130/190Kms Rides from myself and Murray D. this weekend on the northeast coast of South Korea. I arrived in Gangneung, Gangwon-do Province on Saturday, shortly after 12 noon and cycled in the rain up the coast to Sokcho. Murray had left Sokcho early Saturday [5am] and cycled north towards Ganseong, and hitched a ride with a Korean family [hospitable saying little of their generosity and welcome for him] and enjoyed the Observatory [Mt. Geumgangsan in North Korea] at the Unification Center [though the country remains deeply divided by the political/national boundaries since the Korean War 1950-1954). Murray doubled his mileage this weekend with a big push North. What became available were the quietude of the Northeast, including a Buddhist temple where Murray shared Cucumber Tea with a monk, and soaked in the wilderness and tranquility of a small corner of South Korea. The sea air was fresh, so that it's pungency washed my sinuses clean of the usual toxic dust I breathe back southwest of Seoul in Gyeongggi-do Province. The weather started off drizzly and then steady rain continued to fall, rendering my rubberized rain gear useless unless trying to trap water on the inside and sheltering off from the outside. I opted for cycling vest for a windbreak and warmth, and nylon/spandex sleeves, and the neon-orange-glow vest I found on the roadside a few weeks ago on the 313Km Hammer. The eastern coast of Korea is the place to see mountains, coast, and barbed-wire fortifications barricading North Korean invaders, or just keeping South Koreans from venturing out. There are long stretched of unspoiled coastal beaches, practically untouched due to the current, chronic friction with the political/military regime-dictatorship of North Korea. We cycled on oblivious of troubles that sunk this country into a terrible ordeal many years ago. The highway had signs labeled Asian Highway, projecting a inter-connected North & South Korea with China, Russia which is now a far away fairytale to say least. Cycling is a great way to stay in shape, build shape, and lose weight and stress accumulating from work in the grid/city/job/maintaining all of which to sustain a life in the world of many worlds in Korea. Cycling is the best part of my physical endurance training just to live a healthy life, each spin does wonders for the heart, health, and the soul.
