Bending with the Breeze

This morning I got some bad news from my contact with Incheon Fair 2009. She informed me that the mountain that we have targeted for sweet singletrack will be developed into residential high-rise apartments. I admit that I am...was bummed. My fantasy of having the international school affiliated with outdoor education now has a snag. Also, if they put high-rises to the East of MY building the sun will effectively rise for my house at about noon and set at the end of lunch due to the buildings to the West. I changed my diapers and decided to push on as my contact and another official were still interested in the pitch for sustainable dirt squirting.

Fast forward to 5:00 PM

The meeting with Incheon Fair 2009 went very well and presented some very cool opportunities for trails.

• Many of the mountains in the West of Incheon are a patchwork of ownership. We could spend years pushing for permission for access. If we go to the municipalities first we risk intimidation of the land owners (I can't blame them).


• The best mountain for trails would be Munhaksan (San - mountain). The problem is that it is divided in half and run by two municipalities. This would be a crushing amount of red tape and politics.


• The executive director started making phone calls to old contacts. The guy was magnificent! I watched as his eyes lit up several times. After he was done calling he asked me if I know of Wolmi-do. It is an island off Incheon port that was a navy installation. It is now a park. I know it is very small but could be ideal as a sanctuary of MTBing. I will scope out the land by this weekend and then report to them my conclusion. I think it's safe to say we don't want to start a project with less than 10km of dirt. This option is super close to the airport and Songdo, easy to get to from Seoul by car and subway, is cooler in the summer, and has less hikers. Hmmmmmm...


• The other option they gave was on a more GRAND scale but it's best to keep that hushed for now. If we resort to it you will be dazzled!

So, in summary, the original plan has been charred but a new, better one is emerging from the ashes. My contact has proven to be a strong advocate for Incheon Fair 2009 as well as the people around it. We have friends in good places.