Day 10: Mechanical Fears

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy 4th of July! We celebrated "in the middle of nowhere" according to Sho, who

enjoyed playing with Oomori-san and his 2 boys so much that we hung out around the campsite 

until 11am. While Sho explored a nearby stream with his new friends, I broke down the tent and

fixed a flat tire (the 2nd so far on my back wheel). I also grappled with a potentially serious

mechanical problem. Shortly after arriving in Urahoro last night, I accidentally rammed the front 

left pannier into a post, bending back the rack so that it leaned precariously close to the spokes of

my front wheel. I rigged a strap to hold it in place, but it was far from a permanent solution. My

fear was that the bent screw would snap under the weight of the loaded pannier, swinging into the

front spokes, perhaps after hitting a bump in the road as we zoomed down a steep hill. In that event,

I would certainly be thrown from the bike with Sho falling to the side for a nasty slide on the concrete.

I asked around town, but there was no local bike shop, so I made sure that the strap was secure

and vowed to repair it at the next bike shop I could find.

Sho didn't want to say goodbye to his new friends, but he finally bade them a reluctant farewell,

and we biked 80km (50 miles) to the seaside town of Hiroo. This took us to the eastern coast of

Hokkaido along a route that I hadn't planned to take. But after Eiko gave me a report of long dark

tunnels, steep mountain climbs and dangerous descents from her drive to Chitose Airport, I decided

to make for the coast. I didn't feel ready yet to tackle a mountain (we will later in the ride), so I

chose a much longer, but less traumatic option. This was not so much a retreat as it was a high-

pitched yelp, followed by a full-on gallop in the other direction with my tail between my legs.  

Sho asked, "Daddy, are we giving up?"

"No son," I replied with an earnest look of fatherly wisdom. "We are running the other way

in fear."

We rode along Hwy 336 for much of today, a lightly trafficked road that rolled through

gorgeous countryside culminating in a return to the beautiful Hokkaido coast. There were no

stores and few vending machines along the way, but we had plenty of provisions with us. We

arrived in Hiroo around 5:30pm, picked up dinner (soba, fried chicken, mikan oranges, sushi rolls)

at a Seico Mart convenience store, and asked the teller where to find a public bath and a game

center for Sho. He pointed us to a department store nearby that had a game corner. I ate at a 

table, while Sho came and went, playing and grazing the food.

We took a relaxing soak in a public bath house nearby, and at 8:30pm, rode through the

darkness to a camp site 15 minutes back the way we'd come. We rolled along on a wide sidewalk, 

our lights flashing in front and behind for the 3 cars that passed us along the way. After 

we explained our plans to bike the length of Japan, a friendly young camp site assistant let us

set up our tent for free (a savings of 1,200 yen or $12), warning us to leave by 9am before his 

manager showed up the next morning.  

We fell asleep snuggling in our tent to the sounds of powerful crashing waves.