13 - 15 September 2008 - DMZ Run
This year, the Chuseok holiday (the Korean harvest / Thanksgiving festival) fell on the 13 - 15th of September 2008. The holiday weekend turned into an impromptu ride to the DMZ.
Big Daddy started out on a ride to Seoul to spend time with his brother Heretic and other relatives. Searching the internet and online maps, Big D. found a route between Pusan and Seoul that would reduce the cross-country ride by a couple of hours.
Big D. left his office in Pusan at around 4:00 pm on Friday, 12 December 2008 and began the ride to Seoul. The first three hours of the ride covered familiar territory into Kimcheon. The new Northwest Passage from Pusan was as follows:
- Take Highway 2 from Pusan into Masan.
- At the first 5 point intersection in Masan go straight and pass the stadium.
- Continue on until the road becomes Highway 5.
- Take Highway 5 from Masan through Changryeong and on toward Taegu.
- About 15km South of Taegu turn left onto Highway 26 to Goryeong.
- At Goryeong, turn right onto Highway 33
- Continue on Highway 33 to Suryun.
- Highway 33 splits into Highway 59 to the left and merged Highways 33 and 59 straight.
- Continue straight on Highway 33/59. When 33 and 59 split, continue straight on 59.
- Go through Suseon and Gacheon on Highway 59 toward Kimcheon.
- Stay on Highway 59 up the mountains and over Seongju reservoir and on into Kimcheon.
- In Kimcheon, turn left onto Highway 4 when you reach the “T” intersection.
- Ride approximately 1 km and turn right onto Highway 3 toward Sangju and Mungyeong.
- Less than 20 km north of Kimcheon, Highway 3 runs through Gongseong.
- At Gongseong turn left (due west) on Road 68 toward Moseo
- Turn right onto Road49 and head north through Moseo and Whadong, until Highway 25.
- Turn right onto Highway 25 and ride by Hwaseo for approximately 2km.
- Turn left onto Road 49 again and continue north to Hwabuk.
- Continue north on Road 49 to Cheongcheon, Mungwang.
- At Mungwang, veer right on Highway 37/19 to Goesan.
- At Goesan, take a sharp left on Highway 37 toward Eumseong and Geumwang.
- At Geumwang, continue north on Highway 37, which merges with Highways 21 and 3.
- When Highway 3 splits from Highway 37 near Janghoweon, stay on Highway 3.
- Continue on Highway 3 through Icheon, past Gwangju, and on into Seoul.
Along the road to Seoul, Big D. called Pony to see what was going on and to see if Pony wanted to meet somewhere along the way and ride back into Seoul together. They met in Icheon and made the sprint back into Seoul and over to Heretic’s house.
Heretic was engaged in other activities. As it was not known when he would be able to disengage, Pony and Big D. headed off to Itaewon for a night of laughs, cheers, and good times.
The night ended around 9:30 am the next morning when Pony shuffled off home and Big D. took refuge at Heretic’s humble abode.
Big D. got to Heretic’s house at just about the time Heretic was going to work for the morning. Heretic arrived home from work around the time Big D woke up.
They packed their bags and road off along Highway 6 east out of Seoul. At the juncture of Highway 6 and Highway 46, we veered left on Highway 46 and worked northward. We followed Highway 46 into the tiny village of Gapyeong. Big D. and Heretic spent the night in a little resort area outside Gapyeong.
Pony spent the day sleeping.
Sunday morning dawned and the sun rose early in the mountains above Gapyeong slowly burning its way through the morning haze.
Big D. and Heretic had breakfast and rode around killing time in Gapyeong waiting for Pony and hangaround Achillies to arrive from Seoul.
Everyone met up around 1:00 pm on the outskirt of Gapyeong. Pony was in charge of the Ride to the DMZ from Gapyeong. He sent us wandering slowly through the countryside up Highway 75.
We followed the winding road up into the tops of the mountains and into Gangwon Province.
We made a rest and relief stop at the summit of the mountains before beginning the descent out of the mountains.
We continued north by turning left onto Highway 56.
It became increasingly clear that we were approaching North Korea and a very real zone of serious military conflict. The roads were lined with barricades, concertina wire, lookout posts, and numerous massive concrete blocks resting upon smaller concrete support pillars that were designed and wired so that the smaller support pillars could be blown up and drop the concrete blocks into the road to create road blocks to impede the advance of any invading forces.
Highway 56 ended when it reached Highway 5. We turned left and west onto Highway 5. We rode into the small village of Kimhwa where we stopped for lunch.
However, Kimhwa is a very traditional village and that day was the actual Chuseok holiday and there wer no restaurants open. There was only one very tiny supermarket run by a very elderly woman whose drunken sun was making a spectacle of himself around the foreigner.
The old woman forced her son to go inside and we all bought a few small snacks and hurried across the street to relax, rest, joke, eat our food.
During our lunch, we decided that we were close enough to the DMZ for the day. We rode down Highway 47 back to Seoul.
At Heretic’s house, we got cleaned up and rode to Itaewon for some Mexican food, pool, and a night of observing the social train wreck that is Itaewon.
Pony took the rest of the week off work and decided to spend it in Pusan. We all went to sleep early so that Pony and Big D could head back down to Pusan as soon as possible in the morning.
Pony and Big D. met for a quick breakfast at McDonald’s before starting the long ride to Pusan.
Pony and Big D. retraced the route back to Pusan that Big D. took up to Seoul. They made record time of 7 1/2 hours from Seoul to Pusan.
It was a great four days of riding and brotherhood.
For more pictures of the ride and the beautiful Korean countryside click here.
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