Day 3 - 2017 Golden Week Riding Trip

1 May, 2017. Sunny. Clear Sky.

In hindsight, today is my last night in Shikoku. I will leave for Hiroshima tomorrow by way of ferry. Today's highlight has to be the super-rindo. 

Rindo is a Japanese word which could be directly translated as forest road, but perhaps more appropriately as "unpaved road" - meaning it could be dirt, gravel, mud, etc.

Super rindo is the longest of its kind in Japan - a total of some 88km in length, it runs through several towns along its course. This rindo is high up and deep in the mountains, when the rider successfully climbs to the top, he will be rewarded with a view unique in its kind. 

Riding the Super Rindo with Lara

This rindo has mostly gravel section with a short stretch of cement in the very beginning. People say there are dirt roads as well but I didnt see it, perhaps those are located beyond the closed section. Only a part of the entire rindo is opened to public this year - a washout has caused some big rocks to collapse in the way and local authorities are not repairing it. It makes little economic sense to repair the road, i get that I just hope that next time when I do come (yes, when I do come, that is) it will be opened. 

I always wanted to ride off road. It's not because I like it. Rather, it is because I think it is a skill that I will need when I go on my long way round trip. I have zero experience riding off road. Two weeks ago, I participated in an event organized by my dealer, in which I got a chance to ride a F700GS fitted with knobblies on a rindo. That was a great experience. It didnt prepare me for the super rindo of course, but it did give me some idea of what rindo riding is about. Lifted some of the fear, maybe. So two weeks after, here I am in the super rindo.

To be frank, when i was on the rindo i wished I could just simply make an u-turn and go home, or at least go somewhere else, anywhere but the rindo. It was terrifying! I couldn't control where I wanted Lara to go, I was constantly swept off of my feet (the wheels just kept sliding under me all the time), the tires felt like they were pierced, the all-time fish tailing...and worst of them all, was that I could see the deep valley just five feet to my either side - all the time. If anything happened to me... no one could find me, ever. I was scared shitless. 

I tried standing up - it seems to be THE way of riding off road - but sometimes it worked and sometimes it didnt. I am sure it is just me, nothing to do with the standing method. Will need to put in more time in training.

After the rindo i spent three hours getting to the camp ground and here I am, writing this blog. It is so windy tonight I feel like if I go out of my tent now the tent will get blown away, no doubt. Yes you are right I forgot the pegs. Brilliant eh?

Tonight is my last night of the trip. I wanted to celebrate it with a dinner made of up rice and eggs. Alas, the eggs didnt stand a chance battling the violent shakes of the rindo, they all smashed in my top box and all my belonging in the box is now bathed in eggs....

As a bonus, let me show you some creepy photos...

Cheers.

CK