Cycling, Camping and BBQ in Hangul way - Day 2

Appointment was to meet at ten o'clock in the morning which gave more time to rest from what I needed most due to work. All my clothes all dried with the help of fan to circulate the air. Everything was packed and ready to go for another exploration. Loaded my stuff together with bike onto friend's car because he would like to show me the local street market. Had something light as breakfast from the market then moving to the campsite. Park the car then bring out the bike to roll.

It was suppose to be simple and leisure ride to the bigger city Chuncheon I didn't explore day before. We are still following bike path towards the city and my friend promised me the famous dish of Chuncheon, Dak Galbi. 
From Wikipedia "Dak Galbi consists of chicken, sliced cabbage, sweet potatoes, tteok (rice cakes), and scallions, mixed with a spicy sauce heavy on gochujang. It is usually cooked in a big iron pan in the center of the table, but the original method is over charcoal."

Passing by several bridges, river dam, university and some residential area then enter the city. With the help of the local search engine Naver, found one famous Dak Galbi store. With queue in front of the store we are sure getting into the right place. Had our bikes lock just outside the store then within minutes we are in the store.

After the yummy lunch, we are slightly behind schedule thus not going to explore in the city. As planned we will take a train ride back to the town where we will camp a night. Found the station and I am still not so sure if I could board the train with my bike. The moment I am reaching to train ticket vending machine saw many cyclists with their bikes gave me a peace in mind. Board the train last car which usually will have bike rack, unfortunately too many bikes. They are cyclist from many places, cycled to Chuncheon then take a train return to their city.

Arrived the station Gapyeong where we will go shopping for BBQ material then heading to campsite in Jaraseom. Setup my tent then start the fire for the BBQ. When it gets dark the temperature drop drastically and I have to rely on bonfire to keep warm.

The start of day 2 ride and the name of this bridge really makes me worry. To those who knew well of Penangites Hokkien will understand what it meant.

 My ride partner, no need to be solo (傻佬) anymore.

 Thought we might just take the train from here but no way....the weather was too good not to cycle.

 One of the famous activity in this region, ATV ride on the river.

Bike path include crossing bridge that was properly installed with rail to protect cyclist.

Another bridge was built to ease the traffic, and I really amazed that it was so clean though construction was ongoing. Looking back where I am coming from, a heaven and hell.

Not knowing what it mean but it was for the record of my visit.

Seeing this river dam remind me of the sickening government that restrict the wealth for them and those relate to them while the people on the other side were so "dry".

I can't find the edge of the river, can you?

Entering to the city Chuncheon. 

 Famous Dak Galbi store with most people on the queue.

Dak Galbi...yummy.

Shopping street called Myeongdong which is similar to the one in Seoul.

 University student art on display and the stuff stick on it was a gift from passer by as an encouragement.

 Almost to the train station and got attracted by these 3D feel clouds.

BlackBeauty was not alone in the station.

It was an usual way for cyclist in Korea to ride out of the city then return with a train. 

Pushing our bike towards the last car of the train.

Fully parked bike rack, I have to find another way to park my bike.

My piece of land only for tonight...lol

Tent setup and I resist to put on rain cover but later I have no choice to put on due to the weather was too cold.

Our dinner... 

Getting dark and we should get ready for dinner

 Table and chair ready, fire started....

Let's cook dinner.

Thought we bought too many wood but it was just nice for the night to keep warm.

Good night, with the bonfire outside my tent.

Actual ride route on day 2 with elevation profile and speed graph against distance.

Ride detail from my Garmin Edge 800.

Bicycle improvement

I begin to strip down those not necessary item from my bicycle after noticing I need a lighter bicycle to move around. This idea came after few ride to work which I prefer not to obstruct my move in case of clashing with the heavy traffic.I take off the front light since I am not going to ride at night.....nothing else I could remove. So I have to think of how to replace with lighter parts.

First cam to my mind was the tyres, Schwalbe Big Apple 20x2.0 got to be replaced. At first no idea what type of tyre I should be getting to have lighter weight. Then thinking of reason to get lighter was to go faster, then I shall look for tyre that can go faster. And it would be easier by just try to find out from Schwalbe since I had Big Apple on my bicycle. After further survey, I decided to go with Schwalbe Kojak 20x1.35. It is sleek which gave me speed, smaller size means lighter and it came with Kevlar technology that minimise puncture.

Next I go for cylindrical parts, handle bar and seat post. Found some attractive bar yet not able to decide which to go with. Then after massive survey I ended up with the choice I and happy with. Having carbon fibre handle bar which is made for MTB. Although the length was longer than original bar but the diameter matched to mounting. Thought I would get carbon fibre seat post but found out it cost more yet not lighter than a Aluminium Alloy. With these two replace I am taking away few hundred gram from my bike.

Later heard a cyclist complaining about original foldable pedal was not good and easily break. Without compromising the feature of folding bike I insist to get a pedal which is easily fold yet stronger then the plastic type I had on the bike. I was not able to find any good replacement except MKS removable pedal. Some may say it is not a good decision to choose removable pedal since you may forget to bring along your pedal after removing it. But to me this is all about how you handle your belonging. Once I remove my MKS pedal I will make sure it is bagged and hang to my bike.

While browsing on Dahon site admiring some other higher end bike recommend by friend, I found out Dahon Pro TT having different type of fork which is made for speed. Further research shows it is not just narrow but lighter with different material used. Immediately without thinking twice I acquire this fork for my bike. When fixing it to my bike found out several problem (just small matter) with the material used to make this fork as well as the length of the mounting rod. I am pretty sure seller in the shop says it fit perfectly on my bike but probably he forgot to mentioned with minor modification. The width of the fork is smaller than my original fork which make removing wheel with Schwalbe Big Apple 20x2.0 a little harder. Since I will be using Schwalbe Kojak 20x1.35 then this is not a problem anymore. The material used (Aluminium Alloy) was softer which is not good when I press hard on brake. This tells me to start learning softer braking as well as earlier braking to avoid accident. The reward for all this is reducing the weight of fork by half!

Last part of my modification which I later decided not to go any further modification was my saddle. It is hard decision to make when a friend offer me his saddle after he got another better saddle. My original saddle was so comfortable unfortunately it contribute lots of weight. After much thinking I make up mind to give this light saddle a try. First ride was not so easy to adapt to this saddle and my body was rejecting this saddle in a very bad way. But second ride was much easier and smoother, even with longer distance ride. With the amount of weight I could remove I could withstand the changes I have to bear with.

There are plenty of part to be replace but some of it was just too much work for me. And furthermore I do not see the point of spending more money for a bike that has a limit of what it capable of doing. Thus final weight recorded on my work on this bike was 10.6kg which I am very happy with.

Events

Event is where you could meet most of the cyclist. You may see many beginner or those just have their newly bought bike like seconds ago. Some will have a bike that equipped with top notch of gear. Other may just ride a old faithful steel bike which serve them well all those years. Besides those fully gear bicycle, you can notice quite a number of fashion enthusiast with the fancy cycling outfit. I am not commenting on their choice but to me it was colourful and really spice up the event. 

Event can be those well organised by a big company which has several tent setup with sponsor and some entertainment going on with a popular deejays from radio station. Some medium event organised by a smaller company will see the fun with the same objective of getting cyclist together in same place. Although you do not feel much of excitement from the event in medium size but the thrill of cycling with those experience cyclist is something you would like to get. 

 Other than those paid event, among cyclist will do a small gathering for ride rather than call it an event. Such gather can have the number of cyclist from 2-3 persons to over 100 cyclist. Most of the participants are those who like casual ride which is not like those racing event where you have to abide to rules and regulation. No fees require to join such event as it is "take it or leave it" kind of event where everyone must take care of your own. Organiser will try to coordinate with some volunteer to make sure everyone within the group without any problem but with limited resources. Although many will said this is "self support" ride yet you won't be left behind because at minimum you will have a ride leader and sweeper. But if a proper ride we may need more than just ride leader and sweeper, eg. navigator, technical support, first aider, marshal, etc. 

In conclusion I like any of these events although may experience some unwanted incidents. These events I join do help me grow as cyclist, make more friends, know more about cycling, know about bicycle...

Disclaimed: Some of photo are copyrighted to respective individual or company.