The Epitome of Autumn

I know if I looked back through my years of blogging, there are going to be some references to how wonderful are the falls of Korea. It’s long been my favorite time of year, but even more so, its position grows stronger with each one. It’s the time of year that’s just so crisp and colorful, and who can argue with that?

And of course, autumn is the best time to ride in Korea — this year especially because it’s so mild (it’s the 11th of November today and the temperatures settled in the mid-60’s for most of the day). I was mildly disappointed to miss two weeks at a peak time (but well worth the absence), but God has given me a reprieve. This year has been wonderful for riding the bike, even midway through November.

And as has been my tradition for 5 years now, the early days of this month mean an attempt at the Wonju Beast — an 800+ year-old gingko that turns a beautiful golden yellow about this time of year. I’ve ridden to it every year since 2020 on dates between 28 October and 14 November. The closest I came on a ride was last year — about halfway turned on October 28th — but I’ve seen it in full glory…having driven up there with my wife on November 7th 2021 (failing on my October 30th ride just the weekend before).

This year, I thought to go on the 2nd (of November), but heard it was still green, so a week later on the 9th was our best bet. And it was just about perfect. The entire ride was just about perfect, starting from Silleuk Temple in Yeoju (a fascinating city to begin with) and winding through some of the most beautiful autumn Korean countryside you could find. Wonderfully memorable, and these pictures can only give you a poor glimpse…

The gate at Silleuk Temple as you exit. Right around 6AM, so we should see the sun rise in about an hour.

Sogeum Mountain. An interesting little recreational area.

At the site of a long-gone Buddhist temple.

We have arrived. I’ve written about this tree before. The problem is, with so many people, you can’t get close enough to get a good scale shot. This tree is massive, and the best you can do is look at the people close to the tree and not close to the photographer.

A beautiful pond near the birthplace of Korea’s last empress. Yeoju is quite interesting.

It’s an interesting and beautiful river. Seoul is about 50 miles downstream from here.

We believe we earned it. It’s easy to understand how someone could get quite hungry riding for 7 hours or so.

Here’s the Relive ride: ‘Wonju Beast 2024’ | Relive

A special autumn bonus: with the three-day weekend, we set out on a Veteran’s Day 50-miler up the biggest climb in the area (it gave me 1,755 feet yesterday…which was a bit overkill). And again, the colors of the day were wonderful…

A lot of roads like this out there, and the weather was perfect.

Going up the climb? Not so fun. Coming *down?* I can take the time to appreciate the beauty.

Down the winding fire road on the western side of the climb. Of course, the real thing is so much better than a picture…

Albert was having gonzo fun on this road. He’d stop to take pictures, then would come barreling by later.

Korea is where wildflowers are blooming at any given time…

And here’s the Relive video for that ride: ‘The Last Heartbreak’ | Relive