Time flies when you are having fun!

S2B: Seoul to Busan

It is not a race. Ep #1
Meet the P-stars. Ep #2
Fighting the demons! Ep #3

Bare necessities that we need! Ep #4

7 Samurais set to go! ©Bob

The day is here! Ep #5

The time is now! Ep #6

Time is a river of passing events. Ep #7

Episode 8: Day 5 S2B (10.10.19)

Resolved to end the tour today, we made an early start, at the first sign of daylight. At least, that is what we thought. By the time we saddled up and tightened up a few loose ends, it was 0630 by the time we left our bike motel. 

It was a chilly morning, slightly windy and foggy at 7C. Everything was going on fine for the first half of the day. 

Korea decided to save the best for the last. She took us through multiple hills, some as steep as 13%. We managed most of the hills except for a few which proved too long too strenuous.

The world of Maya. The cloud-like fluffy structure in the bottom half of the picture is the early morning condensation of water above the river surface. ©HS

The struggle between Nature and Man started to prove a yo-yo. The hills at Changnyeong-gun was a sight to behold. The view of the light of the rising sun against a backdrop of mist-covered mountains and river gave the illusion as we were in high heavens. 

Born to be free in the meadows but creepy crawlies. ©FG.

The Duel between Man and Nature: Sometimes Nature wins! ©MM

After giving a bit, she tested us. One, but all us, took a wrong turn. With 3 punctures to repair, because of the wrong turn that took us through a gravel-filled path that took us through farms, we were delayed by two hours flat. 

Even our designated high priest thought he had lost his mojo when we found everything going the wrong way. With the patchy GPS signals in Korean language, by a twist of fate we somehow finally managed to get to the next certification centre. 

A breath of fresh air. Second last certification centre in the pipeline. ©FG

The body was aching and the muscles were fatigued but one resolve in each of minds to complete the course pulled us through. We pedalled through the gruelling heat and the mid-afternoon sun at about 20C.

Finally, at about 5.30pm, the Gods took pitied us and finally landed us at Nakdong River Culture Pavilion, the final destination. 

I am still standing, on the ground. ©Bob.

Three months of planning, weeks of training and many man-hours in research, we finally completed our mission. Shaken but not stirred, we were already planning our next trip, perhaps next year. 

We did it! ©RS

End of Day 5.
Completed about 140km. (Total ~ 675.15km) due to detours and off-course tracks, to and from accommodation and meals.

I cycled 675km and all I got is a gold-plated medal plus a piece of paper bearing my name and I had to pay for it! But it comes with bragging rights and something to talk about for a long long time.©FG.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Time is a river of passing events.

S2B: Seoul to Busan

It is not a race. Ep #1

Meet the P-stars. Ep #2
Fighting the demons! Ep #3

Bare necessities that we need! Ep #4

The day is here! Ep #5

The time is now! Ep #6

Time and tide. Ep #7

Episode 8: Day 4 S2B (9.10.2019)

After knocking ourselves out in slumberland at Zone Hotel in Gumi, North Gyeongsang, in what we call a ‘love motel’, we hit the saddle again. The love motel was the closest that came by when we hit Gumi all weary yesterday evening. Yet a sumptuous simple Korean dinner came in front of us when we entered a restaurant, told the chef to surprise us in rudimentary caveman sign language and grunts. 

0830, back to the grinding mill. 

Weather was generally beautiful today with the sun was out by 7am. The temperature was cool at 7ºC and slightly windy. We were fine, and we had a feeling that something good was on our way. Hence, we set to do 120km for the day. 

The sun peacocking around with nature's palette of colours. ©FG

Just to burst that feel-good bubble, one hour into the journey, one of our cyclists busted his back tyre. That misadventure set us back by an hour, but after sorting out the tubes, we were back on the roads again. The landscape was forgiving. The terrain was mostly flat with occasional sharps climbs, some as steep as 13%.

We came across a few mammoth structures along the way. 

Lunch was ramen mee with the usual Korean accompaniments, kimchi, bean sprouts, spiced kangkung, pickled radish etcetera in a shop off Dalseon-bo. 

When in Korea, eat what Koreans eat.
 - kimchi noodle! ©FG

All through our expedition, with the luxury of time and a plethora of visual stimulations, we had the pleasure in indulging in the art of people watching. Mind you, this did not include stalking or voyeurism. It just involved astute observations. On the outset, it was evident that the typical Korean’s choice of colours would make a fashion designer cringe. On the roads, we rarely saw cars with colours other than the sobering white, grey, black or anything appearing near-black. The vehicles were mostly Korean made with an occasional glimpse of Audi and Mercedes. 

In the towns, the people are mostly dressed up (as compared to most metropolitan cities where denizens are dressed down or are seen in different stages of being undressed). Maybe because it was autumn, the colours of choice were white, black and shades of thereof. And they were plain - no screaming flowers motifs or ‘in your face’ loud T-shirts with profanity. The most provocative ‘T’ that came to my attention was one which read ‘anti-social social club’. Go figure. 

Another ambitious artwork by K-water at a dam in Cheongnyeong-gun. ©FG

Generally, they were friendly, and despite the handicap of language, they go beyond the call of duty to help the visitors of their country to their level best. Very interesting. They manufacture things that make the West squirm and have developed so rapidly economically mimicking and even surpassing the West, but they give a damn about the lingua Franca of the modern world, English. Paradoxically they yearn to be in sync with the latest trends in dressing. But then, the K-pop groups are their role model, and the K-pops cater to the world. Deep inside, they must be telling the rest of the world, “you need us more than we need you! Live with it.” 

We had a bizarre thought that everyone in Korea had the same plastic surgeon. Almost everybody had the same eyelid appearance and the same perfectly contoured nose with the similarly coloured lips. If you want to see the original Korean facies, run down to Jagilchi Fish Market to see the local fishmongers. 

Apparently, the demand for plastic surgery is so high and well developed that many a time we saw people in restaurants eating their meals with plaster on the face, presumably the first post-surgical meal. Just guessing! 

When the sun goes down in Hapcheon-gun. ©FG.

A few stops at the certification centres, we reached a small town named Hapcheon-gun. It is a town where its folks were more than eager to usher in into the numerous bike motels. It appears like they survive on tourists. 

Plenty a room at a Bike Motel in Hapcheon-gun. No nice surprise. ©FG

Again another surprise from a non-English speaking restauranteur. This time it was Busan Fried Chicken and spicy fried chicken.

So it was decreed, after much deliberation, that tomorrow would be our last day and tomorrow’s journey would be the last league. Another ambitious plan of 120km was in the pipeline. Let us see what happens.

End of Day 4.

Completed about 120km. (Total ~ 533km)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Time and tide...

S2B: Seoul to Busan

It is not a race. Ep #1

Meet the P-stars. Ep #2
Fighting the demons! Ep #3

Bare necessities that we need! Ep #4

The day is here! Ep #5

The time is now! Ep #6

Episode 7: Day 3 S2B (8.10.2019)

Back on the road again... ©RS

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.

In Cloud Nine. ©FG

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.

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

You raised me up so I can stand on mountains. ©Bob

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.

A stop at the Bike museum ©Bob

Yeah, cycling is eco-friendly. ©FG

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

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.

You serve the land, land serves you back! © FG

Another common landscape ©HS

 Still water runs deep. ©FG

The River of Life ©Bob

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)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Off to Korea!!!

S2B: Seoul to Busan