Daily Miles: 27
Total Miles: 27
Start: Incheon
End: Itaewon, Seoul
I am a zombie today. We both woke up at around 2 AM which was around 2 PM biologically. The jet lag was real and intense and we both slept on and off for 4 more hours. At 6 AM the sky was turning into day and we both started getting our things together. We went downstairs for a breakfast buffet and it was a strange spread of scrambled eggs, hot dogs and French fries. I can only assume that this is an interpretation of American breakfast items by the hotel to make its guests feel at home. It didn’t quite work.
We then packed up our final things and made our way out into the wide open Korean world. We needed to get to the train station a few blocks away. We asked the hotel clerk for directions and he told us where to go and then looked at our bikes and shook his head.
“Maybe not bikes,” he said. “Only Saturday and Sunday. But maybe okay.”
He was trying to tell us that they might not let us bring our bikes on the train. I had done some research and he was right. Bikes are allowed on the weekends but it is up to the staff on the weekdays whether they can go on or not.
We got to the train station and went to the information booth. The worker didn’t speak good English and I didn’t speak Korean so it was hard to communicate, but eventually he allowed us on the train with our bikes which was a relief. We rode the train over the sea and to Choenga International City station, where we got off and finally hopped on the bikes. We cycled on the road for about a mile and then found ourselves at the start of the 4 Rivers bike path. There was a neat starting sign and the distance to Busan was written on the ground, 600 kilometers. The sun was shining through some haze and it was cool and warm and we were both excited that we had finally gotten here.
The ride into Seoul was really neat. The bike path is well maintained and marked and it is amazing how this path will continue on for hundreds of miles. There were a lot of people out cycling and enjoying the day, and many cyclists listened to music from speakers on their phones, so constant Korean pop music blared into the air. There were many outside work out stations, with weights and pull up bars and the like, and people were using them, pulling their bodies up and over these stationary things like you would in a gym.
We cycled for 25 miles and then got off the path and rode over the Banpo bridge. We made reservations at a hotel in Itaewon and made our way over there.
There’s so much to write about but I’m struggling to keep my eyes open. It’s only 7 PM. The jet lag is winning big. That’s it for today. 
