Wordless Wednesday: Tilt Cruisers Photo Shoot

Over the weekend myself and the rest of the Tilt Cruisers (the Pohang motorcycle gang that I am part of) were finally able to take our long-awaited pictures in our newly crafted leather vests.  As many of you know, my bike was totaled a few weeks ago so I was able to take my personal shots on a friend's bike.  The following pictures are thanks to Jonny Finity and his ability to take amazing pictures.

Dad, I hope you're not too jealous of all the sweet bikes and awesome leather vests.

TILT Cruisers and OK Mountain

Korea during the summer is one of my favorite places to be.  There is the choice of mountains or beach, both only a short drive away.  Tank tops.  Bathing suits.  Flip flops.  Digging toes into the sand.  Grilling outdoors.  Breathing in that fresh air.  There is really nothing like it.

As you can tell, with the beautiful weather also comes sporadic at best blog posts.  With beautiful scenery only a short ways away I just can't justify staying indoors and missing out on that sun that has been so fickle the past few months.

The "Cruisers" for the weekend

This past weekend I was lucky enough to head to beautiful OK Mountain with my motorcycle crew, the "TILT Cruisers."  We took a ride that was about 2 hours away and were able to see one of the most beautiful mountains I have ever seen.  Bright green leaves, huge trees and intermittent waterfalls made it the most scenic bike trip yet.

This picture doesn't remotely do it justice

We found a campsite and were able to swim, bike along some great roads and just relax away from the screaming of tiny children and smells coming from the Posco steel factory.  Our particular campsite was also ideally situated around a freshwater stream.  After a long morning of biking it was fantastic to be able to jump into the  clear water and clean up before getting into the swing of things that night.  We spent the rest of our trip just enjoying the company of eachother, eating some great food and talking until the wee hours of the morning.

Our freshwater pool

One of the many waterfalls seen during our trip

As you can tell, we were in paradise.  What more can a girl ask for?  Good friends, good food, beautiful scenery, motorcycle riding, swimming, etc.  It's safe to say now that summer has finally shown up I am having a great time and "living the life."

Gyeongju: A Cherry Blossom Bike Ride

[Thanks to Emily and Kory for these great pictures]

Over the weekend I took my first true biker ride.  A group comprised of 5 foreigners and 17 Koreans took a little ride to the beautiful city of Gyeongju to check out the cherry blossoms that come out around this time each spring. 

The lot of us met up at our "bike shop" and began the process of organizing the groups for the ride that day and who would be taking care of the foreigners.  Because our group was so big, it took a lot of communication among our new friends to figure out how exactly this was going to work.  Everyone got in a line according to their group, found their group leader and hit the road.  My bike was the slowest of the 22 (embarrassing to say the least) and was put into the ending part of the group.  Thankfully I had a few fantastic Koreans to be in my group and make sure that my poor little 50cc was able to withstand the 70km trip to Gyeongju.  They formed a rotating box around me on the highway in order to "protect me" and checked in on me during every rest stop.  While my pride was understandably hurt, I was not so secretly thrilled that I was getting so much encouragement during my first, big ride.

Our group during a roadside photo shoot.  If you squint
you can see me on the far right on the orange bike.

There's always time to do the peace sign

I had to add at least one thing Harley Davidson
for dear old Dad

After the roadside photo shoot, we continued on our way.  We wove our way through the countryside to the bustling city of Gyeongju, stopping along the way for a few more pictures.  

At yet another photo shoot.  Here is the entire crew for the day. 

Due to the short-lived cherry blossoms, the traffic was absolutely insane.  Bumper to bumper traffic as far as the eye can see.  Thankfully, the fact that we were on motorcycles afforded us the ability to do a little weaving through traffic.  Don't worry Mom, I was as careful as could be.   The veteran Koreans we were with were seasoned in how to maneuver traffic, keep together as a group and seamlessly coordinate directions.

Maneuvering through traffic

The rest of our trip was beautiful.  We took a quick detour to see some of the more cultural sides to Gyeongju and to try and get our fill of cherry blossoms.  We parted ways with our Korean motorcycle gang as they headed up the coast and we headed back to Pohang.  I had an amazing time with them and learned just how difficult (but exhilerating) riding in large groups can be.

Just one of the beautiful cherry blossom trees 

On all accounts, it's safe to say that my first official bikers ride was a smashing success.  We got to Gyeongju and back without any casualties, saw the rare cherry blossoms and had one hell of a day.  For our next big ride in May I know one thing for certain: a faster bike is a must.

TILT Cruisers and Crab

[Another big thank you to Emily for taking pictures during our scooter trip!]

The weather is finally getting warmer here in Pohang.  During the day it almost feels like spring.  When the blossoms finally make their appearance it will finally look like the spring weather we are all so desperate for.

I spent my Sunday with a bunch of other proud scooter owners going up and down the coast.  We have dubbed ourselves the "TILT Cruisers" and are already planning trips for the upcoming summer.  We spent this recent Sunday driving to Odo Beach (one of the best ocean views in Korea) and to Yeongduk for a crab festival.  I finally understand why my father has been jonesing for a motorcycle all these years.  There is just something about being on the open road with just you, the road and the breathtaking scenery.  Dad, I finally understand.

The majority of the TILT Cruisers

The lady riders posing for a picture overlooking the view of Odo Beach

The boys

We spend the majority of our day exploring the beaches and the amazing crab at the festival.  For my first riding trip that was longer than a casual 15 minute ride to the bus station, I think I did rather well.  I'm still fine tuning my skills but I have been assured they will only improve with continued riding.  After an amazing full day of riding I can only wait with anticipation for the upcoming summer and all the adventures to be had.

Keep on the lookout for the upcoming excursions.

The crabs just waiting to go for their steam

Teagan was so utterly happy about all the crab about to be devoured

An amazing rice, crab and seaweed combination

Demolished

Teddy and I showing off our face point at the festival