Heat wave in South Korea

 I was expecting it to get hot, but 37!!!  Officials are driving around the streets, loudspeakers blaring - I think they're telling people to stay inside in air con and drink lots of water.

some idiots are out there riding around in the sun... so!  only a short day, 40km and 20km of that was getting back to Ipobo Weir from my accommodation.  I am now following the path on the west side of the river and it was so different from yesterday.  There were spindly trees planted along the path in places, none were offering any shade.  Maybe the rainfall is less in this region.  I pushed on!  I am already behind in my plan, but it was only a rough plan anyways.  I forsee a bus ride later!

nothing notable today, except a unplanned detour through a farming district, ever thankful that the farm dog was securely chained up, or you all would be hearing of my demise on the TV!!  Not to be!

market gardens everywhere! the soil looks dry and sandy, but the corn is tall, capsicum bushes exploding with green.  Where does all the produce go?  I hadn't found a supermarket to buy any fruit or salad, so where does it go?

on the edge of this town, Hyeonam-dong (maybe) I stopped in a shady little park, spread my sarong on the grass and slept for about an hour.  eventually I stirred and rode over the bridge and found the Maru Hotel...  quite nice, so my room is overlooking a rather hazy river.  

but no breeze so quite stuffy, but I think everyone is suffering too!

after a shower and bit of a lay down, I headed off looking for somewhere to get a meal.  But - at last!  I spotted a supermarket!  aha!  now I know what to look for!  I think I may have bought enough food for a fortnight - I hope Hennie can cope with the extra weight, once I find a way to fit it all in!  It was good to crunch on cucumber, sweet tomatoes, capsicum, lettuce, even a cube of tofu for some protein!  and a peanut butter sandwich!  Then some cherries to finish off the meal!  Was there a cinnamon scroll too?  so good, but fruit is very expensive, as I think its too early for the local produce.  feels a lot healthy than the 7/11 offerings! 

so a tad exhausting day - and I didn't take many photos, but here a couple...

Hot Sunday cycling

 Summer time to the max today.  not as intense as Townsville or Darwin, but hot all the same.  an emergency warning arrived at my phone, and with the help of a 7/11 guy, translated as bluddy hot, drink water!  I had just bought 2l of water!

The path was quite shady nonetheless, so cycling was rather pleasant, mostly with the once Han River, now the Namgang River on my right.  There were about 4 tunnels, left over from a railway line and repurposed as the bike trail, and they were freezing!  Nice for a brief moment.

And today, although warned I might get lost, I managed to either stay on the path, or when unsure, asked one of the many weekend-warriors.  So at least one day not hopelessly lost!

again the path was crowded with the usual suspects, all trying to bust a foofer (?) valve - in such a rush.  Not so many families out on bikes, either out of the city limits, or Sundays are for something else.

Chanced by a performance of traditional dancing and singing in a park right on the bike way, so used it as a good excuse to sit and rest.  One dance was very similar to a Japanese dance I learnt in Townsville.  Another young woman had a ribbon tied to her hat, which was able to twirl as she danced beating clap sticks.  Impressive!  And I really enjoyed the drumming by 2 young women, accompanied by another older woman on a gong!  really loved that little window into traditional performance.  There was something else happening down on a large oval, but it was too modern sounding for me!  so on we rolled.

again, the last 10km - always the hardest anyway - was spent doodling around trying to find accommodation.  Reikko Motel was on my map, but the minor streets weren't being shown, so eventually I had to ask.  the other option was camping, which was starting to look possible.  But thankfully, I ended up at the motel, and after much pressing of the bell, I was given a key to a room, $40, and a proper bed, so no worries.

I am starting to worry about my food intake.  I haven't seen any fruit or vegies for sale anywhere, nor any decent sized supermarkets.  7/11 are tiny, compared to Japanese ones, and have limited food.  cafes have either fried chicken, bbq beef or bakeries and coffee.  I may have to start gnawing on a drumstick soon....  :(

anyhoo!  here are some pics!

Summer cycling along the Han

 after the pfaffing around yesterday, today's journey turned into the reason I like cycle touring.  Yes, it was hot - almost like Townsville in November, which led me thinking how people here cope with the weather extremes, as it gets freezing in the winter!

today was a day for the weekend warriors, mamils and everything else included!  A lot of electric bikes, from fat tyres to mini folding bikes humming along.  The warriors were all on spider leg road racers and as agressive as anywhere.  There was one pile up in a bunch coming towards me, 2 took a long time to get up.  Thankfully they didn't wipe out others on the path.  but there were families with kids of all ages cycling happily along.  

The riverside was lined with parks, many having gym equipment, as well as playgrounds for kids.  Most of the tables under the trees were taken up by picnikers, couples, family groups etc.  A glance around at the hundreds if not thousands of tower apartment blocks, its easy to understand how nice it is to have this green space available!  without having to cut the lawns!

Birds tweeting, mainly sparrows and the magpies (not aus) strutting around.  There were some bird calls I had no idea what they were and they were well hidden in the thick greenery!  and it is GREEN!!!  and Lush!  and flowers along the edges.  

so yeah at pretty good day.  65km clicked over but the last 10km (a guess! it felt like more!!)  walking around this town, trying to find a hotel.  eventually found a "motel" - another name for a love hotel, but very modest compared to the Japanese ones.  and its footprint might fit into the bathroom of last night's accom... But it was clean and had a bath, so after a good soak, I began to feel like myself again!

I had visited the Bonjour Bakery earlier and bought a vego pizza and muffin, so that was tea sorted and I hit the sack - or rather the very thin futon, but I managed 6 hours of sound sleep!

here's some pics!  (they are being uploaded not in order of taken, but you get the general idea!)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!!

 There's always a day you would rather didn't happen, but usually not on the first day!

started off good - Hennie went together easily and was soon loaded up and we headed off to the ferry - the bridge is not bike friendly!  a very pleasant ride along a bike path and the ferry journey was short and we were entertained by the sea gulls which were being fed by the passengers throwing food off the deck...

then the nightmare began.  My plan to ride on the main road failed as there was another bridge where cycklists not allowed, so there was much zigging and zagging and what should have been an hour ride at the most, turned into 3 hours.  unbelievable!!  

but eventually got to the Ara bike way after another detour along a wrong bike path...  As this had been quite a built up area, the air quality wasn't the best, but was expected.  

a little pop-up bike shop allowed me to pump up the tyres and away we went - but only for a few kms, when pfff!  a flat tyre! On the 1st day!  Wah!  thankfully a front tyre, so that was quickly changed.  

After sailing along for quite a few kms, I checked my maps, only to realise that somehow, we had got onto another bike path.  I had to cross a small bridge and should have turned left instead of following others that turned right.  but a very kind lady on an electric trike, led me back to right path!  

Eventually I arrived at the Hangang bike path, missing the information booth - yet again!  by now I had clocked up 50km instead of the total of 45km and was nowhere near my planned stop.  Thankfully I hadn't booked ahead as there was no way I would make it.  So I was keeping my eye open for an exit to find a hotel.  Unfortunately, there seems to only be exits every 10kms!  eventually got off the path and following the active map, I managed to end up in a very flash hotel - I knew it would be way above my budge, but by then, who cares!  Credit card nearly died of fright, but once in my room, I filled the bath and soaked my worries away.

after a tasty ! egg sandwich and pineapple desert, I hit the sack!  will be taking it easy tomorrow for sure!

Things will only get better - I hope!  but enough of the whinging - the actual cycling was really pleasant.  no hills, and the paths are well maintained, lots of toilet and water available, although I didn't make use of them as I should have as I was trying to catch up time.

South Korea - here we come!

 Its feels like its been a long time for a Henni adventure, even though the trip over the Ditch to NZ last year was only a few months ago...  But there something extra exciting to travel to a country unknown, that has a different language and culture making it just a bit more exciting.

So I searched for a country that is safe and not that expensive to get to, as Scandinavia is almost out of my budget these days, the air fares to there are astronomical!  South Korea has been on my List as it has an extensive network of bike trails throughout their country, including one that runs below a long line of solar panels.

After a bit of research, I've roughed out a plan from Seoul southwards, along the Cross-country bike trail,  till half way, where I'll branch off to the West down to Sejong and that solar panel covered bikeway.  After reaching the coast at Gusan, I'll then make my way back to Seoul, on local roads and a whole lot of guess work.  Google maps don't have access throughout SK, so I'll be relying on Maps.Me to give me safer options - hopefully up valleys and not over hills.  We will see!

This won't be much a foodie trip, being a vego and not eating spicy food, but I believe their bakery products are pretty spectacular - and I'll be needing carbs to power me along!!

I am flying out of Brisbane tomorrow morning (15/6) and will be away for 3 week.  So I hope you enjoy my journey through the country-side of South Korea - where the sun will be shining nice and warm, with the promise of rain to cool me down.  

Home again

 Back home again, time to reminisce on the long awaited trip.  Covid has halted touring plans, so it was a good to head over the ditch for a quick pedal.  Several Facebook posts about the Haruki Trail had decided me that this could be a quick and close-by trip to take.  

And it was.  China Airlines flights were really comfortable, accommodating and even early on the return flight.  Even the vegetarian meals were quite tasty and ample.  So tick for them, definitely recommend them if you're flying either to Taipei or Auckland.  The flight was only 3 hours to Auckland compared to other airlines that flew from Brisbane to Sydney or Melbourne with hours at each terminal.  And resonably priced!

My plan to catch a train down to Hamilton, then cycle to Cambridge worked.  From the window, I got the clear idea that the North Island is Green!  Cows are black and white!  I soon realised what was ahead.

Our first ride to Cambridge was a good wake up for this old body, although Hennie's chain was slipping far too often.  But that was fixed by the great mechanic at Spoke in Cambridge.

Cambridge, a small town, lots of cafes and the lake in the crater was quite beautiful to walk around.  The next day saw a bit of a punishing ride over to Matamata, steep rolling hills, but this was in New Zealand! 

Matamata was the start of the Hauraki Trail and the Trail was very clearly marked, which carried throughout the whole Trail.  Only got lost a couple of times, which is a miracle for me!  The trail surface was easy to ride on, in some places quite firm, in other places a little soft, but probably the best rail trail surface I have ridden on, so that was a bonus.

It was rather repetitive though.  After awhile, green paddocks, cows, sometimes sheep, once deer, all become a little tiring.  The mountain range to the east helped make the scenery more interesting, although my one attempt at venturing into that area - to the Wairere Falls - was a failure as I never reached the Falls after believing the Lookout to the Falls was only 15 mins up the track.  But walking in the forest there was quite interesting!

Riding through Karangahake Gorge and out to Waikino and onto Waihi Beach was the most interesting part of the whole trail, complete with its little adventures along the Gorge.  This section - Paeroa to Waihi is obviously the most popular section, including the train ride between Waikino and Waihi.

There were a couple of closures along the Trail, especially the one between Kupo and Waitakaruru, which was a tad sad.  But generally I enjoyed pedalling along the Trail, just enjoying being out with Hennie and cycling in another country.  Keeping out of the way of traffic always makes for an enjoyable pedal.

I certainly recommend the Hauraki Rail Trail for anyone who is looking for an easy, quiet pedal and New Zealand is quite a beautiful place to visit at any time.

I do wish that I had planned my last few days in Auckland a little better.  I ended up miles out of the city centre, stuck in boring suburbs and sulky!  I was thankful that the accommodation was quite close to the Airport and close to 99 Bikes where I managed to get another bike box to pack Hennie in for her return flight.  But wish that I had spent an extra day out in the country side and maybe one night in the city, before moving out to be closer to the airport.  Hindsight!  will consider that for next time!

Now I am left wondering where to go next!  I truly enjoyed myself, but was thankful that I was still pretty close to home.  Travelling to Europe still seems a tad risky!  But I still haven't ridden along all the marvellous bike ways in the Netherlands...  Stay tuned!

Hiding in Flatbush

I think I have jetlag - though I haven't got on the jet yet.  Its more a end of trip depression I think...  I had allowed a couple of days in Auckland, in case things went pear-shaped along the Trail.  But I had managed to keep to the schedule without any hiccups, so here I was, twiddling thumbs in Flat Bush.  (I keep thinking of Nutbush!)  and I don't like cities!  

The main reason for staying here in Flat Bush, was its proximity to the airport.  I managed to track down a 99Bikes shop only 5km away, (even closer to the airport) where they were sure they'd have a bike box for me on Friday.  I will ride over there and pack Hennie up there.  So hopefully that all works out well.  Then taxi to airport.

Without a car, the city centre is actually 30kms away (bikes not allowed on the freeway)!  This being a new subdivision here (all the houses are built on same pattern) the public transport isnt easy either.  I can walk for 2km to catch a bus, but need to change to another bus and then  after 1hr30m another 2km walk to get to the art gallery where there's a Frida Kahlo exhibition.  At the moment, it all feels too hard.  Maybe tomorrow.... or not!  

But I found a coffee shop only 2km up the road and enjoyed an omelette and a flat white for breakfast.  Probably will visit this again!

There's a green reserve running through this area, urban rainwater drain.  But its planted with a lot of NZ native flora and filled with non-native birds - sparrows, Indian Myna, blackbirds, thrush and starlings, but I spied some Purple Swamp Hens - Pukeko - with tiny babies, little black puffballs with huge feet!  so cute - and heard a tui, so will take camera and go for a ride along its length tomorrow otherwise I will just decay into the bed here...  I did take some photos on my photo which I will upload onto Instagram instead.  

so no photos here, just me whinging!  Maybe I need to start planning my next trip - that might help!  but missing Roxy and got snapped at by a little shi tsu when all I wanted was a doggy pat!  Wah!!!