Eleven hours in the saddle

Started writing this a few weeks ago, didn't get back to finishing it, just did.

I made it.
I'm home.
Before midnight.

I left this morning at 7am. My destination: Pohang. Google Maps it (you have to eyeball it, Google and the Govt of SK are at odds so it wont give you directions), They're not close, but I was eager to go for a long ride. Maybe too eager. I checked the time when I finally stepped into the elevator of my building: 11:18pm. I spent two hours in Pohang (intentionally that is; another hour was spent running in circles trying to follow a byway that was shown on a series of signs up to a point, after which it dissappeared). Subtracting my three hours in Pohang, we have a travel time of eleven hours. Here's what I have learned in that time:

• If it looks fucking far, then its fucking farther than you think it is.
• Riding for fun is fun. Riding to get somewhere on time sucks ass. 
• Riding down windy roads is fun. Riding down windy roads when you're late sucks ass.
• Its always a bad idea to take the scenic route when you need to be somewhere. Unless you literally have all day, you don't have enough time.
• Estimating travel times by eyeballing as-the-crow-flies approximations is a horrible idea. Punch yourself in the face if you ever find yourself doing it. 
• If you are trying to estimate time for a route you've never taken, especially if its one that's impossible to estimate because of language and/or technological barriers, do the following - Grossly overestimate the time you think it will take to get there, then add two hours. This will be much closer than your initial estimate.
• A motorcyclist with true vision knows no limits; keep adding layers until you hear stitches popping.
• My shoulder gets sore after I ride for a while. It seems to understand that we're not going up the road to the store to get milk, and its like its trying to remind me why I never drove a motorbike in Saigon. 
• Koreans are marvelous engineers and very smart people. But they suck at roads. For instance, all the important lines, like the median, are painted with government surplus paint. Its about as bright and brilliant as a reality TV superstar. Also, the layout of the roads is kinda like you set a five year old in front of sim city and told them to 'make mommy something special!'
• Another thing Koreans suck at is signs. Actually, they do signs very very well. They're clearly illustrated, marked, and in both Korean and English. Until they're not. In Pohang, I was following a very impressive set of signs to my destination. Suddenly, the trail of bread crumbs ended. I drove around for an hour. All the signs pointed at one street. A side street or two pointed at the street. No signs on or after that one even mentioned the byway I wanted to take. In the end, the byway I wanted was in the same direction as the interchange. NONE OF THE SIGNS SAID THAT, NOT EVEN IN KOREAN. Happened at least twice more, once because of construction that didn't have a posted detour.
• Koreans also sucks at laws. Its illegal to ride a motorcycle on the highway. Too dangerous. Compared to what??!! A country full of smartphones, and nobody's thought to videotape the way they drive...
• Riding after dark can be fun. Riding after dark when you're hours away from home and its past your bedtime sucks ass.
• When it gets dark outside, you face a certain dilemma: if you ride faster, you get there sooner, but the faster you go, the colder you get. If you ride slower, it gets later, and the temperature drops.
• In spite of all the bullshit, even when it blows really really bad, riding is fun, at least for the stories.