THE TAIWAN KOM CHALLENGE / TOP TIPS FOR YOUR KOM ADVENTURE
Bike, gears, SIM cards, cash, where to go, what to do it’s all here….
[all images by Paolo Penni Martelli]
1. Bike gearing:
Compact crank at the front and 34 or even 36 at the back is highly recommended! Kind of vital, actually. Also you’ll need front and rear lights, compulsory for the KOM event. There are several tunnels along the route and though generally well lit, if for any reason the power is out inside a tunnel, you will need the lights. A rear light also aids riders close behind you in these tunnels to judge distance from your back wheel.
2. Cycling kit:
Aside from warm weather clothing, it is advisable to also bring: gilet or rain jacket, arm warmers, under vest, under shirt (thermal) and light long fingered gloves. You likely will not need most of this but at times the higher altitudes can be chilly, and if it does rain – especially on KOM day – a drop of even 2-3 degrees, plus the effort needed at altitude, can give you the chills.
3. Non-cycling kit:
The end of October is generally warm or even hot in the day, especially as we go south, and in the evening a light sweater / jacket and a pair of jeans can come in handy. Also remember that you will very likely be glad to have warm clothing immediately after the KOM, and a wool hat can come in useful to retain warmth if you’ve gotten cold on the climb. A body warmer vest / jacket is recommended, and a lightweight waterproof shell.
4. Gels / Hydration:
For KOM race day, there are feed stations (bananas and water available, sometimes cookies), and we recommend 60–80 grams of carbohydrates per hour. Hydration mixes and tablets, you can get them here at certain bike stores, but not all, and you don’t want to be running around Taipei trying to find essentials. We recommend bringing these with you. The convenience stores here do have some pretty good sports drinks and all of them serve warm sweet potatoes and rice triangles (onigiri) and Weider energy packs , but certainly for race day, bring what you intend to consume and what you are used to. There’s a saying, ‘Nothing new on Race Day’ - it’s a pretty good one!
Unless you have a team van registered for the event (which we do for our Taiwan KOM Challenge tours, two of them), the feed stations will be the only spots to refill your bidons. Please do your best – ie, don’t do this – not to yell at the staff at the refuelling stations, demanding water or food. The staff are always excellent and very willing to help, but no one really likes to be shouted at! Also note that you need to unclip and get off the bike to refill and refuel.
On race day you will drop off your Taiwan KOM dry-bag (supplied by the organisers) into a truck at the start line, that you later can retrieve at the finish. In here you should pack your warm clothes for after the race and any food or drinks you might want.
On our tours we take these bags in our own vans.
There are noodles of some variety available up there too, but you might want chocolate, chips, a soft drink etc.
Our great and wonderful guide, AJO, with KOM TOURS riders’ bags.
NON-BIKE STUFF
5. Internet / SIM cards:
All the Taiwanese telephone companies are good, their prices are more or less exactly the same. For 5G unlimited for 10 days it’s about $1400NT, about $40 US. The airport is the best place to do this, quick and easy and they should set it up for you. If you are arriving before 8am or after 6pm there should still be a place or two open – if not, you can get a travel SIM at any of the stores in Taipei. Also, e-Sims work well here, all over in fact. We can recommend Ubigi.
If you don’t intend to be online a lot, there is good wi-fi to be had at all convenience stores, restaurants, cafes and hotels.
6. Plugs:
Remember to bring an adaptor if needed. Also if you are going to be charging your phone. laptop, bike, bike computer, GoPro etc, we recommend bringing a multi plug extension, may come in handy when you have 2 hotel plug sockets and 23 things to charge!
7. Money:
Best to change either in your own country though the airport – Taoyuan – has many exchange booths and ATM exchange machines. 95% of stores, cafes and bars take cards and / or digital payment systems.
8. Safety:
Taiwan is very safe in terms of walking around a city after dark, there’s very little petty crime (pickpocketing, bag thieving), and you can leave a bike outside a convenience store for 5 minutes and 99% of the time it’ll be fine, but these things do happen, if very rarely, so we recommend bringing a light bike lock just in case you are alone and intend to go into, for example, a large electrical store for a cable or a GoPro mount, etc.
9. Cultural Stuff:
A trip to a night market should definitely be on your list of things to do, some great (and some *special*) foods on offer – stinky tofu anyone? – great for taking photos and getting into the vibe of the city. Just about any night market in Taipei will be good, some are smaller and more local, for example Rahoe Night Market – renowned for its food – some are huge, such as Shilin Night Market, which still has a traditional feel, or Ximen, which feels like it could almost be in Tokyo, with more brand stores. Taipei’s architecture is interesting also, with the old sharing the skyline with the modern. There is also an excellent modern art museum near Maji Square, a vibrant shopping, cafe and nightlife hub just by Yuanshan MRT station.
Taiwan has a fascinating history, with several nations having ‘dropped by’ for a bit of colonising here and there, and you can best see evidence of this in Tamsui, just 30 minutes by subway from Taipei, or a 45 minute bike ride on the excellent bike path that circles the city. St. Domingo Fort is worth dropping by, for the history buffs.
There are also 16 recognised Indigenous tribes here, that make up 2.7% of the population. Some are said to have first arrived here some 15,000 years ago.
Taiwanese indigenous peoples are Austronesian with linguistic, genetic, and cultural ties to other Austronesian peoples, such as the Maori of New Zealand. Taiwan is the origin and linguistic homeland of the oceanic Austronesian expansion.
We encounter more of this Aboriginal culture as we get closer to the east coast. Hualien itself is the capital of the Amis tribe, Taiwan’s largest with some 250,000 people.
Amis women dancing at the annual Harvest Festival.
But beware, for several of these tribes were once headhunters!
10. Taroko Gorge:
Yes, you will be cycling up through the gorge during the event, but I really recommend taking an extra day to get out there and to explore the area a little deeper. There are some temples and shrines you can visit, and some great short hikes that you can do through winding ravines alongside emerald rivers, and some tougher ones too along little ridges on the sides of cliffs, if you have the nerve! The gorge is an area of stunning natural beauty, truly, and just to do a slow ride through it is really amazing. Taxis can take you out from Hualien for half days or full days and are relatively inexpensive. Join our tours and we will take care of all this for you!
Thanks for reading!
Please contact us for more info on our tours.
