcements before you travel.
Related guides
- Riding Between Company Branches, and How the Support Vehicle Is Arranged
- When to Ride Wuling Month by Month, and What 3,275 m Means Where You Come From
- Cycling Central Taiwan from Taichung｜Sun Moon Lake and Wuling Day Rides
Elsewhere in the ecosystem
- siokiu · Group RidesTaiwanese for "let's go together", where local riders post routes and gather for weekend rides
- gear · Bike Maintenancereads your Strava mileage and works out when chains, tyres and pads are due
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