Monday June 13 2016
Strava Link
5 stamp day
We rolled out of the Hotel carpark at 7:10 am knowing we had a huge day of riding ahead of us. The first check point was Gwangnaru Bicycle Park (광나루한강(자전거)공원) about 7 kms from where we started and signs were telling us that Seoul was only 21.5kms away. I was hoping the ride would be shorter than expected.
The scenery was interesting across the river, I think there was a mix of mist and pollution blanketing everything in white.
We rode under many bridges and over passes - which got us out of the sun and they were quite fun to ride through.
The second checkpoint of the day was Ttukseom Hangang Park 한강시민공원 뚝섬지구 (뚝섬한강공원) about 5kms from the last checkpoint. We liked these close to each other checkpoints.
The third checkpoint of the day was the Yeouido Center (여의도공원) - the big building in the background is the National Assembly Hall.
The final countdown ....
Some of the scenes we passed by on our fast track along the river ....
Wayne was surprised to see these runway markers just planted in a park.
Below : The fourth checkpoint was Ara Hangang Center, 경인 아라뱃길 which was in the middle of nowhere and was the second last stamp of the trip!
Below : This stretch of the river system had a tourist boat going up & down, which was a bit of a novelty and not many of the rivers had much in the form of motor or aquatic sports.
The picture in the bottom right hand corner below is that of a reproduction of an ancient signalling system they used in Korea.
The actual final countdown - this was so tough as it was getting really, really hot as well as being mentally challenging ...
The final stretch ...
Done, done done! Hoorah for us! Once we finished and did the celebratory happy dance, we then proceeded to try to find the certification office - which was about 500 m away - un signposted.
Last stamps at the Ara West sea lock.
We had celebratory drinks and a nap in the shade.
Once we recovered from this mornings ride and the celebrations, we set off for Incheon for the last night in Korea before we flew out. We went through some lovely Industrial Kulture, big roads, with loads of traffic for about 18kms until we reached the Ferry Port and Wolmido Culture street - (the area of Wolmido played a big part in the Korean war) it is essentially a permanent fairground.
Wolmido cultural street ... and kebabs on the go ...
We then caught the ferry across to Incheon - loads of birds follow the ferry as people feed them
And then to ride the last 17 kilometres to our hotel ... along the side of the island and around the airport with planes landing just near us.
And the best sight of all - the hotel!
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