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The Flavors of Japan
Japan is, quite rightly, famous for its food. Japanese food and flavors have made it across the world with dishes like sushi becoming a...
Matthew Lautenbach
Aug 4, 20254 min read


5 Things I Learned Cycling Up Japan
Two weeks have passed since I completed the journey, two weeks of recovery and reflection. My legs are feeling good, my tan lines are...
Matthew Lautenbach
Jul 20, 20257 min read


Hokkaido
The ferry across the Pacific, from Hachinohe to Tomakomai, was a smooth crossing that arrived in the middle of the night. The arrival...
Matthew Lautenbach
Jul 15, 20257 min read


Turning Inland
Having completed the ride up the west coast of Japan, I headed inland. There were subtle shifts in the weather, the terrain and my mood....
Matthew Lautenbach
Jul 9, 20254 min read


Kyushu's Northwest Coast
The day leading into Niigata was a suffer-fest, but it also marked a turning point in the trip. After a good meal and a night's rest, I...
Matthew Lautenbach
Jul 7, 20253 min read


The Coastal Route
When training, the spaces between workouts, the rest, are as important as the work. Following up great efforts with recovery is a way to...
Matthew Lautenbach
Jul 1, 20254 min read


Random Thoughts from the Road
There is a rhythm to the ride, which is starting to fade into the background. The countryside is starting to look similar, as are the...
Matthew Lautenbach
Jun 25, 20253 min read


Turning North
Leaving Kyoto, I felt lighter. Not just because of the weight I was able to remove from my bike by sending it forward, but also because...
Matthew Lautenbach
Jun 22, 20253 min read


The One Thing
“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must move faster than the lion or it will not survive. Every morning, a lion...
Matthew Lautenbach
Jun 20, 20254 min read


Shimanami Kaido
In the weeks and months of planning, one place for riding in Japan kept coming up: the Shimanami Kaido. This is the best-marketed cycling...
Matthew Lautenbach
Jun 17, 20253 min read


Shikoku
Shikoku, the least developed of the four major islands, is also where I spent the least amount of time riding. The original plan was to...
Matthew Lautenbach
Jun 16, 20253 min read


Kyushu I Hardly Knew You
Four days in and I have already finished riding the first of the four islands of Japan, Kyushu. Since I arrived on Saturday to Nagasaki,...
Matthew Lautenbach
Jun 11, 20253 min read


Grandpa J Roads
One of my strongest memories of my Grandpa J is his love of taking the route less traveled. On trips, he did everything that he could to...
Matthew Lautenbach
Jun 10, 20253 min read


Beginnings
I am on my way. The planning, the excitement of the possible, the nervousness of what could go wrong has moved from the theoretical to...
Matthew Lautenbach
Jun 8, 20252 min read


The Route
Planning Since the idea of doing this trip came into my mind, the route has come into greater focus. I knew that I wanted to end in...
Matthew Lautenbach
Jun 5, 20254 min read


Japan Journey - the Gear
There is a saying, a mantra in triathlon, that there should be "nothing new on race day". No new gear, no new sources of energy. Race day...
Matthew Lautenbach
Jun 2, 20253 min read


From Bottom to Top
of Japan Will I be able to capture an image like this? This summer, starting in just a few weeks, I will be undertaking a journey from...
Matthew Lautenbach
May 29, 20253 min read


Starting
You have to start somewhere and Hello World feels both cheesy and a bit of a by-gone era. Over the years I have started and stopped with...
Matthew Lautenbach
Feb 20, 20251 min read
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