Planning trip to Mishima

 Last year I rode over 200km from Tokyo to Nagano in October.  Since then I have also ridden to Kamakura (in a blizzard)and Enoshima (in a typhoon!).  The snow was fun on a mountain bike, the typhoon, less so.  Kamakura and Enoshima are close together, so besides the rain it was much the same experience.  

Nagano was fun, but at over 200km and only able to  move for 2-3 hours per day (as I was working during the day at the time),  it took about 6 days to make my way there.  I decided to grit my teeth and make it back to Tokyo in one very long day - but that is not an experience I would like to repeat.  

I started looking for my next target over the last few months.  The main criteria was: Not too close, not too far.  Ideally somewhere around 150km away that I haven't been to before.  I have tentatively selected Mishima.  It looks like an interesting place to visit, with lots of historical landmarks.   

As mentioned above, I was only able to travel 2-3 hours per day before.   This time, I think I will make it more like 4 hours or more.  I still don't want to sit on a bicycle seat for 8 hours straight, but it's also that I want to stop for a rest, recharge my camera and navi, and explore my surroundings.  

When I went to Nagano, it was the height of the pandemic, and my hopes of stopping by the local pub at every stop were quickly dashed when I found that almost every place was closed in the evenings.  Even around major stations, everything would close at 8pm.  

Typically, I enjoy riding at night in Tokyo, and don't mind major roads - but I quickly became fearful in the countryside.  A road marked 50kph or 60kph in Tokyo is often more like 40kph in actuallity due to traffic.  In the countryside, the opposite is true, and more often than not people were speeding to the tune of 70kph or more.  Often there was no shoulder to speak of, and worse yet, the roads were curvy and had guard rails - the perfect death trap.  Sometimes I would be reduced to riding on the sidewalks- but often there were no sidewalks.  

To get around these issues, I chose to wake up early, usually leaving around 6am, and arriving at my next port of call around 8am, where I would check in, get situated, and then start work.  Usually I finished work around 7pm, and by then it was dark.  

My original goal was to cover 50km per day, but the last thing I wanted was to be late for work if the leg of the trip took me longer than I thought, so I started shortening it to 25-35km to be on the safe side - and as a result the trip took me 6 days.  

Another issue was that near civilization there was always another net cafe I could stop at within less than 40km, as I got out to the countryside that became less and less true.  As a result, I stayed in a hostel like "business hotel", a super fancy love hotel (with a bathtub designed for 4 people!), and a normal business hotel in Karuizawa.

So this time, I am making some changes:

1. Location - Since I am picking something closer to home, I don't mind choosing the more indirect but more scenic route.  If I ask Google Maps to plot a cycling route, it gives me an answer of 131km, but undoubtedly using some major roads.  If I search the same in Jitensha Navitime asking for backroads, the number jumps to 151km, but I am sure the extra 20km buys more interesting terrain.  I want to see more than just cars on my trip.  I can always take the shorter route in the way back if I feel so inclined.  

2. Vacation - I am taking off work this time since I have over 45 days of leave left anyway.  This way I can cycle during more reasonable hours, but still during the day.  I may still choose to wake up early and go for a few hours in the early morning - but I can stop for lunch, rest up, recharge my gear, and then hit the road again before dark.  This also means I don't need to have any "range anxiety" due to needing to be somewhere where I can work - but I can ride as long as I feel like it.

3. Choice of Bike - Last time I used my Panasonic XM-D2 bike, with carriers attached.  I don't regret using a mountain bike at all, as I did end up being routed through the woods more than once!  (I think Navitime has a very generous definition of "Back roads" - since it included places that I wouldn't even call trails!)  The carrier didn't work out too well, so this time I will just use a backpack.  I don't need to bring a laptop this time since I don't need to work.  I'll probably just bring some snacks, my gear, and some extra clothes since it may be super cold or rainy some days.  Basically since I bought the Yamaha bike, I have started to use that more and more.  Originally I planned to use the Panasonic for road riding, and the Yamaha for actual mountain biking - but I have found that I like the way the Yamaha handles better anyway.  With the assist turned off it  "feels" lighter and more agile - even though they both actually weigh very close to the same amount.  Note about the use of an eBike: Some people assume it's like a motorcycle - you press a button and it just goes.  That's not how it works - when you pedal it adds assist, so basically it gives you superhuman legs.  Since this only works up to 24kph, it's basically just to help you climb hills.  I didn't want to bring the battery charger too, so I kept the assist turned off most of the time when I went to Nagano.  I turned it on and drained it from almost full down to zero riding up the crazy mountain right before Karuizawa.  While I'm super glad I had the assist when I needed it, I only really needed it that one time.  The Yamaha's battery is not (easily) removable, but that's just fine with me.  I prefer the Yamaha and don't plan to use the carriers anyway, so I will take that this time.  

For those of you saying "But with the assist off, it'S just a super heavy bike" - you're right - but so what?  If anything, it'll help me exercise more!  I am willing to tug around the xtera weight most of the time in exchange for being able to press the "turbo" button when I am faced with a 900 meter tall mountain.  If that's cheating - so be it!

For those of you saying "Why not just use a super light carbon fiber road bike with smooth tires so you can go super fast?"   Well, number one, I am not going to be racing.  I can typically hit a sustained 30kph or maybe 35kph on flat roads.  I am well aware that I could probably do better on a light road bike or even cross bike, but I love suspension - there is a reason motorcycles have it.  I also like the feeling of stability that a heavier bike gives.  Every time I have gone above 40kph on my Giant Cross bike, I feel like I could be thrown into the air at any moment by a misplaced pebble.  

I would like to swap out the tires for something more suitable for the road before my trip, but it's probably not going to happen.  I just replaced the disc brake pads on the Yamaha, which set me back over $100.  (They were worn down to the metal plate - no pads left whatsoever!).  In my experience, knobby tires work just fine on the road - I just hate to wear them down because I do use the Yamaha for actual mountain biking as well.  

4. Planning - While last time I completely "winged it" - this time, I am going to research things a bit more before going.  This is much easier when I can sit in front of a proper computer to do it and take notes, as opposed to trying to look up things on my smart phone in the cold outside.  I'll check the distance to various places, note which net cafes and similar places are where, and try to plan a route where I can go around 50km at a time.  

5. Lodging - Honestly, you can't beat Net Cafes for a trip like this.  There  is no check in time or check out time, you don't need a reservation, and you pay only for the time you stay.  I am not some aristocrat who needs four star service - on the contrary, I can sleep anywhere.  At a net cafe, you can at a minimum rest and recharge - and often eat, drink, some even have pool, darts, and many have washing machines and showers.  Having said that, once I get to Mishima I plan to stay for a few days, and so I will stay at a proper hotel there.  Assuming I am not called back to work, I will take 3-4 days to go there, stay for 2-3 days, and take about 3 days to return back to Tokyo.