May 14, 2022
So close but yet so far: 오호리[Oho-ri]-통일전망대 인증센터(Unification Observatory Certification Center)-고성[Goseong]
We did it! We cycled the entire 동해안자전거길 (East Coast bike path)! I'll get a foil sticker in my passport for it, and Sunyoung will get a sticker to put on her helmet. What a deal!
Today was not only short, it also involved some backtracking. It turns out we didn't have to. One can only research so much. I knew we could get to 춘천[Chuncheon] from 속초[Sokcho]. I found out too late that there's also a bus from 대진[Daejin] (close to the DMZ) to 서울[Seoul]. More on that later.
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It was a beautiful morning, despite some strong headwinds. One lovely thing about looking at photos after the ride is that you can focus on the scenery. In the moment, we were often distracted and/or tired from fighting the wind. We accepted that we were going to be slow, but we still found ourselves cursing at times.
Once again, the path took us on all types of terrain. Some of it was not too fully-loaded-friendly.
As we approached the DMZ, reminders of its existence started to appear. This was a rail line that used to continue to North Korea.
Each new beach we rode along was more breathtaking than the last. Turquoise waters, rock formations, fine sand.
The man-made structures maintained their charm as we rode north. I was expecting things to get more dingy and depressing. Some beaches were empty, while others bustled.
The path cut through some rice farms on tractor roads. It was a nice change of scenery, but the winds were the worst here due to lack of trees. I feared being blown off the side of the road into one of the rice paddies.
We reached the old iron railway bridge of 북천철교[Bukcheoncheolkyo] and the second-to-last stamp booth. I assume this was the same rail line that we'd seen as a historic marker a few kilometers back.
The adventure of the day was this staircase/ramp combo that required lots of strength and braking power to negotiate. If that wasn't enough, there was a 무당[mudang] (shaman) wailing, banging a drum, and blocking the pathway at the bottom of the descent. You can just barely make her out in the photo below. She was accompanied by a woman who we assume was the 무당's client. You do not mess with a 무당. They are serious business.
I should mention here that the pannier I broke yesterday comes loose whenever I hit a large enough bump in the road. To prevent the other clip from breaking, or worse, to lose the pannier again (and perhaps run over it and crash), I dug out my supply of emergency cable ties. When installed at the correct angle, it secures the bag firmly to the front rack. The only hassle is cutting the cable tie when I want to remove the bag. A thick wire would be ideal. Bike touring mechanical issues are rarely solved in an ideal manner. Just have another look at my poor saddle!
Soon it was time for second breakfast! We had to weigh down anything light, or else it would fly away.
For the third day in a row, we enjoyed a curvy cruise along a rocky shoreline.
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The path took us on a dirt road that dumped us out near a lighthouse, so we walked our bikes up to it. The deck looked so inviting, and the views were so fantastic, that we decided to cook lunch here. It was a great choice. Very relaxing.
A couple kilometers later, we arrived at the last stamp stop. It felt a little anticlimactic stopping here. I knew we could go further, but we had no idea how much further before soldiers would force us to do an about-face. I do know that there is very little to see on that stretch of road. I also know that the wind was fiece and that we'd question our sanity if we continued. Instead, we put on a happy face and thought about the tailwinds that would assist us in our southbound ride.
I rang the peace bell! Perhaps I should have stood in front of it for a more attractive photo. I was thinking more about all those "photo zone" frame props I'd seen along the beaches.
As a consolation prize for not being able to ride to the observation tower, we stopped by 김일성's (Kim Il-Sung, the first and most revered president of North Korea) villa. There wasn't much to it, but the view from the rooftop was superb.
So about that bus to 서울[Seoul]. My research revealed a bus from 속초[Sokcho] to 춘천[Chuncheon], and we planned around that. My sister-in-law has some kind of deal with a brand that has a resort in 속초, so we had planned to spend our "contingency day" there. We can either take the bus to 속초 or ride there. It's less than 30km from here in 고성[Goseong] to the 속초 intercity bus terminal.
It would have been awesome to take a bus from almost the end of the path to 서울, and take the "bike train", which only runs on weekends, to 춘천 [Correction: there is no "bike train". I was thinking of one in Japan. The ITX trains to 춘천 have space for 8 bikes, but you have to reserve a ticket in advance, which a foreigner can only do by phone, or perhaps in person at the station]. Oh well. Things happen for a reason, and we will get to know 고성 and 속초 better as a result.
If we bike to 속초 tomorrow, I'll add an entry for it. Otherwise, see you all when we reach the 북한강자전거길[Bukhangangjajeongeogil] (North Han River bike path) in a couple of days!
Today's ride: 57 km (35 miles)
Total: 1,053 km (654 miles)
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