My first solo two-overnight ride from the house. Travelling on the coldest days of the season was a good shakedown for winter equipment and clothing. I packed the wherewithal to have the option of bagging the bike and returning by train, and I used it, for reasons explained herein.

After months of waffling (according to friends observing my social media posts), on Christmas Eve 2024 I rode to Sakushima, an island in Nagoya Bay. It was a wonderful trip in more ways than one, and I look forward to visiting the island again.

2-4 December 2024: A town so nice I went there twice. A second journey to Gero hot springs, this time with no stopover on the way up. A full day of rest before the return offered a chance to explore the town just a little, and failure of my camping stove added to the adventure.

20-21 September 2024: Wherein I explore an alternative north-bound route to that used in the July excursion to Gero, and face a trade-off between convenience and solitude.

16-18 July 2024: A casually planned three-day ride to a popular hot spring resort. Surprises included: an unridable hiking trail; a flat tire repair challenge in a rainstorm on a mountain road after dark; a midnight map reading failure; and the kindness of strangers.

21-25 May 2024: A sentimental multi-modal journey to Tokyo and the Kantō plain to visit old friends and make new connections.

18-20 March 2024: A three-day ride into the foothills behind Okayama led by a friend in the area, in which I brought a road bike to a country tour and … found out. A tale of hot springs and cold weather.

1-2 January 2024: A two-day trip starting on New Year’s Day to a free campsite within easy riding distance from Nagoya; but the mountainous route chosen for this first ride to the site was full of surprises.

12-13 October 2023: A two-day trip to a mountain campground in Shiga Prefecture, in the direction of Biwa Lake and Kyoto east of Nagoya. Good conversations and rural scenery reminiscent of California coastal forests in days of youth.

26-28 September 2023: The first long ride in Japan, the first flat-tire experience on the cargo bike, the first experience of a Japanese campground. So many firsts.