Morning Commute to Naechon Middle School

I teach at 3 locations and 4 different schools. Naechon Middle school is located in Naechon county and is about 20-30 minutes from my house in downtown HongCheon. The first leg of the journey is a lot of highway riding, which is excruciating on a bus, but is not so bad on a bike. Morning commuters are a lot more friendly on the road than weekend travelers so it's a bit more of a breeze to negotiate my way through traffic on the way to school. I'm planning on putting together a compilation of highway riding as most of it is fairly boring to just watch.

This particular school is in the middle among all of my schools as far as distance from my apartment. I'm going to have more and more trouble filming as it is currently the typhoon season in Korea and although I don't mind riding in the rain, my fragile point and shoot digital camera does. The furthest school I teach at is about five minutes down the road, but as the rain is becoming more and more unpredictable, I decided to film this as the morning sky looked clear that day.

This particular road goes through a lot of farm land and there is also some construction going on further down the road. What does this all mean? Random piles of dirt and mud washed all around if it happens to rain or the construction workers wash down the dirt. Even though there are a few hazards, I find my commutes to and from this school thoroughly enjoyable. Cutting down on the pace doesn't particularly seem to mean cutting down on the fun factor. I have had a few mishaps on this road. One time I had a dump truck taking up a lane and a half just around a blind corner and ended up locking up my rear tire while still leaned over. Luckily, I was riding cautiously and I simply glided my way over to the shoulder. If you look at the video, you'll notice that there are yellow and white striped bars on the road at certain places. Some of them are speed bumps and others aren't. Last year I got extremely lucky on my 250 when my tail kicked out from under me and I should have in all rights highsided, but instead I just ended up having one of the most ass-puckering moments of my life.

The scenery really is beautiful along this route. If you are heading away from HongCheon towards Sokcho, you get off after you pass through a tunnel and come to your next light with a police station to your right.

There are quite a few blind corners where they have convex mirrors set up so I can still have a bit of fun without worry of running into a stopped or slow moving vehicle. Although I don't hit this commute hard enough to get the normal adrenaline rush of riding through twisties, it still works to get me to school with a smile on my face and to bleed off stress on my way home. On a side note, I wouldn't suggest you pay too much attention to the scenery around you if you commute to a rural school on a motorcycle. I'm just making note that the scenery is there. Farming vehicles and cars seem to appear randomly at times and because many people have the mentality that no one travels the road due to its rural location, you'll have people parked on the road for no reason. Also, do not take the random dirt piles lightly. There have often been times when I have had to travel for a good 100 meters or so over a layer of dirt. I was on another country road once and there was a pile of dirt in the middle of the road right as I passed the "point of no return" in a blind left hand turn. My front wheel completely cocked to one side, my bike pushed forward and slid out to the median about a foot before I regained control. I don't want to detract you from riding country roads here in Korea as there are many opportunities for you to explore, but just be cautious. I've taken the habit of scouting a course once before I decide to have some fun on the road and it might be a good idea for you if you're spending the day on a set of twisties. If you count the oncoming cars and pay attention to the road surface, you'll be able to manage your pace so it remains at a safe level.