Cycling, cyling and more cycling!

My weekend was spent in Chuncheon (1hr east of seoul on a bus) mostly sat on the saddle of my little bicycle. A friend from climbing got himself a road bike last week and as we are off climbing at Seoraksan National park at the end of this week, we decided that we would do a cycle to from where he lives in Chuncheon to the park. It is an estimated 120km so we thought it would be a good idea to see how the bike felt!



Chuncheon is a smallish town set by a lake and surrounded by lots of mountains. The roads are very good and quiet too, so it is perfect for a long ride. As usual, pictures to come! We set off on a loop around the lake, up and over the mountain cycling through some stunning scenery, stopped off to see a temple and made it back after 86km. There was one MEGA hill where I thought it would never end, however when I did make it the top, it was a satisfying feeling! On the way we took a ferry to cross one section of the river and encountered a snake which had been run over but was still alive (we put it out its misery) - we stopped for this half way up the hill for this... always a good excuse to have a rest!



Managed to get some wakeboarding in on Sunday. It was very different to wakeboarding at Cheongpyeong as there is NO traffic on the lake.... So smooth!! I had a bit of a suprise when I got back in and then realised the driver was just a little bit tiddly lol!! Good ol' Korea for you :)



Back to Seoul and off to the Drum Festival. This was fantastic. There were performers from Korea, Peru and Mexico and I now want to learn how to play the drums! :) Thoroughly enjoyed it.



Some good news about the teaching teachers - I am not teaching them how to teach at all!! All the teachers don't teach English, they just want to learn more English :) So, it is just like my parents class and there are only 12 people in the class. I was relieved when I figured that one out! ! We've had some good classes so far. There are three of us teaching: a girl I am working with temporarily and a bloke (who neither me and and the other girl particularly like...) I teach the middle group, my friend the lower group and the bloke the higher group. I think we'll have a fun few weeks with them!



This coming weekend is Chuseok - Korea's thanksgiving holiday. So, we have Thursday to Monday off work. Much needed!! We were given a present from school today to celebrate this holiday - a lovely gift package with different types of oils, spices and honey. I had the sesame seed oil mixed with soy sauce with dinner tonight - lovely. Because it is such an important holiday, everyone goes home to their families. Which means that the roads are blocked with traffic and a journey that usually takes 3hrs can take up to 9hrs. This is one reason I am relying on my bike for transport!! Apparently Seroaksan is fairly quiet hence why we've decided to go there for the break. There will be about 20 of us going to get some climbing in. Seoraksan is supposed to be one of the most beautiful places to see in Korea, and with autumn coming, the colours will hopefully be turning.

I am lucky enough to only be teaching today and tomorrow - Wednesday is lesson planning day this week. Off to Chuncheon Wednesday night and on my saddle Thursday morning to hopefully arrive at Seoraksan early afternoon.. Wish me luck!