I guess sometime earlier this year, I mentioned to Albert that I was going to do a long ride around my birthday…”maybe that lake down by Yesan.” Well, my words came back on my last weekend when he brought it up. “Weren’t you going to do that ride to that lake?” “Uh…yeah. I guess.”
The thing about a 100-mile ride is that they’re not really that hard once you’ve conquered the mental barriers. It just takes time. And if you’re 61, expect it to take a lot of time. Things is, I ride with people who just love the whole thing. It’s not about buying the super-hot, aerodynamic, lightweight (and very expensive) racing bike and putting your head down to chug along with a dozen other guys on super-hot, aerodynamic, lightweight (and very expensive) racing bikes. I just can’t see how anyone likes that kind of thing. I mean, I suppose so. Like people who go to the gym to work out. Cuz that’s what it is on one of those bikes — a workout. Anyway, it’s about the experience.
I mean, who wants a workout when there’s so much to see along the way? I guess, if that’s your thing, but Korea is custom-made for cycling. There are so many new roads that leave old routes wide open — miles and miles of farm roads and bike trails on top of that. You can pretty much get around the country with very little to worry about if you know what you’re doing. And the cool thing is that you can find some of the most interesting stuff along the way if you’re paying attention (and a little adventurous sometimes).
So, yesterday was a great day for it. Fifty degrees at 5AM, and high-70s by the time we got home…which was over 11 hours later. Yeah, 102 miles sounds far on a bike, and 11 hours, 21 minutes is a long time to be away from home. Still, I only spent 8 hours and 31 minutes of the day actually riding. That’s nearly 3 hours of stopping, taking pictures, eating, and hanging out chatting and having fun. Oh, and watching (helping too) someone work on a flat. And waiting for someone else to recover from a little time spent on the ground (he’s “OK,” in that he’s not dead, but his thumb sure hurts). Freak accident, really. Everyone got home. And I got a bit of sun on the back of my calves so I wasn’t entirely unscathed. Other than that, I feel great, and will probably do it again soon enough if I find the right time and place. Thing is, we can’t do these long rides past May or before October really, because I’ve learned to be home before noon from July through September. “Feels like 100” is our new barrier.
Anyway, we went to that lake. We had a great time. It was a long ride, so lots of pictures. Hope you like them…
