August 31, 2018
Oshamanbe
The weather looked pretty indeterminate when we awoke this morning. It looked like it would rain soon but the sun broke through the clouds occasionally. It would carry on like this for the rest of the day except that it DID rain, and heavily at times too.
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Getting out of the caldera in which Lake Toya nestles was pretty easy - two long tunnels with a wide sidewalk led us effortlessly and safely down to the coast.
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Once we hit the coast, the terrain got much hillier as the road as the road struggled over headlands, a few of which forced climbs of over two and hundred meters climbs on us (we ended the day having climbed more than 1300 meters). We passed through many shorter tunnels, none with a sidewalk on which we could cycle and were somewhat nerve wracking at times because the road was pretty busy with much of the traffic being heavy trucks. Having said that, the truck drivers were mostly very considerate.
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After about thirty five kilometers we came out at the top of the last climb via the third longest tunnel of the day. Then it was a great downhill to a coastal plain. Despite a slight headwind we were now making good time and hoping to push on as far as we could for the day.
About five kilometers outside of Oshamanbe, the heavens opened again. We made it into town and found a 7-Eleven where we bought some lunch and spent some time abusing the free Wi-Fi to search for options on where to stay further on down the road. The road south of Oshamanbe seemed pretty bleak and desolate and, with the rain still chucking down and both of us feeling frustrated by the weather, we decided to go and look for a Youth Hostel that Maps.Me had indicated instead of finding somewhere to camp in the wet. The hostel didn't exist but the kind lady at the business that was where Maps.Me said the hostel was directed us to a Ryokan about a kilometer away.
The Ryokan is an absolute classic. Traditional and simple and despite it blowing our budget out completely, we couldn't not stay there. It has the most exquisite little Onsen with a rocky outside pool that just fits my idea of what a traditional Onsen should look like. To top it all, the supper was one of the best meals I have ever eaten.
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Today's ride: 55 km (34 miles)
Total: 1,181 km (733 miles)
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