70 miles through pouring rain and strong winds is not fun, however you try and frame it.
The day started well. It was warm, my camp spot was quiet, and I bumped into Paul, a guy from England walking the 88 shrine trail (on day 43) as I went to buy a coffee and doughnut at the Lawson down the road from where I had spent the night. It was just after 6 in the morning. I’ve no idea of the logistics involved in keeping these fairly rural stores stocked with (what taste like) fresh doughnuts, but I’m thankful for it. It was also nice to chat to the first tourist i’d seen in at least 200 miles. He was relentlessly positive, and slightly mad, as I imagine you’d have to be to walk 1000km.
I set off to try and find Kotohirgu temple near Kotohira. A popular shrine with over 1000 steps to the very top, offering stunning views over the inland sea and surrounding area. I never made it though. I wasted 45 minutes of time and energy cycling up small mossy lanes trying to find an entrance before deciding to give up. The weather was closing in and I didn’t have the willpower or interest to carry on seeking it out.
I set about covering the 20 or so miles towards Minawa on the route 192, where i’d then follow the Yoshiko river all the way to Tokushima, hopefully downhill.
It started raining, heavily. I stopped to change into my semi-waterproof trousers I bought in Korea, and my rain jacket. Within half an hour I was drenched. The lower half of my body felt like one big wet sock. The road was winding and treelined, gentle at first but then uphill and challenging in the conditions. It was foggy and quite beautiful but hard to enjoy in the conditions.
Then one of my pedals broke in half. It was still usable to get me to civilisation at least. The metal had sheared right off. I’m not even sure how. There was still a long climb ahead. I stopped at a rest station to try and gather myself a little, but taking a break only delayed the time between now and this ordeal being over. I left the rest station and a three legged dog appeared, it stared at me for a while, both of us looking pitiful, then hopped across the road in front of me.
The road came to a tunnel, a very long tunnel. I tried cycling on the pavement but it was too narrow, so reluctantly went on the road. It was dark and I could hear traffic rumbling in the distance. Then I saw a sign “2,550 m —>”. The tunnel was over two and a half kilometres long. It felt like forever, I pedalled faster and faster to avoid having any car come close to me, fearing that they might not spot me in the dark, despite my lights being on. Sometimes I shouted obscenties as loud as I could and listened to the words vibrate around the tunnel. Cycling alone has got me worried that i’m developing some mild form of tourets.
Eventually I emerged in light, the rain seemed to have eased slightly too but it could have been my imagination. Then the downhill began and everything felt good for about half an hour. The mountains were covered in mist and went as fast as my fear allowed.
I got coffee and a doughnut at the bottom. One thing i’ll miss greatly from Japan are their convenience stores. It’s a snackers paradise here.
I didn’t stop for long, wanting to keep up the pace from the downhill. My route was along the river, all the way to Tokushima. The rain came and went at first but then came back and didn’t show any sign of stopping, perhaps ever. I don’t remember a lot from the last twenty miles, I just wanted it to be over. Tokushima was blessed with good cycling pavements at least, which made traversing the city slightly easier despite the now heavy wind which was blowing me and others off their bikes and turning umbrellas inside out.
I had arranged another Couchsurfing host in Tokushima so plotted my route there, another 10 miles to a rural spot on the city outskirts. I listened to Weezer loudly and tried to numb my external senses.
But it was worth that extra effort. Yuhei, my host, and his girlfriend, offered me a shower as soon as they opened the door to me. Then a home cooked meal, and then sake and a strange and delicious see-through jelly desert. His english was excellent and we talked about design and music a little. He liked Warp records, and he built iPhone apps, but now was studying farming.
I quickly forgot about the awful day i’d had and began to feel human again in the company and kindness of strangers.
Playlist
Animal Collective – On a Highway, Avey Tare – Laughing Hieroglyphic, Weezer – Say It Ain’t So
Map (via Strava)