Korea
18th February 2006, 15:25
The evil winter is finally beginning to thaw, but the Wicked Witch is still out in force. Aslan is nearer...
Was invited out by a Korean buddy to join the Daegu Riders Club (DRC) on an icy, -4 degrees tour to the Hapcheon Dam about 100kms west of Daegu city two weekends ago.
My Korean speaking ability is conversational but moronic, so to avoid confusing directions the meeting place was to be the Daegu World Cup Stadium, which hosted 4 of the 2002 World Cup matches.
Arriving shortly before 10am, and before everyone else, I had some time to freeze and take a couple of posie pictures with the stadium.
At last my buddy Lee Sung Min arrived on his 'Hello Kitty' CBR400RR to say the meeting place had changed to a bike shop at the other end of town. Daegu city's population is in the 2.5 million range, so the other end of town is a 40 minute ride away...
Arrived frozen at the hole-in-the-wall bike shop to find a riding group comprised of all shapes and sizes: 2x CBR125s, 2x R1s, 954 Fireblade, CBR1000RR, and I got my first look at the K6 GSXR1000!
The 'R1000 looks stocky and tough. The tail is all too short which makes it look squat - like a bulldog poised for a scrap. Later I also found out that it also knows how to boogie!
Trying to get out of the city, our group got split up at red lights at least twice which held everybody up. (At least stopping at the lights offered an opportunity to warm frost-bitten digits against engine covers).
Once out on the open-road a couple of guys missed the turn-off to the hills, so I had to blast after them to catch up and reel them in again. Organised, we were not.
Once in Hapcheon, we stopped at a little Tak Galbi (chicken and rice stir-fry) restaurant for some hot and spicey eats. Korean food is quite possibly the hottest and spiciest food you can get. Most food is prepared with salubrious dollops of red-chili paste, but once you've lived here for a while, and your tastebuds have all been incinerated, you get used to the heat.
After eats, we stopped in a large carpark in front of a mountain range for a bout of wheel-stands, stoppies, and knee-down antics before hitting the twisties proper.
The pace was average, I was going about 80% and managing to stay in touch with the K6 (not that he was trying, mind you~ I'm slow). One of the CBR125 riders was doing his best to keep up through the tight stuff behind me and doing a damn good job of it~ I was quite impressed.
I had a small 'moment' when I really revved the CBR600RR out along a straight stretch, got my brake timing all wrong (too little too late), and went quite wide on the next corner. Danger Will Robinson~ remember to take it easy on those unfamiliar roads kids!
Finally, after doing a few twisty roads hither and yon, it was getting colder again and we began the return to Daegu at about 4:30ish.
Cruising along a country road at about 120kmph, suddenly a couple of hounds jumped out into the middle of the road in front of me.
I surprised myself by not really panicking at all - they were smallish and I just aimed for a gap and hoped for the best. I carved between them with about a foot on either side. I don't think I even braked. Not sure what would have happened if I'd hit the poor pups, but I think I (and they) got pretty lucky that day.
Finally returned to Daegu and got home about 5:30pm, and 30 minutes later than promised to my girlfriend~ who punished me rightly for being a 'bad boy'.
Missing NZ, but Korea's not so bad... ;-)
Was invited out by a Korean buddy to join the Daegu Riders Club (DRC) on an icy, -4 degrees tour to the Hapcheon Dam about 100kms west of Daegu city two weekends ago.
My Korean speaking ability is conversational but moronic, so to avoid confusing directions the meeting place was to be the Daegu World Cup Stadium, which hosted 4 of the 2002 World Cup matches.
Arriving shortly before 10am, and before everyone else, I had some time to freeze and take a couple of posie pictures with the stadium.
At last my buddy Lee Sung Min arrived on his 'Hello Kitty' CBR400RR to say the meeting place had changed to a bike shop at the other end of town. Daegu city's population is in the 2.5 million range, so the other end of town is a 40 minute ride away...
Arrived frozen at the hole-in-the-wall bike shop to find a riding group comprised of all shapes and sizes: 2x CBR125s, 2x R1s, 954 Fireblade, CBR1000RR, and I got my first look at the K6 GSXR1000!
The 'R1000 looks stocky and tough. The tail is all too short which makes it look squat - like a bulldog poised for a scrap. Later I also found out that it also knows how to boogie!
Trying to get out of the city, our group got split up at red lights at least twice which held everybody up. (At least stopping at the lights offered an opportunity to warm frost-bitten digits against engine covers).
Once out on the open-road a couple of guys missed the turn-off to the hills, so I had to blast after them to catch up and reel them in again. Organised, we were not.
Once in Hapcheon, we stopped at a little Tak Galbi (chicken and rice stir-fry) restaurant for some hot and spicey eats. Korean food is quite possibly the hottest and spiciest food you can get. Most food is prepared with salubrious dollops of red-chili paste, but once you've lived here for a while, and your tastebuds have all been incinerated, you get used to the heat.
After eats, we stopped in a large carpark in front of a mountain range for a bout of wheel-stands, stoppies, and knee-down antics before hitting the twisties proper.
The pace was average, I was going about 80% and managing to stay in touch with the K6 (not that he was trying, mind you~ I'm slow). One of the CBR125 riders was doing his best to keep up through the tight stuff behind me and doing a damn good job of it~ I was quite impressed.
I had a small 'moment' when I really revved the CBR600RR out along a straight stretch, got my brake timing all wrong (too little too late), and went quite wide on the next corner. Danger Will Robinson~ remember to take it easy on those unfamiliar roads kids!
Finally, after doing a few twisty roads hither and yon, it was getting colder again and we began the return to Daegu at about 4:30ish.
Cruising along a country road at about 120kmph, suddenly a couple of hounds jumped out into the middle of the road in front of me.
I surprised myself by not really panicking at all - they were smallish and I just aimed for a gap and hoped for the best. I carved between them with about a foot on either side. I don't think I even braked. Not sure what would have happened if I'd hit the poor pups, but I think I (and they) got pretty lucky that day.
Finally returned to Daegu and got home about 5:30pm, and 30 minutes later than promised to my girlfriend~ who punished me rightly for being a 'bad boy'.
Missing NZ, but Korea's not so bad... ;-)