TBA One-Day Taipei to Kaohsiung 360 km
The One-Day Taipei-Kaohsiung 360 is one of Taiwan's most important cycling events, held once each by two separate organizers, TBA and TWB. It usually takes place in winter when the northeast monsoon is blowing, which makes finishing a little less brutal. I do ride, and I follow Taiwan's cycling scene, the European grand tours, and UCI races closely, but I honestly don't get out on the bike that often. Still, the one-day Taipei-Kaohsiung ride was something I really wanted to try, so two months before the event, egged on by a friend, I rushed to sign up for the edition held on 2024.11.8.
TBA Taipei-Kaohsiung 360: Pre-Race Preparation
I took the High Speed Rail from Kaohsiung to Taoyuan HSR Station, and a friend drove me and my bike to the start at Liao Tianding Temple in Bali. Based on that setup, here's a list of what I carried with me for your reference. Anything you don't want to carry on the bike, the organizers will transport to Kaohsiung for you — just pick it up at the finish. Do drop off your bag early though; the number of participants is really huge.
Bike equipment:
1. The bike ->tires pumped up, gears tuned, brakes checked — and if you run electronic shifting, charge it fully)
2. Front and rear lights
3. Bike computer
4. Reflective strips (vest) ->Really important. Lots of riders skip it, but once you're on the road you realize how dark it is — crashes happen so easily
5. Helmet
6. Official timing chip stickers for frame and helmet
7. Water bottle
8. Puncture repair kit (I didn't bring one — thankfully nothing happened the whole way)
Clothing and personal gear:
1. Jersey and bib shorts
2. Arm sleeves
3. Sunglasses
4. Windproof jacket ->It was cool that day but I never wore it — too hot in the daytime and a hassle to carry
5. Cycling shoes
Other items:
1. Supplies: energy gels, salt candy, whatever fuel you're used to
2. Phone
3. Power bank ->Important! My phone died by Tainan — luckily I borrowed one, or I couldn't have made contact at the finish
4. Coins / NT$100 bills
5. Muscle-pain spray
6. Sunscreen
7. Vaseline ->Important! Slather it generously on your undercarriage
TBA Taipei-Kaohsiung 360: Race Day
On departure day I took the afternoon off work and napped at home — after all, I was about to ride through the night for more than 18 hours straight. I caught the 7pm HSR up to Taoyuan, then rode in my friend's car to Liao Tianding Temple in Bali. If you're coming up from the south, I highly recommend this approach — it saves a lot of time compared to going all the way to Taipei Main Station, taking the MRT to Guandu, and then riding to the start.
Start: Liao Tianding Temple, Bali, New Taipei (0K)
We parked on the street near Liao Tianding Temple, sorted our gear, applied Vaseline where it matters (important!), then rode over to the bag drop — it's a big truck that's easy to miss, so you may need to look around a bit. Then we lined up to start. The start chute is small, so the queue gets very long: the official start was 11:30pm, but we didn't roll across the start line until 00:00am. If you want to reach the finish earlier, get there early and line up.
Supply Stop 1: Fengqing Coast, Hsinchu City (71K)
The first supply stop is at 71K. Fresh out of the gate we had a huge tailwind and pleasantly cool temperatures — riding along the coast felt great, and holding 30~35 km/h was no problem, so we reached the first stop quickly. There's bread and water here, but the selection isn't great; 7-11s start appearing along the route, so you can always stop and refuel on your own. My friend and I each rode solo at our own pace, but we both cruised in smoothly.
The one thing to watch out for: on this stretch everyone is fresh and excited, and with the big tailwind the speeds are very high — but the road is actually really dark. I saw quite a few crashes along the way; some riders were down on the roadside being loaded onto the support vehicle within half an hour of the start, which is such a shame. Definitely wear reflective gear and look after your own safety!
Supply Stop 2: Fuhai Temple, Wanggong, Changhua (190K)
There's a 120K gap between the first and second official supply stops, so you'll need to find your own rest points in between. The 7-11s and FamilyMarts along the way were constantly packed with queues, so carrying your own supplies makes life much easier. There are also other roadside rest areas on this stretch — Da'an Rest Stop, for example, is a full-service stop with everything you need.
By this point a lot of riders were desperately sleepy — plenty of people were slumped over napping by the roadside. Seriously, sleep well the night before, or you may need an energy drink before getting back on the road. By the time you ride this far it's basically daylight, the traffic lights start doing their job, and there are more and more cars on the road — do not zone out~
Supply Stop 3: Ji'an Temple, Jiangjun, Tainan (287K)
The stretch from Changhua to Tainan is where things start getting uncomfortable, mainly because the day heats up and your strength begins to fade. My speed had dropped to about 27 km/h by this point, and with all the traffic lights I was really only averaging around 24 km/h. If you have sunscreen, put it on, and keep topping up water and salt candy regularly.
By the time I got here I was nearly at my limit and starting to doubt myself, but remembering there was only a quarter left, I pulled myself together and kept riding. You'd still see other riders on the road, but they had thinned out considerably — nothing like the massive crowd at the start. Since I was riding solo, I really had to keep giving myself pep talks!
Finish: Pingshan Elementary School, Zuoying, Kaohsiung (360K)
The hardest stretch of the entire ride is from Tainan to Kaohsiung. Entering Tainan city right at rush hour, the traffic was jammed solid, and the endless clipping in and out really got on my nerves — right when my body and willpower were nearly spent. Passing into Kaohsiung through Qieding, Yong'an, Mituo, Ziguan and Nanzih, I finally made it back to Zuoying, so happy I'd pushed through to the end of this journey.
TBA Taipei-Kaohsiung 360: Post-Race Thoughts and Tips
I'm so grateful to myself for hanging in there — I finished in 18 hours 29 minutes. Considering my usual sports are running and badminton, with cycling only occasionally, it's no surprise I completely ran out of steam in the second half and my speed dropped way off — in the end I was just riding to finish! Still, it was a fantastic experience, and I'll probably come back for another round some years down the line~
A support car isn't essential — there are plenty of supply points along the way — but if you're new to this, do a bit of homework on the route, and get some long-distance training in beforehand. A friend suggested riding from Kaohsiung to Eluanbi Lighthouse and back, about 200 km, as training. But the most important thing is the courage to sign up and show up at the start — once you're on the road, just keep going until you finish!
And at the end, you get a beautiful finisher's trophy!
Registration for the 2025 TBA One-Day Taipei-Kaohsiung is already open! It runs until July 31, 2025! Go sign up right now!
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