A Career in Korea

10ish hours on a plane involved watching several movies and did not involve much sleep. Not that sleep wasn't priority just that I have not found the skill in sleeping upright so waited until fatigue knocked me out. We landed and never have I felt more relieved to be off a plane walking to the baggage carousel with hope of the luggage being there.

We arrived at the first hotel which was at the side of a large shipping port as the veiws below dictate. A little bit of a logistical nightmare but a very nice place to be.

Supporting a race team jet lagged with bike storage 14 floors up with 500 other folk wanting their piece of the lift does have an effect. But like embarking on a journey, with lots of pit falls and obstacles to encounter, once you get there can be the most rewarding of feelings.

Korea is mental and a good mental at that!. Like most places in the world you get different cultures but with all of us connected by the Internet and global social awareness you don't see that much of a difference as it would have been pre- internet time ( if you catch my drift ). The country is amazing and is worth the time involved getting there. Culture is still there in abundance but lots of cash injection from a thriving economy a new culture is being born.

When you get off the beaten track you really see how amazing this place is. The land is mostly privately owned with family temples built into hillsides with landscaping and stone arcitecture. On the flip side the new Korea is very Americanised, to an acceptable degree,with one of the favourite sports being Baseball ( no Nascar ). The people are really friendly with a relaxed attitude - my cup of tea!

On with the race and the first few days it was like racing through a building site. As with most cycling events sponsored by local councils. With the booming economy most of these are still under construction. The remaining stages were around the south of the country which was my favourite part with well establishes roads meandering through excellent mountain passes leading to beautiful places like Gumi.

On these days I saw how strong our team was with attacks being made and led which gave me a bigger respect to the teams capabilities. They showed great style in doing so which to me is a strong factor. On big stage races like these I believe they bring out the character in a rider and this did so in all the team. The impression attracted attention from all opositon that stood up and congratulated the brave and talented.

Aside from the tour using large hotels we were graced with using Love Hotels. These are customary in Korea as traditional families are living in one house so to get down to "business time" can require you to use these facilities. They do make some of them very seedy but that added to the humour of the trip.

On the last day the race charged into Seoul and I charged into being 40 years old so had to make the most of it once the evening came around. The team was attending signing sessions at local sponsors Watts Bikes and then we were treated to a Bulgarian dinner supplied by the propriators. Awesome food,wine and people.

After a long night in Seouls clubs we were ferried to the airport for a pleasureable trip (not) back to the UK.

Korea done but not forgotton. Love ya!