PDKL45

*Edit: Sorry, my mistake. This is for Seoul, rather than Jeju. I will leave it here anyway.

Mr. Yi Dok Yong at Bikely can help you out. He speaks good English and is responsive to contact.

Email him at: bikely@bicyclestation.co.kr

I think he has some of his own cromolly freerange bikes (?? ???? : Free Range - Free Range ???? ??) available for hire. They come with racks and Ortleib panniers AFAIK, but do not take my word for it, as things may have changed or they may be booked out already.

PDKL45

Use "Jeju Bike Trip" for Jeju Island.

It will look like a bunch of question marks, but if you click, it should take you to their website.

********** :: ??? **********? ??!

airforce1

doing the Seorak Gran Fondo in May! Anyone else?

PDKL45

I saw the ads for it, but I am saving all my juice for brevets and (hopefully) a Seoul - Seokcho out and back ride over a long weekend.

JohnJ80

Thanks for posting this. I have been to Korea literally more times than I can count for business and I had no idea that Korea had this level of cycling infrastructure. Korea is on my list of places to cycle now.

J.

riceowls

Ok, let me resurrect the old thread hoping for some info and advice. I may be going to KAIST next spring and was hoping to have a one week tour before or after that. I am talking about ~6-7 days of riding, possibly with rest day in the middle . So I am probably limited to ~450km or less depending on the elevation gain. I am fine on taking train part-way if convenient.

Anyway - is there an updated high resolution version of above map somewhere? Found one in korean https://kojects.com/wp-content/upload...-Paths-Map.jpg but was hoping for more interactive version..

Any suggestions what trails to go on? I can do daejeon to seoul (or the other way) on combination of Seoul to Busan and Ocheon trails. I am also considering taking a train to east cost(where?) and doing part(which one?) of KOREAN EAST COAST TRAIL . That trail seems best suited to my interest - love sea-views.

Anyway, your recommendation and ideas are welcome! Just to specify - time is likely to be in mid-March but could possibly be in end of April/early May. We will be riding on BikeFriday tandem with my wife and stay in the hotels/motels - no camping.

PedalingWalrus

I also welcome the ressurection of this thread. I put South Korea on my list as well in the next 2-3 years.

PedalingWalrus

yumm Hallasan National Park looks like it could be a nice pick

Ged117 

For those who travel frequently in Korea, how is the air quality? Since Korea generates about half its power with coal burning, and prevailing winds carry pollution from coal-powered Chinese industry and electrical power generation across the Yellow Sea (along with fine grain sand particles from the deserts of western China), all of which result in terrible air quality in Korean cities. I've lived in China before, and I have no wish to breathe harmful particulate matter day after day like I did then. European cities aren't great for that either with the diesel engine emissions.

Perhaps air pollution is not as much as a concern in rural areas, but certain times of year I would imagine it is certainly an issue whether in a dense city or not since Korea is quite small. Are there particular times of year that are best for cycle traveling the country?

https://www.theguardian.com/environm...dust-pollution

PDKL45

Korean air quality is awful in Winter and Spring, we're just coming into the time of year when it clears up. Get a sports mask rated for PM 2.5 filtration if you're concerned, and make sure it has a valve. Korean air quality is a massive problem and it's country-wide.

Winter is cold with bad air on warmer days (the freezing cold fronts clean the air but drop the temperature well below freezing and come with strong NW winds--Ideal for Seoul-Busan tailwinds if you have enough clothing), but you have the paths to yourself. Spring is more of the same, bad air and crowds, but warmer days and some clear air. Summer is best for air quality, but July is rainy season and August is incredibly hot. We have been having failed rainy seasons in recent years, where high pressure systems squish the monsoon front northwards, leaving South Korea sweltering in heat waves, where heat exhaustion is a real possibility. Autumn, from late September to early November is the optimal time for cycle touring. The air is usually clean, the weather is mild (like a New Zealand summer) and the Autumn foliage is beautiful.

Cycling is entirely possible year round, but you just need to be prepared and understand the season.

The best PC interactive map for cycling is Naver: https://map.naver.com/?bicycle=on

Maroon is cycle path;
Blue is shared walking & cycling path (also shared roadway with cars in some places on the map); and
Purple is a "recommended" road route.

Download the Naver Map App from your app store (it is in English, where the website version linked to above is in Korean).

KakaoMap is also useful and in English, with elevation (although I think Naver may do elevation as well these days).

The RidewithGPS app is also a great resource. You can download .GPS files, load your device up and use them to navigate. The 4 Rivers Trail is relatively easy to navigate, but there are some sections where there are multiple trails and a device will help.

Chris L

I toured there in October 2014. I found the climate just about perfect pretty much most of the time I was there and didn't really have any problems with the air quality. I highly recommend it to anyone who's thinking about paying Korea a visit. For me the highlights included Seoul, Suanbo (I love that little hot spring town), Gyeongju, the East Coast, and Seorak National Park (visit in autumn for the colours). I also enjoyed staying in a traditional folk village somewhere near Andong. The one occasion I wanted to use public transport, I found it easy enough to throw my bike on a bus (and this despite not speaking a word of Korean, with a driver who didn't speak a word of English).















I'd love to plan a return some day, maybe I'd follow the west coast from Seoul, then all the way around to Busan, with a detour to Jeju for a few days.