I spent two days in the Andong area and completed the start of the Nakdonggang River Cycle Path up to Sangju. Naver Map link of the Nakdonggang River Bicycle Path (낙동강자전거길): naver.me/xcAOylhL

Click to the Four Rivers Cross-country Bicycle Path main page.

Day 1 – Andong 29 March

The bus to Andong from Dong Seoul Terminal (east) left 08:10 and arrived at Andong Chogyo (안동초교) in town at 11:15 (Note: this is the second stop; the bus waits 20 minutes at the main Andong bus terminal before going into town). I was on river by 11:30 and cycled east on the north bank to Hobanjeong (호반정) for some noodles (들깨국시(&미니비빔밥) with a mini bibimbab. Nice, although I ordered the large portion by mistake!

After the food, I went opposite to Wolyeong Park (월영공원) to see the river. Then I cycled east, intending to explore the dam, but the park leading to it was closed for construction (damn dam…). It was 12:30 and I headed back west, crossed the bridge to the south side, and wandered around the entrance of Andong Folk Village (안동시립박물관) (this is the smaller folk village, not the huge one further west out of town). I walked my bike up a hill to Gurume/396 Cafe (구름에 396커피) but it was really busy so decided not to stay. It looked very nice, though, and they even served filter coffee! I was wondering why it was so crowded with families, then realised that my brain was thinking this was a Monday (my usual day off), but of course it would be busy as it’s a Sunday…

Next, about 13:15, I went to Wolyeonggyo Bridge (월영교); this is apparently the longest wooden bridge in Korea (although it’s in top of a metal frame(!?). I got my Andong Dam cycle path passport stamp, then walked across the bridge. It’s a pretty cool bridge with nice views. There are a lot of trails in the area along the river, the hills, and to the folk village I’d just been to; things to do on a non-cycling trip.

I cycled west then to the south bank and to You are here cafe (유아히어카페) for an Americano. The cafe is full of plants and has a view onto the Angong river park. There were lots of very delicious looking cakes but I decided not to… At 15:00, after about 30 minutes, I started cycling ‘properly’ towards my accommodation about 30 km away.

Wanting to take it easy, I cycled slowly. It was pleasant along the river park but as the trail went inland, there were some pretty gnarly road sections (‘disappearing’ cycle lanes, narrow roads, blind hills, plus two steep sections to walk up). Took rest at a pavilion with some views down to the river. There were also some farmland sections with some lovely bits of cycle path.

My accommodation was Queen Motel, located in a ‘new’ town which is the province’s government complex. Everything is new and big, but unfortunately it already looks a bit empty and rundown. I got to the area (~17:20) after a few wrong turns. Check-in wasn’t until 18:00, so I walked around checking out restaurants. After checking in, I showered then went out for some donkas pork cutlet. I saw Project Hail Mary was playing at the Megabox, so rushed there just in time, however, if I’d known it was a two and a half hour film, I might have waited for another time! However, I managed to stay awake and enjoyed the flick!

A few sections of Andong and Nakdonggang over the two days:

Day 2 – Andong to Sangju – 30 March

Got breakfast at the motel around 8 am. Nothing special just toast, jam and cereal. The coffee machine wasn’t working… I packed then was on the road by 9. Stopped at the Arts Centre to look around the building. It was mainly empty, sadly. The building was interesting though. It’s sad because a lot of effort seems to have gone into trying to make this new town for gov’t workers work as a community but it doesn’t seem to be working.

I didn’t get to the River Trail until 9:20. It took longer than expected to get of town due to a few wrong turns. Eventually I got to a very long, nice path along an embankment. Stopped by a weir for some fruit ~09:50. Lots of embankment cycling in the this section. The riverside farming infrastructure in the Korean countryside is pretty impressive.

At 11:00, I got to a very cool, raised wooden section of the trail. I liked it so much, I went back and cycled it again! 11:40 while taking a break at a pavilion, a fire watch patrol guy gave me a banana!

I stopped for the next passport stamp (Sangju Sangpunggyo) at 12:15. There was a refrigerator filled with bottles of water to help yourselves to, just toss 1,000 won into a slot! It seems to be run by one of the cycle hostels in the area. This is also the place where the cycle path from the north (Jeomcheon) connects to the Andong section.

I got to a big hill before heading to Sangju (12:44). It was mainly boardwalk, but a little too steep for me to ride all the way up. Downhill is always a pleasure though! I was getting closer to Sangju and skipped past the cycle museum; I’ll visit on my next ride (starting in Sangju) as it looks quite interesting.

I grabbed a coffee at 13:35 at Cafe621 before the final push into town.

Unfortunately, the Sangju riverside trail is currently just a massive long construction site! I’ll need to return in two years to see the results! I saw lots of cherry blossoms though.

I got to the bus station at 14:38. so changed the ticket I’d already to 15:20. 56 km today on the trail + 18 km from Seoul bus station to home = 84 km today.

Click to the Four Rivers Cross-country Bicycle Path main page.