Recent Adventures

A few months ago, I went to the Incheon Velodrome to watch fixie riders from all over Korea participate in the King of Track II events. While Track Cycling has been around since 1870, it has been a fascinating new revelation for me. Realistically, the chances of me even qualifying for the Olympics is about 1 in a million. In the mean time, I'll do my best to be the King of the South Korean Track. Which means that I'll have to ride everyday (minus rainy days), and get my top speed around, say.. 50 km/hr at least. While the Elimination Races (Miss and Out, aka. Devil Take the Most Hindmost) seem more exciting, they do require more endurance from the racer, and I think my leg's are geared more for the Sprint Races (Keirin, ケイリン) where the racers ride 4 laps around the velodrome behind a pacer, then sprint the final 2 laps to complete the race. I'm just glad that there are such events possible for amateur riders. Perhaps, this is why I am having such a difficult time leaving. Frankly, I love everything about this country; from the insanely hot summers, to the equally insanely cold winters, and the beautiful seasonal changes in between. Everyday no matter how seemingly routine it may seen, isn't. Maybe it's hard to leave that comfortability that took years to balance. All I know, is that when the time is right, Seoul will let me go.

Now if only I took as many photographs as I biked. To be fair, having an iPhone has made it possible for me to take more photos on the road. At a fraction of the size and weight of my first digital camera, Nikon's D40, the iPhone's 8 mega pixels hasn't disappointed. Trust me it's just not as pleasant trying to pedal fast with a heavy film camera weighing down on your back. In any case, you can find my stuff on Instagram (id: pdhlee). Feel free to follow if you're at all interested in my life here in Seoul. It's hard for me to believe that I held out for so long! I guess you either keep up with the times, or get left behind.

And she doesn't stop for anybody.

On that note, I can't believe it's already mid-August. Summer is almost over, and Autumn will be ready to show her colors soon. I hope to get a few more rolls in before the Winter storms through. Oh, and I recently tested out a roll on my friend's Contax T2. While it was one of the most user-friendly film cameras I have ever used, I found that the Carl Zeiss T* Sonnar 38mm glass wasn't as sharp as my Voigtlander Nokton 35mm lens. Perhaps, I'm just not fond of carrying extra gear, and would rather just carry one body, one lens.

Anyway, here are the results!
enjoi~

Camera: Leica M6, Contax T2
Roll: Fujifilm Superia 400

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My Cinelli x MashSF Histogram w/ Mavic Ellipse wheel set



Cinelli x MashSF on racks

Cinelli for Hers

That's a mean looking pitbull

Representing Circle Bike, my LBS.

I'll be sitting here with a helmet on come October!



I've been seeing more and more tattoo's in Korean these days.

Nina, the Tattoo Artist

Some of these girls probably bike faster than me!

Since this wasn't a professional event, a human pacer was used.

She also had Avatar height.

That bank was steeeeeeeep!




Start Contax T2

We went on a bike trip to Ganghwa Island (강화도) a few weeks ago, and James let me borrow his Contax T2, about half an hour into the trip I realized (in the 95 degree weather) that it was simply too hot and heavy for me to carry around the camera, albeit being lighter than my M6.

On route to the island.



The scenery was nice and green from the rice fields.

At this point, we had ridden maybe 20 km, but I was already dead tired. We ended up biking ~85 km that day. It was also one of the hottest days of the summer, definitely over 95 degrees. I must have burned over 5000 kcal.

Not even being closed to finishing the roll, I met up with James to shoot some street.
Here's what happened.

The Mysterious Umbrella Girl, and the J.W.T.Mann





You're right man, Life is the Game.

She had a beautiful smile.

Sweet Skyline dude.

I know it's dangerous, but I just wanna try once!

I'd be tired too if I had to wear that suit in 90 degree weather.

The sun was blazing.

You think they planned that?

GPOY




Random: Do you believe in Destiny?



pax | previously : [ Cali '11: 8. Before I crossed the Pacific Once More ]