Korean Adventure Day 13 (54km, 263m)

It is all feeling a little bit surreal. Today is it. The last day. The finale. The bookend. The final leg. La fin.

Already. It has gone by crazy fast. I can’t believe that, other than a couple of short taxi boosts, I was able to finish this ride. Yay me!! Seemingly unclimbable hills were scaled and never ending kilometres were crushed.

Back on our bikes to get back to Sokcho. We are anticipating an easy ride, following the trail we have already travelled.

Our first POI is Korea’s first president, Syngman Rhee’s cottage from the early 20th Century. What this man was able to achieve in his lifetime is nothing short of amazing. I think we all learned something new and interesting there today.

Next up, we are passing through the Fish Festival again. We have time to explore the stalls and watch some games. Including the fish catching!  Hilarious watching everyone jump around a pool trying to catch these fish with their hands. And when they do, they take them to the booth to get them killed, gutted, skinned, and sliced & diced for immediate consumption. Being a Saturday, it was much livelier and was fun to be a part of. We even got treated to the soldiers’ talent show rehearsal.

The last POI is the Cheongganjeong Pavilion. Back in the day—like waaaayyy back—nobles would come here and relax while staring out at the unique and beautiful scenery. The actual structure has since been rebuilt—the last change being in 2012, but the views are the important part.

We are now mere kms from our hotel. We cross a couple of enormous bridges, take an elevator down and meander through the busy streets of Sokcho. And then, as if by magic, we are in the hotel parking lot.

Victory cheers erupt, high fives are given, smiley photos are taken and cold beer is drunk. All well deserved.

• 9 days on a bike
• 1 rest day
• 574 km
• 4078 m of climbing

The ride is over, but our day is not. We are hungry!!  Sang has chosen a Chinese restaurant. We have our fill of some very spicy food and give ourselves a lot more cheers. What a night.

Well done team!  Paul and Sang have done the most amazing job at keeping this trip going. We saw so many things, stayed in all kinds of places, ate EVERYTHING Korea has to offer and got to explore the coastline in the most perfect way.