Korea Day 9 - A Rest, Rest Day Up Mt. Jirisan

Hmm, today is a much welcomed rest day. 

Nice and tired, still a little wobbly, and happy in Korea. Besides that one day off in Busan to explore the beaches and markets, I have been on my bike everyday since leaving home. It's a good schedule, one easier to keep when you are alone. I may have mentioned this somewhere before in an unrelated post, but my travels don't revolve around many tourist attractions or landmarks or temples much when I'm alone. With accompaniment I'm eager to see what there is to see. But when I'm alone it's all about the cycling. 

And even if today were the worst day on account of the heat and my physical condition after a night like last, it's still about the cycling. 

So this morning, after Joe made some damn fine world class coffee (we exchanged addresses to send each other respective regional coffee varieties), I made a quick list of things I'll take with me up to the top of Jirisan, the tallest point on mainland Korea - it is a main tenant for coming to Korea, and now cane time to kick it in the ass.

So today wouldn't be a "rest" day, it would just have to be a rest day. 

The bikes nestling up next to each other. Surlys are immensely popular among cyclotourists. Chris, Rajiv, Go, Yoshi, Phil and Heather, Joe here and I just to name a few of the ones I've come across. Mostly using the Long Haul Trucker style frame, compared to my half road bike, the Cross Check. There are many small variations between the two frame styles, but on the fear of loosing you to an ocean of superfluous details, I'll leave the details between the frames up to your research curiosity. 

After coffee, I felt....Ok. In truth I'd rather have not done what I'm about to do, but sometimes you have to follow through with a plan, no matter the slight discomforts. Coffee can actually make things worse, as the hot caffeine dehydrates your body. And without all the bells and whistles, a hangover is essentially your body in a dehydrated state.

Anyways, wasn't feeling at the top of my game, or hungry. Experience thought me, however, that I would need to eat anyways. Climbing up mount Jirisan won't come easier on an empty stomach. So, I found an open restaurant, played a little Korean menu roulette, and nurished up.  

The main course was actually quite good! A beef soup layered with flavors matched well with the preselected side dishes. Soup is just what I needed. I felt really full afterwards but really good at the same time. I was as ready as I could be for something like what was to come, nothing left to do but to do it. 

Cycling up - was not easy. Sure the way to the base was slight enough, even the small climb to the national park entrance gate was Ok. That first part gave me a little insight to the switchback rhythm that would persist across the life of the climb. 

After paying my entrance fee however, things started to get rough. A simple two lane road ensured little room for errors, and would exacerbate a driver's frustrations. I had at times no room on the shoulder. 

The turns on the switch backs came out the worst. Taking the inside lane on a steep inclined turn quickly meant that I'd jump from a grueling 13% climb into a 20% for the pass. The 20% doesn't last long but it does complicate the process of keeping safe. For example: once there was a car descending, one coming up from my rear, and we all three just so met at such a steep turn that I'm not sure how we all made it. Often times, cars rush down the left lane.

Not that the way up was all in fact horrible. Under many, many honks from cars warning me that they'd soon overtake, I did get one clear honk of encouragement paired with kids cheering from the back seat. That felt really good, since it's such a rare expression to offer me in Korea, and even Japan. South East Asian countries, this sort of thing happened all the time and I do miss it.

And while I was the only one making my way up, I did see many vans carrying mountain bikes up to the top as frequently as I saw mountain bikers zipping down past me in full gear at 70km/hour. Way to concentrated on not crashing at the point, I understandably drew little attention from them. 

Success!! There is a false summit that actually looks like where one would stop. Music, food, shops, etc. I paused for a moment only to notice that actually there was maybe another kilometer and half worth to reach the actual tip top, or, as far as the road would take me on my bike.

This photo was taken at that spot.

The view from the top, leaning over the edge a bit. Nothing around for miles and miles; the air was super fresh and I loved the look from people who looked "tired" from having driven up here. Almost everyone was fanning themselves for being away from their air conditioning, and eating ice cream. 

By the time I had reached the top I was all good and sweaty. Covered in it from head to toe, I walked over to a shady tree and rested a bit.

View from the other side. Somewhere down there is my passport, other belongings, and sleeping friends. Except Joe of course, whose training for Iron Man and needed to pull off a 80min run in this heat. Hats off.

I'm glad I remembered that my camera had a countdown feature to have taken this photo because it's one of my favorites. Simply rested the iPod against my helmet in an empty space and viola! 

My father once told me that it's good to feel tired. I can't disagree.

Now, I had learned my lesson from going down Mt. Fuji. That descent was cold, cold, cold. This time, I came prepared and although this round was not as bad, I was thankful for the glasses and mask as they may have saved my life (and helmet) by not having to wipe bugs/road debris/earth from off my face and eyes.

On the way down, brimming with pride, shinning with accomplishment, I had to still stop and just appreciate the Guyre scenery.

Since Joe was still out on a run, I stopped by a corner stop to re-up on fluids when, who but Joe, finds me. 

Hungry from his workout too, we ducked into a little place and ordered awesome bibimbap! We both plowed through our meals. I was super tired afterwards and could use a nap, so it's what I did. Joe said he wanted to hit up a coffee shop, so that's what he did.

Awaking to the sound of Joe coming home, I had slept a good while. Just enough anyways for second dinner =)

Returning to the very un-Korean motif bar we drank last night, I learned that food was also available. A simple set but very delicious plate of food came with conversation from the chef, Joe, and I. I beer would have been nice to curve the remaining bits of my hangover, but I declined.

Ten minutes later and I was chomping down on some fried pork cutlet, salad, mashed potatoes, and slices of peach.

And so ended my day, the day, the reason I came to Korea. I had gone up and down the tallest peak around. I had completed what I had set out to do. Yet, I still have time before I plan to be home for a very special Yosakoi festival in Kōchi, Japan. 

I'm in the middle of the country, with not even a direction to start off in tomorrow. Should I turn around East and bike back to Busan? I could go South or West and explore some more. When faced with open road, it can be a little daunting to choose your own destiny. Lucky for me I have a little experience with this, and the advice of friends to go on.

We'll see where tomorrow takes us.

-A