Cycling to Jeongseojin for a 100km Challenge
Ever since I bought Strava's paid "Summit" mode, I've become very interested in their services. Among them, the challenge feature gives you personal goals and makes it easy to stay motivated. The reason I rode all the way to Jeongseojin (a coastal plaza in Incheon) today was for the "April Granfondo" challenge. It's a challenge where you get a virtual badge for riding 100km in a single day, and I took it on with my coworkers.
Us beginners rode until our feet sweat
There was some confusion in the morning, so we ended up departing around 9:30 AM. Seeing how many people were already out and about, it didn't seem like today's ride was going to be easy. We decided to take a break once we got out of Seoul, but by the time we left the city, everyone's souls were already leaving their bodies. We were supposed to hurry there, eat, and come right back to avoid the peak temperatures and crowds, but it felt like that plan was already ruined.
We really should have picked up the pace on the Ara Canal path, but our speed actually dropped significantly instead. We took some Amino Vital in the middle not sure if it helped and cheered each other on, barely making it to Jeongseojin. When we arrived, everyone's windbreakers were soaked in sweat and turning white. Ah... what do we do now? Haha.
We originally planned to head back and eat lunch, but if we did that, it felt like someone was going to get carried away in an ambulance. So, we decided to eat first and just take our time going back. While looking for a decent restaurant, we went to a raw fish place located right where you enter the Ara Canal from Jeongseojin.
We had an incredibly delicious meal and headed back to Seoul. If the ride there was filled with thoughts of "When will we arrive?", the ride back had me thinking I'd lose my voice from shouting "Passing on your left~~!" It might have been a bit better if we had taken the north path, but coming down the south side ended up taking way longer than the trip there. Cycling really seems like an exercise you just have to wake up early in the morning to do.