warm winter

Took a bicycle for a ride after nearly two months due to worsening hemorrhoids. In the meantime, autumn had passed, and winter had arrived. The leaves had already withered and died, turning brown in the calm, wintry landscape. Unlike typical winter weather, it was really warm over the weekend. Took carefully a short route so that the hemorrhoid symptoms could not get worse during cycling. Personally, winter and autumn are the best season for outdoor activities, thanks to the comfortable dryness without  sweating. 

New bridge has been completed next to the current Seongju 성주 bridge crossing the Nakdong 낙동 river. Arrived there to find the new one had not yet been open to traffic, so crossed its empty bridge road without any disturbance. Because the bridge was the destination or turning point, returned back, taking other road southwards after crossing the bridge.

Winter view of bicycle trail along the Nakdong river on the way to Hwawon resort 화원 유원지 and Samunjin 사문진 bridge. On the right, the Nakdong river and its riverside road on the way back to Daegu 대구 via Dasan 다산.

soothing autumn

Have not been able to cycle for the last three weeks so that hemorrhoidal symptoms could become worse over time. The prolonged friction between the saddle and the anal region while cycling is likely to have irritated and worsen the hemorrhoidal symptoms. Not riding a cycling could help relieve the pain much, and hemorrhoid toilet seat and medication effectively soothe it. 

With the deepening of autumn, took a walk around Dalseong marsh 달성 습지 instead of riding a bicycle, which offers a more relaxed atmosphere. 

coastline & fields

With the autumn progressing, got around the coastline, mountain area and rural countryside in Yeongdeok 영덕 region in the east. Almost one year since the last visit. Got up early in the morning to avoid the traffic jam and arrived at the parking lot of Namjeong 남정 township office near the sea and got started. It was partly sunny then mostly cloudy skies, while the temperature was likely to dip below 20°C.

The trail for cyclists and hikers along the seashore or highway is well managed and being maintained partly. The coastal views on the way to Ganggu 강구 was beautiful enough to attract a passer-by, so should often stop to take photos. The coastal road was less busy in the morning.

Many sea food restaurants along Ganggu fishing harbor are open in the morning. It used to be a plain and small fishing village but now is famous nationwide for snow crabs and sea food, and lots of visitors are crowded every weekend. By way of that harbor, headed up north along the coastal road, turned on the left at some fishing village en route, went uphill to cross a mountain pass to get Yeongdeok on the other side. 

Cycled downtown Yeongdeok and kept going west, crossing rivers, rice fields and apple orchards. Finally, reached at the road to Okgye 옥계. The way to Maeti mountain pass 매티재, the last one to cross before heading Namjeong, diverges to the left. It has steep uphill stretches as experienced in the last year, so Jaeho was supposed to challenge it once again. Fortunately this time, it wasn't as hard as last time when he was pushing up the hill. About half an hour later, Jaeho was rewarded with a long downhill section after struggling to cycle non-stop to the top of the hill. Safety is the first, rode down excitedly but safely. The autumn rural scenery was very peaceful and beautiful. 

typical autumn

The paddy fields are turning greenish-yellow. It was such a typical autumn weather and perfect day for a leisurely bicycle ride. The cool breeze takes away sweat and evaporates it quickly. The route started in the parking lot of Iseo 이서 township office, passing through the rural area outside the south Daegu, navigating around the winding roads in the countryside. In antient times, a tribal country, whose name was Iseo guk 이서국, was located around Iseo and Cheongdo 청도 area.

Cheongdo eupseong 청도 읍성 fortress. Eupseong refers to a walled town surrounded with a fortress wall. Local government offices, governor's residence and commoner's houses were inside. That was built in 1590 in order to defend itself from a Japanese invasion and has been recenty restored after having been abandoned for ages. 

View of reservoir from the crest of Seonggok 성곡 dam near Punggak 풍각. In the north Cheongdo, a Buddhist temple, Deok 덕, is nestled in the middle of hill, overlooking the railway bridges on the way between Busan & Seoul. Historically, a castle used to be located around the hill range surrounding the site of the temple. In those days, Silla 신라, another tribal country in Gyeongju 경주 area sit to the east and the two had struggled to seize regional hegemony, resulting in military tension and continuous battles. Finally, the last battle between Silla and Iseo armies was fought here. After fierce fighting, Silla army captured the castle in 297 A.D. and then the tribal country, Iseo, was collapsed.

day trip to Seoul🌻

Last Sunday, visited Seoul 서울 to attend a wedding of a close relative's daughter. It was for the first time to visit Seoul in over 7 years. Reserved a round trip ticket for KTX train but a few days ago before departure, with a strike by railroad  workers, the cancellation notice for the ticket for returning back from Seoul was texted in advance, so managed to reserve it quickly again. 

Looked outside the window and saw the paddy fields gradually turn deep yellow as the bullet train runs northwards. Took less than 2 hours Dong Daegu 동대구 to Seoul station. The scenery around Seoul station was nearly as it used to be. But a big difference was the station was busy with lots of foreigners with a variety of skin colors, alighting and departing there. 

Took a taxi to go to a hotel around Itaewon 이태원 where the wedding ceremony was held and arrived at the front of hotel while talking with the taxi driver. Got on the elevator up to the 3th floor wedding hall. Happy to hang out with the relatives again that they haven't seen in a long time. As soon as the ceremony finished, left for the station after saying goodbye. Couldn't afford to eat lunch and spend time before the scheduled departure. On the return, time to rest and relaxed on the train. Mission complete!

early autumn

Parked Cheongtong 청통 township office and got around the northeastern countryside area of Yeongcheon 영천 region. The paddy fields slowly turn yellowish, grapes and apples are ripening. Autumn is just around the corner, or has already come.

This time, the route was not that long as the previous ones, because recently found out once again that cycling is not kind of a battle or struggling with the riding distance. Needed to relax as much as possible so far while cycling. It is necessary to accept the physical limits to do so. Otherwise, cycling becomes self-torture or heavy labor. Actually, Strava, GPS-based tracking services for cyclists, has motivated them to push themselves further. The desire to go longer with GPS tracking  naturally made a cyclist tired and exhausted. But then again, always cycled by oneself,  it has been only a tool of competition with oneself, not with others.

Cycling alone or riding solo is awesome and a pleasure experience, the least likely to be disturbed. We are all alone in the end anyway.

cool touch

Amid the forecast of sporadic rains across this region over the weekend, went out cycling around the rural countryside outside the western Daegu. The route covers the least amount of traffic with views of mountains and riversides. During the daytime, it still stays hot and humid, but turns a bit cooler as September comes after August. 

Yongam 용암 is separated from Seongju 성주 by a short mountain range and both are linked by 4 roads, three of which are allowed for cyclists. Took the route less travelled by via a countryside hamlet, Junggeo-ri 중거리. The side road from the village leads to the main one to Seongju.

Climbed up to the mountain pass named Gultigogae 굴티고개 across a ridgeline and zigzagged downwards to Seongju and then crossed a bridge over a little river running through Seongju. On the way back, rode across a long cycle bridge over the shore of the Nakdong river at the backdrop of Gangjeong-Goryeong weir 강정고령보. The river turns turbid due to heavy rainfall over the last week.

cool breeze

It's been a while to drive to Geoncheon 건천 near Gyeongju to cycle around the idle rural areas. Parked SUV in the parking space of Geoncheon stadium and headed cycling westwards towards Ahwa 아화. The route passes through the peaceful paddy fields surrounding the rural countryside and two mountain saddles named Sukjae 숙재 and Ohjae 오재 each across two administrative areas. The cool breeze blew beneath the shade of the trees, though the strong sunlight remained hot and humid.

Not long after leaving Geoncheon, reached at Ahwa and faced the mountain range to the south. Sukjae 숙재 is at the lowest point along the ridgeline and a road runs through it. The road starting Ahwa follows a straight stretch with relatively gentle slope. At the end of the stretch, the road zigzags uphill steadily and at times up the steep slope.

A raw vegan community village nestled below the mountain ridge is near the top of Sukjae. In Korean lifestyle, the dominant meat-eating culture is still prevailing, so a lot of people outside the village are curious about how the villagers could survive eating only raw and uncooked, plant-based foods. Vegans and vegetarians as members of a unique minority group can sometimes be ignored and  misunderstood in Korea. On the way back, crossed the mountain saddle, Ohjae, the lowest point along the ridge behind. 

got around Daegu

Once again, took on a cycling challenge in the scorching hot day and got around Daegu. The trails along the bank of the Geumho 금호 river were partly submerged in flood water last week during the heavy downpour. With the muddy water on the trails draining out and dried up, the trails were covered with dust and dirt in patches... Dust to Dust.

Cycling trail against the backdrop of Ansim 안심. The international athletics competition was held in Daegu, 2011. Daegu Stadium, a multi-purpose sports facility, was the host venue, while 4 matches were played here during the 2002 FIFA world cup. Weeds grow up covering the front entrance walkway of a college.

flat tire

Till late in the morning, couldn't decide whether to go out or stay home because the heat wave warning was issued. But thought it would be safer with a shorter distance than normal, and got started. Passed through the industrial complex in the southern Daegu and got closer to the Geumho 금호 river to cycle along the riverbank trail.

The heat wave also made the cement and asphalt trail along with the park golf course empty. On the return home, it was surprised to see that the tire in the back wheel suddenly got flat. The extreme heat was likely to cause puncture.

fell off a bike

On the way to Sindong 신동, lost balance when mounting a bike in front of the crosswalk and fell off a bike and experienced some mechanical problems in rear derailleur soon. Had no alternative but to give up cycling further. On the return home, dropped by a familiar bicycle shop and found that the derailleur hanger got badly bent. Realized yet again great care should be taken to prevent accidents every moment while biking.

The above photo shows the site where a cyclist fell off a bike before entering the crosswalk when the traffic light changed from red to a green. On the way home, passed by a crosswalk around Sangin 상인 junction and through a high school and its playground. 

intense rainfall

It was good enough to resume cycling after two-week absence. Last weekend, it rained so heavily that couldn't go outdoors. The weather forecast said it is unlikely to rain, but got caught in a sudden shower of rain for half an hour around Beolji 벌지 village.

This month torrential rains also pounded parts of Daegu. The Nakdong riverside is still covered with mud and the nearby playgrounds are partly cleaned up. An artificial wooden cycle bridge over the shore of the Nakdong river could be seen around Dasan 다산. The last photo shows that it rained at the hill pass named Beolji-jae 벌지재.

into the deep valley

Perched on the northeastern side of Mt. Gasan 가산 at an altitude of 901m, two mountain villages, Gasan and Eungchu 응추 offer natural beauty plus views of the vibrant rural communities. Mt. Gasan is 23 km north of Daegu, whose peak, 10 km to the east, is connected to the summit of Mt. Palgongsan 팔공산 by ridge. The cycling route is all paved, a good mix of some steep uphill and downhill sections.

Handeum 한듬 is a mountain hamlet in Gasan. The highest ridge at the backdrop runs up to the very summit of Mt. Gasan not too far away to the south. Buddhist temples used to grant the temple-owned lands to tenant farmers, who had paid the landowners certain percentages of harvested crops. This village is thought to have been formed by a group of tenants living here. Actually, a Buddhist temple named Daedunsa 대둔사 stands on a hillside behind the village, which is believed to have been built during Shilla dynasty(57 BC ~ AD 935).

On the way to Gasan from Hyoryeong 효령, looked around the rural views. Cycled across the western side of the valley and reached at Daeyul 대율, aka Hanbam 한밤 village where stone wall alley has been well conserved. Traditional stone walls had usually been built without using any mortar in the rural areas, but it is getting even harder to see them in the countryside these days.

rainy season

The rainy season has come back again. Sunny and partly cloudy for the weekend. A scorching heat wave continued to sweep through the country. Contaminants adhering to camera lens caused blurry photos on the phone.

Mt. Geummu 금무산 in the middle is 4.8 km southeast of Waegwan 왜관. US army named that Hill 268, after its height in meter, also known as Triangulation Hill during the Korean war. Back then, it saw fierce fighting between US army 1st cavalry division and the 7th regiment of North Korean army 3d division on August 9 to 10, 1950. The NK army division had been the first to enter Seoul at the beginning of the war, but later its attempted crossing of the Nakdong river from south of Waegwan had ended in failure, suffering around 700 casualties including up to 400 killed. About 1,000 men of the 7th Regiment had crossed earlier the river to Hill 268. An estimated 300 survivors recrossed the river to the west side the night of August 10 to 11.

The Nakdong river had turned muddy after a couple of days of heavy rain. Crossed a bridge around the Waegwan's south side and then reached a junction where they can continue onward into downtown.

loop trail via weir

Could hardly see them pedalling during the hottest hours of the day and would have cycled farther, if it had been less hot. Circled around where the Nakdong river 낙동강 flows from the nearby Hwawon 화원 to Dalseong weir 달성보 and then continued south.

Headed out on this 52.7km loop trail, which goes by cycling trail along the Nakdong river and on Dalseong weir.

The road on the way to Daegu 대구 from Nongong 논공. Always feel cool under street trees absorbing the sun's rays, which provide shade from the sun, cooling down asphalt and cement.

flaming June

Braved the scorching heat and took on the challenge of cycling in the area around the northeastern border of Gayasan national park 가야산 국립공원. About a decade ago, drove to mountain hamlets near Seongju 성주, which caused somebody to go cycling there the other day. Jageun-ri 작은리 is one of the names of the hamlets scattered along the road, whose name Jageun means a magpie hidden.   

Headed uphill to Jageun-ri which is nestled below the mountain tops. Accessible via a single and partly two-lane road with some steep uphill sections. It was both mentally and physically demanding.

Some distance away from where he started going uphill, a three-story stone stupa can be seen on the left side of the road, which is thought to have been constructed in the late 8th century and remained on the site of ruined Buddhist temple built during Shilla dynasty(57 BC~935 AD). Relieved to finally see Gachon 가촌 village, the final destination, and Mt. Gaya 가야산 at the backdrop