A short blast up the coast to Korea’s infamous surfing mecca…the Gangwon Gangsters take to the road.

This weekend saw me take to the road again after a week on the sidelines recovering from a knee injury and a bout of ‘Man Flu’ picked up the week before on route to Seoul. I wanted to keep it short and sweet, just to see how the knee faired. I took to the east coast bike roads again and headed north, 103 km towards the tiny surf town of Ingu, for camping on the beach with a few familiar faces. Although I was on my own for this one, a few of the others were inspired to take to the saddle, as they headed down the opposite direction from their hometown to meet me in the middle at Ingu.

Some of the others took to their bike from the opposite direction. We met over burgers and beers and the world's worst, most expensive, nachos. — Some of the others took to their bike from the opposite direction. We met over burgers and beers and the world’s worst, most expensive, nachos.

Getting a lie in Saturday morning saw me leave latish at 9am to thick clouds and mist (the forecast for blazing sunshine seemed a little off). I really wanted to blast out the route and see how the knee went. Taking two short breaks to give me a little rest, I met up just in time to see everyone else rolling in, in a time of 4 hours 45 minutes.

The world's most optimistic surfer, praying for some early morning waves. — The world’s most optimistic surfer, praying for some early morning waves.

Team Cal and Blythe reppin the new 'Wishes for Kids' stash. — Team Cal and Blythe reppin the new ‘Wishes for Kids’ stash.

No dramas at all on route and the sun came out halfway through to give me some horrific tan lines any pastey Englishman would be proud of. The group from the north rolled in at the same time and we went about enjoying the sun in Korea’s now not so unknown tiny surf town. We set about setting up camp, knowing the remnants of Typhoon Chan-Hom was due to ‘blast’ us off the beach at 6am the next day. We found a little shelter to cram as many tents under as we could and set about enjoying the evening. We woke to no wind and a light drizzle, the side effects of the typhoon hitting us a lot later in the day. I opted for the bus back to give the knee (which I’m glad to say seemed a lot better) a rest and avoid the storms coming in.

Malcy didn't appear to take the warnings too seriously. — Malcy didn’t appear to take the typhoon warnings too seriously.

Our attempts to keep out of the 'downpour' we'd been promised. — Our attempts to keep out of the ‘downpour’ we’d been promised.

Normal mileage resumes this week as I set about planning for a long 2 day push north from the Southern port city of Ulsan next weekend with a good friend of mine living on the other side of Korea. Apologies the last two weeks have been on the quiet side but I’ve struggled with a bout of sickness and injury; all better now and time to push ahead. The fundraising has slowed down a little but I’m going to put every effort in possible to pick it up again, and aim high. My goal this month is to reach £5000 by the end of this month and reach 25% of the target with 2 months before the start of the long haul south. Please, if you’re reading this and are keen to support this challenge, sponsor a mile today and help bring happiness to a child’s life today.

milesforamemory

Alaska to Argentina