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.

Now or never!

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 2 S2B (7.10.2019)

Going Korean? ©FG

With a good night rest after the ever-smiling hostess’ simple Korean dinner that she dished out in a jiffy when we arrived at her doorstep all sweaty and hungry, we started grinding for the day. 

Here in the northern part of South Korea, our observation was that Korean food comprises the main dish which could be pork or beef accompanied with little carbohydrate in the form of a small bowl of rice or noodle with their standard accompaniments - kimchi, cabbage pickled with spice, radish in vinegar and leafy vegetable which tastes like water hyacinth (kangkung) sauteed with spiced chilled and pickled little chilly. In Busan, being a coastal city, seafood is favoured.

We had another ambitious plan to cover at least 100km today. 

The day greeted us with cold showers with the temperature hovering at around 19 ºC. In fact, it accompanied us all through the way to our next destination, North Chungcheong, the hot springs town. 

The mountains, trees and rivers must be screaming with stories to tell ©FG

The rivers and mountains which accompanied our journey must have witnessed empires and kingdoms rise and fall. It must be sneering to Seven Samurais (@jokers) who hail from to thrash her boys in football and how her sons have risen. The ride took us through the picturesque, still standing Korean countryside. The hills are still green with no signs of being flattened. The only sign of industrialisation seems to be the numerous massive bridges that span over the wide rivers. 

A typical certification centre ©FG

We had to make detours here and there to get our ‘passports’ stamped.  Completion of the stamping would entitle us for a completion medal. The trails were purposely paved in such as to showcase all the different landscapes of the Korean countryside. At the same time, there were many areas with scanty directions for non-Korean natives. On top of Google map does not work well, and their Naver map is wanting of a thorough overhaul. Perhaps, it was done on purpose. On a different note, when we read about the evolution of GPS technology, we are told that there was a concerted effort to make it inaccurate to prevent abuse. With North Korea's Rocket Man hot on their trail, are we surprised? 

As true mature Malaysians who had spent time in the pre-Iranian revolution inspired new-Malaysia, we could help but compare our country to Korea. The Koreans are very industrious people. Everyone seems to be engaged in some kind of economic activity. They do not rely on foreign labour. They do not sit around like a lump of protoplasm, feeling grandiose like a special selected God-chosen breed barking orders down on their slaves. They work.

Many Greenhouses are seen in the interior. No Bangladeshis, Indonesians or Myanmarese were needed in the plantation sector. ©FG

Thanks to our Chief Navigator and input from members of the FB group Seoul to Busan and Beyond (SBB), the directions made more sense. ©Bob

Another sight for sore eyes. Signboards announcing the arrival of a certification centre usually shows up about 2km before the booth. After cycling for kilometres on end, the centres are our resting points, albeit for a quick drink, stamping and leg stretch. ©FG

Another familiar icon that sustained our caloric needs.

It was indeed nice to see 'Nice to CU'-CVS (Convenience Stores).

Spread sporadically in bigger townships, it carries many essential basic items, instant noodles, beverages and bread. 

The Hotspring Town - Chungju-si

It took us almost 7 hours to complete the treacherous journey.  Riding in the rain, against the wind, and sometimes perpendicular to the direction of the blow just bogs one down. Suddenly, out of nowhere, emerged a town, known for its hot springs.

The Chosun Tourist Hotel was our chosen place to unwind. They were willing to use a conference room to park our vehicles!

Ad pix - Chosun Tourist Hotel in Chungji-us.

Comfortable, cosy with breakfast and a free spa. Gave the spa a miss as it was customary to bathe in the nude from a shared bathing pool. The Koreans, like the Japanese, treated cleansing a divine duty to the body.

End of Day 2.

Completed about 105km. (Total ~ 276.3km)

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

The time is now!

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

Episode 6: Day 1 S2B (6.10.2019)

In fact, the actual journey from Seoul to Busan (or Pusan as it is referred to locally) started unceremoniously on Sunday 6th with the team pushing off at around 7.50 am after packing up. We took the 6th as the first day of our ride as we were still in Seoul.

Our accommodation for the night was enjoyable. It was named Sopoong House situated in Seodaemun-go, in the heart of town. It housed all 7 of us in bunk beds and complete with basic amenities, heater, three showers and a kitchen. Worth the price.

First, we needed to get out of town. Getting out was much easier than coming in the night before. GPS was in tip-top form and riding was easy. Getting back on the trail was much less complicated than the night before. In just about 15 minutes, we were back on the road to Busan.

Surprisingly, all the trash of the previous night were nowhere to be seen. The council workers must be so efficient or the citizens were so civil minded that they cleaned up themselves. And people were already out in droves to do their morning workout.

It is amazing that exercise is a big thing in Korea. Everybody seems to be either cycling or walking in the middle of nowhere. Again it could be a biased observation as we were on a bicycling path, for heaven’s sake. One rarely see Koreans moving in big families. It looks people usually move in small groups; even the old go unaccompanied and independent.

The traffic became thinner and thinner on the track as we got further away from Seoul. To grace our arrival were eye-soothing views of rows after rows of mountains, greenery and rivers.

Skyscrapers lined riverbanks, a common sight along our journey along Seoul and Busan.©Bob

Many humungous bridges traversed rivers along the Korean peninsula. Each bridge it seems is characteristically different looking. Their expertise back home must have enticed Malaysia to build the Penang Bridge. ©FG

The fluffy clouds in various shades of grey, the shades of azure of the sky and the peeking sun form a good backdrop for a perfect picture. © FG

The cool breeze and the soft rustling of leaves © FG.

The temperature was getting hotter hovering around 22C. Along the way, we came in touch with a Korean American lone rider, Ju-On, who was also heading to Busan. After a little sparring, chasing and teasing, we parted ways. He had planned to go further.

The convenience shops, GS25 and Nice to CU, were our go-to places for quick stops for replenishment. © RS.

Ju-On, the American cyclist who sparred with us for a while. He completed the 630km journey solo in 5 days. 

All along our ride, we cannot help it but think how Korea had developed so much. From a country which had been the punching bag for ages, she has bloomed. When Russia fought Japan, the winner would take over Korea. When China went to war with Japan, Korea was the booty. In the 1950s, they were ravaged by civil war and were relegated to basket-case status. Even when Malaya gained independence, the Korean GDP was a fraction of the Malayan. But look at them now, rivalling and perhaps overtaking some of their conquistas. We, sadly, seem to be running the race in reverse fashion; messing up and destroying every institution that our colonial masters had left for us to manage. In place of merit and strive for excellence, we seem to be complacent with mediocrity. 

Yet another fancy bridge.

The route was kind of flat but the hot weather was taking a toll on us. Nevertheless, we managed to cover a good 100 over kilometres for the day.

Our eyes grew heavy as the lights grew dim, we had to stop for the night.  We settled for a guest house at Yeoju-gun. The owner was initially reluctant to take us in initially as she was tied up with prior commitments. A cyclist, maybe her friend or business partner practically twisted her hand to put us up for the night. The sweet smiling hotel owner even went as far as to whip up a quick Korean dinner to douse our hunger pangs.

Our stay for Night 2

End of Day 1.

Completed about 120km. (Total ~ 170km)

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