Conquering the Route Between Neihu and Downtown Taipei—Dazhi Bridge

Introduction

I can’t believe it has already been a year since I last shared a post about crossing a bridge by bike. Here is the earlier article about cycling across Zhongshan Bridge.

Conquering the Route Between Neihu and Downtown Taipei—Zhongshan Bridge

Hey, I have still been writing posts in other categories XDDDD. I just haven’t written as much about cycling—but here we are XD.

Ever since I figured out how to cycle across Zhongshan Bridge, I have become almost obsessed. Whenever I see a bridge—whether I am riding or sitting in a vehicle—I check for a bike ramp or some other way to get onto it.

Because I have kept cycling for exercise over the past year, I have gradually unlocked several bridges linking Neihu with different parts of the city.

I also happen to have a little more free time now that my exam is over, so I am going to share them one bridge at a time (assuming I have the persistence to keep this up XD.

Today, let’s start with another bridge I often use when traveling to and from Neihu: Dazhi Bridge.

Dazhi Bridge

Dazhi Bridge was the second bridge I conquered by bicycle after Zhongshan Bridge. This time, though, I did not have a cram-school teaching assistant giving me an extremely detailed route, so I had to reason it out entirely from what I had learned about ramps and bridge locations while riding Zhongshan Bridge.

Geographically, Dazhi Bridge mainly links the Xinsheng North Road side with Dazhi. Of course, a large riverside park lies between them, so I do not mean that the two ends of the bridge literally land on Xinsheng North Road and in Dazhi—just making that clear first XDD.

Because Songjiang Road has more dedicated bike lanes, I usually start somewhere downtown, such as Taipei Main Station, ride along Songjiang Road, turn left onto Minzu East Road → right onto Xinsheng North Road → and then continue to Binjiang Street.

Once you see Lin An Tai Historical House while riding along Binjiang Street, that is your cue to turn left, enter the floodgate, and start riding along the riverbank.

I know that description alone probably feels too vague, so let me walk you through it once with a map and photos XDD.

I will skip the photos for Songjiang Road and the left turn onto Minzu East Road. Let’s begin directly on Minzu East Road!

Once I am on Minzu East Road, I usually ride on the Xinsheng Park side because I will need to turn right later.

There is also a YouBike station outside Xinsheng Park, so anyone traveling to or from Dazhi Bridge can use that station too.

Continue along the Xinsheng Park side and you will see the Yuanshan Branch of Taipei City Fire Department’s Third District. It is a very obvious landmark and a useful check that you are still on the right route.

If you do not see it, remember to open Google Maps immediately and check your location.

Keep riding. Because we need to turn right onto Xinsheng North Road—and Xinsheng North Road is elevated—you will see a very obvious overpass structure. That is how you know it is time to turn right!

You need to ride on the road here, so be extremely careful of vehicles approaching from behind.

Continue to the end of Xinsheng North Road and you will meet Binjiang Street running across it. Since you cannot continue straight, you have to turn right.

There is often a lot of traffic here, so I press the pedestrian signal and wait until the light is actually green before crossing. I once saw a fearless cyclist cross while the signal was flashing, and it was incredibly dangerous Orz.

The reason for crossing is that we will turn left when we see Lin An Tai Historical House. Crossing the street here makes that turn easier later.

As you continue along Binjiang Street, you will pass a pumping station on your left. Once Lin An Tai Historical House comes into view, you can turn left.

You will not actually reach the Lin An Tai sign before turning. You need to turn left at the intersection shown above, which is why I only photographed it from a distance.

Keep riding down the road beside Lin An Tai Historical House. Before long, you will see Floodgate No. 10, where we enter the riverside park.

Once you pass Floodgate No. 10, you are inside the riverside park. I personally prefer to stay on the bike path as soon as I enter.

It is easy to drift onto the vehicle lane just after entering through Floodgate No. 10, so look toward the right for the dedicated bike path.

Compared with the riverside park after Zhongshan Bridge, I actually prefer this stretch beyond Floodgate No. 10. Plenty of people hang out here during the day, and the night view is pretty nice too.

You will often see lots of couples on dates here XDDD.

And if you are lucky, you may even see some cars ___ .

After riding for a while, you will see Floodgate No. 9 on your right. Quite a few cars enter through this gate, so remember to check both directions as you pass.

After this crossing, the bike path becomes flat and open again. Just keep following the straight path ahead.

Continue riding and the Dazhi Bridge bicycle ramp will appear directly ahead.

Once you ride up the ramp, the signs helpfully tell you that going down on the right leads to Binjiang Street, while turning left takes you onto the bridge and toward Beian Road. Since we are crossing the bridge, left it is!

This is a sharp turn, and people often arrive from Beian Road to enter the riverbank here or come up from Binjiang Street. Bicycles from several directions can meet at once, so check carefully for approaching riders before turning.

The bicycle and pedestrian path on Dazhi Bridge is separated from vehicle traffic by a very visible barrier, so it feels a little safer to me than Zhongshan Bridge.

Because the bridge is fairly long, there is also a small platform partway across. If you get tired while walking your bike, you can stop there briefly and enjoy the daytime or nighttime view.

I had only just bought a new phone, so I did not dare hold it out over the edge for a photo XDDDD. If you want the night view, you will have to come see it yourself XD.

Like most bridges, Dazhi Bridge gives you two choices on the way down: continue directly onto Beian Road and enter central Dazhi, or stay inside the riverside park.

If I have something to do in Dazhi, I keep riding forward and leave the bridge. But on the day I took these photos, I planned to stay in the riverside park, so I chose the ramp on the left and descended back into the park.

This ramp is not very steep, but it is fairly long. I still recommend applying the brakes lightly as you descend for greater safety.

After the ramp, turn right for Zhongshan Bridge and Shilin, or left for Neihu and Nangang. The signs are quite clear, so it is difficult to go the wrong way.

And how do you leave the riverside park?

Besides exiting at Dazhi Bridge earlier, I most often leave through Keelung River Floodgate No. 16 in Meiti Riverside Park.

This is a level exit, so there is no extra climb. It also brings you out near Miramar, which makes it a convenient place to stop and get a drink.

And that is the complete route for traveling between downtown Taipei and Neihu via Dazhi Bridge!

Closing Thoughts

It has been a long time since I shared a post about cycling onto a bridge, and suddenly organizing this many photos was a little overwhelming XDDDD.

I also took these photos not long after a typhoon. Even after leaving the riverside park, the road home was still a complete mess.

Anyway, I hope this article helps more people who need to cross the bridge by bicycle. See you in the next post (waves.