tomorrow is an excuse for today

It only took me a little over 3 years, but I finally rode my first race in Japan.

The race was up  one of the highest mountains in Fukuoka (if not the most), Hikosan.

Hikosan is a famous and well-known spot for hiking with a beautiful temple near the top.  I've had the pleasure of hiking Hikosan twice and riding up once before. 

The race itself starts in Soeda town and runs approximately 9 miles (14km) with around 2,800 feet (850m) in elevation gain.  Simply put, it wasn't a race for me.  Anything that goes uphill is not a race for me.  It was however the nearest race to my house and so I decided to finally hop on the saddle and go.

I was surprised to find out that nearly 600 riders had entered.  I looked at the results from 2016 and figured I could place well within the top 150.  Unfortunately, I finished 156th.  

My time was a few minutes slower than I hoped.  I was aiming for the 45 minute mark but came in at a disappointing 47:51.  

An insight into my head during the race...

I lined up towards the front of my start group.  I figured within my group (age 16-29), I'd do pretty well.  It's usually the age bracket right above that does well.  At the start a small group took off.  There was no way I would keep up with them.  I held on to a wheel half-way up and passed a few riders who got a little too excited at the start.  By around 2-3 miles in, my small group of 4 riders had formed.  We took turns pulling each other up.

It was during this point that I checked out.  I got into a rhythm and kept going.  There's nothing more to say about this race until 1km left to go.

At 1km to go, a sign appeared and I realized that I hadn't been going hard enough.  I took off from my group and never looked back.  I reached the finish line, had no idea what my time was, but figured it wasn't going to be as good as I hoped.  I was right.

As soon as I got to the finish line, I had a banana, threw on a jacket and rode back down.  There were a few tents for food and what not but I knew I wouldn't stay till the award ceremony.  I hadn't won anything and it wasn't going to happen for another hour or so.  So in that moment, I thought I should ride home.  So ride home I did.  It was only 20 or so miles and took just over an hour.

156 out of nearly 600 sounds good enough.  It was uphill.  Good enough for me.

A race in Japan? Check.

a race bike is a clean bike

carbon rim pads

i might as well have finished 158 to match my number

it's a hassle to bring a bike on a train

the holding area at the start

guess i'm no weight weenie - mr. koala came for the ride

start line shaka

the finish line

because why not ride home

The weekend prior to the race was eventful.  A new bike showed up at my door and a 'typhoon' passed through.  I ordered a Canyon because, let's be honest, anyone interested in bikes has at one point or another wanted a Canyon.  As Canyon hadn't been available in the US (until literally a few days after purchasing this), I decided to take the plunge.  A more relaxed frame capable of going on minor gravel with hydo disc is what I was after.  I can't wait to see where this bike will take me.

As expected, the bike came pre-built with a Left-Rear, Right-Front brake set-up.  I had to change that and luckily, I had a bleed kit.  It's not difficult to do, but it's tedious.  Setting up the bike ended up taking much longer than I thought.

Unfortunately, my bike came with a blemish on the fork.  It's not that big of a deal to me so it will be ok.

the bigger the box, the bigger the excitement

putting it all together

built up

name sticker is a must

i have to rep the islands

good job Canyon

Even though I had my new bike built up and even though it would perform well in the rain, I didn't want the first ride to be through a typhoon.

The next morning heavy rain and high winds brought unfavorable weather to Fukuoka.  Although the weather wasn't exactly 'typhoon-like' it was still bad enough to keep most indoors.  There were even evacuation centers available if need be.  Luckily, I believe, they weren't needed.

Of course, I went out for a ride.  I thought it would be fun.

And it ended up being the most fun I've had on a bike in a while.

I took the lefty out for a spin and within a few minutes, realized that my Endura jacket was not waterproof.  Oh well, it was too late.  I took the gravel paths instead of the roads and went to places I had never been.  I smiled, splashed in puddles, and sang.  There weren't many cars out so on this day, I owned the roads.  I came back soaked but I never wanted it to end.

king kom

dont go chasing waterfalls

soaked, but stoked

Luckily for me, the adventures on my new bike came sooner than expected, in a quite unexpected way.  A 3-day weekend in October led to an adventure.  I decided at the last minute to visit my friend, Jennifer, down in Chikugo after school.  I didn't know how far it would be or how long it would take, but it didn't matter.  I just wanted to enjoy the ride.

I packed my bike with the bare minimum essentials and woke up to a rainy morning.  The rain on this day was even worse than the 'typhoon' day.  It didn't matter.  I said I was going to ride and so I did.

The day soon became night immediately after I took off.  My chinese-made light held up well enough to the elements and after just over 2 hours, I made it to her house.  I didn't stop much, but I tried my best to enjoy the ride.  Riding at night always brings thrills.  I got lost a few times and had some close calls.  That's part of the joy and excitement.

the bike was packed and ready to go

rain, rain, and more rain

ready to go

leaving iizuka

a mountain pass and a stranger

711's are you best friend

take a hand. my first time in kurume

I made it to Jennifer's and felt great.  What made it even better was the dinner awaiting me.  It's no secret that Jennifer is a great cook and she once again provided.  Home-made pho and hot fudge was on the menu for this night.

I originally intended to ride back home from Jennifer's the next morning, but plans always change.  Jennifer was planning on visiting another friend, Tiphani, that evening and asked me to join.  At this point, it didn't matter to me and I wanted to see more friends.  I agreed and spent the day with Jennifer.

hanging laundry

an overcast morning

community center fun

latte

farmers market

i forgot to eat the bi bim bap

golden kiwis. not good

sweet potato daifuku. good

bakery. good

mentaiko bread. not good

I spent the rest of the day asleep and have no idea why I was so tired.  In that time Jennifer had made lasagna a cake for Tiphani and it was time to go.  I packed the bike in the back of the car and we headed out.  I rode around Tiphani's house for a bit as I followed them to the market and back.  The dinner was great and the cake even better.

As it got late, it was time for me to return home.  I didn't plan a route ahead of time and just decided to rely on instinct and street signs to find my way home.  Nakama City is a maze and I got lost a bunch of times.  Still, I managed to find my way home and in under 1 hour.  Her house was surprisingly closer to mine than I thought, around 15 miles.  I guess I'm getting used to this riding at night thing.

in the car with my bike

following Tiph in her car

'poor mans' lasagna

oreo cake

artsy oreo cake

it was good

i was lost

yay night

I felt like I had been on a whirlwind of adventures but there were still two more days ahead of me.

Since my Saturday ride was much shorter than I had originally planned, I knew I had to go out for an early morning ride on Sunday.  I got out the door around 5:45 and had a nice ride.  I purposefully got myself lost and discovered new roads.  I'm always amazed when these new roads lead you to places that you already knew.  It's like playing connect the dots in the most unorthodox of manners.  I strangely rode through an area that decided that every house would be decorated with flags from around the world.  Strange.

it was nice to be in clean clothes

joy to the world

The early morning ride was just the beginning to a long day.

It had already been planned that I would visit a limestone plateau and cave with Jennifer, Tiphani, Cory, and Andy.  I expected a relatively active day ahead and was not let down.

The cave was much cooler than we all thought it would be.  It was narrow, dark, and we had to walk in the water as we got deeper and deeper.  It was a laugh.

the limestones

walking down towards the cave

yet another overcast day

spider

andrew

cory

yes, this was planned

don't know what's going on here

i still don't know what's going on

entering the cave 

the cave was dark at times

graffiti?

the cave was also compact at times

and wet at times

and psychedelic at times

and scary at times (that says the tunnel to hell)

and artsy at times

After the cave, we looked for lunch.  There weren't much options so we settled on a chicken restaurant.  It was ridiculously expensive.  It was good, I guess.  We then went to a park and had a great rest of the day.  When park life came to an end, we went back to Tiphani's for dinner.

It was a long day.  It was a great day.  The weekend still wasn't over.

expensive chicken

a reasonably priced apple pie

a reasonably priced chocolate thing that looked good

another spider

i still don't know what's going on

a view down below

not a zoo, it's a park

a park

andy doesn't share ice cream

i don't share sausage bread

waikiki shell?

too old to ride this slide

halloween tree?

no need panda's.  Luong's Express

Monday was another day spent with friends.  There are no pictures.  But the memories remain in my head.

The next few weeks will bring even more adventures.

I hope they never stop.