I woke at around 7 and was surprised to find frost on the tent. The sun was low and big and the water was still. A few people were already out for their morning exercise in the park I had camped in, one man jogging laps and another doing a strange backwards walk in a bright red jacket.

I ate a breakfast of wafers and a can of ice coffee and starting cycling early and listened to the birds I could hear along the riverbank rather than plug straight into my headphones. I passed just two cyclists in the first hour, a big difference from Seoul yesterday. The track left the riverside and after the first challenging uphill began a long unremarkable stretch which felt like cycling on an apocalyptic motorway. A dam composed of a series of silver orbs was one of the few highlights, everything was eerily quiet.

As the surroundings became greener again a military jet passed low overhead and the sound was incredible. Several more planes passed in the next hour and each one made me stop. There’s nothing like a supersonic aircraft to make you feel like you’re going slowly.

I was feeling weak and ate peanut butter I remembered I had bought in San Francisco. A 7-11 appeared like a mirage at the end of another bridge. I spent about £14 on a lot of chocolate and coffee and sat on the balcony as more jets flew loudly above.

I passed through a small city soon afterwards, leaving behind the strange barren lands of the morning. I stopped briefly at a memorial which looked over the city and passed a swimming pool or waterpark. A big grey building with palm trees painted on the walls and a tangle of plastic tubes splling out of the side.

The cycling in the afternoon became a lot more scenic and I began to feel a lot smaller in the landscape that was unfolding in front of me. I’d read the following on an information board earlier in the day:

“As the Hangang River flows along, a nostalgic mood builds up as the wind blows”

I felt it was over the top at the time, but I could start to see what they were getting at.

I was aiming for 50 miles again. It felt like a comfortable distance for me now but decent progress nonetheless. I’d like to reach 60 or 70 at some point. At this rate I’d complete the Four Rivers route in about 6 more days. I know Korea is a small country, but my georgraphy is terrible, and it’s only now i’ve put that into some context I could understand – the total distance i’ll be cycling is roughly the that from London to Edinburgh.

I took a longer stop the third checkpoint of the day. The stamp was worn out and the letters flattened but I added it to my passport, the crisp pages were becoming a beautiful inky mess. The cafe was bright pink with the word ‘Coffee’ in blue friendly big letters on the roof. A dog emerged from underneath a nearby building and I sat in the sun and drank my coffee as it sniffed around at my shoes. A cat also appeared and the woman who ran than cafe stood between them. I wondered how many visitors she got a day this time of year.

I cycled for one more hour, reaching the 50 mile mark at around 4.30 after completing another steep climb – something I looked forward to as it broke up the flat, at times highway like nature of the route, but hated for the same reasons. The track levelled out, skirting around a vaguely industrial area, before becoming more civilised again. I pulled into a park close to a motorway bridge and decisively made my camp on the side facing the river. It didn’t seem like a popular spot, probably because of the noise of the cars passing nearby, but I felt I could sleep through that and it meant i’d be less likely to be disturbed, at least by people.

I felt like I was seeing Korea in a great level of detail, but perhaps not appreciating a huge amount yet beyond the surfaces. The rivers and bridges i’d crossed, the mountains i’d cycled through or around went some way to understanding the place, but could only go so far. The language barrier made it difficult to interact with anyone beyond simple head nods or hellos, and my route was slightly defined by the cycle tracks rather than landmarks. It was strangely unadventurous in that respect, but at the same time a huge departure from the travel I was used to, and a challenge, and maybe that was enough.

Highs

• Found a majestic feather on the roadside
• Being given a chocolate bar by a cyclist at one of the checkpoints. Essentially a Korean version of a Snickers but with a much more exciting wrapper
• Appreciation for dam design

Lows

• Small existential crisis whilst listening to Kraftwerk

Playlist

Suzanna Kraft – No Worries, J Dilla – So Far To Go, Long Beard – Porch

Map (via Strava)