October 17, 2024
Day 16: Fukushima to Yabuki
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Today's dilemma was how to attack a 72km day followed by a 106km day. My strategy was to laze as long as possible to make our ride as warm and relaxed as possible, so that we'd have more energy to hit the ground running tomorrow. This backfired somewhat, as we were barely able to set up our tent before nightfall, and in fact we ate dinner by headlamp. Sounds romantic, but it ain't.
First order of business after mounting our panniers is to get out of the city. I don't think I've really discussed something that occupies a lot of our limited brainpower when riding: sidewalk or road? I never ride on the sidewalk at home. It's more dangerous than the street, as drivers are often turning in and out of driveways, and doing so in chaotic ways. There's some of that here, but drivers are certainly more patient and observant in general. Needless to say, we ride on the sidewalk more often when in a city. There are a few down sides. The curbs are made of stone, so ramps usually start with a bump. Lots of intersections means lots of bumps. There are sometimes pedestrians to deal with. Whether it's a nuisance depends mostly on how wide the sidewalk is. But most commonly, outside the city, at least, the biggest problem is the overgrowth. You'll be riding along happy as a clam, when kudzu or some other weed spills over on to the sidewalk, or grows through the cracks, making your ride more perilous. Then there are the fallen chestnuts and acorns, which aren't so dangerous, but are very annoying.
The upside is, of course, no trucks squeezing by you. They're good drivers, but they'll take whatever space you give them. I tend to hug the side of the road, because I'm pretty used to close passes and I'd prefer that to having a truck breathing down my neck for minutes on end.
I almost wish the sidewalks didn't exist. Then I wouldn't be so tempted to use them.
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Once out of town, we were greeted with a 15% hill. I immediately dismounted and walked it. It was pretty exhausting.
When we reached the top, we were greeted not with a view, but with a nice park. It was a great spot to catch our breaths.
Afterwards, the route settled into more of a rolling hills paradigm. Houses and rice paddies dotted the landscape.
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The next segment was on a levee, which, unbeknownst to us at the time, was part of a cycling road which we followed almost to the end of today's ride. It was very nice, but it lacked a good lunch spot. We made good use of our camp chairs and our picnic mat to improvise our own rest area. The water pump station provided shade and a place to park our bikes.
Then it was back on the levee for more easy riding.
Much to our surprise, it started to rain lightly. We resigned ourselves to a wet camping experience. However, after we emerged from the supermarket after shopping for dinner, the rain had stopped and we jumped for joy.
We soon reached the free campground, where we pitched our tent near a covered picnic spot, just in case it rains again.
This was an easy day, but it was mentally challenging, both because I felt like it should have been even easier, and because my mind is already occupied with the upcoming Alps stages of our tour. Speaking of which, I found us a place to stay Sunday night, so we are now over the holiday hump and are fully committed to the route! Wish us luck both on our long day in the saddle tomorrow, and in the mountains that lay ahead!
Today's ride: 72 km (45 miles)
Total: 1,082 km (672 miles)
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