COMING FULL CIRCLE KYUSHU

I left Beppu early knowing that it would be a long ride back to Kokura, where I started this Kyushu roundtrip. It felt good knowing that I would make it with my own will back to my "hometown" of Japan. I stretched, ate some fruits, and spent a little time talking to an Australian lady out front of the hostel. She also was a cyclist and spent two days cycling near Beppu. We both cursed the hills and the tunnels we had to deal with.

My ride started off good and I was keeping a good pace. I left behind the Beppu coast and headed inland over some mountains. My knees were bothering me a bit but I thought nothing of it. However, as I rode on it kept getting stiff. I stopped over at Usa-jingu shrine, a pretty important shrine out of the thousands of shrines here. The original shrine was built in the AD700's. I walked around the area for a bit and then continued on. Eventually my knees were bothering me so much that I decided to stop and eat some ramen. I got the chanpon, which is a bit different from normal ramen.

After eating my late lunch, I headed towards Nakatsu. This town is where my dad's dad came from. Apparently he was a carpenter and built a shrine here but I didn't look for it...my knees were too much of a bother and I was sick of passing through the same looking towns. After Nakatsu the ride started feeling longer and longer. I had to stop more frequently and my knees were really hurting. I would keep repeating to myself, can you fight? Yes, I can fight! That phrase caught on in my mind after I watched Lone Survivor on the flight over.

Eventually I made it into Kitakyushu and so much closer to home. I had to follow under the ugly expressway that they built over the town for a while and after some detours here and there I finally made it back home...what a relief. My knees were shot at this point, I really need to figure out what's causing this. I thought I was over this but seems like a recurring problem.

Looking back at my round trip of Kyushu, I've taken it as a learning experience or a test run. My priorities seemed lost and my intention of the trip unknown. I now understand my physical limitations and my real priorities. Of course I want to still finish the south to north route, but riding 100% of it means missing a lot of things. Then again, I don't need to see everything so I guess my intention of the trip will be like this: Goal is still to get to the cape. I will avoid major towns and focus on one point of interest per region I am in. I won't get to see everything but I will get to fully dedicate time to the one thing that interests me the most. When I ride I will ride and it will be through boring parts. When I rest I will get to spend time seeing points of interest.

It was also great to meet so many people from all walks of life. Perhaps this was much more memorable than the sights and the scenery along the way. It was such a great experience that can only happen when you are traveling. Somehow, things just have a way of working out and doors open for you in the most unexpected of places by the most unexpected strangers. Sometimes I just didn't want to leave their company...I wanted to stay and talk with them for days, taking in their experiences and listening to their stories. I suppose the end result I should take away from all this is that as much as I am a pessimist about our modern way of life, people are generally good and kind...and the relationships are what we need to value.