Utah Day 1: Saint George to Springdale

Alright, so my first post was delayed due to a publishing error. Whoops.

Since Toronto I landed in Vegas and met up with my travelling companions. We rented a Grand Cherokee and headed to Saint George Utah. In case anyone is wondering, the Grand Cherokee does hold two boxed bikes and three people :)

The drive up the I 15 was quite majestic. We drove through three states in the process (Nevada, Arizona, Utah).

Saint George is a city of around 75000 people in the southwest corner of Utah. Notable for fallout from atomic testing in the early Cold War.... Also home to the Piano Guys! Hybrid classical / pop songs. If you haven't heard their music, go have a listen!

https://youtu.be/_-dqYolsWKM

In Saint George we stayed at a lovely Airbnb. Curiously only meeting our hosts at departure. We've left some belongings and our car there and will return at the end of the biking.

Food in Saint George: Dubs BBQ was quite good with reasonable prices and a broad selection. We also ate at a Mexican restaurant with huge portions... And saved the leftovers for lunch the next day,

We also rented a bike reform Bikes Unlimited. Kudos to them for a brand new Trek x which is definitely up to the ride. Negatives: despite verbal and written directions, no rack for panniers when we arrived. So we asked for a rack.... And the salesperson promptly asked us "back or hitch?". Blank looks until we realized she thought we meant to carry the bike on the car!

Once clarified they installed a seat post rack but with the weight it had too much rotation about the post and would interfere with the wheels. So we went back the next day and ended up having to purchase a rack but we're all set and ready to head out!

Ride out from Saint George was spectacular. Gorgeous cliffs throughout. Weather was 12C early on, rising to at least 25C by mid day. Definitely warm and I sweated more than expected.

Route wise we rode through Saint George to Washington, then over to Hurricane. After Hurricane it was a steepish climb up before the straight shot into Springdale and Zion. We tried to stop for refreshments in Grafton... Found out later it's a ghost town. Also picked up some pears from a fruit stand in Rockville.

We tried out Tailwind for energy enroute. I have to say I'm most impressed. Certainly made it easier going.

Two nights at Majestic View Lodge, giving us a day to explore Zion before heading east and into the higher elevations. May be as cool as 18F overnight there so we're preparing to bundle up.

Route:

https://www.strava.com/activities/424007594

Utah - airport in Toronto

So for those who haven't heard I'm off again on an adventure. This time to Utah for a 7 day tour hitting numerous national and state parks (highlights: Zion canyon, Bryce Canyon).

Bit of a different plan this time: first tour with hotels as it will be a bit cool overnight (down to just above 0C)

Bike wise I'm trying the Trishama a loaner Titanium custom cyclocross converted for touring. Rode well at home :)

I flew it down with a rented bike box. Interesting experience. One of these days I may formalize this blog and include equipment reviews etc. For now I can't even remember the name of the box :P

Off to Vegas tonight then drive up to Saint George tomorrow. Start riding Saturday out to Springsdale near Zion. I'll try and update with a planned route map next time I'm on a computer.

Planned day 1 route.

Day 10: Wakkanai and Cape Soya

Ensconced in our lovely Crowne Plaza room, we enjoyed a fabulous morning sleeping in and dry on day 10 in Hokkaido. We seriously considered staying there all day. Eventually we talked ourselves into going out to get my rack repaired. After that the northernmost point of Japan was within 30km and remained our goal. We steeled ourselves to the weather, donned our gear, headed down to the bikes, and started off.

The ride out was brutal. flat but into a headwind most of the way. No idea what the wind speed was but with drafting it was all we could do to maintain 15km/hr at times. Finally, after many twists and turns, we made it! The northern most point of Japan! We grabbed some photos, had a quick snack, and headed back before the light failed.

The ride back was a full tailwind, and I hit 50+km/hr on the flat. Average speed was closer to 27km/h and we returned in no time.

On the return we went in search of Lonely Planet recommended Russian restaurant. It proved elusive, and finding it required asking directions from some teenagers walking on the street and typing the name (Pechiko) in Japanese into google maps.

Eventually we found it and I'm glad we did! The food was fantastic and the hosts warm. We even met and had photos with the owner! A great end to a wet but satisfying day.

Stats:

63km today

699km total via MapMyRide

841km was final total via odometer

Route is incorrect unfortunately. Not sure what happened. Elevation was also not available.

Cape Soya, the northernmost point in Japan. There were still a bunch of bus yours around when we got there!

Vodka. You could order it by the bottle.

Dish 1: bacon! More like back bacon than conventional bacon

Brendan had a set dinner sampler including potatoes, skewers of meat, and salads.

Our fellow patrons, including local policewomen, and the owner who presented us with buttons.

Day 9: Shosanbetsu to Wakkanai

Day 9 dawned with a brief pause in the rain. From our onsen hotel shelter it was 115km to our final destination and northernmost city in Japan, Wakkanai. The forecast was ominous so we decided to go for it!

We made the next towns, Enbetsu and Teshio effortlessly. It started raining again though and so, to avoid trying to find something last minute,  from Teshio we booked accommodation in Wakkanai. Unfortunately, restricted to English sources, we had one option: the Crown Plaza.

Set on Wakkanai, we set out alonbrg the flat but slightly longer coastal road. 2pm, 70km to go with no towns en route. We were in great spirits despite the rain and left Teshio singing Final Countdown.

14km out our spirits dashed as my bike became wobbly before failing. Initially I thought I had a flat. Turned out both of the rack stays to the seat post had sheared and my rack was on the ground behind the bike. I could rotate the rack around the lower screws, but nothing to hold it upright. We instituted a temporary fix with a tube we had been using as a bungee, and rode just over 1km to a random tunnel shelter.

In the shelter, the repair was reinforced with bungees and the lower screws tightened. It was rideable, but it was afraid the lower bolts would shear. It had also cost us precious daylight and was still pouring rain with 60km to go. Decision time: continue riding or find a JR station and use our rail pass to train into the city. Closest station was 11km uphill and into a headwind, with the train leaving in just over an hour. Bad choices either way.

Failing daylight and a fear of further breaks convinced us to pursue the train and we had an 11km sprint, followed by rapid ringkoing of the bikes. We made it with 15min to spare! And then were told the train was 50min late. Go figure. We hung out in the shack waiting. When we did get on, it was a tiny car with one other passenger.

With the delay, and a further one as we waited on a siding for the express to pass us, we got into Wakkanai at 9pm, a full 4.5 hours after the mechanical failure. We checked in, hung up our wet items, and went looking for food. We found one "open" restaurant from which we were quickly encouraged to leave by the proprietress running towards us with her arms crossed and saying what could only have been "closed!". we made a meal of convenience store and freeze dried foods and went to bed.

Stats:

68km ridden, with 60km bypassed by train

636km total

1 flat, 1 saddle repair, 1 minor rack repair, 1 major rack repair

Random tunnel structure in the middle of the open road. No idea on its purpose but it provided us shelter for repairs

Our lovely station we spent 2+ hrs at cold and wet. Came with electric lights but no toilet and no heat.

The jury rigged repair, taken at a bike shop the next day. I didn't take any pictures of the failure for some reason...

Yep, we're remote. We're actually close to Russia and there are periodic ferry sailings north to Russia.

Day 8: Rubio to Shosanbetsu

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

Up down up down up down...

Yep, 5km split at nearly 30km/h, on a touring bike. NBD.

Gorgeous tile waterfront... In a tiny village. Rural public works projects and bridges to nowhere...

Snake, it's a snake! (Or as I tried to type here on my phone: a snack, which may also be true)

Storm's a brewing. And yes, we were riding towards it.

No onsen photos unfortunately. Probably on the other camera.