On August 3rd I found myself taken to a hospital in an ambulance after a fall. Nothing bike related, but I bumped my head and injured my back and it was painful. For the first week I could barely walk and was on pain killers. Gradually it got better and I could do without the pain killers. I wasn't sure if I would still be able to attempt a long ride that month. The answer is, I sort of did. I did not want to do anything stupid that would make my injury worse.
I did a 163 mile ride (
on Strava) and I did it in a 24h day, though technically it was not a single day in my local time zone. I rode half on the evening of Wed, Aug 30, then got up early in the morning and rode the other half, finishing before 24h after the start of the first half.
The Wednesday night ride (18:27-23:59) was basically a repeat of my Sunday night ride to have dinner at Nepalese restaurant "Sherpa" in Ome (42 km one way). It was 25-27 deg C and felt very pleasant. With much of it on cycling paths on the Tamagawa river and the rest on not very busy roads it was a consistent effort. I felt no back pain after the ride so I was happy to go for the second half the next day.
The second half could not have been more different. My back was OK too, but other than that it was literally a difference like day and night, in that it was so hot, I got red with sun burn and had to drink huge amounts to stay hydrated.
Yokohama foreign cemetery with Mt Fuji
I chose to head to Yokohama to visit Chinatown and the Foreigners Settlement on the hill.
Diamond Princess at anchor in Yokohama
On the way I passed the Red Brick Warehouse where I caught sight of this particular boat that made a lot of headlines early in 2020 when it was stuck in Yokohama. It's the Diamond Princess!
Yokohama Chinatown
Besides the heat, another major difference was that there were so many traffic light stops, which made for a much slower pace. I got back a lot later and got exposed to more midday heat than I had expected.
When I was only about 2 km from home and waiting at a traffic light, I noticed another foreigner on a road bike on the opposite side. We looked at each other and greeted each other. When the light switched, he approached me and we started talking. It turned out to be a member of another bike forum I knew online! We both live in Setagaya but had never met here before. What a nice surprise!