This week was spent mostly preparing for the future. I spent most of the Tuesday going shopping around Kitami. I had to find out about prices on camping equipment and cycling stuff as well, so I went out to buy cycling shorts and a helmet, order touring bags for the bike as well as look for camping stuff. It seemed that when bought shining brand new, everything from a tent to a sleeping bag would cost above 40000 yen (around 250 euros). Since this stuff is obviously going to be useful back in Finland too, I don't think it would be all that bad to take it with me. However, I do have some doubts about buying all that stuff, so I will still consider about it before actually buying especially the tent.
So, most of the preparing was about Wednesday, which is when I had planned to go cycling again. I wanted to go to Memanbetsu by myself, a city about 40km away which seemed to have some nice hot springs around it that I wanted to visit. However, I could talk Matias into coming with me and we decided together to watch the sea. That would be just 45 km away in Abashiri, the closest coastal city. Ville and Petri had been there two months back, representing Finland on a food festival. They made mashed potatoes and meatball sauce, a traditional Swedish food. Well, you can't blame them for not trying, at least.
So much for insults, though. As for the cycling trip, it started a bit slowly for me, since I was expecting to go much faster than Matias could keep up with. However, it turned out that Matias was not slow because he was in such a bad shape. Well, at least it was not the whole truth. Instead, his bike really sucked; the saddle being too low, the back wheel waving around a little and especially having something wrong with his gearing transmission. When going on the same cadence, he was going much more slowly. Another reason might've been due to tires with too much friction, but they were pretty much of the same kind, so I really don't know. In any case - he was behind me all the time, which provided me with so much free time that I could take long breaks and rest so I really didn't even break a sweat during the way to Abashiri.
Cycling is not a pissing contest, though, so I really don't mind that he was slower, because it was really nice to just have company. When we finally got to Abashiri, we went to eat in Victoria Steakhouse, a chain serving quite cheap steaks all things considered. A full-blown steak meal with all-you-can-eat salad, soup and even drinks (soft ones, though) for about ten to fifteen euros is a steal compared to prices in Finland - you'd be guaranteed to at least double the price over there.
We had chosen the shortest possible route to Abashiri, ranging at 45 km as mentioned. However, I didn't want to go back on the same route, since the road was not that good and it went winding back and forth, bumping up and down with some serious climbs at some spots. Plus, I wanted to see more of the areas close by, so I wanted to choose another route. So we went on a 55 click-long main route back to Kitami, through Memanbetsu and Bihiro, another small town.
The scenery was all beautiful and well, scenic, all around the whole trip. There was just one place which didn't quite look pretty to me. It was this three-kilometer long climb up a road with a constant elevation seeming well above humanly limits. After making it all the way up though, I felt incredibly relieved and good about my ridiculously slow performance. At the top of the hill, in the middle of nowhere, stood a Coke vending machine, an all-too familiar sight in Japan. Next to that was another machine, covered in plexiglas and advertisements about DVD video or something. So, behind the covers was a porn vending machine. On the top of a hill, next to a main route, with at least eight miles to the closest town. I can see how Japanese are supposedly shy about these things, but they have their XXX sections even in video rental shops like Geo and Tsutaya, so the purpose of this particular piece of machinery was kept hidden from me. I guess it's for the farm people.
Well, after a few more moments of cycling and battling against the last hundred-meter rise which seemed far longer, a car stopped next to me and the window opened. My immediate thought was that it'd be a Japanese person asking something about me, like where I'm from or whatever. Instead, it was Samuli with a big grin on his face. I proclaimed the Finnish "mita vit-" until stopping right there as I saw who was riding the car. Our English teacher, Christopher Bozek, had taken Samuli for a ride to see some flowers. Also, Mika was sitting on the back seat, but I was so dazed and tired that I really didn't know what to say, so they said byes and just drove away.
It was really windy and consequently, cold outside, not to mention that cycling over a hundred really strains your body, but I had to stop for Matias who was far behind. In fact, I had not even seen a glimpse of him in about half an hour or more although I had made a few stops after battling up to the vending machine mountain. After waiting for what seemed like a lifetime (15 minutes), he finally caught me and we went to onsen, a Japanese bath. He'd never been to one before and as for me, that was all I wanted at the time. Nothing is so relaxing as a bath in those places and the price of 2 euros for using those facilities makes it all the sweeter.
In total, our trip lasted 11 hours, five and a half of which was spent riding. A++, would go again. But I think next time I'll have to go by myself, since Matias wasn't too cheerful about riding the cycle any further than around Kitami in the next year. Can't say I blame him, I wouldn't ride either with the kind of bike he has.
On the next day, I felt so sleepy all day that I really couldn't do anything sensible, but I managed to go shopping again anyway. I wanted to prepare better for the next trip, so I bought cycling gloves and a shirt this time. Now, I just need to buy a decent jacket and long pants to cover me from the rather violent winds, as well as new tires for my cycle, and I'll be set to go again. I hope to find the time soon, since next week is supposedly good weather all around and I don't feel like wasting such precious time.
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