Another week gone, and they are going by far too quickly for my liking. I never seem to get close to the end of my to-do list.

This week’s conundrum has been whether we should take camping gear with us to Japan or not. It would give us a little more freedom on the route and save us money on accommodation. On the other hand, it would weigh down Joy’s bike even more, and we still need to actually buy the equipment (all of mine is in my mum’s attic in the UK!)

It’s feeling a little more likely that we will try and get a tent, a couple of sleeping bags, and give ourselves the option of roughing it. It’s not the ideal option from a recovery point of view, or for getting social media and updates out to everyone following along, but it does relieve any stress from not having anywhere to stay. We can’t book too far because we don’t know how far along I will be for much more than a few days in advance (at least not until we get a rhythm and a feel for what my body can handle), and we’re already seeing prices of £75 per night in some of the smaller towns - if they have any availability at all. It’s our next thing to figure out, and it’s probably a biggie.

🚂 Training Summary

Another 80 kilometres in the bag. Although having looked a bit deeper into potential routes, sometimes I might need to do that in a single day. So there will be a bit of a ramp-up in Japan. I feel like the last couple of weeks have been more maintenance than productive training. It’s good to consolidate what I’ve got, but there’s a bit of cooler weather ahead, so I’m hoping to push on and get past the rather arbitrary 100 km mark next week.

☀️ Photo from the Road

Today’s run included making my way through the crowds watching the practice parade ahead of the 2nd of September celebrations for Vietnam’s national day. Quite why a week of practice is needed to drive military vehicles around Hanoi is needed ahead of the parade is beyond me, but people seem to be getting into the spirit of practicing being a crowd ahead of the actual celebrations.

🗓️ This Week I Have Mostly Been…

🎵 Listening to: The Uncanny Japan podcast - it’s full of interesting Japanese myths and folktales.
📚 Reading: Still Running: The Art of Meditation in Motion by Vanessa Zuisei Goddard
🎥 Watching: Arda Saatçi running the length of Japan, he has two big RVs and a support team, so it’s a very different approach to ours!

📺 In Case You Missed It…

Here’s our video of me running around Kunming in China.

🚀 Next Up

Our next task is to assemble Joy’s bike with all the luggage and learn how to keep it well-maintained. Perhaps next week’s featured picture will be of the bike we chose! Stay tuned 😄 

🏁 Finish Line

There we go, a short one for this week.

As always, thank you for reading and for all your support.

Take it easy,

Phill