My day was off to a late start yesterday after struggling to start up the bike. Sometimes I’m not sure if it is a finicky bike, my lack of experience with it or the combination of the two. Usually I can start her up fine but sometimes I just can’t get it going, and then it takes a lot of time and effort and I hit the road feeling demoralized, annoyed and sweaty!
I decided to check out a local twisty road on my way out of Nagano- Route 406 towards Hakuba.
At certain points, the road did not feel very safe. Approaching Hakuba, the road becomes narrow with no lane markers, and there wasn’t much in terms of guard rails from keeping you from going over the side!
The map really doesn’t do it much justice until you zoom in and see the series of hairpins.
The reason why the road felt unsafe was because of the lack of lane markers. I felt that in its absence, oncoming vehicles would gravitate towards the centre of the road, especially around the tight turns. Once I noticed this trend, I took each turn much more cautiously.
Given how technical this road appeared on a map, I imagined it would be lightly travelled with a 3:1 bike to car ratio. Coming from southern Ontario, we have one hairpin road that we are proud of, and it is a major attraction and hangout for motorcycle and car enthusiasts all summer. That kind of a mentality makes you forget that these roads are utilized for different, more practical purposes in other parts of the world. I noticed about a half a dozen trucks on this route while I was on it. And since the road was so narrow they took up the entire road, and you could not both complete the turn at the same time.
After coming out of highway 406 unscathed, I headed North towards the coast. At this point, I recognize that the sun is starting to get lower in the sky, so I need to figure out my accommodation for the night.
I am the type of traveler who does not plan anything in advance, especially while on a motorcycle trip. So I basically never know where I am going to end up. When I have been spending time with family, I booked the hotel for those given dates. Any other time, I just ride until I feel like I may have an hour or so until physical/ mental fatigue sets in, and at that point I pull over and try to find a hotel. This style of travel can be extremely stressful, I will admit.
Not yet ready to call it a day near Joetsu, I tried to find a hotel heading north east along the coast. I did not find much until Niigata, about 130 km away.
I was actually looking forward to going to Niigata because it was a larger city, which meant a greater chance of restaurants being open past 8 pm and finding a place to do laundry! This is where my ride turns into an accidental endurance ride.
Watching the sun set on the coast was a magical experience. But I grossly underestimated the timing and how much strength I had left. The sun set earlier than I had expected, and the road that runs along the coast was either dimly lit or not lit at all, unless you count the moon or the headlights of my motorcycle. The last 2 hours or so were spent in darkness while I tried to persevere against the growing pain in my arms and wrists and back .At this point, it also becomes a race against physical and mental fatigue. There is absolutely nothing open along the coast, so there is nothing left but to commit to my goal that I had set a few hours earlier.
Riding the coastal road at night was a different experience being in such a densely populated country like Japan, because on stretches of the road, I would go miles before seeing another vehicle.
It’s kind of funny because earlier that morning, I went through a “rebirth” experience. I don’t really believe in that stuff too much, but will admit that throughout the day, I was looking for ways I might have changed or improved as a person- but nope!! Still a disaster that gets themselves into scenarios such as riding around on unlit roads in a foreign country at night hahaha.
For the last hour of my ride, I am trying new positions- each one bringing mild relief until I start to feel the aches again. By the time I got to my hotel around 9 pm, I was literally resting my chest on the tank to try to relieve pressure from my wrists!
It rained pretty heavily today, so I stayed in Niigata an extra day and took the opportunity to relax and do laundry.
