I like to go biking and fortunately for me there is an extensive recreational bike route system in Taipei.

Map showing path along river

During the morning from around 6-8 a.m., the riverside bike paths are usually full of elderly people walking, jogging or riding bikes. There usually aren't too many younger folk out on the pathways at this time but you can still spot a few.

You can rent bikes here

At various points along the pathway, you can find basketball courts and tennis courts which are illuminated at night. Usually at night, groups of teenagers or college-aged guys can be found playing basketball at these courts with their girlfriends sitting on the sideline watching and chatting with other girls.

Where I grew up, cyclists could ride on bike lanes that were marked out along the sides of most major roadways in addition to bike and pedestrian-only paths that cut through the city. There are no bike lanes marked out along the roads of Taipei or any city in Taiwan and there probably never will be since space is so limited but it is nice to see more attention being paid to cycling.

Along the bike path. There's plenty of green to be seen!

When I first came to Taiwan, the riverside bike paths were much narrower, in disrepair and were not all linked into one big system. It's good to see that Taipei has put in the resources and effort to create and promote biking as a recreation.