Feeding frenzy: 흥호리[Heungho-ri]-수안보[Suanbo]

April 28, 2022

The birds were yammering at 5am, but it was still a little too cold and a little too dark to get up. We also try to abide by 10pm-6am quiet hours, which is about basic human decency, not rules and regulations.

I used the time to do some research, including looking up the location of the nearest convenience store on our route. It was close enough that we agreed to eat breakfast there. We packed up quickly and we were rolling before 7am. The land of morning calm did not disappoint:

...the convenience store, however, did. I tried the slightly heated coffee in a can for the first time. Blech, but part of the fun of touring is that you never know what you're going to get, and I embrace most, if not all of it with an open mind.

Once we crossed the bridge out of town, we found ourselves in 충천북도[Chungcheonbukdo], whose people are known for being friendly and for speaking slowly. In other words, the kind of folk a foreigner with poor language skills might appreciate.

We got to experience a few different types of trails and roads today, all pretty good. There were asphalt and concrete paths, tractor roads, city streets, painted bike lanes, separated bike lanes, shared lanes, and boardwalks. The variety keeps you on your toes.

The first stamp stop was familiar to us from the videos we watched. At that time (what, about a week ago?), I pictured us visiting the snack bar located conveniently nearby. So we did. The coffee there wasn't great but at least it was hot. And the back deck was lovely.

We passed a very old grandmother who was out for a walk. I mentioned to Sunyoung that to really document a trip, one needs to take more photos of people, but I don't feel right about photographing anyone unless I've already built a rapport with them. I guess I'll never be much of a journalist. Anyway, Sunyoung then started singing a song about a hunched-over old lady who wanders up and down the hills. It was a really clever tune, and I enjoyed the fact that it became an earworm for her and she kept singing it all day.

At lunch time (11:00 for us today), we found ourselves in a little lake resort area north of 충주[Chungju]. Their local specialty is 도토리묵밥[dotorimukbab] (acorn jelly with rice). Sunyoung knows that I love 도토리묵, so she was excited for us to try it. It was soooo good! The 반찬 (side dishes) were nice too. Total damage: 16,000₩, or $12.50. No added tax, no tip. No wonder we're not crying over our broken camp stove.

Inside the restaurant. Sorry, we ate a lot of it before I remembered to snap a photo.

We digested at a nearby park. The weather was perfect and we had a shady deck all to ourselves.

That pagoda in the background represents the center of the unified Silla kingdom. It's been around for a long time!

We had some distance to cover to reach the next stamp booth. We took a shortcut by staying on the west side of the lake, but we still had to do a 3km out-and-back in order to get that precious ink onto my passport. It also marks the end of the 한강[Hangang] (Han River) path and the start of the 새재[Saejae] path. So I got to use the stamp twice! What a treat.

Waiting for the light under one of them Starbucks-type umbrellas

We did some levee riding, taking advantage of little rest stops along the way.

The final stretch meandered at a steady grade on a mountain road up to the hot springs resort of 수안보[Suanbo], the last stamp stop for the day and also our destination for the evening.

Bucking our trend for the tour, we splurged on some decent food for dinner. The local specialties appear to be 꿩[ggueong] (pheasant, not my bag), and 더덕[deodeok] (bonnet bellflower root). I absolutely love 더덕 and 도라지[doragi] (another bellflower root), but we balked at the price of the 더덕 dishes. We opted for 비빔밥[bibimbap] and 된장국[doenjangkuk], which were both great, but the 반찬[banchan] is what really stood out. 도라지, 미나리[minari] (water celery), 고추입[gochunip] (pepper leaves), 가지조림[gajijorim] (braised eggplant), 고사리[gosari] (bracken fern), and more! We topped it off with a bottle of 막걸리[makkeolli] (farmer's rice wine).

Stay tuned for tomorrow's big mountain stage! The pass is called 문경새재[Mungyeongsaejae]. Sunyoung keeps reminding me that 새[sae] (bird) indicates a pass so high or steep that only birds can overcome it. That sounds pretty scary, but I checked the elevation profile, and we've tackled worse. The big challenge is a kilometer of 12-13% grade at the end of the climb. Is it too late to mail half our gear to Busan?

Today's ride: 75 km (47 miles)
Total: 254 km (158 miles)

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