Enjoying the views at Danshui
I recently got myself a new bike and so I was keen to get out on it this weekend. I did the graveyard run a couple of weeks back and it was great, apart from the mental stray dogs. However, this weekend I wasn’t in the mood for climbing hills and so a nice easy ride along the riverside park up to Danshui seemed like the perfect alternative.
Danshui as the sunsets.
I live in Xinyi district and my brother lives in Yonghe so we agreed to meet up halfway by the Meizhou Bridge. I set off, battling my way through the traffic to get to the riverside park near the Raohe Temple by Bade road. I’ve driven a motorbike the whole time I’ve been in Taiwan and so I’m used to the suicidal driving but on a bicycle it always seems so much worse and I was glad when I finally got off the road and onto the the rainbow bridge.
The rainbow bridge
One of many bridges crossing the Jilong river.
The paths in the park are for the most part really well maintained. There are still places where construction is on going but generally speaking the roads nice and smooth.
The area around Dazhi isn't too busy and makes for a pleasant ride.
That said, in a few places it can be quite narrow, especially if there are pedestrains about. I suspect when the government first began to create the riverside parks that they hadn’t anticipated just how popular cycling would become in Taiwan.
A bit of squeeze in places!
After about an hour or so I met up with Phil and we continued on towards Danshui passing the Gaundu temple. It’s a beautiful temple with a long tunnel inside and it’s well worth a visit if you’re ever nearby.
The Guandu temple
We arrived in Danshui after about another hour and headed up Zhongshan road to a mexican restaurant called Eddy’s Cantina. The food was great though I ate too much making the ride home all the more difficult!
Danshui's famous sunset
After watching the sunset we began to make our way home, stopping to take some pictures. I need to take my camera stand next time and get some better shots as at night the scenery is even better with all the lit up buildings and bridges.
Night time
It took about another 2 hours to get home and I was well and truely knackered! Hiking is easy for me but I think I need to work on my cycling!
The bridges are all lit up at night and look a lot more beautiful than they do during the day.
More photo’s here
