Thursday, July 23, 2009

Cycling In Korea - Building a Community of Riders - PanAmerican Dreams Ahead


Facebook group "Cycling in Korea" & Arctic Bike 2012.

Interviewing live @ TBS eFM 101.3FM studio, Seoul, Korea.

Kickstart Morning Show with Shane & Erica, thanks for having me!!!

Listen in to TBS Radio - http://tbsefm.seoul.kr/

Busy streets near Chungmuro Station, Namsan Tower.

Hey Peter, [RE: Connecting Riders - Cycling in Korea - The Korea Times]

Great to hear from you!!! I'm in the opposite corner of Seoul (Southwest, Ansan/Siheung) the dungeon of Korea's largest metropolis, and the heart of the industrial fields of factories (I prefer rice!!! haha)

I'm not a professional cyclist, I am a pragmatic adventure rider. I have yet to purchase a touring bike for the Americas trip [pending], so I have ridden anything that can fly down these Korean roads, even Made In China, which is under 300,000Won, incredibly, I have done it on these, and my stories finally hit the Korea Times. My mission is to get as many riders involved in the Pan-American ride in 2012, it will be epic because people who ride with community, supporting charities, and hammering their yayas off, generally have a good time in tough situations. I've spent half my life going for the next adventure, Korea was no other, and I am still living that adventure, would like a visit with the family in Windsor, Ontario, it's been 33 months since I've seen all of them.

My ambition is much bigger than my bite, I'll ride anything with two wheels, but I know it's time to upgrade to something reliable for a long time, a home-on-wheels, and being faster and stronger are going to important features of the Arctic Bike in 2012. If you read my response to my friend Dan on my status update, it explains everything right now.

I have ridden to Suji, Seongnam, Bundang, Yongin on occasions (3 months straight, Dec 07-March 08) to commute happily to church in Ansan for Sunday service. I moved back to Ansan with my wife (Mi Sung, Korean national) and she delivered our son Matthew, whose now 16 months 5 weeks later. It's been challenging living in Korea, but cycling has been my savior, my rock, my companion, my inspiration for life!!!

Thanks for adding to friends, hope to encourage your riding and involvement in "Cycling in Korea" group or my other "Cycling International, Photos, friends..." would be good places to check out, the Cycling in Korea group was founded by other riders, I want to build the momentum there, I'm working on it now with these media spots, there's a lot going into the expedition work, training is vital, just going out and taking trips here or there can really help. My friend in Canada is going to be advising me on nutrition, training (already recommended spinning indoors!!! have to start with that soon!!!), I cycled so much last year, in top shape (for a worn 36 year old), but destroyed my lungs with the road dust (Yellow Dust) as I didn't notice when it hit in the spring of '08. I ended up bursting a cluster of blood vessels in one lung, talk about cycling like a maniac haha...doctor ordered me off the bike. I did, took up skiing instead and wrecked my ankle last January. I went back to cycling after the winter, but I pick my days due to the heavy smog in my area, I've discovered two best routes: Daebudo Island, right in my backyard, West of the factories (outside the mainland airmass), and the second is Gangneung to Busan, the hardest riding consistently in Korea. I made mission trips on the bike there about 4-5 times this season. That's the breaker, the builder, the do-it-all ride for sure. Other places rock too (I didn't write the book on Korea Cycling, there must be sooo much more), but Seongnam to Suam, to Andong, to Daegu (where I stopped, 355km) is really good, or keep on going to Busan! West coast is exciting (very sweltering hot too, Ansan to Suwon, to Osan, to Pyeongtaek, to Cheonan, to Boryeong/Daecheon Beach (yes, the Mud Fest location), to Gunsan, to Byeongsanbando National Park, yes...that's another good ride. Even segments across familiar routes, go as far as you can, ride the subways back [weekends only].

I better go [rest], give me a call when you have a weekend free, I work till 3pm Sat, off Sunday and Mondays. Working Tues-Fri 2-7pm currently. I've been busy with life too, family and oh, I read/enjoy/learn a lot from the crazyguyonabike blog, what a fantastic place to enjoy!

Peace & Talk Soon! [ For more information on "Cycling in Korea" email: tesol2000@gmail.com ]

No comments:

Please share the free inspiration and adventure cookbook with all your friends and families (:

Ted Simon Foundation

About the Korean-World Author

Brian Perich was an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) lecturer for a decade, father, and adventure cyclist based in South Korea.

Previously, Brian has led Canoe adventures in Quetico Provincial Park, Atikokan, Ontario, Canada (1993/1999); led Grand American camping adventures (2000); lived at Paramahansa Yogananda's SRF Ashram for 5 months (see the film "AWAKE"), formerly worked in titanium welding at Agilent Technologies, formerly worked in Winery industry in Marin County with Kendall Jackson in California; Surfing and Meditation continued for several years in California, British Columbia, South Korea, Yoga training in California 1999-2000.

Between 1994-1998 - Brian completed his own adventures with motorcycles. His motorcycling marathons took him across the United States and central/western Canada, while traveling solo over an astounding 24,000km in 60 days! Brian endured 900 mile/1300km average days in the motorcycle saddle and apparently loved every minute of those adventures.

Today, he has given up motorcycle adventures altogether, but finds an outlet for his enthusiasm in outdoor recreation while bicycle touring and micro-blogging about those experiences on his mountain bikes.

While employed as an English teacher in South Korea, Brian has became an advocate for bicycle touring on his mountain bikes. The Korean-World blog originated from those small adventures in Korea, now expanded to cover his recent trek down the TransMongolian highway to the Gobi Desert, cycling 900km east through the Khentii grasslands and in 2012 crossing Mongolia in 45 days, 2500 kilometers 1553 miles. HimalayasX expedition Brian previously cycled across western China, the Taklamakan Desert, the northern Himalayas of East Turkestan Xinjiang/Uyghur Autonomous Region, the corrugated back roads and mountains of Kham Tibet. Brian successfully completed his 2011 mountain bike expedition with 3200 kilometers / 1988 miles unsupported, on/off road MTB adventure cycling.
Brian has completed his second mountain bike journey, MongoliaX expedition - Crossing Mongolia 2012, an unsupported mountain bike MTB expedition across 2500km of Outer Mongolia from Ulanbaatar to Altai Taven-Bogd National Park bordering China, Russia and Mongolia.


In 2013, as a sequel to a trilogy of cycle tours, Brian enjoyed a more leisure bicycle tour onboard his Koga-Miyata World Traveller seeing the northern tier of the United States and western Canada covering 3400 kilometers / 2000 miles in 30 days. This North American cycle tour was called Totherocktour. Enjoying the adventure of bicycle travel and every great conversation started while traveling on the road - has refueled his inspirations to cycle around the Earth. In 2013, while he cycled solo from the Great Lake State of Michigan, United States to Banff National Park in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. He weaved through local communities and reconnected with friends, family and community after spending almost a decade in Asia.


Brian is now supporting several non-profit foundations through expeditions: IDEAS Foundation of Canada IDEAS is the acronym for Intestinal Disease Education and Awareness Society which supports the IBD community, those suffering from IBD-inflammatory bowel disease, also known as Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis.


The second non-profit foundation is ETE.ORG - Education Through Expeditions, UK which supports educational outreach programs inside schools around the world. ETE connects explorers with students in the classroom, through an interactive online program in development (Beta).


Brian is researching support for a 18000 kilometer bicycle expedition across the Americas: North, Central and South America - ONE -Arctic to Argentina
Please contact him if you are interested in helping out.

Twitter: Cycleagain
Location: Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea or southern Ontario, Canada.

Thanks for visiting my Journal from Asia

I hope you enjoy the updates!

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Brian's friends have also been...Cycling in Korea!

Brian's friends have also been...Cycling in Korea!

Cycling in Korea, Warning: always wear a helmet! (I gave mine to my friend)

Cycling in Korea, Warning: always wear a helmet! (I gave mine to my friend)

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