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.