Korea Ride Report April 06

[Korea]

…and so February decided to give March a miss and went straight into April.

At last! Spring has arrived and while my kiwi counterparts are enjoying the onset of winter, the bikes are coming out in force from under the ROK (Republic of Korea).

However, with spring comes the dreaded Hwang-Sa; really fine sand blown over from China’s Gobi desert. Allergies are flaring up, students are coughing and spluttering in class, all is covered in a fine, yellow dust and the general populace take to the streets with Michael JacksonTM masks – de rigor if you are a fashion conscious Korean.

Back to riding. Last weekend was spent about 50kms east of Daegu city at the UnMun dam which feeds the waterworks to all the surrounding areas. There, the road twists with big, wide-open sweepers which run alongside the river. While it isn’t a main road, it is wide, well-maintained and smooth. On any Sunday you can expect to see anywhere from 20-50 riders from all over the surrounding areas, Daegu, Gumi, Ulsan, Gyeongju, and as far south as Busan.

All the roads get busy on Sundays and the UnMun road tends to get a bit crowded with cars in the afternoon – so you have to pick your time or deal with the traffic. There are also too many crazy riders that go pretty much balls-out on this road and those guys usually ride like the traffic isn’t even there.
Myself, I have plenty of fun just riding at about 80% so I try to ignore the plonkers and concentrate on riding smoothly.

Shortly after I arrived and was warming up the tyres, some clown on a 636 came blasting up behind me and tried to pass me on the inside, bollocksing-up his line completely and then cut across my line as he went totally wide and headed for the outside barrier. He came within inches of writing himself off but pulled it together at the last minute. I didn’t want him trying more of the same – so I let him go on ahead. Following him, he was all on the throttle/off the throttle through the corners and riding way beyond his ability. People like that are on the fast track to a quick end.

After a couple of runs up and down the length of the river, I stopped at the most famous sweeper where a lot of riders park up to watch everyone practicing going faster and faster until someone falls off – which seemed to happen most weekends last year. So far I haven’t seen any offs, but the season is early.

Got my first glimpse of the new R6 and had a few runs at ‘the corner’ but I’m just not getting the lines right. I’m all over the place in fact - need sweeper practice. (See video – CBR600rr).
It’s an interesting corner, or rather 2 corners, with a couple of small camber changes and a long section in the middle. I might start a thread ‘Teach Korea how to nail “the corner” Please’ with schematics and diagrams. We'll see...

Eventually the wind picked up again and the yellow dust reduced the horizon to a blurry haze so I packed it in early and made it home in time for pizza.

Overall, the UnMun dam is a nice escape that’s close to home.

Take it easy and…

[Korea]

Here's a couple of clips.
Nice road but quite a few idiots...

[DemonWolf]

Cheers Korea.... nice writeup. =)

[Motoracer]

Nice ride report man, cool pics too!

[stevedee]

Excellent stuff, let us know more about Korea sounds great.

spd:-)

[slowpoke]

Anyan Haseyeo (SP). Doesn't sound at all like the Korea I experienced! In the eight months I spent in Ulsan I only saw 1 R1...in a bike, er sorry, scooter shop window and the very occasional blur of some young wannabee wringing out a "BIG" 400cc sportsbike late at night.
I used to love watching the traffic light grand prix's going to work in the morning as 20-30 scooters all jockeyed for position...on the ice! It's the only job I've had where I actually enjoyed going to work, there was ALWAYS something to laugh at, crazy buggers.
The single cylinder 125cc GSXR/R1 "clones" with the steel frame are a crack up though, eh? And the 125/250cc single cruisers with the extra muffler connected to nothing, just so they look like a bigger twin, haha...
I got a ride down to Busan a couple of times and the mountains did look pretty inviting...although I'm not sure about the state of the roads off the freeway...and the drivers are frikkin' SCARY! I mean what's with that business of cruising up to the traffic lights at night...and turning your headlights off!! Used to freak me out and I never did find out the reason why.
And the pedestrians, JEEZUS! I vividly recal watching a middle aged woman getting frustrated with the traffic trying to cross the street, so she takes a deep breath, shields either side of her face with her hands so she can't see what is about to flatten her...and just charged across two lanes of traffic, forcing the cars to stop for HER! I just about shat myself, then the passersby must have been thinking I was having a fit or something, as I walked down the street shaking my head and laughing.
Still, the beers good. I never once got a hangover from Hite or OB, and lord knows I tried. But the Soju is a different story....oh fuck I'm havin' a flashback...and it ain't pretty...
Yep, I reckon you'd have to keep your wits about you on a bike although the local cops aren't really a threat on their full dresser harleys or better yet the scooters. Aaah, yes the scooters, hard to take 'em seriously, eh?
Thanks for the write up, it brought back some good memories.

[Korea]

Yep, I reckon you'd have to keep your wits about you on a bike although the local cops aren't really a threat on their full dresser harleys or better yet the scooters. Aaah, yes the scooters, hard to take 'em seriously, eh?
Thanks for the write up, it brought back some good memories.

Haha~ you're not wrong about the driving in Korea. Keeps you on your toes.

While we're on the subject, here are 20 Korean driving norms to observe if you're ever on the streets in this country of 47 million people and almost as many cars (slight exaggeration).

20 KOREAN DRIVING NORMS
1. Never, ever slow down when lights begin to change color.
2. Change lanes at every available opportunity.
3. When a pedestrian is about to step onto the road change into the right-hand lane.
4. Use your cell phone at all times (hands free kits are slowly eroding this one).
5. Tailgate.
6. Slow down so the driver behind you can tailgate.
7. At pedestrian crossing only stop after you have passed any pedestrians so they have to walk around your car.
8. If possible do use the sidewalks while doing U-turns.
9. Never maintain a steady speed, you should speed up, then brake, then speed up then brake...
10. Remember that the number of lanes on a road can be multiplied by a factor of 1.5. Use this knowledge!
11. Turn right only when the way is clear or when a bus is approaching.
12. If there are no parking spots: double park, park across a driveway, park in a driveway or park on the sidewalk.
13. The measure of your driving skill is inversely proportional to the distance you miss speeding objects by.
14. If you need to stop for any reason just stop, the others can drive around you.
15. Motorcyclists are invisible.
16. Use small alleys teeming with pedestrians as short cuts.
17. Do not wear a seatbelt.
18. When changing lanes do not use the mirrors just change (use in conjunction with norm 10).
19. Take corners using the widest possible arc.
20. Finally, go fast!

Oh yeah, take some Tae Kwon Do or Hapkido lessons so that you can nimbly dodge the delivery scooters that carve their way through crowded sidewalks.

[slowpoke]

Ah yes Tae Kwon Do, many was the informal "Soju Warrior" exhibition bout put on for our benefit in the wee small hours. I've never seen a couple of drunks fight so honourably! A couple of staggering swing-and-a- miss head kicks etc and finally something would connect. The guy who connected would wait until his fallen foe had collected himself or he'd help him up and they'd have at it again until the next drunken lunge connected. I never understood the term "funny as a fight" until I saw those guys in action...

[skelstar]

Cool report bro. Awesome. Enjoyed that vid too.