Thursday, July 23, 2015

Busan at last...

Well everyone, Chiara and I made it to our final destination in Korea...or so we thought.  Turns out we are going to spend a few more days in the south of this very hospitable peninsula. We are heading to Geoje Island as a couple that are teaching there have offered up a free place to stay. You know, for a little rest and relaxation. We kid.  More about that later, for now we will tell you about our adventures since we last wrote.  GYeongju was wonderful and serene and a great place to recharge our energy.  Our hosts at the guest house were gracious and we enjoyed wonderful traditional Korean bar-b-que with our new friends on our last night in town.  We were able to stay inthis  place the first night it was open, and we found out that the gentleman we were staying with built the guesthouse himself.  Nicely done, sir.
     

Leaving for the next destination found us climbing into yet another rain storm that soaked us to our cores but didn't stop us from a small (or so we thought at the outset) hike to see an ancient stone Buddha UNESCO heritage site.  

This serene forest hike, though well worth the time, put us a bit behind schedule and we arrived in our next town near dark, cold, wet and without a place to stay (our warmshowers host failed to give us all the info needed to find her).   This was no ordinary town....it was one of the Sister Cities to our own beloved home of Portland, OR...Ulsan! What we found was a young party ready place with a vibrant night life and a distinct lack of WiFi connections (something that seemed ubiquitous to that point). 

 We once again ran into an overly enthusiastic young Korean willing to help us fiind a place to lay our tired, soaked bodies for the night...and that is how we came to experience our first Love Motel.  Oh, the Korean love motel.  We had seen these behemoths all over the country, some amazingly gaudy, using more than their fair share of neon, some looking like any standard Korean motel, and some looking really sketchy and barren. We had walked into a few love motels in other places only to be rushed out (when Chiara walked in by herself, no single ladies allowed apparently) or we decided that it wasn't the right place for the evening.  We were almost ready to give up and look for a camping spot when we saw the Cosmos Motel.  Unfortunately the pictures do not do it justice, the motel's exterior had neon lights that changed colors, the windows were covered over throughout the whole building, allowing for more privacy but... the room was huge and comfortable, and it had ALL the amenities including soap, lotion, toothbrushes, razors, a desktop computer, a big screen TV and tons of space to put out all our wet clothing.  Score.
      



And though we still haven't figured out the significance of the steaming bowl of soup symbol on the signs we both agree that after our stay we will not hesitate to frequent one of these slightly odd but none-the-less value accommodations again.

Gear Note:  WOOL, WOOL, WOOL, and a poncho!  The best thing that you can do for yourself if you are biike touring through humid, rainy country is throw away all yourr fancy poly-synthetic riding gear and get yourself some merino wool shirts, underwear, and socks.  They keep you warm when you are wet...which you WILL be...they dry quickly and most importantly....they DO NOT stink!  and then get rid of the high tech rain gear and find a nice poncho...which are everywhere in South Korea...it covers your whole body, breaths well, and can be used as a cover for your bike or soemthing to sit on when needed.

We expected a nice scenic ride into Busan along the coast when we left the next morning but instead we found oursealves mired in heavy traffic and surrounded by oil refineries and air choked with diesel. 


  Though never feeling completely unsafe we found this section of coast less than appealing to the senses....until we found THIS...



GO DUCKS!

We discussed ourr journey through what at times resembled the set of a Mad Max movie and both agreed that we wouldn't appreciate all the wonderful places and people as much if we didn't also see that there are costs to living in the societies that we inhabit.  Life as we know does not come free and without costs...costs to us, costs to our land, air, and water, and costs that many of us either choose to be ignorant of, or sometimes of which we ARE truly ignorant.  To "go around" these places and not see them would ultimately lessen our experience of what we came to these places to discover...the everyday lives of people.  We all take from this world but what do we give?  Well in our time so far what Korea has given is an openness and willingness to come and meet us. though it can be difficult for us and Koreans to have a conversation, they truly show an interest in trying to communicate and share in our journey through their land.

We camped that night in another local town park, only this time it was a lovely little beach town.  We met some local "characters" and even were invited to have a drink and share some more Korean BBQ with some local teachers.  The night's sleep left something to be desired due to heat, wetness, and a few local park goers using the nearby bench as a drunken late night therapy couch...but as the interlopers our only recourse is to lie in our tent, hope they resolvetheir problems quickly, and in the interim wish we understood Korean because I bet they were saying some hilarious stuff. 


Finally arriving in the beautiful, hilly, quirky city of Busan was a relief.  All our gear was soaking wet having packed it in the early morning dew and we were ready for some sun and sand.  The ride through the hills was amazing and the little seaside towns leading to Busan were wonderful.   One small place made me change my mind about believing Portland was the coffee capital of the world...this small beach side surfing town had no fewer than 10 coffee roasters right on the main street!  And the one we tried was amazing coffee, as I am sure were all the others.


Side note: Chiara and I have been surprised with the amount and variety of coffee and coffee shops present in all places, big and small, of Korea.  We were expecting coffee to be more of a treat than the norm but it has turned out that finding a good cup of tea is much more difficult than is a decent cup of joe.  I, but not Chiara, was actually looking forward to the opportunity to try various exotic teas but as of yet have not been afforded the opportunity, though I am sure that will change slightly as we make our way to Japan and Taiwan.

Busan is a beautiful and fun town full of young, selfie-crazy teens, families with doting Korean dads, and just a smattering of the slightly mentally unstable talking to themselves (and us) endlessly.  Ringed by large hills it is spread far along the southern coast and would take many days to explore fully.  We are very content with the time we are spending, though limited, as the riding in and out off these places allows us to see so much more than a traditional traveller might and therefore we don't feel guilty lying in our air conditioned, 11th story apartment we rented with the ocean view, while all our clothes are washed and our gear dries.  We kinda earned this one...
   

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Suanbo to Gyeongju

Written by Bruce:

Where were we...



So the weather has finaly broke and the km's are piling up...526k, one flat tire, and wonderful hospitality from our hosts.  The last few days we have made some great new friends and enjoyed some wonderful weather.  Temps have been in the 80-90 F range with  moderate humidity.  A few hills have posed early challenges to our green legs but all with "happy endings"...


Once we left our new friends Jack and Jay at Coco's Guest House...



we immediately faced a series of climbs culminating in a 600m summit and a quick rain shower to cleanse us of our sins.  


We found a somewhat dilapidated but peaceful camp along our route where a lovely Korean couple bequeathed upon us a cold bottle of Hite (which we had been lamenting just prior not purchasing on our ride from town).  Another early morning of K-pop listening, lycra clad local cyclists awoke us and we hit the trail again heading to Gumi and a warmshowers famiily host.  On the way we came across the most germane attraction possible for us...the Sangju Bicycle Museum.  

Old, one-of-a-kind, alternative materials, you name it and they probably had it on display at this tribute to the two wheeled iron horse.

The Hong family of Gumi treated us better than one could ever wish.  Our first taste of Bibimbap (Chiara was mistakin about it earlier, that was a noodle dish that wasn't quite the same) a traditonal Korean dish, a mapfulof directions for the next few days riding, a hot shower, a comfy spot to sleep, and a history lesson on the great president Park Chung-Hee made for a fulfilling and re-energizing nights stay.

A little aside here for all you fellas out there thinking about traveling...bring yourselves along a little lady.  They are irreplaceable when it comes to making your stay wth a host family easier and more fruitful.  Chiara has been the belle of the ball as far as the women of Korea are concerned.  Hugs, smiles, laughs and long goodbyes, gifts bestowed upon us in spades and endless queries of marriage have become the norm as we make our way south in this wonderfully gracous land.  Not that yours truly isn't worthy of such accolades but I must admit...Chiara has made this journey so much more than just a bike tour.  



We encountered a bit of trouble shaking off the comfort of our host, finding the first Tern bicycle dealer in Korea, and route finding (we are venturing off  the established Korean cycling route on our own).  This made for a late departure from Gumi and later arrival to our camp spot.  As we are now departing from the well-marked and virtually care-free Four Rivers Trail system, to the bit more hectic "choose-your-own-adventure" way through Korea riding on roads wth small shoulders and construction traffic. It was a good early test that we feel we passed with flyng colors, making to our destination before dark.   Urban camping has become a thing we are getting used to.  Each town seems to be built along rivers, canals, streams, or a body of water.  The resulting water front parks serve as a place for enjoyment for locals by day either walking, cycling, fishing or picnicking and by night become ideal locations to throw up our tent near the ubiiquitous publc toilets (the cleanest we have ever seen) and water fountains (seriously, there seems to be a public toilet every 12 feet...South Koreans surely do not want for bathrooms).


Gear note:  Big Sky International Revolution 2P tent- Time and again now we have been impressed with the ease of set-up and spaciousness of this shelter.  Its compact size and weight and its free standing external two pole construction make for the easiest and fastest "popping" of a shelter I have experienced.   I can't say enough about how happy we are with this tent to this point.

And while we are on the topic of accommodations in Korea, Chiara and I discovered the "Love Motel" while searching for a place to lay our heads recently.  Though Chiara is quickly picking up the symbols of the Korean language, we have been at a loss to discover why these motels, which can be rented by the hour or night, and have a bowl of complimentary profilactics at the counter, are denoted by what appears to be a steaming bowl of soup prior to the name on the huge signs overhead?  These establishments are not always places of shame or reproach in Korea, as homes are often very small here, much smaller than what is considered acceptable in the US.  Often couples must escape to one of these locales in order to have time alone...though I doubt there is not the occasional bit of infidelity with those practicing man's oldest profession. (Try to get you a photo of this soon)

Today was a short jaunt over a few hills to the beautifully historic and slghtly trendy town of Gyeongju.  We are still discovering its significance in Korea's past.  The ancient kingdom of  Silla, which seems to have links to most of the greatest archeological discoveries, has a signficant mark in this region of the country with giant burial mounds, simiilar to the great pyramids, and temples strewn throughout the beautiful mountain countryside.  We decided to splurge for two days on a traditional Korean guesthouse called a Hanok.


We will update you again in a few days as we make our way east to the coast and then south to Busan.  Only a week or so more in Korea before we head to the land of the Rising Sun.  Hope you are enjoying the ride as much as us.


Love,
Bruce and Chiara

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Meet Your Hosts- Chiara

Hello folks!

You got to lear a little bit about Bruce, now I'm going to tell you more about me.  Hopefully not too much, need to leave a little mystery, right?

I was born in Eastern Montana, 38.5 years ago.  Yes, the flat part.  Nope, not a mountain to be seen.  Nowhere near Bozeman, but thans for asking.  I lived in Sidney, MT the majority of my childhood, and it was a rad place to grow up.  I had great friends, and way more freedom than your kids have now, believe me.  I think my free-range 

I went to school at University of Montana, where there are mountains.  I started really cycling more there, enjoying getting out of town and into the mountains on my cheap bike in my Cons and cut-offs shorts.  Post college (degree in social work) I move to London, UK with my dear friend Sarah (moment of silence, she's no longer with us) where I worked and played for 8 months before teaching Enlish in Milan, Italy for a while.

Then...Potland! Where I've been ever since.  I love Portland. Man it's amazing. I moved there partically because I had couches to sleep on (thanks Matt and Katie, I know 3 months was a long time!) I've been working with small children for years there, lately as an Early Childhood Special Education taecher in the David Dougas school district.  I love that I have always worked with really diverse populations since being in Portland. Love it.  And I'm going back to my jobby-job after this trip.

So, you ask, what do I do in my spare time?  Great question.  I cycle a fair amount between touring, weekend rides, and mountain biking. I even raced cyclocross this year a bit and I liked it.  I cook.  Passably, says Bruce.  But I have really started enjoying making a lot of things from scratch that I used to buy at the store.   I paint and fix things.  I hang with my cats, Augie and Stella.  I spend with my friends as much as time allows.  I read a lot.  Books, longform articles. 

In terms of places I've been, I was lucky to live in the UK, which was a real shocker to a little Montana girl like myself.  Same with Milan, huge international city but without the benefit of knowing the language.  While in Milan I spent some time traveling by myself through Easter Europe, Croatia, Slovenia, and Hungary.  I've also spent longer periods of time in Guatemala (1 month) Mexico (1.5 months) and Brazil ( month),  I like to focus on things when I travel, so I have always worked on languages and in Brazil I studies capoeira, a martial art that I trained for 20 years.

In the last 7 years I have been so lucky to explore a fair amount of the Pacfic Northwest on my bike.  I have  been down the California coast, through chunks of British Columbia, rode from the coast of Washington through Montana with Bruce.  We totally didn't kill each other!  Matter of fact, we found we really like riding together. Hopefully just like this trip!

What do I want from this trip you ask? So many things.  I want to ponder my life decisions, and make sure I/we are headed in the direction  I/we want to be.  I want to unstrap myelf from my normal life to see things new again.  I wnat the challenge of not being able to go home to my bed for a year.  I want to seee alll the new things.  I want Bruce and I to keep having a blast even though this will not be particularly easy. I think that pretty much sums it up.  Thanks to all who are reading this!

Xo, Chiara

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Riding Seoul through Suhi-Ro



After three very enjoyable days in Seoul, it was time to leave.  We knew the weather forcast was looking pretty grim (100% rain all day), but we decided that we needed to leave early in the morning and try to ride as far as we could even though it would be raining and windy throughout the day.  We actually routed ourselves nicely from our guesthouse through the city and to the Han River. It was so easy!  After our initial ride into Seoul, I wasn't sure that we would be able to actually find our way out, but we did.  Riding through Seoul next to the canal was a lovely experience, it was a Sunday, the streets were very quiet, and it was a nice way to say goodbye to a city by which we were really impressed.

So now we know what they mean by "the rainy season"...to say that it was wet would be an understatement.  It poured all day, and we rode into a headwind most of the day to boot.  The city buildings and atmosphere melted away as we made our way into smaller towns and villages and open outdoor space. Bruce and I had picked up ponchos the evening before and we were so glad that we had, as even with the ponchos we were faiirrly well soaked to the core.
       
We made it about 45 hard-fought miles before we decided that it was getting late, we were starving, and we needed to camp.  At the beginning of the day we had seen so many lovely campgrounds we just assumed that we would come across one soon after we decided that it was time to set up camp.  Ummm... not so much.  We stopped at a small grocery store to pick up provisions, and backtracked to the last place that we had seen with a slightly dry spot for a tent, a bathroom, and a water source.  It was a bizzare place, some type of childrens museum out on the trail with no car access or parking to speak of.  We cooked our ramen under an art piece and staked our tent in the dry area below an underpass.  
    

Between the noise from the cars passing overhead, the trains next to us, and the wind and the rain it was definitely not a night of good sleep.

The next morning the rain had let up a little, so we cooked what we though was going to be breakfast cereal (it ended up tasting a bit like under-cooked cardboard with some chocolate milk mix thrown in, as Bruce had raided the free box at the hostel and taken lots of packets of different one-off things) and ate it with the instant coffee (the staple breakfast drink...to our surprise, not tea).  As we set out we found...wait for it.... a bunch of picturesque campgrounds just miles from where we camped. As it goes...

An aside here.  There are some frustrating things we are finding about touring in  probably any country in which one does not know the language.  1) It makes map reading very difficult.  2) Sometimes you aren't quite sure what you are eating.  3) You often don't know when food will come along, and where you are going to be able to find a place to stay. 
It takes a lot longer to do thngs than in the states, or even in a place where at least letters and words are recognizable. We have been practicing our two words of Korean now to comfort (hello and thank you, and those two took awhile) and I am excited to learn more.  I am trying to really pay attention to the character system so I can recognize some things.  I have guesthouse and bke down, for example.  Anyway, so far it has been fun learning and exploring, but can certainly be a challenge when you are looking for food and lodging.  Aside over.

The next day of riding ended up being a bit more of the same, through really pretty scenery but once agan in showering rain and headwind. We ran across an Aussie guy named Wayne on the route and had our first conversation that didin't need hand gestures and translation.  It was oddly comforting. We found a campground on a little island that was amazing, no one was there, we grabbed a little pagoda and threw our tent up next to it, we even had our own bathrooms. We hadn't ridden far, a little under 40 miles (but a lot foor the conditions) and I really pushed for us to stay as the uncertainty and the previous night made the decision rather easy.  We also needed to spend a little time working on Bruce's bike, it must've gotten thrown around pretty brutally at the airport as his derailleur hanger was bent, as was his rack.  


Day three- What an amazing day! We woke up at our lovely campground with no rain!  Our clothes had pretty much dried up since we had washed and set them out the evening before.  We choked down a weird noodle-concoction from the night before's leftovers and more nstant coffee and set out in the sun.

What a beautiful ride!  We passed through so much farmland, we saw peppers, rice, eggplant, peaches, apples and so much more.  South Korea is fascinating, as according to the Lonely Planet the population density is super-high but as 90% of people live in high-rises there is a ton of open green space, and it is so very green right now being the middle of the rainy season.  
  
Everyone has been so very friendly.  We have seen a lot of cyclists on the path, lots of "hi's" and waves, bells dinging, smiles and bows.  A fellow traveller named Kim bought us some fresh cold water at one of the many stops along the way, and when we went into Cheongju we stopped at a small bike shop.  The owner was beyond helpful and refused to charge us for a quick tune-up.  We recommend looking him up if you ever need in this area and need any bike help...
    

After a few more hours of picturesque riding, when we started looking for a place to staythe night....preferrably with a shower.  After one false start at an idyllic and exorbenantly priced "glamping" site we met Jack who took us to his brand new guesthouse, "Coco's", named for their shaggy black dog in the front yard.  He and his wife Jay filled us full of delicious traditional Korean food and we even got our first taste of Korean wine "Makgeolli" (it taste a little like bubbly sake, and it is often mixed with ginger ale...really nice treat.) 

Side notes:  I think we need to adopt the Korean way of keeping our bodies covered, as we've already got lots of sun and sunscreen is expensive here (or has skin whiteners).  Seriously, it's amazing how dedicated they are to staving off sun damage.  Many cyclist are in spandex head-to-toe, even masks that cover almost their entire faces.  They look like cycling ninjas.  

 So far I cannot recommend this trail enough despite a few blog posts we have read.  It is certainly not the most adventurous, but it is amazing to have a dedicated, well-marked bike-and-walk only trail through the whole country.  And South Korea is only adding to this trail system.  As we write they are creating new paths along the coastlines and all over the country. It feels like the govornment is willing to put it's collective money where it's mouth is in terms of the health of it's citizens.  There are little free excercise equipment areas everywhere along this path. Here's me looking super uncoordinated having a stretch.  And unlike what you might think, they are used a lot by the locals.
Until next time...talk again down the road.

Friday, July 10, 2015

Day 1,2,3- Seoul

We made it!  We had a 14 hour flight made a little more difficult by the United Airlines system outage (none of their systems worked for a few hours, the airport was packed with folks waiting to get on their flights, to United's credit they did a great job of getting folks organized and on their Uway when the system rebooted).  After a fairly sleepless overnight flight in which we caught up on the movies that we never needed to see in the first place (we are talking to you Longest Ride) we were in Korea!

!Bruce putting his bike together in the Seoul airport.


It felt amazing to stretch our legs, and already I am super impressed by the bike trail system in and around Seoul and the sheer number of people cycling here.  We got a little lost, and when we went to consult the map....uh, we accidentally grabbed the Korean language version.  Shoot.  Eventually our 13 mile bike ride turned into a 30 mile bike epic as we attempted to navigate through directions given to us by all the gracious but Korean speaking folks we stopped.  
Fields ringed by skyscrapers on the bike path.

And eventually, as it was getting past the time to check into our guesthouse, we found a subway stop, hauled our bikes and bags on the train, and got to the guest house at midnight.

Ahhhh, air conditioning! Our guesthouse, The Kimchee guesthouse (www.kimcheeguesthouse.com) in the Dongdaemun district feels a bit like paradise right now, air-conditioning, a nice firm bed, lots of food nearby, and our own bathroom.  So much so that we are staying an extra night to get ourselves sorted out for cycling on Sunday the 12th.


Yesterday, after a well-slept night for Bruce and a partially sleepless night for me (as per normal) we set out early for some food and a little sightseeing.  We happened into this cart and with a little help from a lovely passer-by we ordered some  delicious noodles.  Mmmm. After filling our bellies we wandered to visit my first Unesco world heritage site the Gyeongbogunk Palace. 
   

It was absolutely amazing. the architecture, hand-crafted wood pieces and paintings were stunning.  After wandering for awhile there, we walked through the Bukchon Hanok village (full of traditional houses) ended up touring through one of the houses where a historic, important Korean painter lived. Hot, a bit tired and hungry we made our way to the Namdaemun Market for some bimbibap, a traditional Korean dish of noodles, sauce, and egg served cold.  I'm getting a kick out of how every lady at a food stall gives me a fork when they see me trying to use chopsticks.  Not Bruce, he's apparently a master. :)



After lots of great site seeing we went to bed before 7pm...maybe we hadn't avoided the jet lag after all?!  Today we are going to work on sorting out our bikes.  It has been in  the high 90s here with humidity, tomorrow it will drop into the 80s with 100% chance of rain!  I'm actually looking forward to the cooler weather and starting our bike journey in earnest!

Our bikes!

So, this trip didn't start out as a bike trip.  We weren't quite sure what we were planning on doing, we new we wanted to go to Asia, we more or less decided backpacking would be the easiest way to get around, we hope to volunteer in Nepal for awhile.  But as I started to really plan the trip and started plannign the route (based on a highly scientific process of comparing ticket prices and weather patterns) I started  to realize that I spending a lot of time looking for places that we could cycle and rent bikes. Finally, we just decided that we really wanted to have bikes.  Initlially, our normal touring set-ups.  Then as we started looking into transporting bikes to and fro, we started to consider folding bikes.  We tried some used ones and the few new folding bikes that we could find in Portland, but we really wanted something that was going to be a bit burlier with more gears.  Bruce contacted Tern about some choices there, and after lots of back and forth about exactly what we wanted (do we need a generator hub? Would nine gears be suffcient? How much do we really want to spend?)  We decided to dget the Cadillac of the folding bike world (in our price range!) the Tern S27.  THis bike has all the bells adn whistles.   It has a highly adjustable handlebar that is super comfy. It has a generator hub for both front and rear lights and we added a USB port for charging things. Its got big fatty nice tires that will roll over everything (the are actually Schwalbe Big Apples if you are keeping track of such things).  It has both a front and rear rack that fit our normal Ortlieb bags with a little adjusting.  It's got disc brakes that stop on a dime.  It's also got a lot of cool little engineering pieces that make me think that Tern really ddid thiei homework.  The pump that lives in the seat, the stays on the rack to help keep your bags in place, etc.

So what is the price of all this awesomeness?  This little guy is ..well... not that little.  Its pretty heavy.  Moreso than our normal touring bikes but we decided that the extra bells and whistles that came with this bike are worth the trade off.  We could have gotten a more road-type folding bikee, but I already love how solid this bike feels and how it just has everything already there.  And we are not in a hurry, so we just going to enjoy the (slightly slower) ride...




Tuesday, July 7, 2015

One big sleep left...

Sorry about not keeping y'all up-to-date but Chiara and I have spent the last 2 days running around trying to finalize all those little, nagging unfinished bits that always consume the last few days before a big trip.  Some of said problems get resolved, some do not, but in the end of the day you board that great flying machine and it all gets left behind. 
So here we are...t-7 hours from departure, bags packed, good byes uttered.  Those little things begin to slowly melt into the ether as we realize what has been an impossible dream for so long. Tomorrow we leave for South Korea, the first leg of our journey. All the good energy and love from friends, family and even those we may have just met is propelling us forward on a wave of happiness. Thank you, thank you a thousand times to everyone. We hope you enjoy reading about our journey even a millionth as much as we will enjoy living it. 

Thanks to Clever Cycles for setting up our Tern bikes!



Friday, July 3, 2015

Chiara and Bruce are humbled and want to graciously thank all those that came out last night to celebrate with us.  We also want to apologize for being woefully under prepared for such a large turnout and appreciate everyone's willingness to adapt and have fun despite being short of all everything from plates to food and drink...in fact about the only things in plentiful supply were the smiling faces and good cheer of our fabulous friends and their children.  And having said that please allow us to make a special shout-out to Joey and his family for supplying the hit of the party...the Kiddie Pool!
Our only true regrets being that the wonderful outpouring of love from our friends was hard to repay.  We were regretfully unable to make the rounds and spend as much time with each of you as we would have liked.  We can only hope that you all understand how much we love you all and appreciate your friendship.  We can't wait to see you all again when we get back from our adventure when we will again eat, drink and share our tales.