LUCK: The Ultimate Finale
I learned somewhat by chance from a poster in the souvenir section of the ferry terminal on my way back that the final scene of Godzilla was filmed at Mt. Mihara.
For our own trip, we had the goal of making our grand finale the best it could be:
"On this final fifth day, we want to be at the summit of Mt. Mihara under clear skies."
However, out of pure curiosity, we had already gone to "preview" the summit of Mt. Mihara yesterday, on day four.
Through rain and fog, we experienced a climb that lasted several hours with over seven hundred meters of elevation gain, and we already had a sense of what the summit was like.
The summit was blanketed in fog so thick you couldn't see more than a meter or two ahead. The atmosphere was incredible, but because we didn't arrive until evening and couldn't see any of the view at all, we decided, "Let's come back tomorrow."
Each day of this five-day tour had been a hard climb-centric ride, so long hours of ascending had become the norm.
In 2013, I spent four months cycling from Berlin to Portugal, carrying my bicycle cafe kit and crossing the Alps and the Pyrenees alone while camping along the way.
Back then, I had no idea what the slope percentage signs meant, so when I saw "Tour de France 2013: 16%, 17%, 18%...", I would think to myself, "Oh, I'm about 16% of the way through the 2013 Tour de France route." (laughs)
So, whenever I hit a tough climb, I tell myself,
"This is nothing! This is nothing compared to the Pyrenees!"
But even so, climbing is always tough.
I went to bed every night thinking, "I have to climb a lot more tomorrow, too..."
We held our morning strategy meeting while drinking coffee, battered by the sound of the waves and a humid breeze.
"Hey Makoto, what's the plan for today?"
Makoto pointed at Mt. Mihara and said,
"For now, let's leave our luggage at the campsite and go back to that Mt. Mihara summit we climbed yesterday!"
We looked up at the even foggier Mt. Mihara and said,
"We have to climb that long hill again today?"
"Besides, the mountain is covered in fog again today."
"It’ll probably be the same view as yesterday."
"Mike has a cold, too. Let's change the plan and just take all our gear and have a relaxing ride exploring the island."
The builders started grumbling.
A fisherman passing by also warned us, "There's a dense fog advisory for the mountains today."
Makoto reluctantly agreed, "OK. But I'll definitely come back for revenge!"
Then John had Makoto shout "I will be back!" and filmed it as a memento.
We set off at a leisurely pace.
Even though we decided to circle the island, there’s only one road, so we ended up passing the entrance to the Mt. Mihara summit just like we did yesterday.
As we were riding along, talking in Japanese about how "if it cleared up, maybe we should climb Mt. Mihara after all!", we found ourselves moving at a better pace than yesterday, and the weather was actually improving. Before we knew it, Mike, who had been coughing until a moment ago, was pedaling up the hills with ease and getting back into a great rhythm.
Before we knew it, we were heading to the same place as yesterday.
"Moon and Desert Line Entrance"
Woo hoo! Our spirits soared!
Oh my god...!
I gasped when we reached the summit.
"Are we still on Earth?"
A desolate desert of black ground spread out before us. It didn't just feel like we were outside of Japan—it felt like we weren't on Earth at all, creating the illusion that we had landed on a different planet.
This is Izu Oshima, Tokyo.
It was just like the lunar surface, and I couldn't stop being moved by this place that was even more mystical than I had hoped.
According to the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, this is the only place in Japan officially designated as a "desert." It’s a desert made of stone, spewed out by countless eruptions in the past. It seems that the constant exposure to strong winds, volcanic debris, and volcanic gases prevents plants from taking root, resulting in this desert-like landscape.
For the first four days, while we didn't run into any rain, the weather was gloomy and we never saw the magnificent view of Mt. Fuji. Every day, we rode while dreaming that we would surely see Mt. Fuji somewhere.
We often joked, "What hashtag should we use for Instagram? #teamdreammtfujichasingteam, maybe? Haha!"
And Curtis would often say,
"Where is Mt. Fuji?!"
"Maybe it doesn't even really exist, right?"
"What if we've just been touring the hills behind Circles for four days?"
"Hahahaha!"
But finally, on the last day, we were able to gaze at Mt. Fuji from the summit of Mt. Mihara.
And the ultimate finale to this five-day tour was the downhill ride from this breathtaking vista!
The RUBBER SIDE UP Award!
We chatted excitedly about our trip while waiting for our boat at the wharf hot spring.
"The water is so hot!"
"Where's Mt. Fuji? (laughs)"
I never thought I’d be able to participate in this Builders Bike Packing Ride.
This was actually my first time bike touring in Japan, and I still can't believe I got to spend five days with genuine cyclists who build frames, traveling to parts of Japan I had never been to myself.
I think there's a lot we can learn and do to make "bike packing" more common.
How to survive comfortably in nature.
How to pack our gear better.
What gear to bring next time.
And, above all, never forgetting to show the utmost respect for nature and people.
It made me want to go on another bike-packing trip.
"How to live" is a major theme in making the finale of our lives the best it can be.
Life is like a mountain pass.
Depending on what kind of scenery, nature, people, food, and so on you encounter along the way, the interest and experiences of life unfold; the larger the pass, the greater the joy you gain from it.
And the final thing I learned was to save packing my bike for the ferry on Izu Oshima until right before boarding.
I'm looking forward to riding with you all again at this year's Ride Alive 2016!
From all of us at BuildersDoFuji2016.
TODAY’S RIDER
Riebo【SimWorks USA】
| Frame | Hunter Cycles | Super Coffee Bike Tourer |
| Fork | Hunter Cycles | Original Super Crown Fork |
| HeadSet | ChrisKing | 1-1/8″ NTS |
| Rim | Velocity Synergy 650B | |
| Hub | Chris King Classic Mountain Hub | |
| Tire | SimWorks by Panaracer | The Homage 650x43B |
| Stem | SimWorks By Nitto | Tomboy |
| Handle | SimWorks By Nitto | LittleNick |
| SeatPost | SimWorks By Nitto | Beatnik |
| Seat | Selle Anatomica | X-Series Watershed |
| Main Group | Shimano XT 10s | |
| Bag | Freight Baggage | Porteur Rack Bag |
| Helmet | POC | Octal |
| Shoes | Giro | Rumble VR |
Text by Riebo / Photo by John Watson & Riebo