Here is a list of the parts that make up my Grasshopper HP Velotechnik Recumbent that I will be riding next year for the trip : HP Velotechnik Specific Parts: Grasshopper Frameset with bodyLink seat Underseat Steering with Wide bars for Ergomesh DT Swiss XM180 Rear Shock Saso Carbon AC Suspension fork Front Wheel SON20 [...]

First things first. The word/symbols for campsite in Korea is 야영장. (ya-yeong-jang) Unfortunately camping in Korea is not one of the easiest things to do. Most campsites are limited to the National Parks with limited English information available, and forget finding a small place to pitch a tent for the night. I tried this when [...]

Finally after more than a years talk and the last months preparations our (Katie, Tom & Jared) Surly long-haul trucker touring bikes and Crosso panniers are on their way. The bikes left New Zealand today bound for us here in South Korea and should arrive in about a weeks time. Stay tuned…….

I just came across an interesting website of another fellow Korean cycle tourist who has also extensively cycled the Korean peninsula. His website can be found here and provides useful tips for cycle touring in Korea. http://user.chollian.net/~boonstra/korea/cycle.htm

I had my GPS on the whole cycle trip from Seoul to Busan which makes for a really cool map of the route I took through the country. The flags on the route represent the places I spent the night either camping or staying in a motel. Download KMZ File

Trip Statistics Distance : 25km Ride time : 1hrs 21min Daily Budget Food : 24,000 원 Travel : 29,000 원 Route : Busan city using GPS & the Tancheon in Bundang Traffic & cities are overrated. Last night my good friend Jasmine took me out for dinner in Busan to an upscale seafood buffet and [...]

Trip Statistics Distance : 146km Ride time : 6hrs 55min Daily Budget Food : 22,000 원 Lodging : 50,000 원 Route : HWY 7 Gyeongju tonight? Ah why not go all the way to Busan. I awoke early morning on Chilpo (칠포) beach to a peaceful and absolutely beautiful morning. It’s been just over 4 [...]

Trip Statistics Distance : 121km Ride time : 5hrs 56min Daily Budget Food : 14,000 원 Lodging : Free – Camping Route : HWY 7 a.k.a AH6 with a slight detour on the 20 It’s OK to be lazy….. sometimes. After the day I had yesterday I was in no rush whatsoever to leave the [...]

Trip Statistics Distance : 131km Ride time : 8hrs 19min Daily Budget Food : 24,000 원 Lodging : 40,000 원 Route : 595 -> 88 -> 36 Hills and Corners that never end. What started as a pleasant early morning ride through Namcheon valley (남천계곡) with one goal in mind (to make it to the [...]

Trip Statistics Distance : 97km Ride time : 6hrs 12min Daily Budget Food : 24,000 원 Lodging : FREE (camped) Route : 517 -> 36 -> 5 -> 59 -> 522/595 It’s always harder to get up on the second day of a ride, especially knowing that I would be riding all day again by [...]

Trip Statistics Distance : 133km Ride time : 6hrs 12min Daily Expenses Food : 31,000 원 Lodging : 50,000 원 Route : Bundang -> 45 -> 42 -> 17 -> 38 (east) -> 3 Finally the day had come, a chance to ride a fully loaded bike and tour around Korea. Gone are the days [...]

It’s early Saturday morning, the weather is overcast and I am about to start my first solo bike tour around South Korea (what am I thinking). I thought I’d post some before trip stats before I leave. Gear Weight Front Panniers : 2.9kg & 3.4kg Rear Panniers : 2.8kg & 3.2kg Rear Top Bag : [...]

It’s the end of August and I am lucky enough to have a week off work, so I thought that this would a good time to go on and extended ride around South Korea and test out all the new gear that has been arriving over the past few weeks. This will be my first [...]

Our Surly touring bikes haven’t arrived here yet and I’m planning on spending a week cycling around South Korea in a couple of days and wanted to carry the majority of the gear that will be carried on our trip next year as a practice run. However this posed a problem a my current bike [...]

A couple of days ago the first of our custom panniers made by Crosso arrived. They are a lot bigger than I thought they would be, although I guess they need to be in order to fit all the camping gear, such as tents, sleeping mats and bags etc. I’m looking forward to trying it [...]