Now that I'm back in Atsugi I'm suddenly quite busy. All the things that I needed or wanted to do before leaving Japan I have to do now, in the timespan of one week. I can't leave things half-finished because I won't be coming back to this place. To have some fun while I'm here I arranged routes for four different day trips, but it looks like I might not have time to finish even one of them. It's quite a different feeling from being on the road with an unlimited amount of time to cycle anywhere you like. I'm time-restricted now, and every appointment I make with my friends eliminates another stress-relieving cycling trip. There's just no time. I find myself longing back to the days where the only things to worry about were the weather and where to sleep tomorrow. But at some point I have to resume my normal life.
I sent back some of my belongings today. The fee was astounding: 32.000 yen for two boxes, and that's via one of the cheaper methods of transportation. I still have a huge suitcase in my hotel room which will cost even more to ship back. I'm lightening my cycling load again, getting rid of stuff I don't need, like superfluous clothes that I never use and my DSLR, which is finally going back to Holland. Cycling will be a lot easier after I get rid of that. I'm really wondering why I have all this stuff with me. I don't think I really need it.
People here are rude and unhappy. I've seen a lot of people in the countryside who were smiling, or focusing on something in a positive way. Here in the Tokyo area the people are sad. I have not seen a single businessman/salaryman who looked happy. They all look annoyed or pissed off. They're probably so used to being unhappy that they think it's normal. Maybe it's the same for myself.
Before I started my trip I waited for about two weeks for the weather to improve (which it never really did). I wandered around in the city having nothing to do, and felt really unsatisfied. That particular feeling is a feeling I really didn't like, and I'm starting to feel the same way again just hanging around in the same city right now. As much as I used to like it here, I'll be glad to get out of here. Sitting on my bicycle driving to a destination feels a hundred times better than sitting in a hotel room feeling lazy.
Departure status: I changed brake blocks today, and the new ones feel very strong! I'm ready for mountains again. I also did my laundry so luggage-wise I'm ready to depart. One big issue right now: the bicycle. I went to my usual bike shop to get the gears overhauled, but it will take a while for the parts to arrive. Should be done this week though.
Lastly, this is what the wheel-mounted magnet for the bicycle computer looks like after 3000 kilometers.
