Wet and Long day

up and early after a quick breakfast, Hennie was loaded up and we wobbled down via the lift and soon we were on our way.  Grey skies, wet streets all pointed to a correct weather forecast.  But it wasn't raining, tho the air was damp and cool.

Easily found the bike path and we headed south...  first stop was at lily ponds.  I had hoped to see these.  My last visit to Japan was in Oct 18, and the lily ponds were drained and only dead lilies on the ground.  So was wrapped to see these!  there were pink and white lilies.  So pretty.

But the day ahead was long, so after a few photos, we rolled on.  Eventually after 20km, we arrived at the expansive overpass into Sejong.  But we weren't stopping here, so after a couple of photos we moved on...  

Not long after, the rain started, only a few spits before turning into a bit of deluge for the next 20km.  It wasn't cold, so getting wet feet and legs weren't an issue and I had my raincoat on to keep my body warm.  So roll on!  Wearing glass is the worst thing about riding in rain, but without them, I'd end up in the river!  So I found the visor I bought at Daiso the other day.  My helmet fitted over it nicely and I was able to cycle onwards, with a pretty good view of the path ahead.  Unfortunately, it got a bit muddy, so I'll just have to go back to Daiso in Seoul!  

I'm loving the Blue Line!  so far since turning west, the blue line has been consistent and so I haven't become lost.  But other facilities have disappeared, so its always a welcome sight to come across a very nice clean toilet!

Once the rain cleared, the cycling was easy, with quite a few ups and downs, nothing major, just short steep exits when the path has to go up to the road for a bit, then plunge back down to the river side.  The might Geum river is much larger than I had expected it to be and with all the rain in the past 24 hours, was rippling along in a rush to get to the coast.

There is a secret here in Korea.  They are called Motels...  similar to the more elaborate form of Love Hotels in Japan.  No one speaks of them...  You can't book them online.  Motels are places where no questions are asked and can be paid in hourly segments or overnight.  They are cheap - 35,000 - 40,000km, about $30-50.  But the room is self-contained.  They are not necessarily that clean, but a cyclist can't be too fussy.  So my app Maps.Me usually shows them as a blue dot on the map.  Often these are closed or not even in existence!  so as the kms clocked over to 80km, I was pretty happy to be soon arriving in Buyeo.  There was a Holiday Villa Hotel, just by the path, so I was pretty sure my bed for the night was going to be easy to find.  And it was!  But it was closed!  Dang...  Ah well, a quick check on the phone, I could see there were other options within the town.  But the phone battery was almost gone, only 5% left.  But I headed off in the direction suggested.

It was starting to rain again... Great!  Got to an intersection, so pulled out the phone to check if I was near the next blue spot.  Panic???  Maps.me had totally disappeared...  uninstalled completely from my phone!  Shit creek springs to mind!  I asked a young woman walking a couple of little dogs.  But she said there were no hotels in town.  Only AirBnB...  What about a motel...  There was a look of panic flashed over her face - no no no....  Then she sort of waved her hand in a rough direction, then dashed off with her puppies... 

Great...  It was getting dark, it had been a long day!  Cranky Chris showed up as expected!  I headed into the town.  I saw a sign for an onsen, which often have a sleeping apartment - basically a foton in a large shared room.  So I parked Hennie out the front and went in to enquire...  Basil stood there, crossing his arms, shaking his head and turned his back on me.  I asked him where the police station was, as I've heard they will sometimes help.  "Taxi" was all Basil said.  

There was a little covered porch and as it was raining heavily now, I grabbed my power pack and ducked back into the porch.  I could feel Basil's eyes boring into me, but I ignored him.  Once the phone was getting charged, I checked again, looking for Maps.Me.  Nothing!  I checked if there was free wifi and thank goodness, there was.  I downloaded Maps.Me again, downloaded the SK map and eventually, I was able to see that there was a blue dot just down the street a bit...  By now the rain had stopped, so I left Basil to his mutterings, and headed off.  Sure enough, there was a sign for Sauna and Motel.  A lovely lady came out from the sauna and said the motel was around the back.  Sure enough!  

35,000kw paid up, and I was given the key to my room.  It was larger than most, even a bath in the bathroom, but on closer inspection, it was pretty grubby and there were spar bubblers... maybe not.  free wifi... tv, proper bed though the mattress was really hard...  But so thankful.  Hennie was allowed in the foyer, moved so that she was in view of the cctv!  It just does my head in, why these facilities are so secret.  I wonder how the people that run these motels - usually very welcoming to me and others - are treated in their communities.  Are their businesses just not mentioned?  Puzzling...  but at least hot showers and a bed, what more can one want!  

83km with 20km of heavy rain, so was a bit pooped, so was soon tucked up in bed and fast asleep.

due to the rain, not many photos taken, but here's a few.