S2B: Seoul to Busan
It is not a race. Ep #1
Episode 7: Day 3 S2B (8.10.2019)
The much deserved good night’s sleep proved lifesaving. After the hotel’s complimentary breakfast, we were back on the roads again. We were pleasantly surprised that we were doing centurion rides on a daily basis without even a flinch. It does not mean that we are Centaurians or some kind of superbeings, but it shows the level the human spirit can go when the will is there. Our civilisation would not be here if not for the sheer grit of our ancestors.
It was a chilly morning at 12ºC. Draped with extra clothing, our first destination was the Ihwaryeong Rest Area which involved a good five kilometres of an upward climb. It was funny interplay being clammy in the inside (as we were fighting against the inclination with our machines, our baggage and ourselves) and the cold winds that were blowing on the outside. Off our tunics, we could shiver but inside we were drenched with sweat as adrenaline did its work.
What goes up must go down. That is what we told ourselves as we were cursing ourselves and pedalling uphill. Sure enough, it was almost freewheeling afterwards.
Next it a long ride to the Korean Bike Museum. Our navigator was all excited to visit their museum but, unfortunately, it was the exhibition was solely in the Korean language. Hence, we had to give it a miss.
Many of the rides took us through the countryside. It opened our eyes to the advanced level of agriculture and the amount of the country had invested in sports. All along our path, we witnessed so many greenhouses, exercise equipment, football fields, baseball pitches and even Astro turfs. It is sad to see a country which was way below us in the 60s as far as development was concerned, to have advanced by leaps and bounds while we, Malaysians, are just going in a retrograde manner. We are losing what we had and the sad thing is that our leaders, whom we elected, fail to see that others have overtaken first. We may have missed the bus but we think it is noble to crawl.
It was a long day today. We went through farms, fields, multiple picturesque bridges and passed through highways.
It is not a race. Ep #1
Episode 7: Day 3 S2B (8.10.2019)
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| Back on the road again... ©RS |
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| In Cloud Nine. ©FG |
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I was down there but Such a feeling is coming over me. There is a wonder in everything I see. The clouds in the sky and the sun that gets in my eye, I know it is not a dream. ©FG
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| You raised me up so I can stand on mountains. ©Bob |
Next it a long ride to the Korean Bike Museum. Our navigator was all excited to visit their museum but, unfortunately, it was the exhibition was solely in the Korean language. Hence, we had to give it a miss.
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| A stop at the Bike museum ©Bob |
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| Yeah, cycling is eco-friendly. ©FG |
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A view outside the Bike Museum in Sangju-si. Promoting cycling culture from young. Weather is also helpful. Here, one can cycle all day without stinking as some would say, without the odour of the working class. ©FG
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It was a long day today. We went through farms, fields, multiple picturesque bridges and passed through highways.
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| You serve the land, land serves you back! © FG |
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| Another common landscape ©HS |
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| Still water runs deep. ©FG |
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| The River of Life ©Bob |
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| The Korean Sunset in Gumi-si. A symbolic reminder of life. Twilight does not denote the absence of light but rather a need for an increase in visual acuity. ©FG |
End of Day 3.
Completed about 137km. (Total ~ 413km)
Completed about 137km. (Total ~ 413km)
Excellent "bicycle" journey from Seoul to Busan. I am sure all the participants enjoyed thoroughly and had a memorable trip. Cheers.
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