{"id":4779,"date":"2013-09-19T09:23:26","date_gmt":"2013-09-19T07:23:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/?p=4779"},"modified":"2020-01-02T06:25:16","modified_gmt":"2020-01-02T11:25:16","slug":"riding-the-rivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2013\/09\/riding-the-rivers\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Rivers Ride"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"korea<\/p>\n

4 Rivers Bicycle Trail from Seoul to Busan<\/h2>\n

I followed the link and discovered a bike trail linking Busan (where we\u2019d arrived on the ferry from Japan) to Seoul (where we needed to get to in order to sort out Philippine visas and a new passport for Eric).<\/p>\n

Could it really be so easy?\u00a0 Why hadn\u2019t we heard of Korea\u2019s cycle routes?\u00a0 We\u2019d checked out a few Crazy Guy on a Bike blogs and only heard about hills (we\u2019d had enough of those in Japan) and heavy traffic.<\/p>\n

This bike trail business sounded too good to be true.\u00a0 But there it was\u2026we could hop on the Nakdonggang river trail just outside of Busan, then we\u2019d switch to the Saejae River trail, after that on to the Namhanggang and finally we\u2019d follow the Han River right into the center of Seoul.<\/p>\n

\"So
So many bike patch criss-crossing Korea. Once the word gets out, I’m sure the country will be swarming with cycle tourists.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

South Korea: Bicycle Touring at its best<\/h2>\n

Our Japan tour got off to a less than auspicious start (note to self: never again cycle heavily populated urban corridors like Osaka-Tokyo).\u00a0 The rain, heat, humidity and terrifying tunnels had taken a toll on morale.\u00a0 Korea HAD to be fun.\u00a0 A nice easy ride along the river ways might be the recipe for rediscovering why we have devoted a big chunk of our lives to two-wheeled travel.<\/p>\n

Busan\u2019s a big city.\u00a0 The metropolitan area has a population of 4.5 million.\u00a0 The first thing that struck us was the hustle and bustle of city life.\u00a0 In Japan, things were always pretty sedate.\u00a0 In Korea, people jostled in the busy markets and sellers called out to potential customers.\u00a0 Outside the posh shopping districts, the city had a gritty edge to it.\u00a0 Our kind of place.<\/p>\n

Koreans are less shy and inhibited than the Japanese and strangers often come up to chat.\u00a0 Getting directions poses no problem in such a well-wired country.\u00a0 EVERYBODY totes a smart phone and they\u2019ll gladly pull up Google maps and point you in the right direction.\u00a0 And Koreans are CRAZY about cycling.\u00a0 The whole country has taken up mountain biking with fervor.\u00a0\u00a0 On our fully-loaded machines, we almost feel like rock stars at times.\u00a0 Locals cheer as we pass and shout encouragement such as \u201cyou are great!\u201d\u00a0 Our self-esteem is not floundering. \u00a0And, yes, it\u2019s FUN to cycle in Korea.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A safe place to sleep is usually top on the list of a cycle tourist’s basic needs. Korea probably ranks as our new number one place for ease of camping. These beautiful gazebo-like structures are found all over the country. They are great for camping when it rains ( and boy has it rained since we hit Korea!) Toilet facilites are not quite as nice as in Japan, but still clean and tidy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
This was our first day riding in Korea through the outskirts of Busan. The bike path was in excellent condition and pretty easy to follow.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
90 percent of Koreans live in high-rise tower blocks just like these. Luckily, you don’t see much of this bland urban scenery when you follow the bike path. In fact, the river rides skirt the cities almost entirely. The only drawback is that you have to pop off the path to find a supermarket. Sometimes it’s a little tricky finding your way back.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
The Korean government has invested massively in cycle routes. There are many stretches like this one built right out over the water. The train tracks grip the mountainside and beyond, a busy road chocked with traffic. On the bike path, life couldn’t be more serene.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
If you slip off the bike path and wander around any city or town sooner or later you’ll stumble upon a bustling market. Women display colorful vegetables and the smell of kimchi permeates the air.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Small towns like this remind me of life in China whereas the big cities have all the glitz of Tokyo. Villages are often inhabited by only the elderly. The younger generation all want office jobs and smart phones.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
A lot of farming appears to be pretty small scale and much of the work seems to be done by hand. On one steep section of road we came across a woman who looked to be in her 70’s hunched over under a large sack of potatoes. She was obviously used to such loads and didn’t seem to mind the work, but I couldn’t help feeling a bit sad that younger family members weren’t there to lend a hand.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Those pancake-flat cycle trails didn’t last forever. A number of short steep climbs left us gasping for breath.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
This section offered two options: MTB and Road Bike. Guess which one we ended up on? it was a beautiful ride, but when we were way on top looking down below at the easy option ,a tiny tinge of regret bubbled up.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Th closer we approached Seoul, the busier the bike route became. There are lots of newbies on the road, like this duo who were attempted their first puncture repair.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
This is the highest point on the ride between Busan and Seoul. it’s just over 500 meters but the local cyclists all get very excited about ‘the big climb’ and whip out their smart phones to commemorate the accomplishment. We thought we better snap a few photos just to fit in with the crowd.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Naturally, there are temples and all sorts of cultural attractions to visit along the way.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
There are lots of nice people to meet, too. This police officer cycled over on our first day just as we were setting up camp in the Busan suburbs. He was very friendly and even decided to turn a blind eye to the fact that we were cooking in the park. In spite of his limited English, he was a great communicator. When we didn’t understand his English pronunciation he would spell the words. The other shots are of church families who spontaneously hosted us for the night. Really nice people who all spoke excellent English.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Before we reached Seoul, there were even a few tunnels to conquer! Not the terrifying kind, these are cyclist only.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
The riverside bike trails in Korea are even better than I imagined. The only thing missing is that element of adventure. It kind of feels like a holiday.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

4 Rivers Bicycle Trail from Seoul to Busan I followed the link and discovered a bike trail linking Busan (where we\u2019d arrived on the ferry from Japan) to Seoul (where we needed to get to in order to sort out<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[199,49],"tags":[25,330],"yoast_head":"\nFour Rivers Ride - Worldbiking.info<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2013\/09\/riding-the-rivers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Four Rivers Ride - 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