The Aftermath

The issue of sending the bicycles home to Vancouver turned out to be more problematic than first anticipated. Our original plan was to get a bicycle shop disassemble, package and ship the bikes overseas to Canada. We visited numerous bike shops all around Tokyo... cycling from Tokyo station to Shinjuku to Shibuya to Gotanda to Ginza to Tsukiji... ended up doing more cycling than expected. We couldn't find any shop that would do it... they only do it within Japan. After hours of pondering what to do we decided the only way was to ship it ourselves... but neither of us have ever disassembled a bicycle before. I also had to enquire a lot at the Post Office as to what are the maximum dimensions and weight for the box... it wasn't so easy.

So today we spent a good 8 hours disassembling, packing and then lugging the boxes to the Post Office. Luckily a bike shop gave us free boxes and let us borrow a wrench. It wasn't actually all that hard to do the whole thing... a big relief! I really didn't want to have to abandon this bike... too many memories with it... and hopefully more to come!

Anyways, this really caps this adventure off... we are on foot now. No more peddling...

Pic 1: It was nice of the sun to come out today in Tokyo... disassembling the bikes wouldn't have been easy in the rain... but yeah our stuff pretty much was spread out all around this area outside a bike shop...

Pic 2: That would be me signing off outside the Post Office after sending the last package. I guess this will be my last post and the end of this blog. But before I end I would like to big up all those who actually read some of it... I sincerely appreciate it... seriously!

Pic 3: One last photo... I met this bum on the street who agreed to a picture with me... alright I kid I kid... yes finally after the whole trip is over and done with Trevor agrees to a photo to be put up on this blog! Crazy... I am a bit surprised... as he has always insisted no photos of him on the blog... but anyways, that tis him at the moment... once clean shaved at the beginning of the trip and now looking like your local street corner bum... good news ladies, he is single!!!

End of the Road

I guess this is the end... we finally made it to Tokyo after a few days of cold and rainy weather. Trevor absolutely hated it. He was super slow and had trouble seeing in the rain. In fact (and I know my mom is going to not like this and then send me an email saying 'Kevin, I do not like what I am reading...'), Trevor fell off his bike in the middle of the road in the dark. Yes, I didn't see it as I was far ahead but it could have been bad news had there been a vehicle close behind him. He tells me he ran over a bamboo stick in the dark and then just fell off and then was sprawled out in the middle of the road waiting to be run over. He got a few cuts but lived to see another day. Wasn't fun riding in the dark but last night we had no choice as we left the city of Kofu late afternoon thinking there would be accommodation in the next town some 30 km ahead. There wasn't... and the next town after that... nothing. As such we had to ride another 30 km to the next. Bottom line it wasn't fun. Rain and the cold are not fun while biking... especially in the dark.

It is kind of weird being done now. No more planning routes, cycling hours on end, worrying about where we are going to sleep, etc... right now the only thing left is to figure out how to send the bikes back home. I have decided not to do what I did in Paris, that is leaving my bike on the side of the street after cycling it from London. Nope, too much sentimental value here. And also that bike didn't cost much...

A lot of good times were had on this trip. Met lots of nice people along the way and ate like kings most of the way... once we hit South Korea and Japan we had to ease up on the grub big time...

Not sure if this will be my last bike touring trip... It is neat cycling through countries... you obviously see a whole lot more.

Anyways, I am tired... probably should sleep... need rest. But before I daze off, here are a few pictures...

Pic 1: To add to Trevor's unhappy times in Japan, he busted one of his brakes. Luckily we had a spare brake cable and luckily Trevor actually knew how to fix it! I was impressed and gave him a round of applause afterwards (really).

Pic 2: Me (yes that is me even though it is tough to see me) at the Tokyo Tower. I did the same thing hoisting my bike in front of the Eiffel Tower so I thought I would do that again... I am very creative I know.

Pic 3: After 76 days, well over 10,000 km logged, finally in Ginza... finally in Tokyo! Sorry I had to give off the stats there but I am proud! Proud I say!!!

Rain Rain Go Away...

Brrrrrrrrr... was it ever cold today. The first time on this trip I think I have experienced this cold feeling... I didn't like it. I really hate the heat but when it gets cold that is way worse. We cycled through the Alps and as one would guess it was quite tiring. The stupid weather had to be foggy and rainy. As such we couldn't really see much in the distance. It still was pretty nice though.



The forecast in the next few days is more rain... aiyah... but I think we have only a few days until we reach Tokyo so not all that bad. But if it doesn't clear up soon we may not be able to climb the Fuj after... not liking that... sucks already that I am not going to climb Elbrus this year so if I can't climb Mt. Fuji that will double suck.



Anyways, nearing the end!!!



Pic 1: The fog rolling in... we originally planned to cycle up to the highest road crossing in Japan at around 2700 m (according to what Trevor tells me... so I hope that is right because sometimes he gets his facts mixed up I think... and he wasn't all there today...). At this point though we were stopped and told we couldn't go higher. Oh cheh. But it would have been extremely cold coming down. We froze cycling down hills today... usually gunning down hills are good times but today that wasn't the case...

Pic 2: Freezing in the Japanese Alps. But I guess partially my fault because I will admit I am never good at dressing for occasions or being prepared with the proper attire. I am an idiot who still doesn't understand the higher one goes the more colder it gets. I should know this as I have been up much higher but I still never clue in.

Pic 3: Finally putting on the bat cape... took me awhile to figure out how to put it on properly but I got there in the end. I have carried my poncho around for the entire trip but never wore the thing. I put it on today though not because it rained but to trap my body heat. It worked okay but better yet I really looked like the cape crusader... well according to Trevor. He kept laughing at me while I flew down the hills on my batbike with my cape waving in the air... just like the old Batman...

Pic 4: Got a bit giddy around Kamikochi, a spectacular spot in the Alps surrounded by excellent mountain scenery... would have been nice though to see more mountain and less cloud. But yeah the river flowing next to me was pretty sweet.

Pic 5: Cycled past a lot of dams... this one way in the distance kind of reminded me of Verzasca Dam in Switzerland (represent). I would like to bungee jump that one day as would Trevor. Then I can be like Bond, James Bond.

Taking a Breather at Toyota

The past few days have been pretty slack I guess... but that will all change tomorrow as we enter the Japanese Alps! This will be the highest we've been on this trip for sure. I just hope the incline's are not going to be super crazy and keep going and going...

Since we were around Nagoya a few days ago we decided to quickly go off course again and check out the headquarters of one of the finest vehicle makers in the world... Toyota! Oddly enough when we got to the museum another cyclist cruised in as well. He was cycling from somewhere in the Osaka Prefecture and planning to go to Fuji-san and then climb it! Good stuff.

Anyways, the museum was alright... not as good as the one in Nagoya though... so much to learn about car making there. If I were to purchase a car (which I do not see happening in the near future...) I would probably go for the Prius. I like these Hybrids... more environment friendly.

In other news I am excited again. My new plan after Japan I am liking very much.

Pic 1: Checking out cars in the showroom. The guy to the far right is the cyclist going to Mt. Fuji... fyi... because you may be kaypoh like me. I proud kaypoher though.

Pic 2: Listened to the Toyota Robot play some Disney tunes. It was great... especially for a huge Disney fan like me.

Hmmm...

I am currently in a state of what to do, what to do??? As is Trevor. Basically we are now having to plan what we are going to do after this little bike excursion. Our original plan was to go to Russia... but after visiting the consulate in Osaka that doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon. Canada made some agreement that it requires a minimum 15 working days to process a visa. I hate visas... annoys me that it is difficult for me to go to certain parts in this world... call me queer but I often dream of a world, less borders... kind of like John Lennon sang about in his hit song 'Imagine'... something about imagining a world with no countries... and the world living as one in peace... Yes that was a good song... I remember singing that song in grade 7 for our graduation...

And getting a visa to Russia isn't oh so easy... so much hassle... need an invitation, hotel bookings, etc... costs a lot too... this sucks... I hate how some countries want your whole itinerary planned out with hotel bookings, tours, etc. before going thus making difficult for independent travellers like me. I was keen on doing the Siberian express and then climbing Elbrus... that isn't happening now... but then again not sure even if I got in Elbrus would be in the works due to the Russia/Georgia conflict that just escalated... I will however get there one day... just not this year... argh.

I am pissed and perturbed... I also planned after to go back to Europa and visit friends and stuff... but actually that still may be on... we shall see...

We biked out of our way from our planned route as well to get to Nagoya to see a travel agent I found online that deals with Russian travel. So I guess now all for not...

Anyways, from here we plan to head north and then enter the Alps... then head down to Tokyo. It probably is going to be killer. Not looking forward to climbing those mountains... but the views I am sure will be astounding! A few days ago we cycled on Shodo island which is between Shikoku and Honshu and climbed the steepest hills we have done thus far on this trip. It was tough. As such I wonder what lies ahead within those Alps...

Pic 1: Still loving the scenery here in Japan... this is on Shodo Island...

Pic 2: Saw a few monkey's while cycling on Shodo... I kept my distance though as I have had a track record of monkey's biting me and not being friendly to me... not sure why that is...

Pic 3: Me ringing out my sweat filled shirt... covered in sweat twas I... this hill never ended and the incline was super steep.

Pic 4: At the top of Shodo Island... yeah!!! The ride down was uberly fun.

Pic 5: At Himeji Castle... I went inside earlier this year and it is one pretty cool castle... one of the best I think in Japan.

Pic 6: Checking out the largest lake in Japan... Lake Biwa.

Pic 7: Outside the travel agent in Nagoya after confirming that Russia is going to be a no go... oh cheh...

Island Hopping

Wow. A super day. The morning was absolutely AWESOME. You may notice I have capitalized the word 'awesome' to emphasize it just wasn't awesome... but it was AWESOME. It was very cool crossing all 7 bridges and cycling through the Geiyo Islands to get to Shikoku. Leaving the busier, quicker roads and taking these longer more scenic routes is the way to do it here in Japan. We ended up cycling into the night again and set a new record day of 238 km! Pretty much cycled the entire northern coast of Shikoku today!

Pic 1: Having some soba for breakfast while taking in the view of the second bridge.

Pic 2: Me embracing the scenery. I tell Trevor to embrace the scenery a lot. He never does though. I am using that word 'embrace' a lot now ever since I heard some guy say it in Udaipur, India. It was hilarious how he said it though... so passionately and so into it. So now I am using it... hmmmm... I am sure that little piece of information there was of much interest and very useful to you all...

Pic 3: Cruising uphill to the final bridge into Shikoku...

Pic 4: Chilling on the bridge taking it all in... they make good bridges here in Japan. I think tomorrow we are going to see some more huge ones... can't wait!

Pic 5: That is a smile on my face... it was pretty much like that while island hopping this morning... good times!

Pic 6: This one is somewhere in Shikoku... twas nice gunning it down this hill and looking at the coast.

Pic 7: I enjoy going to high places and taking in views from higher up. So this was sweet as...

Trevor's Back With a Brand New Rap

I posted yesterday so not a whole lot to report on today... just utilizing the computer here at the manga kissa we are crashing at! Absolutely love these places.

For the past week Trevor has been cycling slower and slower. The last two days he was dying going up and down the hills. Today it got worse and he kept lagging behind big time. I had to wait and wait. I didn't mind though as it was nice kicking his ass for once... throughout this entire trip he has been going at my pace... weird too because I exercise way more than him and have stronger legs but it seems he can take me in long distance cycling. I am trying to get him to climb Mt. Fuji after with me so I can annihilate him in something... pretty confident I can beat him up the mountain! He is down for the climb... Anyways, he finally figured out that his seat had been lowering ever since the tune-up in Seoul. As such his legs were doing much more work than needed. He is now back at super fast speeds. I had my moment in the sun...

Pic 1: At the Manga Kissa (24 hour Internet Cafe) in Onomichi and loving it! They serve free drinks which include ice cream floats and slushies! Pretty nice having a computer in front of me while watching the Olympic highlights and sipping on my chocolate ice cream float. Only problem is I do not get much sleep at these joints... so much entertainment surrounding me I can never get to sleep...

Off the Beaten Path

It certainly has been some superb cycling these past few days. I absolutely love the scenery. To get away from the busier roads we took a more scenic but much longer and hillier route. Trevor does not appreciate the scenery as much as I do though.

The only big downer of Japan is it is waaaaay tooo expensive. But then again I guess it is just like any western country. In countries like Canada and the USA you are probably going to be paying the same prices. But then again I could eat for so cheap in England... mainly due to those reduced priced items at Tesco and Sainsbury's... those were the days...

But yeah, this is our third night now in Japan and we started out in a youth hostel, yesterday a minshuku and now a manga kissa. Trevor really likes these manga kissa's as do I. Pretty much a whole little cubicle to yourself with a TV and computer. Best of all the drinks are free! So really how cannot?

Not sure how many more days until Tokyo. The sooner the better I think as my pockets are not that deep. After that though I can use the superb Japan Rail system and overnight it everywhere saving loads on accommodation... it was how I got around last time!

Pic 1: The hills are back... a little factoid for you... Japan is about 70 to 80 percent mountainous... smart aren't I??? ... Okay so I looked that up... but yeah that means it has been some tough riding.

Pic 2: After a really tough hill climb around Mine (not yours, mine... tee hee) we cycled through a lot of stupendous scenery. Lots of karst rocks and just nice green land. It was great.

Pic 3: Playing dress up at the minshuku in the sweet mountain town of Tsuwano. Our room was so cool... very Japanese. I couldn't resist putting the gear on and taking a few photos.

Pic 4: Vending machines are everywhere. We don't buy drinks from there though as 500 ml just isn't enough. Also costlier...

Pic 5: Kind of hard to see but behind me in the distance is one of the most photographed sites in Japan... usually taken from the island in the distance and not where we took the photo! But yeah that is the floating torii at Miyajima.

Pic 6: At the hypocenter in Hiroshima... again reminding me how much I would love to live in a world without any nuclear weapons... yes I like to dream and hopefully that dream will one day come true... 　

Into the Land of the Rising Sun

We have entered our final country for the trip! Got in this morning to Hakata Bay and left shortly after. So far it has been great! I seriously love Japan. Our route today was so good... roads were excellent and convenient stores galore... I couldn't be happier.

Trevor however is having a bit of difficulty getting accustom to the culture... that is he doesn't like to bathe naked with others. He skipped showering on the ferry over but ended up bathing here at the Shimonoseki Youth Hostel. I don't understand what the big deal is... I can't wait to hit up an onsen (or 2... or 3...) later on!

Pretty nice to be in Shimonoseki tonight as there were the annual fireworks going on. Kind of reminded me of the Festival of Lights that go on in Vancouver.

Anyways good start in Japan... hopefully it will continue that way.

Pic 1: Had some trouble around Kokura as we couldn't cross the big red bridge... so we ended up backtracking and taking a much longer route around the water.

Pic 2: Walking through a tunnel to get to Shimonoseki... I really like the kimono!

Pic 3: Outside the tunnel in Shimonoseki. This area really reminds me of Stanley Park and the Lions Gate Bridge for some reason...

Pic 4: The fireworks going on... pretty nice.

Midnight Madness Korean Style!

It has been easy going in South Korea and I am liking it. We ended up getting into Incheon much later than expected as the ferry was six hours late! Aiyah. Did some midnight cruising which was actually pretty good. I enjoyed it. It was about 40 km from Incheon Port to downtown Seoul. We took our time though as we planned not to sleep anywhere and just wait it out until next morning. Stopped off at many convenience stores along the way and also a Lotte Mart! I spent a good 30 minutes strolling the aisles there around 1 am in the morning... good times.

The only beef I have is that the cost has gone up... big time. Yeogwan's aren't all that cheap and food isn't either. Good thing though with accommodation is that they are very easy to spot unlike China where I have a few times accidently strolled into massage joints (some of which were the dirty dirty type) thinking they were binguans. Anyways, here in South Korea there is this sauna like symbol you just have to look out for. Makes my job a whole lot easier.

We ended up not staying in Seoul as originally planned and thus no Batman movie for me and no DMZ for Trevor. It was Trevor's call as I didn't really mind leaving straight after we got our bikes tuned up. It did kind of suck not being on our bikes for a few days so it was nice to get going again.

We are currently in a town called Yeongcheon. Tomorrow we should be in Busan and hopefully will catch the last ferry out to Japan!!!

Pic 1: Spent around 30 hours on the ferry... I was quite bored. We were roomed with two Chinese guys who snored horrendously loud. Trevor couldn't take it and was very pissed off so he ended up sleeping outside. Luckily I can tolerate such loud noises while sleeping...

Pic 2: At the Lotte Mart around 1 am in the morning... it was very nice downing that liter of milk and snacking on some banana chips... yummy.

Pic 3: We ended up chilling outside the City Hall on this big grassy area. I did the all nighter while Trevor caught an hour of sleep. Someone had to stay awake... Also neat to see that there are many people who sleep there. I would have thought security would have kicked people off the grass.

Pic 4: At Gyeongbokgung Palace early morning...

Pic 5: Many tunnels in South Korea... we don't like to cycle through tunnels though... kind of scary at times when you have vehicles fly by you in there.

Pic 6: I was down for the count today. Out of the blue I had severe stomach pains. I get these every now and then and I am still unsure why and what the cause is... possibly drank to much fluid I don't know. Anyways, it passed shortly after I lay down. Instead of getting me some water Trevor was kind enough to take photos of me in agonizing pain... what a guy.

Pic 7: Seriously some superb cycling here in South Korea. I especially enjoyed today's ride. Nice countryside and excellent roads.

China done... I think?

I guess for the most part things went smoothly heading north from Shanghai. We are now in what I think is our final Chinese town being the Lianyungang port. This is the end for us in China. It was somewhat difficult getting information about the ferry for Incheon today but I think it leaves tomorrow evening. I guess we'll soon see.

Lots of people we have met always think we are going to Beijing but we simply cannot due to our 30 day visas. They expire in a few days. A few nights ago I had to make a trip down to the exit and entry security bureau. I again had no clue what was going on and basically the guy just jotted down our details and asked where we were going. I never really have much clue what goes on anywhere now that I think of it.

The road we have been on the past few days has been pretty good I would say. We had to cross the Yangtze river which was kind of neat.

Soooo... both Trevor and I are looking forward to a new country. We are both optimistic there are more convenient stores in Korea. I know for a fact Seoul has plenty. It is going to be weird though for the next few days as we won't be biking. This will be a first. The plan is to hop on this ferry which I believe takes 24 hours and then when in Seoul get the bikes tuned up while Trevor goes and tours the DMZ. I think I want to go watch the new Batman flick Dark Knight. I am a huge Batman fan. Can't wait to see that moooovie. Seriously the best movie ever was the 1966 version of Batman and one of the best TV shows was the '66 Batman series... classic I tell you... classic. I try and get Trevor to act the part of Robin at times throughout the trip but he doesn't play along. For example, I usually ask him to say 'Chains to speed'... and then I would go 'Roger, ready to move out!'... you know like they do in the show except I think Robin says 'Turbines to speed' implying the batmobile is ready to go... sooooo in our case it would just be another way to say is your bike ready for riding. However, the only thing I do get to say is 'To the batbikes'...

Anywaysssssssss... I think I have gone way off topic here. Let's look at some more pictures of me... oh joy. Actually wait before I do that I would like to say it isn't that I love myself so much by putting pictures of just me on here... it is just that Trevor doesn't want any pictures of him on this thing. He refuses period. I say it is because he doesn't want his true secret identity to be revealed like Batman and Robin. Everytime I tell him that he just gives me one of those blank stares and says I am an idiot. This happens a lot.

Alright enough. I am definitely in left field right now.

Pic 1: On the way out of Shanghai on Nanjing Road... also the street where lots of people shop til they drop...

Pic 2: Crossing the Yangtze River.

Pic 3: Chilling on the side of the 204... good road I would say. And those goggles there seriously one of my best buys for the bike trip. I picked them up on the first day of cycling just outside of Johor Bahru at a Mesra and wa lau they have been spectacular. I accidently sat on them in Hanoi so they had to be taped up...

Pic 4: The 204 was flooded in one area so this guy led us to the expressway as it was the only way to get back on track. At the beginning he requested 20 RMB and we gave him it as we thought he was going to boat us across (thinking it was the only way). Later we found out he meant he would show us the way around. This sucked as we could of done that ourselves easily as Trevor is a pro with the GPS. He has maps galore and could have led us back on track... maybe not as quick but we would have got there in the end... aiyah... However the positive (because I always look at the positives and not the negatives) out of this was we met a cool cyclist who was also heading north.

Shanghai Surprise

We are now in Shanghai! Cruised in late last night after getting a bit lost. But Trevor navigated us straight into the city... I gave him credit. Not so easy biking in and around Shanghai... too many places where cyclists cannot bike.

It was nice having a day off today. But I guess not really a day to relax as we had many things to take care of. Trevor now has a new back tire... so hopefully this means he won't be patching up flats 5 times a day like he has been doing in the past few days.

Also coming into Shanghai another spoke broke on my bike. I had a bike mechanic in a nearby town fix it. However, I have noticed most mechanics we have dealt with after leaving Thailand (aside from the one's in Nanning) haven't been so great. They are rough on the bikes and don't really do a professional job. I guess this is a given though as they deal mostly with the old banged up bicycles we see all the time.

Shanghai is really expensive. We are staying in a dorm at this hostel near the Bund. To my surprise this was the first time ever Trevor has stayed in a dorm at a hostel. He doesn't like it. And he doesn't really like Shanghai as well. I think Shanghai is my most favourite Chinese city on the mainland. Trevor prefers Nanning.

Anyways the plan from here is to head north to Lianyungang and ferry it out of the country. Our visas expire on the 8th so it is essential nothing goes drastically wrong.

Pic 1: On the Bund. We have arrived in Shanghai...

Pic 2: Kind of tough taking this photo with the Pudong skyline in the background as bikes are not allowed up there along the promenade. Luckily no one kicked us off.