Cycling in Daegu isn't all about brute power and free time. Once you develop your cycling legs it's really about what you know. Talking to locals got me to get off the beaten cycling track that shows up in Naver Maps. I cycled those red trails for years before I started hanging out with the 60 and up club.
Sure the bike maps are great but you'll soon find out that the mountain and farm roads and that they aren't updated as quick as the new roads are made. I also had difficulty connecting those broken bike trails. I'd always feel lost and now what, now where?
My first off the beaten track ride was when I was riding behind a woman that was going the same way and she was going with great intention. I asked her in Korean if I could follow along with her and she said sure. This was my first ride into Gachang, the neighboring town of Daegu famous for its hot steamed buns but probably more loved for it's beautiful off the beaten track bike roads that ribbon through peaceful farms, mountains, and rivers. She was at that time 70 years old, stronger and more daring than me. Braver because on the way back she rode downhill through Gachang on the road not the sidewalk and I won't ever have the courage to do that. With all the intersecting roads, I have to stop and check people are actually waiting at the light instead of rolling through.
After that, I kept cycling around in Gachang until I couldn't go anymore and I couldn't figure out how to connect to Cheongdo, the next neighboring town known for it's beautiful lotus lake, persimmons, bull fighting, and wine tunnel. I knew people kept going so I started talking to the lady that owns the supermaket next to my house. She's probably 60 or so and an avid mountain biker. Every time I'd stop by with my bike she'd ask, "Where'd you go?" "Where you going?" and then say some destination she'd been which I'd never heard of before. So, I started writing down and checking how to get to these places but I still didn't know--not an official bike road just left me puzzled.
Soon after, I was out biking the ribbons in Gachang early one cool summer morning when a large group of mountain biker women all swarmed me and said, "Hey how'd you find out here by yourself?" I asked if I could go with them and they said, "Sure". They took me to my first "real" cycling destination: Paljeolro. Paljelro is a part of a mountain group that has a soft incline and is a real treat going down. I never ever thought I could so something like that until they looked at me and said I could. So this blog is about things I didn't know I could do. These courageous women have taught me much about believing in myself and trusting my body to do things I didn't know I could do. T
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