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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
312 km one way from Hwado - plan on about 6 h 27 of riding. The stops in between: Scenic stretch near Gwangju and near Hwaseong-si. near Osan is the high point. It crosses from South Korea into North Korea - carry ID and check the toll rules.
Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did. Water arrives beside the road and stays for 63 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go.
Hwado is a town in Namyangju, east of Seoul, in a landscape of forested mountains and river valleys where the Bukhan river flows down from the north towards its meeting with the Namhan river at Yangsu-ri. It is one of the gateways to the classic weekend rides out of Seoul, along the river towards Gapyeong and Chuncheon, and on Saturday and Sunday mornings you will see groups of motorcyclists gathering at cafés and service stations along the route.
Read the complete Fuel stop near Hwado write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Ganghwa Island Coastal Ride is where the day begins. Next is Scenic stretch near Gwangju.
Gwangju in Gyeonggi province is not to be confused with the much larger city of Gwangju in the south-west. This Gwangju lies south-east of Seoul, in a landscape of wooded hills and valleys, and it is home to one of Korea's most important historic sites: Namhansanseong, a mountain fortress on the ridges above the city, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.
Read the complete Scenic stretch near Gwangju write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Scenic stretch near Gwangju comes up about 63 km into the recorded legs. Next is High point near Osan.
This is where the road stops climbing. Next is Photo stop near Hwaseong-si.
Photo stop near Hwaseong-si, late in the day. Next is Food stop near Kaesŏng.
Kaesŏng is a name that carries weight in Korea. For nearly five centuries it was the capital of the Goryeo kingdom, the dynasty that gave Korea its name in Western languages, and it was famous for its merchants, its ginseng and its cuisine. Today it lies in North Korea, just across the Demilitarised Zone, and for riders in the South it is a city seen only from a distance, across the water and the wire, from the northern shores of Ganghwa Island and the Gimpo peninsula.
Read the complete Food stop near Kaesŏng write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Finish at Food stop near Kaesŏng. That is the ride.
Fuel stop near Hwado → Scenic stretch near Gwangju is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Scenic stretch near Gwangju → High point near Osan is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
High point near Osan → Photo stop near Hwaseong-si is 106 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Photo stop near Hwaseong-si → Food stop near Kaesŏng is 129 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.