WhiteGiant
Maximum Pace
- Nov 4, 2006
- 1,233
- 395
Hello everyone,
Thanks for all your support while I was ….away!
Especially to you Thomas for posting my reports and photos each night.
You can read about it here - An 8 day, (almost) circumnavigation of the whole island.
And to you, Ashwarren, for letting me know what was happening back in Tokyo.
Also, Sora, Nobu, Phil Harris, Mayu, Pete, thank you!
Kiwisimon, thank you too, for your thoughtful insights (unfortunately, I didn’t get to read them until after I got back). But you asked me to write a “top 5 best” & “top 5 worst” report. That’s pretty difficult, but here’s an overview with a few handy hints attached.
First of all, I have it on good authority that Kyushu is an excellent place to cycle [Thank you Eric Romney, for your insights]. Although I have to say, I missed quite a lot of this cycling excellence by (1), choosing to go there in the middle of winter (not recommended), and (2), sticking to the main roads almost the entire time (also, not recommended).
I could count on one hand the number of cyclists I saw while I was there (three of them on the last day) – for the most part, I thought I was the only person on a road-bike on the whole island - This was most likely due to the season... Winter not being a cyclist's favorite.
This becomes a problem because the drivers around you have no idea how to respond to a cyclist. Most of the time, cars would sit behind me, not knowing if they should overtake, or just follow me until I got to my destination.
And when cars actually did overtake, they would pull right over into the oncoming traffic lane, as though I was as wide as a car – sometimes on blind corners, which was just plain stupid and dangerous. This was a major cause of stress for me on the second day, and one of the reasons I felt I had to shorten day 3.
"Rumble-strips": The white lines on the side of the road with studded ridges on them (designed to vibrate a car’s wheel) – I have seen them elsewhere in Japan, but it just seemed that Kyushu had a lot more of these “un-ride-able white lines”. They were the major pain in the (literally) for me while I was there.
And on day 6 (Miyako-no-jo to Nobeoka), was the only time EVER in this country where a policeman told me to “ride on the sidewalk!” I didn’t write it in my report for that day because I’d already typed as much into my keitai as I could – but needless to say, it still grates on me! The policeman was talking to me over the loudspeaker from his car; He was saying, “歩道を使いなさい！事故の原因になるよ！”。 “Use the footpath, or you’ll cause an accident!” UNBELIEVABLE!
I had 3 choices:
1. To try and explain to him that I was going a long way, and that the sidewalk was just not a viable option.
2. To get on the sidewalk and then get straight back off after he’d gone.
3. To play the “dumb gaijin”!
I went with option three, raised my hands to show complete non-comprehension of what he was saying, and then continued on my way (still on the road). He just shook his head, and drove off. That just goes to show the level ignorance between drivers and cyclists down that way.
After that hell-ish second day though, I came up with a little mantra for the motorists to keep my mind at ease:
I’m just riding here,
Minding my own business.
You do the same,
And all will be sweet.
I’ll watch my line,
And you watch yours,
And hopefully, the twain shall never meet.
After that second day, down to Nagasaki, I felt burnt. But not so much in my legs, as in my head. The whole day was spent concentrating – watching my speed (learnt that lesson – Thanks Kiwisimon!), checking distances to the next turn-off, riding on those crappy roads, worrying about the cars behind me – the whole day was not enjoyable, and I just didn’t want to have to go through all that sh*t again for the same distance the next day.
I was “cooked” mentally, more than physically. But after that, I just concentrated on what “I” was doing, and not what “the drivers” were doing.
HANDY HINTS! *Note: After riding nearly 1,000km in the 8 days I was there, these are the points that stand out - They are NOT, however, specific to Kyushu. These are just general tips for riding anywhere, picked up not from the location, but simply from the extra miles.
• TRUCKS: You have to respect them! They (truck drivers) are driving as a job, as opposed to your regular Sunday-driver. If a truck passes you while you’re riding, and he has to stop the traffic lights, DON’T go in front of him, so that he will have to pass you again. In city traffic that’s acceptable, but on country roads where the signals are few and far between, give the truck the “right of way” – every time. Remember, if the same truck has to pass you 3 times, then he’s 3 times more likely to mistake you for a man-hole cover!
Common courtesy, AND common sense!
• TUNNELS: Tunnels are difficult because they’re all different lengths, widths, etc. But here are a few tips: If the tunnel is longer than 100m, stop outside before you go in, turn on your rear flasher, and check the traffic coming from behind you. Cars usually come in waves, so if you wait for the last car in a bunch, the next lot won’t be coming along for a while – That should give you enough time to get through without having to worry. Then it's time to check out your "sprinting" chops!
• NARROW ROADS / THE WHITE LINE: Wherever possible, try to stay outside (to the left of) the white line. Sometimes though, it’s not possible due to the narrow roads, or vibration bumps. In those cases, just stay as close as you can to the line, and let the drivers do as they will – 本当にしかたがない。
• CARS BEHIND YOU: Of course, it’s common sense to look behind you, but sometimes you just can’t be bothered. What I found though, is that a lot of the cars sitting behind you won’t pass because they assume you don’t know that they are there. When driving a car, every driver assumes that he/she has been seen by the car in front through the rear vision mirror. Cyclists don’t have that luxury. You have to let the cars behind you know that you’re aware of their presence – If you don’t, they will (rightly sometimes) assume that you will make some unpredictable move in front of their vehicle. A quick turn of the head, or a “wave past” is all it takes.
• GLOVES: This is an important one for winter riders! Gloves will inevitably get wet; either through sweat or rain. When you stop for a break or whatever, DON’T put your gloves on the bench or table next to you! DON’T hang them on you bike handles! PUT THEM DOWN your bike pants near your belly, or tuck them up inside your jersey! There is a big difference between putting on wet COLD gloves, and wet WARM gloves.
• RIDING AT NIGHT: If you have a front flasher, it can work. If you don’t, STAY AT HOME! I have a fairly decent “cat-eye” flasher that is basically only meant to alert drivers of my presence. But when it’s on the solid beam, it still gives out quite a bit of light. From my last experience, riding into Miyako-no-jo in the dark, my light was good enough to be able to see the white line, but nothing else. Stay in the middle of the lane until a car comes up behind you. You will know a car is coming when you can see your own shadow in front of you. If there are no cars coming the other way, you won't have to move too far towards your own white line – but use the car’s headlights to see where you are going. Once the car has passed, you’ll be on your own in the dark again, so move back into the centre of the lane. Don’t ride near the white line if you don’t have to – There are too many cracks and bumps – best to pretend you’re a car.
Also, if you have a backpack with a rain-cover, (even if it’s not raining), it should be bright yellow and make you more visible to cars from behind, so pull it out. AND, rear flashers!
Any other tips from other riders out there are most welcome!
T
Thanks for all your support while I was ….away!
Especially to you Thomas for posting my reports and photos each night.
You can read about it here - An 8 day, (almost) circumnavigation of the whole island.
And to you, Ashwarren, for letting me know what was happening back in Tokyo.
Also, Sora, Nobu, Phil Harris, Mayu, Pete, thank you!
Kiwisimon, thank you too, for your thoughtful insights (unfortunately, I didn’t get to read them until after I got back). But you asked me to write a “top 5 best” & “top 5 worst” report. That’s pretty difficult, but here’s an overview with a few handy hints attached.
First of all, I have it on good authority that Kyushu is an excellent place to cycle [Thank you Eric Romney, for your insights]. Although I have to say, I missed quite a lot of this cycling excellence by (1), choosing to go there in the middle of winter (not recommended), and (2), sticking to the main roads almost the entire time (also, not recommended).
I could count on one hand the number of cyclists I saw while I was there (three of them on the last day) – for the most part, I thought I was the only person on a road-bike on the whole island - This was most likely due to the season... Winter not being a cyclist's favorite.
This becomes a problem because the drivers around you have no idea how to respond to a cyclist. Most of the time, cars would sit behind me, not knowing if they should overtake, or just follow me until I got to my destination.
And when cars actually did overtake, they would pull right over into the oncoming traffic lane, as though I was as wide as a car – sometimes on blind corners, which was just plain stupid and dangerous. This was a major cause of stress for me on the second day, and one of the reasons I felt I had to shorten day 3.
"Rumble-strips": The white lines on the side of the road with studded ridges on them (designed to vibrate a car’s wheel) – I have seen them elsewhere in Japan, but it just seemed that Kyushu had a lot more of these “un-ride-able white lines”. They were the major pain in the (literally) for me while I was there.
And on day 6 (Miyako-no-jo to Nobeoka), was the only time EVER in this country where a policeman told me to “ride on the sidewalk!” I didn’t write it in my report for that day because I’d already typed as much into my keitai as I could – but needless to say, it still grates on me! The policeman was talking to me over the loudspeaker from his car; He was saying, “歩道を使いなさい！事故の原因になるよ！”。 “Use the footpath, or you’ll cause an accident!” UNBELIEVABLE!
I had 3 choices:
1. To try and explain to him that I was going a long way, and that the sidewalk was just not a viable option.
2. To get on the sidewalk and then get straight back off after he’d gone.
3. To play the “dumb gaijin”!
I went with option three, raised my hands to show complete non-comprehension of what he was saying, and then continued on my way (still on the road). He just shook his head, and drove off. That just goes to show the level ignorance between drivers and cyclists down that way.
After that hell-ish second day though, I came up with a little mantra for the motorists to keep my mind at ease:
I’m just riding here,
Minding my own business.
You do the same,
And all will be sweet.
I’ll watch my line,
And you watch yours,
And hopefully, the twain shall never meet.
After that second day, down to Nagasaki, I felt burnt. But not so much in my legs, as in my head. The whole day was spent concentrating – watching my speed (learnt that lesson – Thanks Kiwisimon!), checking distances to the next turn-off, riding on those crappy roads, worrying about the cars behind me – the whole day was not enjoyable, and I just didn’t want to have to go through all that sh*t again for the same distance the next day.
I was “cooked” mentally, more than physically. But after that, I just concentrated on what “I” was doing, and not what “the drivers” were doing.
HANDY HINTS! *Note: After riding nearly 1,000km in the 8 days I was there, these are the points that stand out - They are NOT, however, specific to Kyushu. These are just general tips for riding anywhere, picked up not from the location, but simply from the extra miles.
• TRUCKS: You have to respect them! They (truck drivers) are driving as a job, as opposed to your regular Sunday-driver. If a truck passes you while you’re riding, and he has to stop the traffic lights, DON’T go in front of him, so that he will have to pass you again. In city traffic that’s acceptable, but on country roads where the signals are few and far between, give the truck the “right of way” – every time. Remember, if the same truck has to pass you 3 times, then he’s 3 times more likely to mistake you for a man-hole cover!
Common courtesy, AND common sense!
• TUNNELS: Tunnels are difficult because they’re all different lengths, widths, etc. But here are a few tips: If the tunnel is longer than 100m, stop outside before you go in, turn on your rear flasher, and check the traffic coming from behind you. Cars usually come in waves, so if you wait for the last car in a bunch, the next lot won’t be coming along for a while – That should give you enough time to get through without having to worry. Then it's time to check out your "sprinting" chops!
• NARROW ROADS / THE WHITE LINE: Wherever possible, try to stay outside (to the left of) the white line. Sometimes though, it’s not possible due to the narrow roads, or vibration bumps. In those cases, just stay as close as you can to the line, and let the drivers do as they will – 本当にしかたがない。
• CARS BEHIND YOU: Of course, it’s common sense to look behind you, but sometimes you just can’t be bothered. What I found though, is that a lot of the cars sitting behind you won’t pass because they assume you don’t know that they are there. When driving a car, every driver assumes that he/she has been seen by the car in front through the rear vision mirror. Cyclists don’t have that luxury. You have to let the cars behind you know that you’re aware of their presence – If you don’t, they will (rightly sometimes) assume that you will make some unpredictable move in front of their vehicle. A quick turn of the head, or a “wave past” is all it takes.
• GLOVES: This is an important one for winter riders! Gloves will inevitably get wet; either through sweat or rain. When you stop for a break or whatever, DON’T put your gloves on the bench or table next to you! DON’T hang them on you bike handles! PUT THEM DOWN your bike pants near your belly, or tuck them up inside your jersey! There is a big difference between putting on wet COLD gloves, and wet WARM gloves.
• RIDING AT NIGHT: If you have a front flasher, it can work. If you don’t, STAY AT HOME! I have a fairly decent “cat-eye” flasher that is basically only meant to alert drivers of my presence. But when it’s on the solid beam, it still gives out quite a bit of light. From my last experience, riding into Miyako-no-jo in the dark, my light was good enough to be able to see the white line, but nothing else. Stay in the middle of the lane until a car comes up behind you. You will know a car is coming when you can see your own shadow in front of you. If there are no cars coming the other way, you won't have to move too far towards your own white line – but use the car’s headlights to see where you are going. Once the car has passed, you’ll be on your own in the dark again, so move back into the centre of the lane. Don’t ride near the white line if you don’t have to – There are too many cracks and bumps – best to pretend you’re a car.
Also, if you have a backpack with a rain-cover, (even if it’s not raining), it should be bright yellow and make you more visible to cars from behind, so pull it out. AND, rear flashers!
Any other tips from other riders out there are most welcome!
T
