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 was ready to go again. I was aided knowing I had a couple of relatively shorter days to come. The ride from Niigata ended in Murakami, described by the front desk agent as the gem of Niigata prefecture. It was a pretty ride that felt like the right mix of city, country and coast. The night was spent in another onsen, with the joy of watching the sun set over the Sea of Japan from a hot bath capping a great day. The only thing that was missing was dinner. It seems I had failed to make the required booking for dinner at the hotel. There were not many other options around, so I made do with some ramen (made in teacups) and wasabi crackers that were sold in the hotel's gift shop. Not really the caloric filling the ride required, but enough to make me feel like I didn't have a completely empty stomach and got me ready for the next day.

Most hotels I am staying in have a checkout time of 10:00 am. This is fine if there is a long day of riding, but if there is a short ride, it means I get in earlier than check-in time. It also makes for not that restful of a morning, which is part of the reason I have shifted to having more of a relaxing evening, despite the ride of the day. The ride from Murakami to Tsuruoka was relatively short again, but it had me back riding along the coast. It was a spectacular ride that my route planning software did not want me to take. The incessant "proceed to your route" messages in my ear eventually got the software muted, and I trusted that I could follow the road the whole way. It was a day filled with not only the beauty of the coast, but also a personal record for tunnels in the day, 27! The infrastructure of Japan is incredible, with many of these in place solely for cycling. The night was spent in a very cute roadside inn, with a friendly English-speaking staff member. This is rare in smaller inns. She was curious to hear about my journey and insisted that I was moving too fast.

I had two more days hugging the coast. Knowing that I was coming towards the end of this part of the ride, the reality started to sink in that I was past the middle hump, that I was in so many ways on the home stretch. It feels like I have come so far (which I have), and that I have so far yet to go (which I do). Thinking back to the start of the ride feels like ages ago, even to the hardest days feels like a while ago.

The ebbs and flows are a frequent point of rumination on the ride. I can't believe how a good day is so often followed by a not-great day. The rest that gets to happen each night is a big part of this. The resiliency of the brain is also an incredible part of this.

Day 17

Distance (day) - 80 km

Distance (total) - 1437 km

Climbing (day) - 541

Climbing (total) - 8636 m

Convenience Stores (day) - 2

Convenience Stores (total) - 31

Tunnels (day) - 27

Tunnels (total) - 108

Day 18

Distance (day) - 66 km

Distance (total) - 1503 km

Climbing (day) - 245 m

Climbing (total) - 8881 m

Convenience Stores (day) - 2

Convenience Stores (total) - 33

Tunnels (day) - 4

Tunnels (total) - 112

Day 19

Distance (day) - 69 km

Distance (total) - 1572 km

Climbing (day) - 481 m

Climbing (total) - 9362 m

Convenience Stores (day) - 3

Convenience Stores (total) - 36

Tunnels (day) - 0

Tunnels (total) - 112