Chongye-san

Overall difficulty level: 6/10

Skill: 6/10

Aerobic: 6/10

Scenic: 8/10

Crowdedness: 2/10 (6/10 on Saturday afternoons and all day Sunday)

Chongye-san is an out-and-back 4.8km each way along a ridge the entire way, with great views of the surrounding countryside and mountains, with a glimpse of Seoul and Seoul Grand Park to the north (which Chongye-san borders). The first two km of the uphill are very steep and you'll have to walk most of it. After that, you can ride most of the trail, with occasional steep pitches you'll have to carry your bike up. The ride back down is truly amazing: like I said, it's very steep and fast, with some drop-offs and a few other obstacles, but overall it's not too technical. It's not a very well-known ride, although it is becoming more popular with both hikers and cyclists.

Access: Chongye-san is outside southern Seoul, in the satellite city of Kwachon. The trailhead is on the southern side of the mountain, on the extreme western end. The most direct way to get there is to first get to Yangjae subway station the best way you can, which is probably by bike (a 15 minute ride from the Han River). In any case, you'll need your map. From here, you've got about 30 minutes' more riding just to get to the trailhead. You could always drive, but then you couldn't really call yourself a cyclist, eh? Anyway, go south on Kangnam Daero -- it's the road that goes from Hannam Bridge to Yangjae Station. Just continue straight on that road out of Seoul, past Songnam until you see a stop-lighted intersection with a small sign on your right that indicates Chongye-san with an arrow pointing to the right (the sign might be in Korean only). Take this road for a while, heading west. Chongye-san will be on your right the entire commute. You'll go through a town about 2 km from the big intersection with the small sign. Continue straight through this town. A freeway will eventually end up in between you and the mountain. Just keep following the same road for another 2 km or so until you get to a free-standing gas station. This gas station is about 50 meters too far. Before reaching the gas station, there is a freeway underpass. Take it. Immediately on the other side of the freeway, turn left and follow the road parallel to the freeway for 100 meters or so. The trailhead is very, very close now, and might even be within sight. Looking at Chongye-san, you might see hikers wandering through a farm and into the woods to your left. That's the trail, and you can access it from a few places right near that farm, which borders the road you just came in on -- the one that lies parallel to the freeway.

Suggested coursing: This one's easy. It's just a ridge. Stay on the main ridge trail. There are little turn-offs along the way, but they tend to meet up again shortly. You know you're at the top when you come to an overlook where you can peer directly down into Seoul Grand Park (look for the chairlift that crosses a lake). The mountains in front of you are Kwanak-san (a little to the left) and Umyon-san (a little to the right). Turn around and fly down the hill, which is what it really feels like riding on the ridge, with the mountain falling away on both sides. It takes about 90 minutes to ascend, and 25 minutes to descend. About 9.6km/120 minutes.

Additional notes:

--Steve Danyo