Garmin Busan

[Beverly Friddle]

Iwas 1 km from the summit of what I thought was that last climb of the day. I was feeling good about the prospect of meeting the rest of the group at the lunch stop on time, possibly even ahead of schedule. Then, I felt the gradient rising sharply. The numbers on my head unit started ticking up: nine per cent, 10, then quickly 14 and 15 per cent as my cadence and forward progress slowed. With about 400 m to go to the summit, the computer flashed 18 per cent, before we settled on the 16 per cent range. I guess our guide had a good reason for wanting to shuttle the group most of the way to Busan on our final day of riding.

After I had assembled my bike in the morning, I headed out for a shakedown ride. I got caught in heavy traffic, but then made a beeline for the river. The Hangang cycleway was completely and pleasantly segregated from the traffic and commotion of Seoul roads. Even late on a weekday morning, I saw a huge number of cyclists out, multiple pelotons of Rapha- and Maap-clad riders, along with plenty of more recreational cyclists on a wide variety of steeds.

The next day, we pedalled a flat 30 km out of Seoul along the Hangang bike path. Our route parallelled the river, but we started to ride higher along the banks, giving us better views of the surrounding area. I saw a different side of South Korea, a contrast to the Blade Runner-like cityscape of Seoul as the scenery turned from dense thickets of skyscrapers to serene countryside and quiet roads. Since it was fall harvest, golden rice-paddy fields flanked the roads. If you swapped those fields for olive groves or vineyards, what I saw could pass for the roads and villages of Italy. Most of the route from Seoul to Busan lies in valleys that are surrounded by hills and mountains in all directions. That elevation beckoned me.

How to get there

Air Canada has daily flights to the Incheon International Airport, near Seoul. Direct flights are available from both Toronto Pearson International Airport and Vancouver International Airport.

Where to find support

There are many bike shops throughout Seoul, but Bike Makes Me Happy (bikemakesmehappy.com) is a must for visiting cyclists. You can pick up any last-minute supplies you need. The proprietors Erica Kim and Hacheon Park are friendly, speak excellent English and have a wealth of inside information. Just try to not get too distracted by the collection of beautiful No. 22 and Richard Sachs custom bikes on display.

While you can go the DIY route for cycling in South Korea, Canadian tour operator TDA Global Cycling (tdaglobalcycling.com) runs fully guided tours from Seoul, South Korea, to Sapporo in Japan. For local support, Teamax Adventure (teamaxadventure.com) has everything from fully guided tours to self-guided tours and support vehicle services by the day, to suit your needs.

Navigation know-how

Google Maps has limited functionality in South Korea, only offering reliable real-time routes for public transport. There are two popular map apps, Naver and Kakao, that South Koreans rely on, but both require some passing know-ledge of Korean. Apple Maps works decently well for getting around if you are using an iPhone. For navigating with your Garmin device, I found it best to download a base map from OpenStreetMap (garmin.bbbike.org).

3a8082e126