No more hills @ Namji, South Korea
After our day of rest and relaxation our legs were refreshed and ready to get back on the bikes. Our target was Namji, a small city halfway between Daegu and Busan. We mounted our trusty steeds and rolled across Daegu towards the familiar riverside trail. Confident that all the hills were behind us we took our time today; some times literally stopping to smell the roses.
The cake was tasty but soon we needed more sustenance (especially Adam, who must be fed every hour if we are to avoid hunger-driven mood swings). When we were planning the trip we had read that Buddhist temples will feed travelers and sometimes even house bikers overnight in bad weather. There were signs for a temple not too far of our trail, so we decided to make a visit.
At the temple, parked our bikes and walked around — feeling a bit skeptical — uncertain if the rumors we read online were true. We spotted a door with an eating utensils symbol above it; so we stepped through. Immediately a small flock of ajummas (Korean aunties) ushered us to a buffet style homemade meal complete with seaweed soup. Unsure what to do we stood awkwardly until one ajumma grabbed a bowl out for Adam and began assembling it for him. Never one to say no to food (or speak Korean) Adam smiled in appreciation and the rest of the crew soon followed his lead. The food was delicious it was just what our souls needed.
Helen and Adam, still on a rest day high and full belly hype, led the charge after lunch. We continued to follow the 4 Rivers Trail signs, sometimes ignoring our outdated routes which that had attempted to lead us on suboptimal routes in previous days. Feeling great and making great pace, out of nowhere we were assailed with a hill. The gradient gradually increased to a cruel 13%. The road snaked and turned; unable to see her destiny before each turn Helen’s hopes of the top being just around the bend were prematurely dashed by Adam’s loud swearing ahead of her.
Surprised by the hill but still trusting the signs we continued on from the top. Biking along the river was beautiful and we were feeling great! As we crossed a bridge Adam sped over a small bump. Helen screamed “Adam!” Adam looked back and his right pannier was gone; he pulled over and saw it slumped on the side of the bridge. The he noticed his left pannier was also gone. He looked around and saw nothing. Until Helen eventually pointed in the river. When he hit the bump both panniers (only held on by hooks) went flying off in perfect unison. The left one was catapulted over the bridge guardrail and was now laying upside down in the shallow stream below. Adam, wearing bike cleats, looked helplessly down the steep concrete slope. Helen put her hero cape on and scaled the wall to save the day.
Bag saved and ready to continue we again pedaled on to Namji, but soon we were at the base of another mountain! This mountain was even more beautiful than the last, but our spirits were crushed with our expectations for a flat day of riding. This hill was a dedicated bike trail surrounded by fall callers. Not quite as steep as the first hill, but a similar total elevation gain meant it was a good sweat.
As we climbed Helen recalled that she read a travel blog that said there an easy way to get from Daegu to Namji, that detoured from the 4 Rivers trail; which explained the hills, the extra 10 miles of biking, and the fact that all of our bike computers were yelling at us for being off route. Fortunately, we only had a couple miles after this hill so we coasted into town and found a good love motel for the night.
For dinner we ate at a Korean restaurant where we met a Korean cyclist. We bragged that we had biked from Seoul and he was so impressed that he bought us a round of beers. We thanked him and again felt touched by how kindly Korean have treated us.
