CYCLING THROUGH KOREA

I am writing this post ride but keeping it to the point...go to THE FINAL THOUGHT PAGE for more post ride suggestions on things to consider. I also covered a lot of the preparation in my blog page so check that out as well.

 

If you're the type like me that loves maps and needs to be looking at a map at all the time, then you definitely need to print out the detailed map provided by the Korea Tourism website here. It will take up quite a bit of printer time and ink so do it at work. If you're the "let's wing it" type, well you shouldn't have any problem really...the route can be a bit confusing at times with the alternate routes and detours but as long as you are cycling south and along the big river you should be fine. However, if you want to collect the stamps then you should at least research where the booths are along the way and on which side of the river.

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So the idea for the trip came from my Kiwi buddy Tori. I had heard about the 4 Rivers Cycling Road before, but I never looked into it too much. I figured it wouldn't be too difficult since Korea and Japan are very similar as a country in terms of geography and infrastructure; there would be plenty of places to stay in the towns and the language barrier wouldn't be too difficult. We bought our tickets in December 2017 and planned for end of May 2018. Korea gets really hot and humid during the summer so we wanted to avoid that as well as the cold winters. We figured two weeks is enough for the ride and it was perfect; obviously we would have loved to spend more time there, but if you're just doing the Incheon to Busan one way only then two weeks should do it. Post ride, we averaged out to 40 miles/64 km a day...some days will be longer, others will be a bit shorter. 

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As I mentioned already, Korea and Japan are pretty similar so we figured we could get away with camping anywhere along the river. So I brought the usual gear consisting of tent, sleeping pad and sleeping bag. I brought a summer 650 down bag and I was fine the whole time. I packed my bicycle, helmet, sleeping pad and bag, panniers and tools into the cycling bag. I brought a daypack and small duffel as carry on with clothing. Below is the list of stuff I packed:

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Bicycle

Helmet

Panniers

Tool bag strapped to top tube

headlamp

Sleeping bag/air pad/air pillow

Bicycle bag

Duffel bag

Jacket

Mid layer long sleeve shirt

Long sleeve dry wick shirt x2

T-shirt dry wick x2

Shorts and Pants x1 each

undies x2

socks x3

cycling jersey short and long sleeve x1

cycling pants short and long x1

cable and lock

pocket stove and pot <never used, my opinion is you don't need...food is relatively cheap in Korea and readily available along the route.

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I forgot my rain poncho, it rained the first day of the ride and I got soaked...but after that it would've been useless.

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