April 26, 2022
Insert "Seoul" pun here: 인천[Incheon]-양수[Yangsu]
Morning report: the weather forecast is magnificent. No rain, very comfortable temperatures, for days and days on end. This is what we dream of when we visit in the spring and fall. Fingers crossed!
We didn't sleep much. Usually we're fine with jet lag when we travel from east to west, but we're really feeling it this time. Maybe the excitement of starting the tour will get the adrenalin pumping. First we have to eat, get tested again, ride to the starting line, and get our bike passports. The sun sets before 7:30, and we'll be riding through the crowds of 서울[Seoul], so it'll be interesting to see how much progress we make today.
Evening report: our first day is done, and I sit here stunned at all we experienced. Let's walk through it together.
We tried getting breakfast before 7am, which meant convenience store food. We supplemented that with some kimbap a bit later on. We managed to withdraw some cash, and when the testing center opened at 9, we hopped over there and they were eager to help us. It was free, as we suspected, so we were able to save some money after all!
Then it was back to the hotel for a quick change, a slow packing ritual, and a ride to a nearby bike shop to tweak Sunyoung's front rotor. The fellow who helped us was awesome and refused to accept payment for his services. I always talk about how bike tours never fail to restore my faith in humanity. Add to that the overall generosity of the Korean people, and, well, this is going to be a very heartwarming adventure. We will do our best to be kind and gracious to everyone we meet.
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We finally made it to the Ara bike path around 10:30am, but then we had to backtrack a ways to reach the starting line, the passport vending machine, and the first 인증센터[injeungsaenteo] (stamp booth, literally "certification center").
It was great except for an industrial area that gave us a few street crossings:
After that, we spotted the tower in which the passports are being held captive:
Sunyoung decided that one passport would serve for both of us, or maybe it's that I'm the only one who's excited about this little game. Anyway, book in hand, we rode a couple hundred meters west to the first booth.
See, this is pretty fun, isn't it?
Next it was time to take each other's photos at the starting line:
We got to see a few kilometers twice as we headed east again, then we got to see some new stuff:
An 80-year old (!) cyclist struck up a conversation with Sunyoung as we were riding. He still credit-card tours all the time. We may run into him again on our way to 부산[Busan]! Anyway, he recommended a lunch place for us, where we both enjoyed a nice cold meal:
Then it was back to the path to collect more stamps. The phone booths all look alike, and if not for the locations printed on the top, I'd never be able to tell them apart.
The path was absolutely beautiful the whole way through 서울 and 하남[Hanam]. It wasn't too crowded, but there was enough activity for us to feel like we were a part of something. We crossed the 팔당대교 (Paldang bridge), and while the tarmac was still uniformly excellent, we knew we had entered a different world. We passed a few exotic coffee houses and a lot of these places where families dine outdoors on their own covered decks. It really is a lovely experience, but it isn't cheap.
We were ready to call it a day, but there was no lodging and we had to keep pushing forward. We encountered our first tunnel at the famous 팔당댐[Paldang Dam]:
The last stamp of the day was dry, but I managed to squeeze enough out of the ink pad to keep from having to dig ours out:
We were tired and hungry when we reached 양수리[Yangsu-ri]. We found a super cheap motel and headed to the nearest 편의점[pyeonaejeom] (convenience store) for snacks and a beer. I chose this craft lager that did not disappoint:
So yeah, it was a super long day all told, and we fell just short of a metric century, but it should also speed up our acclimation to the time zone. We'll start earlier tomorrow, so we'll have more time to smell the roses. Today was fantastic and tomorrow should be, too!
Today's ride: 99 km (61 miles)
Total: 102 km (63 miles)
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