Korea Day 3 - Ups and Downs

Although the day before was not without some fine troubles, I awoke optimistic.    

The night was still cloudy and cold, but it had not rained. My bike was still next to my tent, and I my body was not sore from spending two days on the saddle. My thighs are a little tight, my stomach a little empty; nothing a stretch and a yogurt can't fix. Picking up and setting off at around 5:30am with the breaking dawn, I looked down strait at the road to Fukuoka where a ferry waits to take me into Busan, Korea. With just under 90km to go, "today ought to be a nice day," I thought as I pushed off for the first pedal of the day and into the gust of pushing wind. 

Still a bit cloudy though you can see the sun coming up over my bike. It was far too dark last night to get any real sense, I didn't realize until morning just how removed I was from anything to have slept in an overlooked parking lot. 

Daybreaks always give such amazing clouds and colors to distract me with. That I am moving West more than anything else today, thus keeping the sun to my back for the better part of the day, looking up at the changing sky came with ease, and the slight sun burn on my arms stayed cool thanks to my body's own shadow.

Cycling for the next couple hours through the Japanese countryside, you could spot this ominous stretch of grey and white clouds that layed along the horizon like a sky blanket. The heat from the day was starting to pick up, so I cycled a little faster toward the blanket of cloud cover thinking I could find some quick relief. The sun, however, was burning away at the clouds as fast as I could reach them, and so they hovered ever far away in the distance, teasing.

At this point in the story, I had reached a 7-11 convenience store for a break, and to resolve a small quandary. I had cycled for about 50km and had reached a point on my map that needed clarification. My offline map said the next stretch along the road turns into a highway; which, means no bikes. However, Google maps does not mention this being true and expresses the road as the same type I have been using until now. Well, being right before the change, I stopped and asked around. 

Shit. I wasn't going to make it. The sign was clear and obvious, no bikes allowed on the pass ahead. Which, I can understand. What I can't understand is why there is no alternative route. 

What was a nice morning ride, came to an sudden stopped 37km away from my final destination. Really, I hit by breaks and came to an ugly stop off a down ramp. A mere two hours away, and and I had to find a new way to get to Fukuoka. Shit.

What's with it? Well, the problem is that the 37km to go are counted along this route I cannot cycle along anymore - essentially a series of tunnels on a straight shot to Fukuoka. A detour around this obviously meant that my day from here now would count for much more than 37kms, but, more drastically, it meant something more. If I wasn't going to circle around for half a day to get around, then I would have to challenge whatever night the mountain rage is. Which, mind you, is at least tall enough and steep enough for the Japanese government to say, "yeah, we're not going to make people drive up and over that range, that's asking too much, that's nuts. Let's cut a tunnel through the mountain for the people." 

My reasoning: it was early in the day (albeit already hot), I wasn't tired, I had just stopped off and had a snack, and I didn't want to wast time going around because I hopped to pull into the pier tonight and inquire about ferry tickets so I could simply hop on board tomorrow AM. So, I double checked my gear, water, and map, picked a good song to sing in my head, and started pedaling up this beast.

It was maybe another hour and half, plus many false summits and three rest breaks along highway 60 on my way to Fukuoka, before I could see the end. 

At one point 30 minutes ago I got nervous. The climb was infact so steep that I wasn't sure I was on the correct road. I had passed a intersection at a single farm house about two kms back and was worried that maybe I should have taken a turn. Minds can play a lot of doubt when you are fatigued, it's the minds strong suite. 

I checked my map already knowing there would be no signal. All I wanted was confirmation that I was going the right way. If I could confirm that, it would make the climb easier. But to wonder, as you climb, drenched in sweat, that you're going the wrong way, is a certain level of psychological hell. I couldn't do anything, I would just have to trust myself. And with that, I took a deep breath and checked for speeding cars before crossing the street at a safe enough angle to initiate a momentum again. Now, when people ask me if I have a religion, i always say that I do not, "but that I want to believe." And it's moments like this which make me. About only 100 meters up the road, some wind blew against my back, and up ahead pushed a shrub out of the way, and behind the tree shrub was a sign that read "highway 60."

That last picture is of the look behind the crest, this one is just one moment later, looking up at the pinnacle of my climb. The descent, I knew, would be killer. But, I had made it =) 

I know my bike. As I rushed down the behemoth, I knew my breaks would heat up my rims. I knew that I taking 5 min to let them cool, or even spraying a little water on them, was necessary.

Finally, along my way down, farmlanf turned into farm houses, that turned into houses, that turned into a town and convenience stores. And just in time too, for it seems that today is giving me as much as it takes. Perhaps a little more. With every success, I also seem to be taking a set back.

Well, for now, I'm stuck up in a 7-11, eating a watermelon popsicle as the rain falls all around me. Life could be worse.

There it is. That's what I had to get over today. Look close and you can see where the clouds form from of its ridges.

Waiting out from the rain and moving on took about an hour. It was now sometime around 3 in the afternoon and I was happy with that. Happy at least that I thought there would still be enough time to talk with a ticket counter about catching a ferry tomorrow. 

Well, at red light I casually looked at my tires and saw this, ugly, protruding hole staring back up at me. ....but, I was so close to the ferry terminal! I wanted to cry at my bad luck, I knew this was a bad rip in my tire, the worst kind really. Can't patch this. Determined, I cycled ever so gently along te road, hoping I wouldn't....and then it happened. I loud, air releasing POP that pushed off my whole balance and almost knocked me off my bike. Growling as I looked at my clock and that all I had left is my last spare tube, and a tire that gives me two flats a day. It's just ups and downs today, ups and downs.

When I FINALLY did make it to the terminal, I snagged a last representative before closing the ticket counter and go the information I needed. Which, was an excellent circumstance because it turns out I would have to take a different boat than the one I was researching because of the fact that I was not on a folding bike. If have to take a much bigger ferry. 

All caught on, and pleased that I all I have to do this afternoon, after all my troubles, is find a place to camp. That there are many beaches around here, I was at ease. 

Beach bums, lots of stray cats around Kyushu. No stray dogs however.

Somehow, over all the events of the day, it had completely skipped my mind that today is a national holiday! It is Marine day, a new holiday maybe only 5 years old to celebrate the sea and all it gives us. It meant that the beaches were packed with people, drinking beer and having fun, like shimmying down the side of a peer to play in the water.  

Bike beauty before sunset.

Posing under the Fukuoka tower.

The Fukuoka tower, the city landmark.

Along the beach I found these wooden platforms elevated of the floor. Perfect. I waited for people to scatter, and after dinner and a beer in celebration, I set up camp and hit the sac hard. 

This is sort of the rout I ended up taking, though I couldn't get Google to include Highway 60 which was definitely the highlight of the day. F**k that mountain, I hope you never have to cycle it. And, another thing, I never once got a honk of encouragement or a thumbs up from people as I climbed. It would have been nice is all I'm saying, doesn't take much and it makes a world of difference. Please, if you see someone on a steep hill, throw out a little rhythmical toot on your horn, or throw up your thumb. 

Well, I made it. Three days from Tosa city to Fukuoka. Not bad, not bad at all. Tomorrow I leave for Korea and I'm very excited! 

Much love,

-A