I haven't been cycling for long. Although
my parents have encouraged me to get on my bicycle and take a spin around the
block for as long as I can remember, I did not oblige to their requests because
the idea of trying to balance myself on two parallel wheels while propelling
myself with pedal power, did not excite me enough to put down my scissors,
wash off the glue and leave the house! Nevertheless, my loved ones didn't lose
hope and I have had many teachers over the years. I remember a very dear maternal
uncle telling me to pedal while reassuring me that he would not let go. Alas,
he did let go, I fell, and was plunged into a deep distrust of the two wheeled
monster. Many years later, my younger brother (little only in age) tried to
teach me to ride and paid the price when I fell into a drain, permanently
damaging the right brakes of his bike, and further reassuring the validity
of my distrust. In college, many friends coaxed and encouraged me to ride with
them, but I preferred the stability that my own two
feet afforded me. It was later during my college days that I realized
the importance of personal mobility for practical aspects and when the lack of
it was getting in the way of my independence, I brought home a scooter, learnt
to ride it (with the help of my dearest friend…let’s call him Gandalf!), and
fell madly in love!
Four years ago, I joined another college
for my masters degree, where students were not allowed to ride motorized
vehicles in a campus which was a town in itself. I felt grossly handicapped and
started dreaming of having the wind in my hair and being able to go
where I wanted, when I wanted to. When these dreams became more vivid than
my reality, I decided it was time to learn to ride the humble bike. The
aforementioned Gandalf once again stepped up and took on the arduous task of
teaching me to balance and pedal; a phenomenon I thought was ridiculous and
impossible! However, his constant encouragement and hours of hard work paid off
and I realized what a wonderful feeling I had been missing all these
years.
It is an ancient Indian tradition to offer
one's teacher with the highest price one can afford, called Gurudakshina, with mythology
giving examples of students having offered their life and limbs. The feat I
undertook last weekend was nothing short of this for me as I, along with my
Gandalf and another good friend (let’s call him Thorin) cycled along the
largest lake in Japan, covering 202 kms in two days. So Gandalf if you are
reading this, (which I am sure you are), thank you for being a great teacher,
for having kept me going for the entire 202 kms, and although I have definitely
gained more from it, I dedicate this to you!
We started from Kyoto on Friday night and
rode our first 23 kms to reach Thorin’s place in Minami Kusatsu. We forgot
to warm up before leaving, remembered once we had ridden for 3 kms and so
stopped our bikes and warmed up on the pavement, much to the surprise and
amusement of passing taxis and pedestrians. Some school girls exchanged smiles
among themselves wondering what these weird Gaijins were up to but we
smiled right back and kept stretching! This ride was easy since we had done it
before. We were really excited and sang all the way. We reached around 10:30pm
and had a hearty meal and some good laughs before finally trying to fall asleep
with excitement buzzing in our heads.
On Saturday morning, I felt a bit like Bilbo
Baggings unsure of what Gadalf and Thorin had talked me in to. But I wasn't
going to admit my fears even to myself and so we set off in full vigour, going
north from Minami Kusatsu, moving anti-clockwise, towards our destination for
the day; Lake Yogo. It was a beautiful day and it was very pleasant riding
along the lake seeing the clear blue water lap against the shore.
We rode one behind the other when we
wanted speed and took turns to lead the way. While at other stretches all 3 of
us rode side by side talking nonsense, laughing and singing the choicest of
Bollywood’s worst. There was a road that took us through the hills once we were
a bit further north. This was breathtakingly beautiful, and impossibly hard on
our legs! I cranked down my gears and pushed and pedalled and heaved and felt
muscles in my legs that I had never known to have existed! There was a reward
of course, as after every painful climb would come a downhill stretch when I
could feel like I was flying! We stopped
for lunch at a combini and felt content at having completed 50 kms. We made
great speed after lunch and soon reached the last large town before Lake Yogo.
We had planned to cycle up to lake Yogo on the first day and stay in a hotel
there, the availability of which I had confirmed a day ago. We had not reserved
a room as we had not been sure if we would have been able to make it that
far! Upon calling them again, I was told by the lady at the phone that the
rooms were all booked. So here we were, half way around Lake Biwa, tired, and
without the promise of a bed for the night! We decided to look around for
hotels in the area when Gandalf the great had the bright idea of finding a
train station and parking our bikes there, and taking the train back to minami
kusatsu to stay the night at Thorin’s place. The boys did some quick math to
check if this would work out cheaper and it did so we cycled up to Kinomoto, parked our beloved
bikes in the station’s parking space and took the train home. It was a weird
feeling to see the distance we had cycled in the entire day, go by in an hour
on the train! After a much needed soak in a hot bath with lavender salts, I
cooked a fish curry for dinner which we devoured like beasts before falling
deep asleep. Distance covered on Saturday: 102 kms.
We woke up early-ish next morning and took
the train back to meet our beloved bikes which we had named by now; aka, my
beloved from the Japanese “akai” which means red. Although some of my muscles were objecting to
this amount of exercise being forced upon them, I strapped them up using
supports and got right back on the saddle. We were in the north part of Biwako
now and this area is exceptionally beautiful. It was an overcast morning as we
set off down the road with hills on one side covered in rolling mist and the
vast lake stretching to the horizon on the other side. Some islands were
submerged and clumps of tall trees seemed to be standing on the water.
There was another island that looked like
a ship from far away and this had a temple on it that many people visit. We
were riding in the hills again before we knew it and my legs cried on every
uphill climb. We had to resort to dismounting and pushing our bikes for a large
part of Sunday morning which meant progress was slow. The downhill sprints were
of course a joy! At one such sprint, as I was smiling ear to ear, I saw a snake
just inches from my leg as I whizzed past on my flying machine! There were some
challenges for me on the second day as we went far over the misty mountains,
into dungeons deep and caverns old. I really struggled and would have had even
more trouble, had it not been for my Gandalf and Thorin. We went through
some long tunnels on which the cycle path was a narrow raised platform.
Although it was adequately wide for a bicycle, I felt my balance tremble every
time a high speed vehicle went past me. I started remembering all my falls and
imagined many horrible scenarios of my sure death in those tunnels! My two
brave, kind hearted fellow travelers controlled the urge to make fun of me
right there and escorted me to safety. About 11 am on Sunday, as we were riding
on the highway, it started raining and the prediction was that this would only
get worse as the day progressed. We found a combini and bought ourselves
raincoats and continued pedalling. Although the rain could not dampen our
spirits, it did slow us down, which resulted in us having to cycle for 11 hours
and 30 minutes on that day, to cover the 100 kms back to complete our loop. It
was a tough day and at one point I even thought that I was not cut out to do
it. I however did finish with a dramatic dash across omiohashi to a photo
finish at around 8:30 pm on Sunday. I felt amazed at just how I had been able
to do it! I realized that before the trip, I had made many back up plans and
exit strategies, since I had been sure that I would not be able to cycle the
whole loop. But I did it. I completed it and this was the one thing I had not
planned for! I felt happy of course, but inside, all I felt was disbelief.
Before going on this trip, I had told my Gandalf and Thorin a million times to
go on without me. They however urged me to go, which is why I have now been
there and back again and it has been an adventure I shall never forget!
The Road goes on and on,
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.
- J. R. R. Tolkein
The route we took mapped by our GPS
devices:
Gaijin – Japanese word for foreigner
Combini – Japanese word for convenience
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