Chuseok River Biking

Ah, Chuseok. A time to relax, not work, and most importantly, NOT GO ANYWHERE FAR FROM HOME. Seriously, rumor has it that Chuseok is the worst for traveling. Buses, trains, and planes fill to capacity as every Korean moves around the country to visit ancestral homes. So, naturally, after some camping, I decided to just hang around Daegu. After some mild cabin fever, that turned into biking around Daegu. Now, not just around in the sense that I biked to several different places. I mean I actually tried to bike around the edge of Daegu. Made it a decent chunk of the way, too! Over the course of Saturday and Sunday, I managed to bike a total of 52.71 kilometers. Not too shabby!

Sincheon-Geumho River East

Day 1 - Saturday - 22.36 km

So on the first day I decided to hop on the bike and go as far as I could before either I got too tired or the sun got too set-y. While I bike in the dark more often than I should, I didn't want to get caught at night in unfamiliar territory. Seasoned readers will know this stems from my nightblindness rather than any sort of location-related danger. 

So yes, get on bike, pedal, stop when appropriate. Easy enough!

The Sincheon-gang is a very nice river; slow moving, nice and shallow, and complete with a lovely park all along its west bank. The Sincheon separates Jung-gu in the west from Suseong-gu in the east. I live just east of the Suseong-gyo (the bridge by my thumb in the following picture). My day started off on the river at that bridge, and took me up to the Chimsan-gyo crossing (the bridge above my pinky in the picture), which is where the Sincheon joins the Geumho.

The Sincehon bridges. From north to south, there is:
Chimsan-gyo
Seongbuk-gyo
Docheom-gyo
Kyeongdae-gyo
Sinseong-gyo
Sincheon-gyo
Dongsin-gyo
Suseong-gyo
Daebong-gyo
Huimang-gyo
Jungdong-gyoSangdong-gyo
Yongdo-gyo

Along the Sincheon, you find quite a few exercise parks, sporting fields, and pedestrian crossings. These are particularly interesting, as they are just a series of stones that form a footbridge across the river. They can be quite meditative in a way, as you have to empty your mind of anything but making sure your feet go where they're supposed to. Of course, they can also be terrifying, especially if it's a windy day and the water is rushing below your feet and your bike and backpack are throwing you off balance.

The Sincheon River Park is actually quite nice. There is a bike path and a footpath. When people follow those distinctions (freakin' never!) you can have a nice leisurely ride without worrying about dodging pedestrians.

The river also has a lot of fountains as you pedal or walk along, as well as some dams.

One of the many dams on the river.

An ivy-covered bridge on the Sincheon.

A rainbow in the fountain.

As you reach the end of the Sincheon, you have two options. You can either turn left and follow the course of the Geumho towards west Daegu. or you can cross a little bridge and move upstream along the Geumho around the northern horn of Daegu. I chose the latter option.

The Geumho is a much wider river. I'd actually call it a proper river. When you first make the turn, you are faced with what looks like the demon possessed remains of a long abandoned theme park from hell.

Complete with Korean totem poles!

And whatever the hell this thing is!

When I saw this, I had just thought "gee, this place needs even more of those nightmarish totem pole thingies." Korea delivers!

Giant bugs with swamp eyes!

And speaking of eyes...

So enough of that creep-fest. I continued pedaling away from there as fast as my wheels could take me. Here are some views of the Geumho!

Dat reflection.

This map shows the length of the Geumho bike path. To the left is the industrial areas of Daegu. The right has more residential areas and fields.

The path itself was quite nice for easy riding.

The northern horn. You can see that highway (Rte. 1) that crosses the path twice.

A motorized glider of something near Dongchon Resort.

A really cool suspension bridge near the Angyang Art Center.

Some of the swan boats at Dongchon Resort seen from the bridge.

Around the Angyang Art Center I noticed it was about to start getting dark. After a quick map check, I turned my bike west and pedaled back through Manchon towards Beomeo. On the way back I stopped for one picture. This is a bench at the MBC Plaza Park near my apartment. I passed by it on my way home and just had to take a picture. 

Remind anyone of this moment from "Vault of Bones" (Adventure Time, S05 E12)?

Geumho River West

Day 2 - Sunday- 30.44 km

On Sunday I was barely feeling the burn from the ride the day before (don't worry, it did eventually catch up to me). So I decided to swing by downtown Daegu for some quick shopping before picking up back where the Sincheon splits at the Geumho. This time, I was going to go as far west as I could before either the sun or my energy went away for the day.

On my way along the Sincheon I stopped for a bit on one of the footbridges to have a relaxing moment. This particular bridge had a small platform, perfect for sitting and thinking about stuff.

The view upstream.

My thinkin' island.

The western leg of the Geumho is significantly less scenic than its eastern counterpart. I had planned to try and follow the river all the way around towards Daesil (where Peter lives), but the distance is much further than I anticipated. I made it about halfway there.

The bridge leading to the northwestern suburbs of Daegu.

Up ahead is where the Geumho is joined by a (I believe) nameless river that flows in from the industrial side of town.

The Geumho seen from the split.

Looking back upstream.

Here's the bridge over the nameless feeder stream. If you turn left, there is a small dirt path, which eventually leads to a small dirt trail about 6 inches wide. More on that later.

This is the point (the dark blue circle off to the left) where I realized Daesil was still way too far. I turned around and made for that feeder stream.

So no longer along the Geumho, I found myself following a small stream towards the Bisan Industrial Dyeing Complex. Here's what the trail eventually narrowed to.

Before it turned uphill. That was a very interesting walk. I had to throw my bike up, hold in the brakes, and use it to pull myself up.

The view from the summit of my little climb.

At the top, I found myself along some kind of access walkway that went alongside the highway. I eventually got onto a road, and started heading back east toward central Daegu. I eventually found out that I was in Seo-gu, which is just filled with factories, factories, and more factories. I found a vending machine along the way and bought myself a gatorade. Damn, those electrolytes felt good!

On my way through Seo-gu I happened to pass by a hardware store. If Ranger Glen ever decides to move to Korea, he can find some of his trusted brands!

So that's about all from the biking. I made it back to Beomeo without incident. No flat tires, no busted pedals. Just one case of sore legs the next day. All in all, it was a very pleasant Chuseok weekend!

Stay tuned for more of my severely procrastinated entries!

• Thailand!
• Cambodia and Vietnam!
• Other stuff I keep forgetting about!