Some days are uneventful. Today was one of those days. Out at 6am with a delicious rice ball that my hotel host had prepared for me, and boy did I need it. Pretty much the first hour was uphill. Hilary, that Le B'stard hill of yours? I frickin' eat those hills for breakfast in Japan!
This is where it took me.
Alright stop! Get off your bike and listen,
Kajsa's back with a brand new mission,
Some hills, grab a hold of you tightly,
Pedal the small cog, daily and nightly,
Will they ever stop? Yo, I don't know,
Get on your bike, and now go!
To the extreme I ride a bike like a vandal,
Jump off the bike and I walk with a sandal,
Climb on your bike, bike, baby,
Climb on your bike, bike, baby...
What do you reckon? Pretty good, eh?
Due to the hills, the sun, and the wind, the temperature varied substantially as the journey progressed. I started with 4 top layers - base layer, cycling jersey, fleece, and hoodie. Bottom-wise I had tri shorts under warm leggings, plus overshoes over my trainers. The fleece came off after, or perhaps even during, the first hill. Then it was off, on, off, on, off, on, with the hoodie, and at one stage I even had to put some trousers over the top of my leggings. Once the main uphill section was over with, and I'd got down to a decent altitude, it was warm enough for just shorts and the jersey.
Another factor that influenced the day was Serena. She decided yesterday that she was going to start hopping gears and not changing up or down when asked to. This continued today (as expected - would've been nice if she decided to give me a break today). I cannot stress to you how infuriating this is when climbing the hills of hell! Seems like I may have to inflict some TLC on her.
While Serena may have developed a mind of her own, one thing that has not are Japanese traffic lights. I've never come across traffic lights that stay green (or red depending on which way you're travelling) for so long! Sometimes I feel I should've had a little kip while waiting, but ever the optimist, I'm hoping that this time, it'll be different.
Which is exactly what I hope every time I stop at a vending machine... This time... This time they'll have Salt & Fruit, this time! But no.... In the absence of my drink if choice, I opted for the rather apt Speed Athlete. I'm not sure, but I think it's got electrolytes in it. Here's a pic, with little Robin, my mascot, showing off the goods.
Robin was a gift from my mum to take with, and he has had prime position on the front of the bike for the duration of the journey. Here's another pic, propping up the Salt & Fruit drink I eventually got hold of. Love that stuff.
And here he was yesterday, leading the way down a cycle path in Nara.
The original plan for today was to arrive at Toba and take the ferry across to Cape Irago, and spend the night in a tent there. But, not wanting to risk a recurrence of yesterday, I decided to find a hotel in Toba instead. This means that tomorrow will not go according to plan either. I will never, not in a million years, manage to get to the campsite at Mt Fuji before it gets dark tomorrow, as the first ferry doesn't leave until 8.10am. So we're on to plan B. I'll let you know what that is once I've figured it out.
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Didnt realise you were going past Nara, would've mentioned you stop at Todai-ji to see the giant Buddha. This is the largest wooden building in the world and was rebuilt after a fire, it was originally 3 times the size it is now.
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