Today was the first day of my Lake Biwa bicycle adventure. I woke up nice and early, eager to back on the bike and set off towards Ōtsu.
I first picked my bike up, the lady at the shop was so lovely, we were talking how the weather will be very good which is a change from all the rain there has been recently. We almost forgot my helmet but luckily she remembered just as I was leaving and called me back.
I quickly went back to the hotel to transfer all of my stuff into the panniers and then set off on my way. I wanted to first head to the western shore of Osaka so that I could say I rode from each side of the country, but I started to get lost and preferred to conserve enter early in the trip so I just started heading to Ōtsu.
I had forgotten to download Japanese maps before I had set off, so I had no good way to guide me other than checking my phone, but this would be too finicky so I decided to just vibe it instead.
I followed the Yodogawa river as this would take me to Kyoto at least, and I was mostly correct. My Strava plan had me following the south side of the lake, but I had ended up on the north side, figuring it’s the same river in the same direction I figured it’d be okay.
It was not okay. The path that I had been following eventually just ended and I was dumped on the local streets to figure out myself. Fortunately there were signs to Ōtsu and I quickly checked if I could ride my bike along these roads. Eventually though the signs disappeared and I was once again lost. Turns out I was just 2 blocks away from where I needed to turn and then it was just straight to Ōtsu.
I eventually found the correct path and was in a good mindset again, until the hills started. I knew there was going to be some climbing on this ride but I wasn’t fully prepared for how much of a climb. I even got a Strava award for my largest ever climb!
After the hills I was once again okay. The rest of the ride was downhill, and I just let the bike do its thing, delivering me straight to the main section of Lake Biwa and the end of the first days ride.
