CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
401 km from Sunan to Sunan, about 6 h of riding. The stops in between: Yaksu-ri Tomb, Tomb of King Tongmyong and Jinpha-ri group, Anak Tomb No. 1 and back through Tomb of King Tongmyong and Jinpha-ri group. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
This is a place almost no one reading these words will be able to reach on two wheels, and it is better to say so plainly. Tokhwa-ri Tomb No. 1 lies in the countryside north of Pyongyang, in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, among a group of burial mounds from the kingdom of Goguryeo. Independent travel in North Korea is not possible. Foreign visitors, when the country admits them at all, travel only on organised tours with official guides, follow fixed itineraries and are not allowed to drive or ride. Citizens of some countries, including the United States, are barred from travelling there by their own governments, and many others are strongly advised against it.
Read the complete Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1 is where the day begins. Next is Yaksu-ri Tomb.
Not every place on a list like this is somewhere an ordinary visitor can simply ride to, and Yaksu-ri is one of them. The tomb lies in the west of North Korea, near the coastal city of Nampo, and it is one of the painted tombs of Koguryo, an ancient kingdom that ruled much of Korea and Manchuria for several centuries. The group of tombs was listed by UNESCO in 2004, and visits are only possible on organised, escorted tours, which means that planning a motorbike trip here is not realistic.
Read the complete Yaksu-ri Tomb write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Yaksu-ri Tomb comes up about 44 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tomb of King Tongmyong and Jinpha-ri group.
This is one of the few places in a ride collection that you almost certainly cannot ride to on your own, and it is worth saying so plainly. The Tomb of King Tongmyong lies in North Korea, southeast of Pyongyang, and the country admits foreign visitors only on guided tours, with fixed itineraries, official guides and no independent driving, let alone motorcycling. Still, it is a remarkable place, and knowing about it adds a layer to understanding the Korean peninsula.
Read the complete Tomb of King Tongmyong and Jinpha-ri group write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 109 km into the recorded legs you reach Tomb of King Tongmyong and Jinpha-ri group. Next is Anak Tomb No. 1, 58 km on.
A few kilometres north of Anak Tomb No. 3, the same farming plain holds another Goguryeo burial, Anak Tomb No. 1, and the contrast between them is a nice example of how varied these graves can be. The Goguryeo kingdom, whose people built great mountain fortresses and left thousands of stone tombs across what is now North Korea and north-east China, painted the walls of its aristocratic graves with scenes from life, belief and the afterlife. Tomb No. 1 belongs to the same early group, with a chamber of dressed stone slabs and plastered walls, and it is part of the World Heritage listing of Koguryo tombs that dates from 2004.
Read the complete Anak Tomb No. 1 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Anak Tomb No. 1, about halfway. Next is back through Tomb of King Tongmyong and Jinpha-ri group.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tomb of King Tongmyong and Jinpha-ri group write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Tomb of King Tongmyong and Jinpha-ri group sits at 232 km, about halfway. Next is back through Yaksu-ri Tomb.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Yaksu-ri Tomb write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Yaksu-ri Tomb comes up about 357 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1, 58 km on.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1 closes the day.
Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1 → Yaksu-ri Tomb is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Yaksu-ri Tomb → Tomb of King Tongmyong and Jinpha-ri group is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tomb of King Tongmyong and Jinpha-ri group → Anak Tomb No. 1 is 91 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Anak Tomb No. 1 → back through Tomb of King Tongmyong and Jinpha-ri group is 89 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Tomb of King Tongmyong and Jinpha-ri group → back through Yaksu-ri Tomb is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Yaksu-ri Tomb → Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1 is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.