I’ve done the ride once already this year, and I wouldn’t mind doing it again when the leaves change a bit more. Namhansanseong is a beautiful site, filled with history, and the ride up and over (it’s quite the climb to get to the top) is beautiful, albeit a bit crowded with cars today (and quite early — we did the climb around 8AM).
And it was fun too. I went with Joon (went alone last time), and it was cool getting up there with him and poking around a bit. It would be nice to spend some more time up there — maybe get something to eat at one of the traditional restaurants in the area — but today we did have a schedule. We wanted to get back by noon (and did, even with a stop at the car wash to rinse the bikes).
And speaking of rinsing the bikes, it was a bit of a wet ride, but this was my first long one with fenders, and I’m giving them high marks. My bike was dirty when I put them on, so it was hard to tell what dirt my frame picked up, but because I have no tire clearance around the caliper brakes, I can’t put fenders through to protect everything. Still, they did the job as much as they could, and I didn’t have a care when going through puddles.
I’m very pleased with them, especially since they’ll make rides on days like today (sprinkles here and there, and passing through areas where it had recently rained) quite enjoyable.
Anyway, here are the days highlights.
Fenders. So many cyclists refuse to consider these accessories, why? They don’t look like a pro racer with fenders on the bike. Kind of the same for flat pedals, and singlespeed. But I believe in fenders! So simple, and so effective at keeping the wet road dirt off of you, out of your face and eyes, and keeping the chain cleaner.
Maybe normalcy will occur someday, and all bikes will have mounting points and necessary clearances.
Story: Couple weeks ago I had registered and rode a century, 100 miles. Towards the end of the ride a rider said he didn’t see how I could ride that far with fenders and flat pedals.
Oh my goodness — big pedal and big dirt has captured the hearts and minds of the ignorant. As if fenders and flats make any kind of significant difference.
Personally, I was just giddy with the excitement of hitting just about every (safe) puddle I could. Fenders and flats put the joy back into riding.