Our 8th day started with the need to repair my saddle. Its a Brooks saddle and the front bolt had fallen off in the field, relaxing the tension in the leather saddle. We were unable to stretch it back properly ourselves, so we had to find a bike shop, which didn't open until 10. The first bike mechanic looked at it, shook his head, and turned us away. The second did the same, but I persisted in trying to show how I thought it should be repaired. He didn't have a better idea, but did have tools were were able to use and eventually change the saddle. He had a few to choose from, including a ridiculously wide one. I went for a slender used saddle for 500\.
With the saddle repaired, we stocked up on food and off we went. First order of business was to mail the Brooks saddle back to Sam who had lent us the bikes. The Rubio post office was uphill the wrong way out of town, so we chose the first hamlet post office up the road. Mailing a package from a tiny rural post office with no common language is a challenge! Eventually we succeeded, with some help from the phrasebook and the attendant filling out most of the form.
With that we were off and had an absolutely ridiculous stretch - we were flying at 35km/hr on the flat for a good hour, on fully loaded touring bikes. It was amazing! Sadly it didn't last and with changing weather / topography, our tailwind shifted to a headwind by the end of the day. We powered through the next town Habboro, and on to a hamlet called Shosanbetsu, hoping to make the town of Enbetsu further up the coast. By Shosanbetsu though the rain was bad and it was getting dark. We glanced around for a potential camping spot (gas station and awning of a nature conservatory were both candidates), before heading to a restaurant. There we had a delightful bowl of ramen while trying to talk with our hosts. Eventually they understood what we were doing and asked where we would spend the night. We asked about a hotel, and they suggested the onsen hotel 5km up the road. They even called for us to confirm there was one tatami room left!Though this was all realized after. My takeaway at the time was: there may or may not be indoor shelter 5km up the road. Weary, we hopped on our bikes and continued on.
An onsen experience after a long, cold, wet day in the saddle is spectacularly relaxing. We were able to shower, relax in the hot water, dry our articles, and sit reading / blogging in the lobby. Staying at the hotel for the fully onsen experience made it all the better.
Stats:
80km today
568km total
1 flat, 1 minor rack repair, 1 saddle replacement
With the saddle repaired, we stocked up on food and off we went. First order of business was to mail the Brooks saddle back to Sam who had lent us the bikes. The Rubio post office was uphill the wrong way out of town, so we chose the first hamlet post office up the road. Mailing a package from a tiny rural post office with no common language is a challenge! Eventually we succeeded, with some help from the phrasebook and the attendant filling out most of the form.
With that we were off and had an absolutely ridiculous stretch - we were flying at 35km/hr on the flat for a good hour, on fully loaded touring bikes. It was amazing! Sadly it didn't last and with changing weather / topography, our tailwind shifted to a headwind by the end of the day. We powered through the next town Habboro, and on to a hamlet called Shosanbetsu, hoping to make the town of Enbetsu further up the coast. By Shosanbetsu though the rain was bad and it was getting dark. We glanced around for a potential camping spot (gas station and awning of a nature conservatory were both candidates), before heading to a restaurant. There we had a delightful bowl of ramen while trying to talk with our hosts. Eventually they understood what we were doing and asked where we would spend the night. We asked about a hotel, and they suggested the onsen hotel 5km up the road. They even called for us to confirm there was one tatami room left!Though this was all realized after. My takeaway at the time was: there may or may not be indoor shelter 5km up the road. Weary, we hopped on our bikes and continued on.
An onsen experience after a long, cold, wet day in the saddle is spectacularly relaxing. We were able to shower, relax in the hot water, dry our articles, and sit reading / blogging in the lobby. Staying at the hotel for the fully onsen experience made it all the better.
Stats:
80km today
568km total
1 flat, 1 minor rack repair, 1 saddle replacement
Up down up down up down...
No onsen photos unfortunately. Probably on the other camera.
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