第41位间隔年体验者吴永烈
间隔年时期：2015年至今
从参加自行车长途骑行活动开始，他目前是“希望自行车”组织的代表，该组织通过骑行开展教育。
#1. 面对人生的转折点。
Looking back to my school days, I was a student who struggled to survive the competitive college entrance exam system.老师们当然会说学习是一种乐趣，但我却不明白这话究竟从何说起。当然，我没有梦想，父母也只是说：“只要考上大学，你想做什么都可以。”
参加高考并复读一年后，我终于考上了大学。
即使上了大学，我也不是选择自己想读的专业，而是去了补习班老师根据我的成绩帮我选的学校。我第一次踏进那所大学时，感觉自己仿佛被扔进了沙漠中央。
我试着摆脱补习班那种只讲重点的教学方式，自己学习，可我连该怎么学都不知道；再加上所读的专业不适合自己，我对学习的兴趣也越来越低。他们说，上了大学就能做任何想做的事，可我甚至不知道自己想做什么，也不知道该从哪里开始。
我一直茫然徘徊，到了服役的时间，便参了军。我以义务警察的身份服役，那段时间，我经历了人生的转折点。我工作的江南地区表面上看起来十分繁华，但实际上有很多色情场所生意兴隆。地上散落着大量成人用品广告传单，数量多得令人难堪，走路时甚至会被踢到脚下。
但真正讽刺的是，附近有很多幼儿园，以及小学、初中和高中。成长中的孩子看到这些满足成人欲望的传单满地都是，会怎么想？我决定打击当地的色情场所。我尽己所能履行服役人员的职责，最终成为义务警察中逮捕人数最多的人。
在逮捕行动中，我不惜以身犯险——撞上摩托车，或与人发生肢体冲突——这让我相信，只要我想做，就没有做不到的事；而且我也确信，一个人的努力能够改变很多人。（随着逮捕行动持续开展，不知从什么时候起，每位队员都开始主动当场逮捕嫌疑人。）
#2. 与自己抗争的开始
在信心十足的时候，我决定趁休假骑自行车横穿全国。
我很喜欢运动，尤其热爱骑自行车。迎风穿行的畅快，以及靠自己踩踏板向前行进的独特魅力，都深深吸引着我。
第一次骑行横穿全国时，我不知道该如何准备，只带上家里的自行车和一个包，沿着自行车道出发了。至今我仍忘不了只靠一辆自行车骑行长途时的兴奋感。黎明时分找不到地方睡觉，我冷得直发抖；爬山时汗流浃背。但一路艰难骑到庆尚道后，我心想：“原来真的能做到。”
长途骑行能让人欣赏美丽的风景和大自然的魅力，但与此同时，你只能独自坐在车座上，与自己抗争。
退伍后，我申请休学，组建了一个自行车俱乐部，和大家一起坚持在全国各地骑行。骑行还在继续时，去年4月，我受邀参加“周五的问候”项目——一场纪念世越号沉船事故的骑行活动。项目计划从首尔骑行约400公里到珍岛彭木港，大家在头盔上系着黄丝带。我很喜欢用骑行者的方式纪念世越号事故，于是决定参加。
那是我第一次骑行超过200公里，途中遭遇了许多磨难。清晨天气寒冷，我患上了失温症，至今仍忘不了自己边发抖边踩踏板的情景。在一条有很多自卸卡车驶过的路上，我爆了胎，只能冒险修车。更糟的是还下起了雨，我用垃圾袋裹住自己，继续前进。历经艰辛抵达彭木港后，迎接我们的是随风飘扬的黄色旗帜。
那次骑行让我收获了两样东西：第一，它激励了其他骑行者。很多人表示下次也想参加；第二，我对长途骑行有了信心。除了怀着活动的目的骑行，你还得独自坐在车座上坚持骑完漫长的路程，并与自己展开激烈的较量。随着我逐渐克服这些困难，我越来越想挑战更远的距离。
于是，我在了解各种选择时，偶然得知了世界顶级长途自行车活动——兰多努尔骑行。兰多努尔骑行指的是骑行200至1200公里，甚至更远的距离，全程仅凭自身力量，不接受外部协助。我很喜欢活动介绍中特别强调的一点：它不是竞速比赛。兰多努尔骑行中，凡是在时限内完成的人都能获得完赛证书。
凡是注册了兰多努尔骑行组织的国家都可以举办此类活动，韩国从2010年起也开始举办。我下定决心，报名参加活动，并每天练习。我的首场活动——首尔400公里骑行——就这样开始了。
#3. 骑向世界顶级长途赛事“兰多努尔骑行”
兰多努尔骑行是世界顶级的长途自行车活动，因此需要做很多准备。要应对崎岖的路线和漫长的距离，需要一辆速度相对较快的自行车，以及相应的骑行技巧。
退伍后，我立即申请休学，在一家银行做了大约五个月的保安。我的月薪约为100万韩元，我用存下来的钱买了一辆入门级公路自行车，并购齐了规定要求的装备（一盏前灯、两盏尾灯、一件反光背心、反光脚踝带和保险凭证）。
夜间骑行时，为了确保安全，即使价格较贵，也应该买亮度高的前灯；尾灯只需起到提醒他人注意骑行者的作用，因此买便宜的就可以。反光背心和反光脚踝带都可以随意选购。此外，骑行服、头盔、骑行鞋、运动水壶、便携式打气筒，以及用于修补爆胎的备用工具和内胎，都会对长途骑行有所帮助。旅行观光的人可以背背包，但像我这样挑战长途赛事的人，最好使用可以固定在自行车上的小包，而不是背着背包。
接下来，你需要锻炼适合长途骑行的耐力。兰多努尔骑行的距离从至少200公里到最多1200公里不等。每个赛段都有时限，而且通常都会经过崎岖的山区。距离越长，山路路段也越多。
为了练习长途骑行，我每周骑一次，一天骑行100公里，并把核心训练作为日常锻炼坚持下来。说到核心训练：骑自行车旅行时，累了可以休息或放慢速度，但长途赛事中必须保持较快速度，不能休息，因此身体平衡很重要。我还会定期上下骑行北岳山，练习山地路段。但是不过，比这些更重要的是让骑行融入日常生活。能做到这一点是最理想的。
上图展示的是当时的路线，红色气球形标记代表检查点——必须在每个指定路段盖章，并在终点核验完赛情况，骑行成绩才会得到认可。起点处简单办理手续后，比赛一开始，我便奋力踩起踏板。由于此前一直在练习，前100公里相对轻松。和速度相近的骑行者一起组队骑行，也让前进变得轻松许多。
过了一会儿，骑过100公里、向200公里进发时，天气变得非常炎热。我很容易觉得热，呼吸很快就变得急促，体力也开始下降。即使我不断补充水分、调整速度，还是很难受。我甚至骑着骑着就吐了。
骑过200公里左右时，比赛中最艰难的路段——山路——开始了。我的身心早已筋疲力尽，速度骤然下降，但我不想放弃，仍然坚持前进；然而，每爬一个坡，我都能感觉到自己越来越吃力。最终，在爬第四座山口时，我停了下来，决定退赛。
我靠在山里一栋破旧的建筑物上，不停地责骂自己，正准备打电话通知赛事工作人员我要退赛，忽然看见了一个对我很重要的人的电话号码。我至今也不知道当时为什么会打给那个人，但对方一接电话，我就开始失声痛哭。
人在苦苦挣扎时，听到重要之人的声音，竟会如此令人安心，谁能想到呢？我一直哭着，对方则不停地安慰我、鼓励我，说我没事。对方还对我说了这样一番话。
'If you feel you did your best, it's okay to give up. And if you were riding to show off to others, I would be disappointed. Think about what you are riding for.'
After hanging up and thinking for a long time, I tried to steady myself and remember why I wanted to ride this race. I wasn't riding to look good to others. I was riding to overcome my own limits and to create precious memories with my bicycle. Had I done my best? My two legs were still standing. I still had strength left.
At that moment I felt an inexplicable surge of energy in my body. I took a deep breath and clutched my chest again. With the uplifting thought 'If I do it once more, I can do it again,' I started pedaling again. Of course my legs hurt, but unlike before I could pedal with a smiling face.I thus safely got through the mountain area, pedaling without rest for 23 hours, and finally reached the finish.
The people who participate in this race have really expensive bicycles and high-quality gear. My equipment was low-end compared to theirs, but what mattered was my determination to ride. After the race I spent about three days lying down.
And although this race is really a good event, it was also one I never wanted to do again. I vowed again and again that 'I will never participate again.'And three weeks later, before I knew it I found myself standing at the starting line of 'Randonneurs Seoul 600km'.
#4.Reached the finish in 39 hours and 39 minutes of the 40-hour limit.
During the Seoul 400km there were a lot of flat sections, but as you can see in the photo above, the Seoul 600km route is entirely in Gangwon Province and is an extremely brutal course that climbs mountains from start to finish. In fact, the Randonneurs association cited it as one of the most difficult existing routes. But since a rolling wheel doesn't stop, I began to ride.
It feels awkward to keep saying how hard it was, but this race was the most difficult of my life.They say Gangwon Province is a place that's hard to get to even by car, and trying to get through it by bicycle was not easy.
It seems a bit different from a typical bicycle trip, doesn't it? The time limit was 40 hours, but because of delays I had to sleep only a short 2-hour nap and keep riding. The same painful symptoms appeared as in the previous race, but additional knee pain began to hold me back. I sprayed pain-relief patches and applied cold compresses to ease the pain little by little, but that was only a temporary measure. Once I passed a pass called Dolsanryeong, about 1000 m high, and that was the most memorable moment. It was the highest and steepest section of the race.
When I reached the summit I felt so good that I lay down on the ground. There were still 400 km to go, but I began pedaling excitedly after hearing from a race staff member that only easy sections remained. Of course, it didn't take long to realize that statement was false.
Anyway, I kept riding and when I reached around Sokcho in Gangwon, I slept for about two hours at an inn to regain some strength. When I got up to leave, my body felt extremely heavy. Continuing to ride, before I knew it I arrived at the last checkpoint in Hoengseong, Gangwon Province.
My skin was sunburned red, and from the constant wind and fatigue the blood vessels in my eyes had all burst. Since the race took place in midsummer, I drank a tremendous amount of water. There were about 100 km left, but with little time remaining there was no chance to rest. From then on, like a scene from a movie, I kept shouting, 'Cells of my whole body! Just a little more strength!' as I rode. So what happened to me?
Of the 40-hour time limit, I arrived at the finish in 39 hours and 39 minutes.(Actually, I had arrived 10 minutes earlier, but the finish location had been changed and I spent time looking for it.) Before the race many people said, 'It's hard to finish with that bike,' but I accomplished it proudly.
I had heard the phrase 'win the battle with yourself' countless times and didn't know how to overcome it, but after the race I came to understand its true meaning.It means that not abandoning your own convictions is the real victory in the battle with yourself.
I continued to take on challenges after that.
I also took part in the “Happiness Donation Sharing Ride 530km,” a charity ride organized by the country’s top club riders. I have been steadily continuing events like Randonneurs. I will keep challenging myself with my friend, the bicycle. I realized that it helps me and can also give strength to others.
As long as my heart keeps beating, the pedals will keep turning.
#5. Of course, there were slumps.
When I took a leave of absence from school and rode my bicycle everywhere, my peers were preparing for employment, building their resumes, or studying for civil service exams. Meanwhile,I had been walking the path society told me to follow, so suddenly choosing a different path from others was frightening.I worried I might fall behind others or not meet society’s expectations. In fact, a long slump did come.
But at times like these, the important thing is to work harder at what you want to do. If someone tells me, “My TOEIC score is higher than yours,” I can simply say, “I ride a bicycle better than you.” Even amid fear, I kept challenging myself on the bike and posting about it, and many people responded positively.
People wanted to hear my story, and I even received job offers from bicycle-related companies.If you keep doing what you want to do, the path will open up. Don’t be afraid—keep moving forward.
#6.The happiest memory of my cycling life
There is a cyclist named Lee Hyung-mo, who is regarded as the country’s top club rider. He is so well-known among cyclists that almost everyone knows him. He was the second person from Asia to complete the Race Across America (RAAM), a 5,000 km race over 12 days. I truly admire him and consider him a role model I want to emulate.
(The person on the left is Lee Hyung-mo. He was also the organizer of the Happiness Donation Sharing Ride.)
Before I took part in Randonneurs, I happened to have a meal with Lee Hyung-mo. When I told him about my beliefs regarding cycling and my determination to keep taking on challenges, he suddenly asked me to go to his house. He rummaged through his closet and said he would give me a uniform he used to wear.
Me, someone like me, receiving a uniform from the top athlete… I refused at first, but he insisted that he wanted me to wear it and gave me many items like new socks and other cycling supplies.To emulateBeing helped by someone I want to emulate remains my happiest memory in my cycling life.
#7.The 'me' before and after my gap year
It would be accurate to say there was no 'me' in my life.Before my gap year, I had never reflected on my life. Our society’s basic framework is structured so that you progress through school, then build qualifications after university, and get a job. Within this structure, you strive for high scores and impressive credentials, but there was nowhere to take the time to look back at the 'self'.
However,After starting my gap year, I gradually began to discover who I am.Starting with questions like “What do I like?” “What do I want to try?” and “What should I prepare for in order to be happy?” I progressed to asking, “What can I contribute to the world through my own efforts?” I really grew a lot. In the past, if someone asked me to write “Who am I?” on a blank sheet of paper, I wouldn’t have known what to write, but now I think I could write it without hesitation. Finding myself is the biggest change before and after my gap year.
Continue reading Oh Young-yeol’s gap year story ▶Click
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