Hi, I’m a rider in my 40s living in Seoul, Korea.
Like a lot of people, I spent my younger years just watching motorcycles go by, telling myself “someday.” That someday didn’t come until my 40s. I’m writing this blog because starting late taught me things I never would have learned by dreaming early.
The three bikes
My first bike was a Keeway SR125. It taught me how to ride, but living with it day to day, I kept hitting its limits — not enough power for the city traffic flow, always feeling like I was working harder than the bike. So I bought a Honda CL500, and that solved the power problem. Then I learned the next lesson: a 500cc bike is not what you want for quick errands through downtown Seoul. So a Honda Super Cub 110 joined the garage.
Three bikes, three completely different jobs. The SR125 taught me to ride, the CL500 carries me out of the city, and the Cub handles everything in it. On this blog I wrench on all three myself, and I write down what works and what doesn’t — including my mistakes.
The dog on the pillion
Hawon is a 7-year-old rescue dog. She always loved car rides, so one day I tried putting her on the bike. She loved it even more. Now she rides pillion in a carrier on our night rides around Seoul — you’ll see her in a lot of posts here. She’s also the face of this site.
And sometimes, fishing
In autumn I ride out to Korea’s west coast to fish for webfoot octopus and golden cuttlefish. The tackle is simple enough to strap onto a bike, and there’s no parking to worry about — which makes a motorcycle the perfect fishing vehicle. That’s the “reel” in GEAREEL.
Why this blog exists
I want to show what riding life looks like for an ordinary Korean guy in his 40s — the night roads of Seoul, the garage work, the gear that’s worth the money and the gear that isn’t, and the small trips that make owning a bike worth it. Everything here is first-hand: my bikes, my tools, my mistakes.