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.