Day 24: Shimanami Kaido – Niihama

[post of Sunday 2^nd of September 2012]

Since yesterday we stopped midway the stage, today we have to get over 100 km counting what’s left over from the Shimanami Kaido and what we have to do for today’s stage. Luckily through the Shimanami Kaido it’s easy to cycle. Better said, luckily Ainhoa can cycle easily through it. Gabriel’s bike is nearly gone. The bigger disk of the back wheel doesn’t work; the medium one only gets you to put one gear, plus another gear on the small disk. The chain keeps getting off and, as if that wasn’t enough, we also face a strong wind blowing us backward. Would Gabriel’s bike last any longer?

We finish up the Shimanami Kaido with the last 6 km as we cross the last bridge. We arrive to the Imabari and visit the castle there… as if we had extra time to spend wondering around, and there weren’t people waiting for us. Far away, we see dark clouds announcing a storm… just what we needed!!!

From Imabari to Niihama is pure plain road but Gabriel’s bike doesn’t get over 12 km per hour, when it goes well. We cannot go on like this. Gabriel says that we’ll stop at the first mechanic we see and, as always, the kamis are listening to us; five minutes later we see a mechanic for bicycles along the road. Without thinking in what time is, we stop by and show the bike to the mechanic; he practically fixes it up instantly. The cassette had moved and the chain was getting off because of that; we had to change both of them, revise all the gears, a little check-up… and the bike is brand new! We move from 12 km/h to nearly 40 km/h, and we’re ready to get to Niihama before night. Then it starts raining or, better said, pouring down like hell. At some point there was so much water that it reached up to our calves. We’re soaked with water, it’s already dark, and we have to find the house of our host, which we find at 7,30pm. Hot shower, lovely dinner, some beers, and we’re recovered.