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.
A 291 km round trip from Yonggang-ŭp - roughly 5 h 05 in the saddle. On the way it passes Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1, Tokhung-ri Tomb, Tomb of King Tongmyong and Jinpha-ri group and back through Tokhung-ri Tomb. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Before anything else, an honest note: independent travel in North Korea is not possible, and visitors can only go on organised tours with official guides, so a ride here is a matter of reading about a place rather than taking a route. With that said, the Twin-Column Tomb sits near Yonggang, a town of about thirteen thousand on the plain near the coast, not far from the larger city of Nampo, and it belongs to the Koguryo kingdom, one of the Three Kingdoms of ancient Korea.
Read the complete Twin-Column Tomb write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Twin-Column Tomb is where the day begins. Next is Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1, 44 km on.
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 comes up about 47 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tokhung-ri Tomb.
Beneath a low grassy mound in the countryside south-west of Pyongyang lies one of the finest painted tombs of the ancient kingdom of Koguryo. Tokhung-ri was built in 408 for a high-ranking official, and its walls are covered in murals showing his life: processions, hunting scenes, officials paying respects, mythical creatures and a starry sky with the sun and moon. Unusually, it carries a long ink inscription giving the man's titles and the date, which makes it an important anchor for the history of the whole kingdom. It is part of the Complex of Koguryo Tombs inscribed by UNESCO in 2004.
Read the complete Tokhung-ri Tomb write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 85 km into the recorded legs you reach Tokhung-ri Tomb. 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, about halfway. Next is back through Tokhung-ri Tomb.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tokhung-ri Tomb write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Tokhung-ri Tomb sits at 177 km, about halfway. Next is back through Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1, 45 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 through Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1 comes up about 245 km into the recorded legs. Next is Twin-Column Tomb.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Twin-Column Tomb write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Twin-Column Tomb closes the day.
Twin-Column Tomb → Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1 is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1 → Tokhung-ri Tomb is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tokhung-ri Tomb → Tomb of King Tongmyong and Jinpha-ri group is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tomb of King Tongmyong and Jinpha-ri group → back through Tokhung-ri Tomb is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tokhung-ri Tomb → back through Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1 is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tokhwa-ri Tombs No. 1 → Twin-Column Tomb is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.