Gachang--Sangwongji Reservoir and Sangwonlli Village, the Amaroo Coffee Shop way

Sanwonji Observation Deck

Signage at Sangwonji Reservoir encouraging you to keep going

This pond observation deck is tucked away in the mountains.

Pizza shop road and road toward Sanwonlli Village

Level: Bunny slopes---Low Intermediate

Navigation: Intermediate (need to know how to get to Gachang and then look for Sangwonlli Village--reading Korean would be a plus but not necessary with a map)

Navigation: Heading off to Gachang and hitting the villiage roads after getting through Gachang Restaurant Alley will give you the opportunity to see village life. Taking the first left after Gachang Restaurant Alley will take you to Lusine coffee shop and Korea Dado Graduate School hill. The hill took me a few tries in the beginning--may be it was my old bike (carbon fork//10 gear) or may be it was lack of experience that had me walking up it in the beginning. I also have deep rooted fears of being clipped in and falling while hiking up hills--probably that's just me.

Going STRAIGHT at the bottom of the hill you'll pass Amaroo Coffee shop on your left which reminds me of a wine vinery visitors center on top of a hill overlooking the farm and tucked away in the mountain, with sweeping views. The road in front of Amaroo is lined with flowering trees in the spring and it's soft decline will have you in the "oh yeah, this is what cycling is all about" kinda mood.

Following this ribbon-like downhill all the way to the bottom where you'll see a playground in front of you and Hancheonseowon Confucian Academy--good for a bike-on-the-doors photo----on your right. Take a LEFT and going inward to the mountains and follow along the village road, past a pizza restaurant on the left and then you'll see some bike signage and a quiet little bus stop. Go past the bus stop and take a RIGHT. Follow along the stream, which might be dry, and keep going until you see a path that goes UP UP UP (a steep hill) on your right.

BE CAREFUL here, this leads up to the mountains and people live and work up here. Cars and trucks can come down this tiny little road and would be unexpecting of a bike in the middle of it. Stay to the right and keep your eyes out for trucks coming at your little bike operation.

Once your up, you can take in the beauty on your very own observation deck (almost never any one there).

Now what? Well, you can go home now. Or! You can keep going up!

This road keeps going up, it's a really quiet road, just a few villagers milling around who will probably say something about how crazy you are? (I heard some talking about me, saying something like biker girls have no fear) I don't know about crazy and it's not like my hometown where a mountain lion might attack you, it's not that steep of a climb, just got that super quiet where-the-heck-am-I kind of vibe.

But, you can get to the top, that last part is some really steep incline, but you would be able to follow it up and then follow the road back down on the other side and end up back in Gachang. I might do this one day but let me know if you try it!