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.
From Sunan it runs 300 km to Sunan; allow about 4 h 35 of riding. On the way it passes 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 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.
Tomb of King Tongmyong and Jinpha-ri group comes up about 59 km into the recorded legs. Next is Anak Tomb No. 1, 68 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.
about 150 km into the recorded legs you reach Anak Tomb No. 1. 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, late in the day. Next is Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1, 68 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.
Back at Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1. That is the ride.
Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1 → Tomb of King Tongmyong and Jinpha-ri group is 59 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 → Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1 is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.