This morning I woke up and had been dreading getting up and leaving since last night. I had gotten a puncture while I was strolling along the lake’s edge and after walking the bike back and placing in garage I knew I would have to fix it in the morning. The garage was small, and the guesthouse was small and intimate so I decided to just checkout and I would fix it before stating my ride.
Even last night I had dreamt that my other tyre went flat and I was panicking. When I woke up it was also raining, which the weather had told me the week would be dry, so I spent the start of my day hungry, wet, and trying to change the back tyre of my bike under some small shade in the park. I eventually got it all fixed and was on my way.
The first part of my ride I accidentally made a small detour but was back in track in no time and could now follow the Biwaichi trail which follows the whole lake around with a painted bike path on the road and on the path. I prefer road riding than to being on the path because the road is generally better maintained and flatter, and I can go faster on the road without worrying about pedestrians.
Shortly into my ride though I was facing headwinds that felt like they were going at a million miles per hour. It was so bad that I witnessed a couple in front of my get blown over on their bikes and into the side railing. It was funny, but not really. I asked if they were okay and they said yes and got back up and on their way.
I eventually moved onto the path because the wind was so strong and I was riding directly against me that I was riding at less than half the speed I normally ride at. I was having a bad time. I decided in this moment that I would bail on my plans to ride to the north shore in a couple days and I would just stick to Lake Biwa where I wouldn’t have to encounter any hills.
The fast moving winds did start to calm down, and I started to head in a direction that was at least not straight into the wind. I came up to a point where I could follow the scenic path around the lake and through some tourist spots or just follow Biwaichi directly inland. I decided to go inland because at this point I was just tired and didn’t care for any scenic views.
But this was definitely the better decision. I rode up one hill, which I thought there wouldn’t be any, and was tired again once at the top. However as soon as I started rolling down that hill, I was met with the most beautiful scenery looking over the plains and farms that were surrounded by hills. It was truly in awe.
I stopped a view times along here to take some photos, and had to tell myself that I’d taken them all and just keep going because I couldn’t keep stopping so much. I eventually found my way to the road that would lead me to my next destination and after I turned the wind was pushing me down the road and I felt so energised by the scenes and the help of the wind.
I was going so fast. For what had started as such a bad day with what felt like everything going wrong, my mind had changed completely by the end of the day and I was so happy. I checked into my hotel for the night which was in a container, and went and got some dinner for the night.
