Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dyc]

Is cycling popular (or even possible) at all in Korea? I'm not a hardcore roadie that weighs every gram on their bike and watches the Tour de France religiously, but I do throw on the lycra and take long rides on my road bike from time to time here in Vancouver. I've heard of people riding folding bikes within the city in Korea, but would a cycling enthusiast like me be able to continue my hobby there?

I wouldn't imagine that it's possible in Seoul, but what about other cities (not the boonies)? Is Korea generally hilly?

[spicy]

copying my post from the other thread:

i brought my trek 1420 (aluminum road bike) with me from the states about 6 weeks ago. i was here for a year teaching, and then went back to the states for a couple weeks and have since come back as a student.

i only really use my bike for exercise, and the paths next to the tributaries are nice, while the ones next to the Han River are generally particularly nice. i usually ride 3-4 times a week, 30mi or so each ride, averaging right around 17.5mph. recently the weather's gotten just about perfect for riding (you'll be a smidge cold if you're sweaty and you stop for a while, but otherwise you aren't sweating your ass off while riding like in the summer).

back in the states, i did a bit of road riding, but never in a big city, only in the suburbs of boston. here, i'd venture to say that it's harrowing, and can be really dangerous if you aren't hyper-vigilant. i ride a motorcycle back home, so i've developed a decent sixth sense about drivers doing wacky stuff, but korean drivers drive in a manner that's so different from the US, it's often hard to predict. i've had a bunch of close calls, but nothing has really happened yet (with a car, anyways). i had an old woman on a bike path cut me off (making a left across the path without even acknowledging that i was barreling down the way) without any kind of signal, and i was pretty banged up after that.

i have to ride from my place to the river paths (maybe 1.5-2mi via surface roads).

also, and not to sound culturally insensitive, but koreans are generally oblivious when it comes to moving stuff. it's more a "do what you need to do and other people will change their behavior accordingly." often that results in not smashing into each other, but occasionally it does. this is particularly true on the bike paths.

i've come to refer to them as Korean Biker Clots. you'll come across these groups of people biking together, often either all guys or all women, wearing matching athletic pennies (the stuff you wore in high school gym class while scrimmaging). they're incredibly hard to pass safely, and often will take up the entire path by riding next to each other instead of following each other in a line. they ride slowly, often using incredibly expensive, high-end, sparkling-clean mountain bikes on the frequently glass-smooth bike paths.

anyways, this has kind of turned into a rant, so i'll write some cliffs:


cliffs:
-weather has gotten perfect, but both fall and spring are quick in seoul (i'd say that riding in summer is unbearable, but i have a low heat/humidity tolerance).
-riding on surface roads is probably inadvisable/quite dangerous if you're in a major city (i'm in the heart of seoul).
-the paths along the rivers, especially the Han River, are well paved, but heavily trafficked (except on weekdays) by clueless/inexperienced/culturally different bikers.
-i've loved having my nice road bike here, but it will depend on your living situation/access to nice non-city-road paths.
-you'll also have some close calls/accidents if you ride here for any substantial amount of time






thread link:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?p=2495166

[pest2]

[normalperson]

Its an awesome place to ride, walk or skate... on the river. Doing so on the roads like I used to at home (Australia, a whole continent that has the same population as Seoul...) is quite suicidal. Footpaths are pretty dodgy sometimes, roads full of up and down hills.

But the bike path on the Han river is almost like heaven for someone like me. Going for a few hours walk, ride or skate really clears your mind. Recommened that if you want to do it reguarly, then live closer to the river or it'll be a pain to get there.

[pest2]

[dyc]

Thanks for the replies everyone.


I'm actually sort of disappointed though - I mainly ride on the road and bike paths turn me off. There's just this romantic notion of following a road vs. a groomed bike path that ahjummas and children ride on. Perhaps I have the wrong idea? Bike paths are like that here in Vancouver.

I'm not too worried about people not paying attention to me though, as I'm a fairly pro-active cyclist and have run into my fair share of idiotic peds/drivers. On a bike, I assume that I have to ride as if no one can see me, so I think that might prove useful in Korea.

What is the general topography of Korea (or even just the bike paths) like? In other words... could I get any nice hill climbs in?

[pest2]

[dyc]

[exit86]

I usually bike in Seoul early in the mornings--esp. on weekends, which is heaven! I get out there around seven and have the whole city to myself if I go on secondary roads as opposed to the main arteries.

This continues until about 9:30 am, when cars become more present.
I love the bike paths on the roads in the city--your own red lane that cars can't ride in; but, the problem is that the paths aren't constant in both directions and aren't on every road.

I always look forward to my weekend morning rides though. So sweet to have a big city to yourself and to ride past palaces and historical sites.

Seoul is cool because--unlike NYC--it does sleep; so late nights and early mornings are great.

[McGenghis]

I cycled from the DMZ down to Busan two summers ago on a 250$ Samchully bike. I used cycle paths where there were ones, but usually I went on the road. In my opinion, some of the most enjoyable cycling in Korea is done out in the rice paddies. They have straight cement roads all over the place in the country with only the occasional Bongo truck or tractor to contend with. They are flat, have great surfaces, and often follow major roads.

If you want some hills, Korea has lots. I recommend Gangwondo as there are hills AND nice beaches with cycle paths or quiet roads.

[Eglayzer]

I have ridden across Korea twice now. Outside of Seoul and Gyoggi province most drivers are much better. The large cities are always hell, except for the bike paths, and I also agree with the previous poster about the rice fields being excellent for cycling.

You can read my tour journal from my last trip across Korea and see a ton of pictures of what the roads look like, here:

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/seoultoyeosu

[beison]

My best friend here is really really involved in teh racing scene here. We both brought out carbon rigs out from the states, and I can tell you this is the best riding I've ever done. Just go a little bit outside of Seoul, and you'll be in heaven. Seriously. Unless you like easy shit, and then you'll be in hell. Cause the riding here is hard, and steep, and really awesome! From a training standpoint, it's freaking fantastic, and I'm pretty sure the cars here are a little more responsible to the average cyclist. Sometimes they even politely beep at you to let you know they're passing. (Scares me half to death every time they do it though )

Either way: bring your bike, stay off the bike paths, and you'll be in (exhausted) heaven!

[Captain Marlow]

i live in daegu and having been riding my bike here for about 2 years; mostly on the roads and sometimes on the bike paths (when it's quicker to get where i'm going)...

i ride a fixed gear (no brakes, just hop skids) and have yet to be in an accident, knock on wood... riding on the street is fine, just mind the times you ride... i never ride on the streets on a friday/saturday night (drunk drivers)... also, just keep your wits about you... korean drivers will turn out in front of you... busses will cut you off and then stop... people will open their car doors in front of you...

my recommendations: get two lights for the back, one for the front... get a bag/shirt that's a bright color... run the red lights when it's absolutely safe (then you have traffic free riding for a few minutes <i realize i'm gonna get slammed for this one>)... if riding a fixed gear, be very good at predicting what will happen and learn how to skid stop quickly...

as for the bike paths... obviously less dangerous because of the size of the obstacles, but the obstacles are mindless... there's really no sense of order... i've been in more close call situations on the bike paths than on the streets...

good luck, and if you're in daegu there's a huge fixie scene and weekly rides... plus, i've heard that there's a velodrome somewhere here... haven't found it, but those are always fun:)

[dyc]

[Crockpot2001]

I'll add a few notes about my experiences racing.

I raced MTB here a lot when we arrived 3 years ago. I became disappointed with the courses (minimal dirt or singletrack even though that's everywhere, even right next to the concrete road we were racing on) as well as the organization of the event. Even if racers all finish by 12:00PM, eveyone gets the pleasure of waiting untill 4 or 5pm to see the awards ceremony. This means your are going to get to sit in an additional 2-5 hours of traffic. I ended up racing and leaving ASAP, even when I thought I'd broken the top 5 in my field.

I returned to road racing to do the Tour of Korea a couple years ago. Horribly organized, non-catagorized, crashfest of collosal wheelsucking. I saw guys crash each other out and proceed to fight while full on crying like babies since their $10,000 carbon wheels were broken. On top of it, there were documented cases of the officials drafting their friends behind the pace or media cars. Lastly, 2 years ago they felt it was OK to simply remove all the foreigners results after 9 days of racing. In their favor is that Korea does have the largest Pro-am stage race in the world and they have since changed some of the rules on results so foreigners can win, which my team mate did last year.

Lastly, the velodromes are not for us. They are for development of gambling racers for the most part. Why would an ameture care to ride there? they should be firmly planted behind a desk and too tired to take on such frivolity.

Regarding just plain old riding, it can be good. Get out of Seoul and NEVER stray into Incheon and there is some tasty, steep, riding. I love the rice field riding that other's mentioned. I also enjoy the sea wall rides on the West coasts, flat and next to the sea for miles.