I awoke in my tent at 5.30am. I noticed a group of GAINJIN (japanese word for foreigners) far off to my west. They were also on a cycling journey to Kyushu. One Canadian,two Americans,and one Spanish girl. I told them my plan was to cycle to Toyota City (100k,60miles) and stay at my friends house. They were also going the same way....AND THEY HAD MAPS! They invited me to join them and I said yes without any hesitation. They even offered me some food. The sport of cycling is like this...at least in America it is. We have a strong sense of comradary and many times cyclist will go far out of their way to help other cyclist who need assistance. This group of four were actually on a sponsored ride to promote Earth friendly living.They started from Hokkaido 1 month ago. They are vegetarians and didn't drink any bottled water...only city water. They also wouldn't stop at any convenience stores, Because the stores are all corporate owned. They also would not stop at any vending machines because they are using electricity 24 hours a day. They were zealots. I cant imagine doing this ride the whole way to Kyushu with those restrictions. There are many times when a vending machine saved me after I had run completely out of water. They also gave me the extra map book that they had. I have much love for them.
Today was some of the best cycling Ive done so far. Route 377, 332,334 are a must ride if you are in the OKAZAKI city area. Its nothing but scenic fields and green mountains for most of the day. The climbs are really nice, not to long or steep. Nice long 3% grade downhills. And no cars!!!!
We finally said goodbye at Okazaki City. I still had another 20K to go. I have a feeling we will cross paths again. I Hope.
I met two Japanese college students who were riding fixed gear bikes. They were nuts! They were also doing the Kyushu trip. They had no money,no helmets,no standard road bike. But they had the right attitude. They told me that they slept outside at the top of Mt Hakone. Hardcore. This is how Japanese people are. They are tuff. And they can take hard conditions better then us gaijin. There were times when it felt like I was cycling in a sauna and there were Japanese workers in the field working hard in those conditions.. I rode with these guys for about 20k. I hope to see them again on the way down to Kyushu.
I think it's great that you meet people along the way. Even though your motivations are different, you all that connection of cycling and being willing to endure various conditions to reach your goal. I'd love to be in the physical shape you guys are in even though I don't cycle. I'm going to start working out.
ReplyDelete:-) I'm impressed. Thanks for blogging your journey. Did my previous comment post?