Yesterday was a rest day because I bailed on previous plans to head to Tsuruga so was instead now in Takashima for two nights. I also needed to buy more spare tubes thanks to the flats I got the day before. My legs were quite thankful for the rest day as they are starting to feel quite heavy and tired.
I knew today was going to be a long day, although it was going to be quite flat, so the plan was to just head out and slog out the distance. The ride started out riding through the last of the farms and villages that I would experience before eventually heading back into civilisation where it felt comparatively like I was in the middle of the city.
I made a brief stop for lunch and kept on my way. As I headed down the lake eventually I caught sight of the Prince hotel in Otsu where I would be staying tonight, but this marked my final stretch around the lake because this is where I started from 5 days ago. It felt a little surreal.
As I was looking out over the lake earlier in the morning, the lake is so large that with some mild fog I couldn’t see the other side of the lake at all, it was just a blur. Now at the end of the day I had made it the whole way around. It almost felt like for a moment that I never left Otsu and it was all just a dream.
I finally made it to the hotel after much relief and checked in for the night, followed by a nice bowl of ramen and gyoza to tie off the day.