I bought a bike!

I finally decided to do what I have wanted to do for quite sometime now and that is buy a bike. As I wanted a bike with enough gears to efficiently handle the hilly terrain of Nagashima I went with a 24 speed touring bike. Made by Giant, my Great Journey 2 touring bike comes equipped with front and rear racks along with 4 bags for carrying traveling gear. Eventually, I plan on purchasing a tent, sleeping bag, and other camping gear so that I can put the bike to use doing what it was made for and do some touring of Japan.

My interest in touring first began when I met Takuji, a guy who spent a year and half bicycling across Japan. We met by chance in the Nagashima onsen and when he stayed the night at my place rather than camp for the evening we ended up talking early into the morning sharing an array of various beliefs and ideas. What stood out the most for me about Takuji was how calm and collected he seemed. I liked that about him. Something about his persona was refreshing in that it reminded me of how if we're too busy caught up in the logistics of living life than it’ll pass us by. For whatever reason, I was both inspired and intrigued by Takuji that evening and decided soon after that I too needed a bike.

For 2 ½ hours today I rode my bike around the circumference of island stopping along the way to look at scenery and to chat with farmers working in their gardens and students on their way home from school sports. Had I been in my car I would have zoomed by hardly even noticing any of my surroundings.  Being on a bike, however,  provided me the opportunity to slow down and really appreciate what was happening around me. Today was a good day!