True Dirt, The Games played to discriminate against their Competition: Cycling in Korea

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  AN DAE GI of Gangneung Bike Mart, Gangwondo, Korea 

  - Official Sponsor of HimalayasX2011 expedition -

  

   2011 - SBS1000 - Korea Randonneur, 1000km/75 hour Brevet Seoul-Busan-Seoul

  

   2007 Cervelo TT, loaned by Karl Mancini my friend in Gangneung

  

   Starting off from the Han River bicycle path in Akpujeong, Seoul, South Korea

  

   Real Korean Randonneurs!

  

   Teamwork is about finding riders that have similar abilities, and helping one another.

  

   I was enjoying the ride, and feeling the pain of maintaining 35km/h for hours and hours

  

   We headed out towards Yeoju. 

  This single day was the most difficult. 

  We completed 375km in 22 hours (lost for 2 hours too!)

  
  

  

  
  

  Anonymous:

  • How friendly are the "randonneurs"? I'm thinking of running my own "pirate" fleche (starting out Friday night for a couple of hours down to Pyeongtaek, bedding down somewhere, continuing Saturday in an all day ride to Cheong-Up, where I would again catch a few hours sleep before cycling into Gwangju on Sunday.....in order to cheer home Brian Perics team....it would be both outside the 24 hour limit and inside the 360 km minimum distance.....but hey!....I am a "pirate".....)....your team might be the only group I'd be cheering for... am starting to become heartily sick of the vanity of a few personalities on HRR.....do you the "randonneurs" would mind, though if I (in some ways) "crashed" their party.....
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  Wednesday

  Brian Perić

  • I would just plan for it. [Official Randonneur status must be registered within the 24 hour rule, route approved by organizers], a 360km outside the 24 hour rule would be much more civilized, the event last year was complete torture on me, speaking of the HRR group, I was the only non-HRR (and no other HRR was there to speak of, it was the end of season SBS1000km, 75hr) and they had burned themselves out on the closed course in Chuncheon, of course, I wasn't invited. 
    
    
    I was nervous about showing up at all, I had borrowed the Cervelo, didn't have experience like this extreme distance/time...except in 1990/1992, I rode a 240km/10 hour on a Mancini roadbike (and return from the beach parties of Grand Bend, Ontario..in 11 hours/240km). Together with my friend and Maple Leaf Cycling Club member, Ciro Viviano, we tried this again in 1992, similar times, and came 1/2 way back, because we hit thunder showers and hail, and I managed to find a stray dog (black Labrador retriever) running in the countryside on the way back...we posted ads in the Thamesville paper searching for the rightful owners, but the dog was malnourished, unkempt and had heart worms at the time we found him. My parents cared for him for the next 7 years after our other dog had been stolen by neighbors friends (payback for his rummaging in their trash bins with a pack of local pups (along with his house, lead chain, food bowl) only a month earlier.
    
    The HRR group was formed initially by the Han River Endurance Classic, which was planned by myself, Tim Travis and Arden John (the "show boats" in Korea cycling). They stole the event completely, they squabbled over who would lead between them, and Tim got red-hot angry at me because I was an organizer and wanted to participate.
    
    So, with bad seeds planted...nesting the biggest egos in Korea's amateur cycling scene (you can add many other names here), it took off as Han River Riders (Facebook) group, now adding...the Premier Cycling Club in South Korea...amending their title and Closing their group to the public (Admins must approve you now, thanks to me!) because I ride with my friend Chris here in Gangneung, and we formed a two-man club called KERCC, Korea Easy Riders Cycling Club. I chose the title because it captured all of Korea, not just the Han River. On top of the 1.0mil in event surplus $ from the HECC event that Tim and Arden stole (it was intended to help me buy gear for Arctic 2 Argentina, proof in the T-shirts we printed for the endurance, read "In support of A2A").
    
    
    Tim tried to take the $1000 order I made with REI.com, my core equipment kit, which was shipped to William, Tim's secret US embassy contact that handles his smuggling business of Titanium bike parts into Korea, also the receiver of my REI.com goods, he delivered to Tim, Tim didn't deliver to me, instead stalled and then insisted I file an insurance claim, which after pressured, I DID NOT. I relied on every mutual contact, including contacting William Mxxxxxxx III about the delivery, and THEN, Tim finally shipped or should I say, released my gear,  F---
    
    I wrote about the true experience here in my blog, to help vent my frustrations a while ago, it's public and it's the truth about them,
    http://korean-world.blogspot.com/2011/10/attack-expedition-when-expedition-fund.html
    
    I'm sure in the HRR group, you'll hear about Jared Mitchell, who designed their site, I mention him as well in my blog article, another notorious, pompous guy with a natural bicycle touring elitism. Nothing will change these peeps, which is why I am annexed from their group, and nothing will change for the better as long as I know them. They won't accept me, they use social media to block my activity in making connections to other riders in Korea (touring, training, social discussion). I know how it feels to be discriminated against, to be scorned and envied
    
    My friend Chris was also contacted by Tim Travis, mysteriously after forming the Korea Easy Riders Cycling Club -  KERCC group on FB, about posting and inviting HRR riders to join. In their discussions, later Tim wrote and asked if Chris was associated and cycling with me. Tim Travis went on to say that I was banned from the HRR group, any posts would be deleted related to me, etc...Chris offered my apologies and request to bury the hatches, Tim dismissed and said it was impossible to forgive me. Funny how forgiveness works, when they stole everything from me, dashed my hopes of fund-raising, and took every active cyclist in Korea away with them. At least I felt better, I forgave him (for stealing from me, bullying through social media, stealing fund-raising $, sending a vius to my workplace PC, and shipping out my stolen equipment with an open box lid, taped on one side only, a nice touch for the sociopath Tim Travis in Korea.  C'est la vie!
    
    Korea Randonneurs is not about individual competition -it requires teamwork to finish and you meet riders at events with similar strengths to team up, it's everything that the HRR group is not (a social clique!), or isn't supposed to be. But unfortunately, the core are Korean members who speak very little English (as I do Korean), and there's Jan Boonstra, Russell Morris, and Lothar for the main organizers, they are cool, they invited me to the SBS1000, and I rode 400km with Russell, he really helped me, and we formed a 2-man team for 24 hours until I was forced to drop out. They are reliable. Once the HRR members get in, the Korea Randonneur will become a competition of different egos, hopefully this will pass. I am only riding the single Fleche, and I am heading back to the Himalayas for solitude without HRR, they of course, are not invited on my expeditions (: haha, that my friend is choosing life over misery.
    
    Peace, oh and one more...I wrote this story about Eddie Glayzer, it was published in the Busan HAPS paper/print/online. It was deleted in HRR group before it could be read at least twice. Eddie is a honorary HRR member, but I wrote the story,so they wouldn't actually honor his great accomplishment of cycling from Tianjin, China to India!  You get the picture how vile this competition really is...who will win, HRR leaders or the REAL CYCLISTS without BS? hahaa...it is left to be seen. In their minds, they win, and that is what is important to me now.
    
    http://korean-world.blogspot.com/2012/01/eddie-glayzers-journey-across-asia.html
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    Brian's Adventures in the world of Cycling & teaching English: Attack the expedition: When expeditio

    korean-world.blogspot.com
    
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    Cycling in Korea with family on a race (David Glashan) had said that having children and being an explorer is a weakness, I think he is dead-wrong about it.
    I love cycling and I love my family. 
• 14 hours ago

  Anonymous wrote:

  • Quite a story!....I'll take your advice and keep my distance!...I've heard several times that those who make it long term in Korea, are those who generally, "assimilate" the worst in Korean culture (shallow elitism, disempowering people by unethically eliminating their access to alternatives, the love of "hierarchies")....they are then no longer "troubled" by the societal values underlying the corruption here....as they've become "corrupted" themselves...
    
    If I was in Gwangju to welcome you and your team....that would make a few people "uncomfortable" then?....sounds like a very good reason to do it, for that reason alone!!
    
    The Incheon team advertised for another rider....(not part of the core team, but another rider for at least part of the way...) I responded, admitting that the distance would be probably beyond me...and got a complete "brush-off" from Jason Ham.... something that has happened several times previously...Jason just lives up the road from me, and I've been to a couple of functions, where he has LOVED to talk at length about his riding exploits (he is considerably more accomplished than me of course)....I've had the feeling for some time (and confirmed now, in my opinion) that I threaten the "fairytale"....I'd be "diminishing" the achievement, were lowly little old me, to repeat it all.... I haven't met anyone else really in "management"....Tim or Arden or whoever....and won't bother going out of my way to do so, by the sounds of it.....birds of a feather flocking together, would explain Jason's attractions to the group, perhaps....
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  9 hours ago

  Brian Perić

  • Yes, yes, yes. That is the truth and unfortunately (or disastrously) ppl choose their path through their ego-petting, rather than riding with a grain of salt sweat between their lips. I have given up, I even have daily doubts of competing in the 360, because even if we finish, nobody will care, those who already know of me, have deleted me on FB, the trickle down is enormous, Arden, Tim Travis, even others follow suit, I have no contact with them, plus they use blocks to have discussions outside me, or Tim Travis uses aliases to spy in Cycling in Korea, etc...he told me off there a month ago, I googled his alias name and found the importer pseudo name, I called him a sociopath, he called me a homo, well, finally I had to request G (once a friend associated to me, now wearing his HRR jersey and running the show in Cycling in Korea, he bitched me out then finally deleted the posts, which upset my elder sister who used to enjoy keeping tabs on my cycling here through the groups postings, not anymore. The confrontation probably was intended to get me to drop the group admin, I had already had enough already, G had added all the admins, their groups came in, the rest of us eclipsed. No use at all.
    
    Well, I will think it over and over, Chris seems keen, Tim Copeland is our other member training a bit...others dropped out, you can ride legitimately with us, we have room for 5. Chris is ready to finish the 360, he's a stronger rider than me on his own, Tim is training again so I hope his many experiences in road touring help him, we have one other rider joining us this weekend for an icebreaker ride together.  I will be content on finishing, there must be 3 to get recognition, otherwise, we are disqualified completely, it;s the Randonneur way, all in, or try again.
    
    Good news, I am planning the HimalayasX2012, my second expedition across western China, more deserts and extreme ahead, so I don't need to damage my knees for this 360, why not just ride and see where we end up? After 200km on road bikes, we'll be naturally high, I experienced this last fall, it was crazy more intense than most of my daily expedition in China, and took weeks to recover too, I couldn't straighten my legs for about a week.
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• 8 hours ago

  Anonymous wrote:

  • Congratulations on another trek through....a fascinating country, culturally rich even where betrayed by corruption and the prostitution of so-called "communism".....where are you starting your Fleche ride from? I would likely struggle if there was too much height I'd need to gain along the way...
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  34 minutes ago

  Brian Perić

  • Wonju-Gwangju, 3340 meters gain in elevation, I don't personally like this route, chances are narrowed. As far as Jason M Ham (we can call him Hamster from now on), he was a mysterious friend on Facebook for the past years, I know when people are watching and not commenting on me. He and the other first Han River Riders came to my first HECC (Han Endurance Cycling Challenge) as Arden, Tim Travis and I called it....I picked up these creeps as friends back then because I was the honoree for cycling and preparing for the Argentina (I am trying different tactics with myself to finally get there, Himalayas is the best to train, and offers cheaper conditions, more cultural intersections, and it's extreme by natural of the environment and geography, if I want to call myself an Explorer, this is a starting place).
    
    Jason M Ham, mysteriously deleted our friendship when I noticed a lot of updates on his GPS updates cling 150.50 km in 6h:11m:49s
    www.endomondo.com
    Was out tracking with Endomondo
    Average Speed: 24.3 km/h
    Calories: 6935 kcal
    Distance: 150.50 km
    Duration: 6h:11m:49s
    
    I think the HRR group is doing justice to creating competition in the membership, eventually the ego-patting will backfire, too many of them to hug one another especially IF one stands out, at this point they are all the same level, and that's what admins at HRR want.
    
    Anyways, they can do as they like, another contact there deleted me recently, Leann Peters, when I sent Eddie Glayzers article and asked for her help to post in HRR group, she responded that she was surprised to hear about the rivalry and would help out Eddie. I contacted a few others that were connected to me, supposedly friendly, and nobody moved on it, Leann said she would help, then deleted me.
    
    It's game over for me Cycling in Korea. Without community and kindness, and some support, my expeditions launch without them. I definitely burn more calories with all the haters, I think about them whilst I am going to get run over by a truck in the Sichuan mountains, when I survived 1000s of uncertain kms and didn't have a freak accident, anything can happen out there, I feel blessed and fortunate nothing serious has to date. If something did, nobosy would care either. Which is disheartening to say, but my death while cycling would be like Whitney Houston, the mockery would be how stupid I really was...according to the Gods of Cycling Korea.
    
    I choose to live and not to lie in misery.
    
    Brian
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• 
  

  about a minute ago

  Brian Perić

  • Want more story/gossip to entertain yourself, I wrote details to several HRR members, including Leann Peters who invited me initially to their group. She timidly responded she would help with Eddie;s Korea-India trek article, to post in HRR...then deleted me as a friend.
    
    I feel cornered by the very people that know me, read my blog and conspire against me for what I do to enjoy or rid myself of teaching-related and Korean-centric cultural stress.
    
    A pity, it is.
    
    
    Brian Perić wrote:
    Hi Leann,
    
    We've never met in person. I was an admin at Cycling in Korea group for a few years and left the post. I blog about cycling in Korea on my independent blog, little known Korean-World.
    
    Something I would like to ask an active Han River Rider member, please listen and help us if you can.
    
    Could you help Eddie Glayzer and see that his story is posted to Han River Riders group and not deleted by the administrators (Tim Travis, Arden John, Jared Mitchell, etc...), I think Eddie has been loyal to your group and deserves some respect.
    
    I also wrote the story, which is why my competition blocks me from any participation, postings, involvement, or worse. I do wish you and all the riders well, I have been disregarded long ago, but I am just an ordinary guy, teaching and making ends meet in Korea, and I have the same aspirations, to go on epic tours and share about it.
    
    Little known to some, the competition is fierce and quite the reverse of crazyguyonabike journals inside Korea, for that, I want no part...I want to enjoy the time I have left to live here with now, my wife of 10 years and two children. When I enjoy cycling, I enjoy living in Korea, when I get disrespected or cut down by competitors, it's most disappointing to experience, and time doesn't need to be wasted, it should be enjoyed by all.
    
    Peace,
    
    Brian Perich
    
    Eddie Glayzer's Journey Across Asia
    http://www.busanhaps.com/article/eddie-glayzers-journey-across-asia
    www.busanhaps.com
    GANGNEUNG, South Korea
    
    

    Leann Peters wrote:

    Hey!
    I will be sure to post that link on the HHR site about Eddie soon!
    I didn't realize there was such a dispute between you and Tim/Arden/Jared... sorry to hear that! Good luck on your journey, sounds fun! 

    
    
    Brian Perić wrote:
    
    Leann,
    
    Thanks for deleting me from Cycling in Korea connections. I wrote honestly and sincerely, Eddie and I are real people, and I am being blocked from existence while actively taking part in cycling here. I made a few enemies with the wrong people, whom I trusted and they now use social media against me. I won't lie about it when I write publicly in my blog. Do birds of a feather always flock together?
    
    It's probably useless trying to reach anyone in HRR now. I know what my mission is, to choose life over misery...while teaching, raising a family and trying to enjoy cycling as I always have.
    
    Tell your friends, I am heading to the Himalayas again...my thoughts, pains, challenges and triumphs will overcome everything standing in my way. Social media is a great place to socially isolate, discriminate others because they are doing exactly the same activity, being visible to the public and my cycling has a slight twist, more adventure, the dirty word
    
    Be different.
    
    
    
    
    
     2007 Cervelo TT, Korea SBS1000
    
     Russell Morris, Korean Randonneur rider & noncompetitive winner!
    
     Passing Chuncheonbuk-do on Day 1
    
     I'd be lying if I said my muscles, joints and tendons were not in pain, it was brutal!!!!!
    
    
    
    
     Russell showed me the way to Randonneuring. He is relaxed and happy out there.
    
     I had my wraps on for the cold, but it wasn't enough, the elements will attack on long endurance events
    
     Passed here in 2008 with Jared Mitchell, David Glashan and the Scottsman. 
    All became my competition here in Korea.
    
     Russell Morris, Randonneur. My personal hero in Korea Cycling, overcomes and doesn't brag about it.
    
     For me, at almost 40 years old, this is extreme and I won't be competing for very long. I prefer slow bicycle touring (:
    
     These are bilingual signs in South Korea
    

    This is a Randonneur.

    
    

    Learn to share the road with other cyclists and you become the Guru,

    
    

    The Inspiration for others to follow...not beat!