My day begins with me jumping on the bed from the excitement and other silly moments including some singing and dancing in my hotel room. I am happy.
You Will Never Get to Sata!
My happiness however is unfortunately short. I do only 1km and then........KACLANK....my chain. My stinking brand new chain I just bought yesterday is broken...again. This time, however, my pedals don't go loose, they get stuck. Somehow, the chain wobbled enough shifted the thingamajjigger (definitely not a real word) in the back and managed to shove it violently into the spokes of my wheel, blocking everything and warping the metal parts in the rear. Goddamn it! I yell. Today was supposed to be an enjoyable ride to the last town. Wouldn't you know it.....this is going to go all the way to the finish line.
In Search of the Rarest Jitensha Shop
I walk back a bit and eventually decide to call Sadao-san for directions. He is the old man who helped me yesterday. I really was hoping for him to fix everything again....but he is busy, and I don't even think about asking. I am on my own with this one.
I do the usual. I ask one random pedestrian where a bike shop is. I don't, also as usual, understand 95% of the directions. So I go a bit down and ask again...and again.....and again, until I narrow it down enough to see it. Standard procedure. I see it finally.
The shop keep is an old....no sorry, and ancient man. Zero English whatsoever, zero Japanese on my side. Eventually he fixes the chain but tells me he cannot fix the cause of the problem as he does not have the parts. Most bike shops here deal with mamacharis, the typical old-fashioned gear-less bikes found in the Far East. Most don't have anything I need.
I do some more asking around. It is 11am. Crap.....late again. I live a life of lateness! How am I going to get out of this one? I think to myself. What if there are no modern bike shops around? I keep going. The chain feels fine.....but it also did this morning. I don't want to find myself in the boondocks with a broken chain. Although worried, I feel like everything is going to be ok. I might have to reach the southern point a day late....perhaps travel at night....perhaps catch a bus on my way to the airport.....I don't know.
The Jitensha Master
I finally reach one. Hino is the name. I enter and see it.....an array of some of the most beautiful, professional and bad-ass bicycles I have ever seen. A funky-looking man approaches me. I tell him my story and realize he understands English. When I ask if he has a 9-speed cassette he answers me "of course" as if that was a silly question.
In one hour, he fixes my chain, changes my cassette, switches my breaks, lubes the handlebar, and puts on a new front tire (I broke so much that metal was showing). I can officially say....and pardon my language........that I beat the living shit out of my bike on this trip. But...what is a bike for other than for riding, right? As the man works his magic, his kind wife gives me some coffee and oranges. She is amazed at my story.
Finished! Yells the funny-looking expert. I thank the master who has brought my companion back to life, give him what was nowhere close to the real price (he helped me out after hearing my story) and head off...at last, to Kanoya, the last major town on the map.
Jitensha Reborn!
Needless to say, my spirit is at this point on fire! Me and my bike, once broken and done for, now back on the road at full strength, to do what we came here to do. I laugh wildly, and have to try my best to hold the tears of joy back. That's it! This has to be it! The road is clear for us at last! I enter a small tunnel and see it ..... "Never Give Up"......a note from a stranger I will never meet. A tear makes it out but I hold as hard as I can. I am saving these for tomorrow.
I feel strong. My bike feels brand new. I leave the last city and as soon as I hit the wilderness I see monkeys! Then boars! Then a falcon! Obviously I am late, but there's always time to feed a wild animal. None take my offering of friendship. I carry on...strong. 30 to 40 kilometers per hour, constant.
The coast winds wildly, and each tip as I look back brings me satisfaction. How ridiculously fast I have become in three months. In each town I yell a konnichiwa to everyone I pass. I got a big smile on my face. No one is spared. Not even the grumpy-faced ones. Road workers, pedestrians, farmers, and all kinds of strangers answer back "ooohh..konnichiwaaa!"
I stop at a local fruit store as I am getting terribly hungry having eaten nothing all day. The two ladies asks me where I am coming from and I say with a gigantic smile ".....Sata Misaki Madē....Hokkaido Karā". The two burst with their hands up with a loud "ooooohhhhh!!" and run in opposite directions taking chocolates, bananas, oranges and drinks for me. All free. I have to eventually stop them as I have no space for anything anymore on my bike!
Then......as the day ends, I look left and see the coast. I think of the geography of this place and.....a strong shiver runs through my body. Instantly, the smile I had on all day disappears, and my face gets completely serious. ....Is that Cape Sata?! Is that it down there?! I continue. I see it again. I analyze the mountains in the distance, the shape of the coast. It's the Osumi peninsula. Sata is on it, but I can't see it from here. Still.....to think that it could be visible if it wasn't for those mountains!
The Last Ride in the Night
Taiou leaves, and night falls upon Japan. But this ride is not too bad. There is a constant stream of towns and lights almost the whole way. After hours of rushing, I finally see the city sign of Kanoya. Finally!
I am meeting with Nosē-san, a friend of Aya, one of the volunteers back in Ofunato. She brings me to her husband's restaurant and I meet her whole family. She tells me her hubby used to be a sumo wrestler and that this kind of food is what sumo's eat. Great! I say. I have at this point the appetite of a sumo wrestler anyways!
We have a great time but it is getting late. They offer me a place to sleep but I decline. Tomorrow is a very special day for me...so I want to just ride out and spend most of my day in Sata. I get a hotel so that I can do laundry and sleep comfortably.
Sleep comes hard. But eventually I pass out..... Tomorrow is finally here. I can't believe it..........
138km
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