Ibike Korea People-to-People Program
   
 

   

Photo essay: Seoul to Sancheon
    (50mi, 80km)  Start with a flat trail along the Han River; there are hills later.
Points of Interest: Bongeunsa Temple, Olympic Sports Complex, Han River Valley, Paldang Dam
  Bicycling in Gangnam, Seoul Bicycling in Gangnam, SeoulCycling out of the concrete jungle.  Seoul generally has heavy traffic so it is unpleasant to cycle on the major arterials, but if you know your way on the back streets and some of the lesser arterials, a bicycle can be a practical mode of transportation.
  Bicycling on the Han Rive bike trail Hangang bike trail, Seoul, KoreaOne of the nicest features of Korea's bicycle infrastructure are paths along rivers.  In Seoul, along the Han River, and several of its tributaries have wide, flat, car-free bicycle and pedestrian facilities.  You certainly don't realize that you are in a greater metropolitan area of more than twenty million people.  Around the country, there are hundreds of miles of non-motorized facilities along rivers.  For more discussion of non-motorized facilities in Seoul and Korea see Korean: Non-motorized transportations.
  Han River and Seoul in the mist Pallang Dam, Hangang, Seoul, KoreaLeaving the city in the distance mist, with Han River and Olympic Bridge.  Though is was overcast and grey in the morning, the clouds burned off and gave way to a sunny afternoon.

Through Seoul, from Inchon on the west to Pallang Dam (right) on the east, there is 70 km bike and pedestrian trail along the Han River.
  Korean grave site Graves tend to be isolated or in small family groups.  Typically they sit on a cleared bench part way up a hillside.  The mound is the grave, which is usually accompanied by an engraved stele.  Wealthier people will also have a variety of statuary.
  Small town retail street, Yangsoo Main retail street in Yangsoo.  Retail in Korea is almost exclusively small boutiques, so every shop in a small town has a different inventory and the street-scape is very diverse.  Window shopping is a delight.
  weekly market in Yongsoo The weekly market in Yongsoo.  Venders had produce, clothing, utensils and other manufactured goods.
  Scarecrow-type figures on the road side Fun figures on the road side.  They have some of the character of scarecrows but were in a cultivated field, so they must have been there to add fun to the road.
  Farm land, South Korea Greater Seoul is large, but it ends abruptly and the farm land begins.
  Gyeongchun River (a tributary of the Han River) Most of the first days ride is flat or rolling, generally following river valleys.  Although at this point the road parallels the Gyeongcheon River (a tributary of the Han River), it climbs a hill "to get to the other side" -- the downhill was as good as the uphill.
  Tea time Met this group stopping for a break.  They offered us tea and cookies but wouldn't take anything in return.  This foreshadowed the rest of the trip where roasted corn, apples, pears, persimmons, sweets, coffee, pine nuts, and various other treats were offered, without accepting anything in return.
  Small rural grocery store, Korea Another rest stop at a small rural grocery store.  It is always a bit of a mystery why bicyclists sit down after they have been sitting down all day, but it is nice to fell a different contour under you buns for a few minutes.
   
 

Travelogue Main PageTour InformationTour mapRegister for this tour
 

Please contact us if you would like to be added to Ibike's mailing list or have questions, comments, corrections or criticism. (Also, please let us know how you learned about us and found this site.) Privacy policy.

  IBF's Homepage           Ibike Programs            Search

"Hosted by ThinkHost - earth friendly web hosting"
Created by David Mozer
Copyright ©1993-2013 Ibike Tours. All rights reserved.