Which bike has an acceptable level of manliness? These are tricky questions. As the parade of 10-speeds, mountain bikes and, more recently, fixed-gear designs knocked the upright, old-school bicycle off the road, accouterments like fenders and chain guards came to be seen — by men, at least — as eccentric. If a guy is going to get on a bike, he wants to imagine he’s Lance Armstrong, not Pee-wee Herman.

The article does go on to list a Dutch bike’s disadvantages, particularly its large weight (around 50lbs) and sluggishness that makes it difficult to manage carrying up stairs or navigating through traffic. BikeSnobNYC notes:

the Dutch city bike invasion is yet another example of fashion disguised as practicality. More accurately, it’s fashion backlash disguised as practicality. What happens when people start wearing baggier and baggier pants? Tight pants make a sudden comeback. What happens when ratty trucker caps become all the rage? Clean, flat-brim fitted caps supplant them. What happens when microbrews take over the country? There’s a renewed interest in PBR. And so forth. So what happens when impractically minimalist bikes become fashionable? Impractically practical bikes suddenly seem a lot more attractive.
…
And that’s what’s so annoying about the fixed-gear fad and the fixed-gear backlash. They both seem to subscribe to a notion that there’s no middle ground, and they only define themselves in terms of the other. Hate track bikes? Ride a tank! Don’t like sluggish bikes? Ride a track bike!

One of my bike friends from back in L.A., John Vu, had a great rant on the iBOB list. (Emphasis is mine.)

I love Dutch bikes, but they just aren’t very suited to places like L.A. They are great if your radius is like five flat miles, preferably with good bike infrastructure, but here a lightweight with 28mm tires, fenders, a saddlebag, and a generator light is much more useful.

On any given day in L.A. I can be at work near the beach in Santa Monica and out exploring the hills of Eagle Rock with friends, assisted by the train or bus. I just can’t imagine doing all that on a Dutch bike, sorry. If you don’t believe me try schlepping one up stairs or just onto a bus rack.

And it’s folly to suggest that you need a certain kind of bike to wear non-bikey clothes. My friends and I ride those kind of bikes all over the city, almost always in “regular clothes.”

While I’m ranting: I’m a bit tired of the attitudes embodied by the Copenhagen Cycling Chic and similar blogs. They’ve said what needed to be said: Look, people around the world ride bikes for transport in regular clothes. But what needs to be said now is that we aren’t all so lucky to live in a bike-friendly city and if we are to make progress we have to just start riding and not worry that we don’t have ideal bike situations. Perfect is the enemy of good.

I think we can humanize cycling without Dutch-style town bikes and separated bike lanes and such. Also, I’m a bit put off by how they look down on people who do anything remotely recreational or sporty on a bike or bike enthusiasts. Aim your rod brakes elsewhere.

Another unintended effect is that the nonrider who doesn’t live in a bike-friendly city will read these blogs and see the images of idyllic city bike culture and contrast it with what their car-centric cities, giving them another excuse to not ride. I have this conversation several times a week, the “L.A. is too dangerous to ride in, unlike Portland/Davis/Amsterdam/San Francisco” talk, and I wish I didn’t have to. The idea is to agitate for better bike infrastructure, but now is that going to happen if everyone is afraid to get on a bike in the first place?

He brings up a lot of great points – the reality that bikes can belong to everyone without resorting to the “impractically practical” or snubbing those who have sporty enthusiasm for cycling, and that circumstances are different for every area and pining for a cycling utopia can hurt the cause of bike advocacy.

Case in point of the impractically practical: Back in L.A., Bronwyn had two bikes. One was a lovely, restored, electro-forged Schwinn. The other (and the one she brought to Japan) is a late 90′s GT road bike. Both are really cool bikes, but the Schwinn probably had a good 20 pounds on the GT. Between our apartment and the Saturday morning farmer’s market was a big hill. Guess which bike got taken out on those Saturday mornings more often. Hint: it wasn’t the one with the basket.

Of course Japan has its own form of the Dutch bike – the mamachari.

While it shares many of the same attributes as the Dutch bikes – chainguard, fenders, rack, and lights – it lacks a few notable things. Namely, the fashionista condescension and the $1000 price tag (mamacharis sell for around $150 at department and hardware stores). They carry the same cultural cool as I’m sure Dutch bikes do in the Netherlands – which is to say none. As the NYT writes, “riding a bicycle to work in a suit and tie is as notable an act as drinking a cup of coffee, there is no bike culture — all culture includes the bike.” Though there certainly is a bike culture in Japan, as I’m sure there is one in the Netherlands.

Like John, I do actually like Dutch bikes and mamacharis. I’d never own one because they’re too limited for the kind of riding I do, but I appreciate their place as an everyday practical tool that is useful for and accessible to many. They’re certainly better than the boat-anchor “mountain” bikes available in Wal-Marts throughout the States on which you’d be a fool to actually take off-road (about which an interesting discussion worth reading was coincidentally started on the bikepirates livejournal community today). It’s the fetishization of European cityscapes, and the divisive one-or-the-otherness between the trop pratique and the trop sportif that I find so distressing. It is one of the primary problems in the perception of cycling in the United States. Bikes can be a part of culture, not just bike culture, but Dutch bikes aren’t the only magical keys that can do it.

ADDENDUM: As another coincidence, Bronwyn forwarded the same NYT article to me while I was composing this post. Looks like it’s getting around. While I have my disagreements with the article, I’m at least happy to see increased visibility of bike topics.

Spring teased us a bit a few weeks ago with warm days and the first bits of sakura, or cherry blossoms. It was followed shortly thereafter with a drop in temperature and even a bit of snow and hail. This weeks the weather has righted itself once again and the sakura are in full bloom. We’ve been taking full advantage of the season by enjoying the outdoors in proper Japanese fashion.

On Sunday I went on a short little ride with a few friends out to the sand dunes and back, stopping to enjoy a cone of nashi (Asian pear) flavored soft cream along the way.

Bronwyn was working that day, translating for a delegation from Hong Kong who had come to observe the Uradome coastal area. We met up after she was done in a park in Tottori where we partook of unhealthy but delicious Japanese fair food including age mochi (deep-fried mochi balls), taiyaki (fried dough shaped like a fish and stuffed with red bean paste), and takoyaki (fried dough balls stuffed with octopus).

Because Bronwyn had worked on Sunday, she was able to take the day off of Tuesday and we used that time to ride our bikes out to Kurayoshi for more sakura viewing. Rather than take the usual coastal route, we opted for the country route which took us up and over a couple of small mountains, passing through the towns of Shikano and Misasa, past Mitoku-san which we had climbed last fall.

Drivers in Japan are generally quite courteous towards cyclists. Though drivers are occasionally perplexed as to what a bicycle is doing on the street rather than the sidewalk, despite the integral prevalence of utility cycling, they are generally quite courteous towards cyclists. They wait for a safe time to pass, then give a safe amount of distance.

We had one rare bit of asshattery on this ride, however. While going down one of the twisty, two-lane mountain roads some idiot driver came up from behind and leaned heavy on his horn for nearly the entire descent. The thing is, the road had a 40kmh speed limit. I was going 60 and doing just fine keeping pace with the next car, a large van, about 200m ahead of me. The driver behind finally found a straightaway where he was able to pass me maybe two thirds of the way down the stretch of road, but of course then had to ride his brakes the rest of the way as he now had the van in front of him. At the bottom of the mountain is a stop light. Of course it was red and of course I ended up pulling right next to the car, waiting for the green for a solid minute and a half. In L.A. I may have verbally berated the driver for his stupidity. That’s a little too forward for Japan, so instead I simply stared him down. The Japanese do not do well with direct eye contact, especially from strangers. It makes them extremely uncomfortable. Not meeting my gaze, the driver simply fidgeted in his seat until the green light finally came and he turned quickly to me and mouthed what looked like “asshole” before speeding off. That felt good.

At any rate, the annoyance of that whole experience was very much overshadowed by the otherwise entirely pleasant ride. The weather was perfect and the scenery gorgeous.

There were a couple of mechanical difficulties. One was a broken seatpost bolt on Bronwyn’s bike early on. It was close enough to town that I quickly zipped over to Cycle Shop Fukuhama for a replacement. The other was a broken chain, also on Bronwyn’s bike that was a fairly quick fix. That was probably due to my improper installation when installing my old 11-34 cassette, LX derailleur, and chain on to her bike and is the primary reason why I much prefer using SRAM chains with their powerlinks – you can break and reassemble the chains without fear of creating a weak link.

Once in Kurayoshi, we grabbed a few beers and enjoyed more unhealthy Japanese fair food under the sakura, the act of which is called hanami, before riding the train back to Tottori where we ended the day relaxing in an onsen, or Japanese hot spring. ?????!

What is BEE Japan? It’s a group of volunteers who promote environmental awareness and green living in Japan through direct action and education. The photo above is from the 2008 group. Our main event is the two-month tour where we do activities such as presentations at schools or with international groups, participate in clean-up efforts, and raise money for green charities. All the while we try our best to lead by example – supporting local businesses, choosing organic and fair trade products when possible, avoiding chain and convenience stores, avoiding excessive waste from things like packaging and waribashi (disposable chopsticks), and eating vegetarian. Yeah, I know I love my bacon, but I’m willing to go veggie for two months for a good cause.

Throughout the spring and summer the BEE riders will also be doing various events in Japan for additional charity fundraising. We’ve got a number of things lined up for Earth Day in April and I think Bronwyn and I will try to arrange something in Tottori.

Sounds like fun, no? I think it’s a pretty awesome way to bid farewell to Japan and I am totally psyched on having something to work towards.

If you’d like to donate, here’s a handy-dandy Paypal button, and I’ve thrown one up on the sidebar as well. Any funds donated will go to the charities of BEE’s choosing. We pay our own way as far as food, shelter, and ferry costs. (But if you want to help me with that, too, I won’t say no. Just Paypal me at the@jokeisup.com. No fancy donation button for personal use.)

The biggest change first: I got married. I had been dating Bronwyn for four years and living with her for much of that time, and while marriage didn’t necessarily change our day-to-day living dynanmic, there is something quite charming and comforting to know that I have a “wife” and that I am her “husband.” We’ve passed our six-month anniversary mark and still the words seem strange and delightful as they roll off the tongue: “This is my wife, Bronwyn.” It’s even strange to write that. It has at least been a bit easier to assume the roles of Jon and Bronwyn, husband and wife, while introducing ourselves to folks in Japan. We don’t have as much of a history with friends here. They didn’t know us as single entities – the pre-Jonwyn days if you will.

This brings us to the second biggest change – moving to Japan. No real surprises in this list, eh? If there’s anything that marked the marriage as a change, it’s moving across the globe and literally starting a new life together. Japan has certainly had its ups and downs and I can’t say I won’t be happy whenever it is we decide to return to L.A., but I’m very fortunate to have made good friends with folks here and to have had so many wonderful experiences.

Speaking of experiences, travel was huge this year. There were weekend trips like Santa Barbara wine country in February, and Vegas for my Bachelor’s party in May. Then there were epic adventures like Greece for our Honeymoon, and Korea and the Philippines. My passport is certainly looking spiffier thanks to 2008. There are also all the places we’ve been to around Japan, like Misasa, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Tokyo, and all the places I’ve seen in-between via bicycle.

Bronwyn calls my 2008 the year of the bicycle and I can’t say she’s wrong there. It was the year I tried randonneuring and touring for the first time. I did a 200km and 300km brevet, totally shattering my previous ideas of what I was capable of physically. I wanted to finish the series with the 400km and 600km rides, but the wedding kept me busy. My bike tours in Japan have been a great way for me to not only get to know the country, but also foster some independence, especially since I had defaulted to letting Bronwyn take the reins of Japanese life since she’s the one who speaks the language. I also can’t forget to mention that 2008 was the year I got my dream bicycle – my Rivendell Rambouillet Starbuck – on which I’ve been able to have my touring adventures.

I’ve given up making resolutions for the New Year as I’m pretty bad at following through on them. Honestly, I doubt any year is going to top 2008 for me for a long while. It’ll probably take something on the magnitude of a birth of a child to top the events of this year, and that’s not something we’re planning on doing for yeeeeaaarrrssss now. So let’s just say I’ll be content to take my adventures as they come and seek them out where there are none. Here’s to a great 2009!

As for equipment, I am in absolute love with my new lighting system. The Edelux is quite bright and the fact that I no longer have to rely on batteries gives me great peace of mind, especially after the absolute lighting failure that was my Hurkey Creek 24-hour race experience. The new 11-34 cassette was a life-saver on those hills, or maybe not a life-saver but a knee-saver, and despite all the hills I had no need to walk up anything, which was not the case on the Tokyo trip. While many touring cyclists I’ve read advocate lower gearing than I’ve got, say a 22-tooth granny gear to a 34-tooth cog or sub-20 gear inches, I think my 26.8 gear inches is sufficient. The only drivetrain change I would like to make somewhere down the line is to outfit the bike with a wide-range double using a 50.4 bcd crankset like the Sugino PX, TA Pro 5 Vis, or (the most likely should it actually ever materialize) the Velo-Orange crankset. I’d run it as a 46/26 with my previous 12-27 cassette and put my Dura Ace derailleur back on, though I have gotten to like the Rapid Rise action of my LX derailleur.

My next goal will be to narrow down my packing list to lighten the load. I’ve been pretty good so far, managing to fit everything into a pair of (rather large) panniers and a handlebar bag. But I’d really like to aim for a setup more like this:

It’s still a loaded, self-supported setup, not a credit card touring setup. He’s got his tent and sleeping bag and stove, but has managed to whittle the list down to the necessities while still being comfortable. I think that with a front rack and a few less clothes I can get pretty close. I’d also need a larger saddlebag than the one I’ve currently got. I’ve got my eye on the Carradice Camper Longflap, though Acorn Bags says a larger saddlebag design is somewhere on the horizon. That’d be my preference if it does happen.

The packing list trimming is something I can practice in the coming months. Since it’s getting cold and snowy, I don’t think I’d like to pull another multi-day trip. However, I think some S24Os would be perfectly doable, and there are ample destinations for such a trip around Tottori.

Other equipment raves:
Keen Commuter Sandals – I need no other off-bike shoes when I ride with these. Perfectly comfortable to walk around or even hike in. Very comfortable on the bike, though not as stiff as my Sidi Dominators, but who cares? It’s a tour! With booties and wool socks I can stay warm, and since they’re sandals they dry quickly after the rain.

Velo Orange caliper brakes – I replaced the standard pads with some salmon Kool Stops and they served me well in the wet and hilly terrain, even after taking a smack from a large rusty chain.

Acorn Handlebar Bag – I love this thing. Looks great, fits plenty, has very convenient rear-facing pockets that are great for holding my camera and binoculars, and has attachments for a shoulder strap so I can bring it inside with me if I’m going into a store or restaurant. The only problem is it is not at all waterproof. It’s water resistant, but in a downpour things are going to get soaked inside. I just use a plastic bag, but I’ve still got to be careful about making sure everything is nicely wrapped up.

Brooks Saddles and Merino Wool Underwear – I am over padded bike shorts. I normally go without, but in the past on some longer rides I’ve worn a few different options and I ALWAYS end up with some pain or numbness. I attributed it to the miles. This time I around I opted to ride in plain merino wool boxer briefs and I had ZERO problems the whole way. I felt great, actually. No issues whatsoever. My now very well broken-in Brooks is extremely comfortable, while the merino wool underwear does a great job of keeping things comfy and dry down there. I might be interesting in trying bike shorts with really minimal padding, though I shouldn’t call it padding. I’m thinking more along the lines of a thin leather chamois like old-school riders used to wear to keep chafing in check. It’s not really a problem for me at the moment, but I’d be interested to try it out to see if there’s something I’m missing.

Grand Bois Cerf Green Label, 700x28c tires – I bought these in Kyoto from the source and while I didn’t ride with them during the tour (I was on Rivendell Ruffy-Tuffies), I have done a fair amount of riding since the tour including a couple of metric centuries with them since the tour. These have gained a lot of popularity in the iBOB and randonneuring worlds with people reporting fantastic ride quality, comfort, and performance. I have to admit that they live up to the hype. It’s a night-and-day difference, an absolute pleasure to ride on. What’s better is that they sell here for less than most other quality tires on the market. I may have to stock up before I return back to L.A.

Wanting to squeeze in one more adventure before it got too cold, I brought my bike to Kyoto by bus planning to ride back. Rather than taking the direct route along Route 9 which is around 215km, I opted to north along Lake Biwa, cutting to Tsuruga and following the coast of the Sea of Japan all the way back to Tottori, lengthening the trip to about 500km. I didn’t really have much in the way of a timeline, but I wanted to take it easy and was guessing I’d make it back in four or five days. In terms of equipment changes since my Hiroshima and Tokyo tours, I had replaced my 12-27 cassette with a 11-34 Deore-level cassette (giving me now a lowest gear ratio of 34:34 or 26.8 gear inches), and accordingly replaced my Dura Ace short-cage rear derailleur with a Deore LX long-cage one to accommodate the new range. More excitingly, I had just picked up the week before a dynamo lighting system consisting of a Schmidt SON28 hub laced to a Mavic Open Sport Rim, and a Schmidt Edelux light.

Day 1 – Kyoto to Makino

I slept rather soundly the last night in the hostel and was even a bit sluggish making it out the door. It was nearly 10am by the time I left Kyoto, heading north along the 367, following a creek into the mountains. The ride was a slow steady climb and the late morning air was fresh from the heavy rains the night before. I passed a foreign bike tourist, not exchanging words but exchanging nods, saving my breath for the climb. He later passed me when I stopped for lunch at a convenience store and I never caught up to him. It was a beautiful, sunny day while still being cool, and once I shed a few clothing layers the temperature was perfect for the effort I was putting into mountains (and thank you 34:34 gearing). Upon reaching Route 477, I cut east towards Lake Biwa and the town of Ohashi (appropriately named because “hashi” means bridge and there’s a big bridge there that crosses the lake). From there, I more or less followed the eastern shore of Lake Biwa north. As the afternoon moved on, puffy clouds rolled in bringing occasional showers but also very dramatic skies. In the late afternoon, I stopped at a rest area that had an odd “Dutch village” theme. Muzaked versions of crappy pop songs played on the loud speakers amidst pink buildings and deserted amusement rides. It was… weird. Here, take a look:

Anyway, after this windmill Dutch village thing, I continued north along Biwa. Evening came and with it heavy rains. Thankfully my rain gear was up to the task and the Schmidt Edelux light shone brightly so I was able to progress confidently. I soon arrived in my campground for the night in the village of Makino just as the rain was taking a breather, allowing me to pitch my tent in a light drizzle rather than a downpour. Dinner was freeze-dried backpacker food over a couple bottles of “Buckler” malt beverage purchased at a convenience store along the way. I thought I was buying beer, but was sadly mistaken as I found myself choking down something akin to Zima.

Day 2 – Makino to Nakahama

The next morning, I awoke at sunrise to the sound of people walking around outside. I prefer being into campgrounds after sunset and leaving before sunrise to maintain a stealthy presence so upon hearing that I had company I scrambled to gather my things and break camp. The people walking outside were an older, retired couple out walking their dog and observing the sunrise over the lake. The man asked me something in Japanese and I told him (in what little Japanese I do know) that I didn’t understand. He began speaking to me in English, asking me about my bicycle, where I had come from, and where I was headed. “I like bicycles!” he said. His wife then invited me to breakfast at their cottage a five-minute walk away. I thought about it for a second before happily accepting their offer. It turns out the man was a bike tourist himself, having ridden around much of Japan as well as Laos and Vietnam. His son was even a tourist and had done six-month trips through Europe, Africa, and China. He eagerly showed me photos, pumping my own wanderlust. I now have a strong desire to see Laos by bicycle. The couple is quite physically active themselves. Though I don’t believe the wife does much cycling, they both do a lot of hiking and backpacking, as well as playing tennis and kayaking. Not a bad way to spend one’s retirement. I can only hope to be that spry when I get older. The breakfast they prepared was lovely – toast with homemade persimmon jam, salad, chicken, yogurt, and freshly sliced fruits. They even invited me to use their shower and gave me time to relax and allow my tent to dry. Their hospitality was amazing and I was kind of sad to leave as I would have liked talking to them more, but I had to move out if I was to get to my destination for the night at a reasonable time. They walked me to the main road and waved me off.

Upon leaving Makino, I had another mountain pass to climb as I headed north towards the city of Tsuruga and the coast. I stopped along the way at another rest area that had a fantastic view of the lake as well as that of monkeys running across the road and playing in the nearby trees. A friendly man asked me something in Japanese, and again I pulled out the little Japanese I knew to tell him that I couldn’t understand, that I was American and I spoke English. His English wasn’t great (certainly leagues better than my Japanese) but we managed and I told him where I was going and where I was headed and it was actually a lot of fun trying to communicate. He even blogged about me.

After the rest area, it was some slow-going 20km before I hit Tsuruga and started heading west. It was already getting into the afternoon at this point and I was coming up on the Mikata Go-ko, an area of five contiguous lakes. I wanted time to ride around and explore the lakes so I attempted to find another campground that was supposedly located just west of Tsuruga as indicated by my map. I wandered around in circles for a bit confused as I could see no campground where there should have been one. Finally, I realized what was once a campground had been turned into a rice field. A bit frustrated at all the wasted time, I cooked a quick snack of noodles before deciding to head for the next campground which was about another 60km a day. The distance was fine since I had really only travelled about 40km that day, but it was a shame that I couldn’t see the scenery in daylight. As it were, I passed through Mikata Go-ko as the sun was setting making for some beautiful views though I had to take the more direct route amongst the lakes rather than doing a more thorough circumnavigation. That was a shame. I’d really like to go back to this area at some point in the future and ride around more as the landscape was truly lovely. And stupid me, I didn’t even take a picture as I kept thinking, “No! This isn’t the best angle! No! This isn’t the best angle!” until the sun had gone too far down for me to get any decent lighting.

The next landmark along the way was the city of Obama. This was another place in which I would’ve liked to have spent more time. Mostly I wanted to hit up some souvenir shops and see what kind of tchotchkes they’d be selling to exploit their city’s name. But I did stumble upon a restaurant, Cafe Riverside, that had an animated sign by the street congratulating our new President Elect (I’ll have to get a video up at somepoint. I just need to trim down the length.) This was good enough marketing for me and I felt obliged to stop in for a bit of coffee and a plate of spaghetti. From here it was another easy 30km or so to my destination campground in the village of Nakahma just west of Oi. It was thoroughly dark at this point (though really only around 8pm since the sun goes down so early) but the Edelux shone brilliantly and I had no anxiety about continuing on into the night. I made it to the vicinity of the campground in no time but then got a bit turned around as it was hard to tell exactly where the camp was. A cop car pulled up next to me with lights on and I felt a pang of fear as my natural reaction towards cops is one of mistrust. Maybe that’s just the L.A. in me. After telling them I didn’t speak English, they asked me where I was going. “Campu jo” I replied. They pointed at the lot right next to me that went back into darkness in a grove of trees. Doh! I was right there. The officer talked to his partner for a bit in Japanese, I assume discussing the fact that the campground was clearly closed, as were all campgrounds I had stayed at thus far in Japan (it seems camping is a purely summer thing here). “Tento?” they asked me. I knodded and pointed at my panniers. They talked a bit more then finally, “OK!” and they waved me into the campground. This was actually great. I had always had a bit of apprehension over sneaking in and out of closed campgrounds, but now I had the official nod from the authorities! I slept very soundly that night.

Day 3 – Nakahama to Hie

The next morning I got up leisurely and made myself some coffee, enjoying the sunrise. I continued west through the port town of Maizuru eventually reaching Amanohashidate, one of the famous “three most beautiful sites in Japan”, a sand bridge three kilometers long that’s covered with some 8,000 pine trees. I didn’t even realize that this was on my route, wondering what the oddity on my map was. But at least now I can say I’ve seen two out of the Big Three, having seen Miyajima in October. I declined to take a cable car up a nearby hill to see the panoramic view of Amanohashidate, which was probably a mistake but I was in the mood to press forward. I headed north, continuing along the coast and hugging the Tango peninsula. I reached the fishing village of Ine, struggling up and down some killer grades to reach a rest area high up on a hill that overlooked the village where I could see the houses built over the water on stilts with boats parked underneath them. The views here were striking, and I stopped for a bit of curry so that I could spend more time soaking them in. I continued on. There were 30km left to go until I reached my campground, but unlike the night before this wasn’t going to be easy. The peninsula was rugged and brutal but absolutely worth it. It was gorgeous. I passed another bike tourist on a Surly Cross Check who had stopped at the side of the ride for a bathroom break. We made eye contact and both laughed over mutual understanding. He later caught up with me on a climb. We tried to communicate a bit in Japanese and English, but again I was conserving my breath whilst spinning away at 34:34 slow and steady. He didn’t have such a luxury. I’m not sure exactly what gearing he was running as I glanced over his rig, but it looked like he was running a 130bcd double crank and a 12-25 cassette while carrying far more luggage than me. He was out of his saddle and mashing and was therefore forced to power on while I sat and contentedly spun my way up. I certainly did not envy him. It was dark when I reached my campground, which was spookily located right next to a graveyard. Attempting to find the entrance, I ran through a chain barrier (looks like the Edelux failed me on that one) which snapped the adjusting barrel on my front brake and popped my front fender lose. Luckily the fender wasn’t bent and the front brake still operated fine despite the damage, which is far better than a dented head tube or a broken wheel.

Day 4 – Hie to Kami

It rained pretty heavily that night, letting up a bit in the morning when I got up. I packed away my went tent and continued on. The rain came soon thereafter and stayed the rest of the day with occasional gusts of wind always pointed in the wrong direction. Passing through the town of Kyotango I found an old abandoned bowling alley that I was tempted to wander through but decided against it since it was actually pretty disgusting and there was trash and broken glass everywhere. Just past Kyotango, I crossed the intersection for Route 178 and Route 666. I needed to continue on the 178, but I do regret not making the detour. The rest of the day passed with little else of note. The scenery was beautiful but full of difficult climbs. The gray and wet weather reminded me a lot of traveling down the Oregon coast. I took a number of photos, but most of them didn’t come out so well because my lens was wet and my lens wipe fully saturated. At least I was staying more or less dry. My raincoat (REI Taku) and pants (Sierra Designs Hurricane) both worked splendidly, while my Adidas neoprene booties eventually soaked through but between them and my wool socks my toes still stayed warm. The rain finally let up as I rolled into my campground for the night, which was a welcome relief because between the weather and the terrain I was absolutely beat.

Day 5 – Kami to Tottori

The final day of my trip went by also uneventfully, save for one more “666″ siting – this time in reference to the Radio Station of the Beast. There were only a couple of really brutal climbs. The day started off overcast but eventually cleared up. Still, I was exhausted from the day before and knowing that this was a relatively short day in the saddle (only about 60km or so) I took it very slowly, rolling past Tottori’s famous dunes and into town a bit after noon, happy to be home.

The first night we wondered around the city a bit, catching a flea market where we snacked on the samples of dried fruit. Later we had dinner at an izakaya followed by the quintessential Japanese activity of karaoke.

The next day we wondered around the Imperial Palace, then hopped a train to the nearby town of Arashiyama which is famous for its temple and bamboo grove. The evening was spent back in Kyoto wandering the Nishiki Market and Teramachi Arcade munching on tofu donuts and okonomiyaki. We ended up by the Kamo-gawa river drinking beers we had purchased at the local convenience store, which is actually a very common past time for locals and tourists alike. There was a group of fire jugglers that we watched dancing about to the beat of a drum circle.

On Sunday, Bronwyn and I headed off to Nijo-jo castle which was home to a very important shogun. The building and surrounding garden were both impressive, and the castle had the peculiar feature of “nightingale floors” which were wooden floors built such that when someone stepped on them they would squeak in the sound of a nightingale. This was a security measure to guard against assassins. There is a home about a few minutes south of Nijo-jo called Nijo-jinya often called the “ninja house” that has even more built-in security including fire-resistant walls, hidden staircases, hidden passageways, and trap doors. I would have loved to have seen that, but it’s something for which you have to make reservations in advance, so it will definitely be on my to-do list for a future Kyoto visit. After the castle, we wondered a bit more around the city, seeing the old-style neighborhood of Gion, followed by the Tadasu-no-mori temple where adorable children were dressed up in little kimonos for the holiday of Shichi-Go-San. That evening, Bronwyn and I had dinner with the host family she stayed with when she studied abroad in Kyoto in 2005. They were extremely warm and friendly and their hospitality left me stuffed.

Monday was the last day of the trip, so the one activity we squeezed in before everyone had to catch their bus home was going to Saiho-ji, the Moss Temple. Entrance was a little steep at 3000 yen, but it was totally worth it. It begins with a bit of zazen prayer with the monks followed by wonderings in the garden. It was by far the most beautiful temple I have seen yet. Pictures don’t do it justice. And since the entrance fee is so high there were very few tourists, helping preserve the delicate moss as well as the tranquil atmosphere. It was an excellent break from the mobs at Arashiyama and Gion, and a great way to wrap up the Kyoto weekend, at least for the group.

For my part, I had taken the bus out with everyone, but had brought along my bike with plans to ride back. I was staying one more night at the hostel so that I could get an early start the next morning, so after the temple I said my goodbyes at the bus depot, then headed off for a bit of my own wanderings. Being the bike geek that I am, I had to swing by I’s Bicycles, home of Cycles Grand Bois. The shop was a lot smaller than I expected, but very well organized with drawer after drawer of sorted parts. I wish I had had more time to rummage through them if only to see what he had, but instead I just talked to the owner for a bit and snapped a few photos. Before leaving, I picked up a pair of their tires, which are gaining a lot of popularity in the randonneuring world. I was surprised to see how cheap they were here, 3675 yen, or about $35 depending on the exchange rate. In the U.S. they go for about $55 each. Nothing like going straight to the source. Afterwards, I hit up a few more bike shops that weren’t nearly as impressive, wandered around Teramachi again, had a dinner of tofu donuts and coffee, then spent the rest of the evening in the hostel watching Will Smith’s The Pursuit of Happyness and sewing up a pair glove liners that had started to fall apart.

More photos on my Flickr.

In the next post: my 5-day, 500-kilometer trip home.

The biggest trip in October was heading to Hiroshima to enjoy the sake festival where hundreds of brands of rice booze were available for our drink-till-you-drop pleasure. We’re not just ridiculous drunkards, however, and there was a lot more to enjoy about Hiroshima. For starters, I rode my bike there – a beautiful mini-tour of 300km that I broke up over three days, spending one night with friends in Yonago and one camping out in the mountains. Once in Hiroshima we did a fair amount of sightseeing, climbing Mt. Misan on the nearby island of Miyajima and of course checking out the Peace Dome and A-Bomb Museum which was a sobering experience to say the least. When I was a child and first learned about the Hiroshima bombing, I imagined it being to this day still nothing more than a radioactive crater. Later I learned that wasn’t the case and that it had recovered magnificently, and yet I was still surprised and heartened to see just how vibrant it had become despite its history. I thoroughly enjoyed its cosmopolitan atmosphere. It was so refreshing to be in a big city again where, for example, a nightlife after 8pm actually exists.

Lately, Bronwyn and I have been riding closer to Tottori City to check out the local attractions like the sand dunes and waterfalls. At least what Tottori lacks in big-city appeal it makes up for greatly in natural beauty all within an easy pedal away. Fall has very much set in, coming as kind of a shock for this Californian of the last eight years where the concept of “seasons” was limited to whether or not I’d need to wear a sweater. The temperatures and frequency of rain is actually quite similar to Washington state where I was raised, though a major difference being that here the trees change color rather than staying ever green.

The next big adventure is Kyoto this weekend. Bronwyn and I and a small group of friends will be heading out for a three-day weekend of mischief and merriment after which I’ll be taking several days to ride back along the San-In coast, stopping, among other places, in the city of Obama. Should be fun and hopefully I won’t wait another two months to write about it.

The last week has been an utter whirlwind of activity, but I did manage to squeeze as much quality time with friends as possible. I also spent my birthday and second-to-last night in town at Tiki Ti followed by Rock Band into the early morning hours. It was a good send-off and has me missing friends already (not to mention wishing they had Rock Band in this county).

More later.