It’s been a week now that I’m traveling by bicycle in South Korea. Well, I thought it will be easy…actually it’s not that easy. Heat, humidity, heavy rain, a few steep hills, are what I had during this week. And on the top of that I got lost a few times…not like a few extra kilometers, but more like 30-40k each time. This is what happens when you have a half brain, a half GPS and 0 Korean language skills. And I’m not done yet. Still have about 100k to Busan. 
The 4 rivers trail is quite enjoyable. It takes you through the Korean country side, along different rivers with those hills on the background. Landscapes are beautiful. I didn’t expect that from South Korea. The trail is pretty much well sign posted, but quite tricky at some point because the main trail crosses several others side tracks. This is how I got lost, because I can’t read Korean and my GPS shows me craps sometimes, I mean, often…It is mostly flat, but I had 4 memorable climbs. I did the first without pushing my bike. It was hard but manageable. When I arrived on the top, a group of cyclist saw me, with my fully loaded bike and they have applauded me…That was funny…after a quick chat, they offered me a massive lunch with a big can of beer! I was the happiest guy a the world…
So now, let’s talk about the weather. Ok, I picked the wrong season. I knew it. But still, I didn’t expect that…Riding under 30°C is quite OK for me. But the rain, quite heavy sometimes, the humidity, I just can’t. Or maybe I don’t have the appropriate gears for this kind of weather. My panniers are supposed to be « waterproof »…after a whole afternoon riding under the rain, my clothes were wet, my wallet was wet and my poor passport doesn’t look like a passport anymore. My rain jacket is not really « waterproof ». Quite annoying for a « rain » jacket isn’t it? But I am learning. Next time I’ll get better quality gears. You get what you pay, cheap is shit! haha!
Last point, my pushy. My dear little pushy, so reliable during the Albany-Melbourne trip, seems like a bit tired. Not a single puncture during the last trip. And here, 7 days, 2 punctures. The 1st one, fixed it in 30 minutes, easy. But the 2nd one I had today…god…! My pump didn’t fit the valve of my last inner tube for any reason. So I decided to patch the flat one, but every time the Tyre was flat again after 5 min…I was lost in the middle of nowhere, no one in the area, whereas there’s always a cyclist or 2, 32°C, out of water…my saver came after 3 hours. A aussie guy, living in Seoul. I borrowed his pump and 30 min later I was happy and on the road again. This was before the rain and the 2 last hills of the trail…
So yeah, this trip is quite emotional so far. It goes up and down and I am still learning. Even if I did 3600 k the last time, it seems like it’s my first bicycle touring…
thepenguinescapeplan 