Up at 6am. Get dressed, get psyched, get on my bike. Today, I’m cycling to Haguro.
I’m up early to try and beat the heat. Midday can be a killer in August, the hottest month of the year. And all I’ve got to protect me is my baseball cap. But I don’t need anything else, because I’ve got a bike. It has been at least 6 years since I’ve had a bike, and I didn’t even realised I missed it until I got back on the seat. This bike has become a part of me since I have arrived here. It’s how I get to work, how I go shopping, how I go to the bank and the post office, how I explore my new home and now, how I work out. I grab a bottle of electro-whatsits (the appetisingly named Pocari Sweat) from the first vending machine I meet, check my map one last time and then push off.