I Feel Good! So Good!
The riding is awkward. Too little weight, too much time not riding, stiff handlebar from sitting outside, chest strap holding my shoulders back, and even a possible cold coming on. It feels weird.....but man, am I happy. It's me and my partner again. She was there since the first day in Hokkaido....I can't leave her here!
Dreams
Seems my bad dream meant something after all. The door locking for good was obviously a big mistake I could not fix. But I soon realized that it was walking, and especially hitchhiking that were represented by that door locking forever. It was me cheating myself, cheating this challenge I set for myself. I remember the first time I got in a stranger's car.....I thought, here it goes.....you finally did it. There goes Japan at a hundred kilometers per hour. Cheater! You couldn't do it afterall.....
It may not make much sense to some, but I am positive this is what it was. It started 3 days before my first ride and even though I haven't had anymore panic attacks since that night, I never felt right, or really enjoyed the trip fully ever since. But now.....now I feel like all is well in the universe....and all I needed to do, is sit on my bike. Well.....really, it's "listen to your heart" the lesson at hand, but that's the end result anyways.
Even the blog didn't make sense anymore, you know! "PEDAL for Japan" "The Length of Japan on BIKE"....it bothered the living daylights out of me. Today I feel great. Not an inch of negativity in me. I am loving the adventure again.
Through the Shizuokan Tea Fields
I am constantly surrounded by tea. Beautiful. Mount Fuji is in the back. I keep checking, but even the tallest mountain eventually disappears. I see the sea. This was my next stop. The one I would have seen if I hadn't fallen. But then, I would have never experienced Natalie's friendship, lived for a month in a home in Japan, nor would I have walked in a town at the foot of the most recognizable landmark here.
I keep riding. No pain. A bit of discomfort. Some fatigue. I mean...it has been almost 6 weeks since I rode my bike. But, I left 90% of my stuff, so the bike feels good. I think in 3 days or so I will get the hang of it and pump kilometers out like nothing.....maybe...........hopefully.
A Fellow Traveler
It had been a while since I saw one of my kind. On a massive river bridge, I see a guy with an over-packed bike. Wonderful! Before I can wave, he waves at me. Ppfffeeww.....I am glad my pannier-less bag is still considered a touring bike by other members of this bizarre club of select madmen and solitary adventure seekers I think I belong to at this point.
Shin is his name. Hails from Kyushu, the last island on the map (where I am going). Tells me it's a beautiful place....and that it's still warm there! Fantastic! The cold air is another nuisance to fight now and thinking about warmer sun-kissed subtropical lands full of monkeys......sounds nice. We both read each other's minds and tell each other the sun is setting. Time to go our opposite ways. As always, only a couple of instants together to get our points across, take a picture to remember the other, and then off again, knowing full well we'll never meet again. I've stumbled upon many people twice or even thrice in a row, by accident....but you never meet the man who goes the opposite way and doesn't leave you a phone or email.
Farewell buddy. Hope you get to where you want to go, and find whatever it is that made you get on that bike in the first place.....
Fukuroi
I wanted to go a bit further but the sun sets and I choose this town as my base for the night. Since I left most of my stuff to reduce my weight, I no longer have the ability to camp. I look for a hotel. After the third try, I find one that is only slightly above my budget.
Writing from inside my room. Only happy thoughts in this hotel. Love my adventure again. Can't wait to finish.....
104km (yeah baby, back to counting kms)
I FEEL GOOD!!!
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