• Shikoku 88 Day 11
• ???km of cycling – read on to find out!
• Overall progress: 592.2km of 1200 km ish

Today I was hoping to ride all the way down to Cape Ashizuri to visit the 38th temple Kongōfukuji 金剛福寺, and then back a bit to where my accommodation for tonight was. All up it would probably end up being more than 100km – further than I’d ever ever ridden before. I really wasn’t sure how it would go, so my vague plan B was to visit the temple the next morning. As I was heading past my accommodation in Iburi, I planned to leave most of my luggage there and travel light for the last leg of 30km. I figured that with the temple office closing at 5pm, I needed to get to Iburi by 3pm.

It was one of those mornings where I immediately headed the wrong way, did a couple of laps of the block, and waited for my bike navigation to point me in the right direction! Today was also a public holiday here and some people were out in their gardens, others planting rice, doing some weed-eating, and I even saw a guy washing his concrete truck. It seemed like a lot of people were driving south and the first leg on my old frenemy route 56 wasn’t much fun.

Just as I was thinking if it was all like this I didn’t rate my chances, the route split and traffic grew quieter. My first roadside station had some amazing koinobori decorating the river next to it, and I took a photo of my mini ones which were now decorating my bike in front of them. I caught my first glimpse of a hazy headland in the distance that must have been Cape Ashizuri – looking impossibly far away. I was 33km in and had time for a quick break at my second roadside station. A headwind wasn’t exactly helping me along but the temperature was quite pleasant.

At another brief toilet stop, a sleek Japanese road cyclist pilgrim pulled in! The first time I’d seen another real bike packing or cycle touring pilgrim. About 10km on it was time to stop at the final convenience store and stock up before the next chance to buy food sometime tomorrow. First I spotted the Japanese man’s bike, then there was another! Big Red suddenly had lots of company. The Japanese guy was certainly travelling light and on his sixth day so really moving. He’d also booked all his accommodation in advance, and was riding in the rain, which apparently is on the cards for tomorrow again. A few people seemed to think booking in advance was crazy before I left, so I was glad to hear I wasn’t alone. In the last few days I’d heard of quite a few Golden Week accommodation struggles too. The other guy was from Russia and had just started cycling around Shikoku, camping along the way. We took some photos together, and all left with plenty of food bound for Ashizuri.

It was 2pm and quite hot, but I thought I was roughly on schedule. The road was quiet and although there didn’t seem to be much in Iburi I kept my eyes peeled for tonight’s hostel. A bus stop next door with a gaijin pilgrim sitting in it marked the spot. Ben was from New Zealand! The first kiwi pilgrim I’d met. He’d already been to the temple, but I looked forward to catching up later. I sorted out my luggage so I could leave most of the heavy stuff behind, said hello to my host, and continued on my mission.

Although I was now 70km into my day, my legs were feeling ok and I really wanted to get to the Cape before the rain tomorrow. I was channeling famous kiwi bike packer Joe Nation, trying to eat and drink enough to fuel me to the end. If there was ever a day for the maxi 900ml size bottle of Pocari Sweat sports drink, it was today!

The asphalt was smooth, there was almost no traffic, but there were quite a few climbs in the final 14km. I was determined though. Just after 4pm, I made it! Cape Ashizuri was very different to Cape Muroto – there were parking attendants, people everywhere, a post office, a mini police station, and resort hotels apparently still operating. I realised the traffic must all come down the other side of the Cape and felt grateful I’d ended up on this route.

The temple Kongōfukuji had a beautiful pond and was peaceful although there were a lot of people coming and going. It felt special to visit this temple having much such a big effort to get here. Afterwards I had time to go to the lookout, and quickly buy a postcard. There was a big statue of John Manjiro, who is a famous figure in these parts. His story is fascinating and my previous hostel in Usa had been named after him.

The final 14km back to the hostel felt easier, and I was now onto eating lollies. I saw a cute little henro hut with a message that made me smile, amongst the houses with nice gardens and the small fishing port further on. The pilgrim route into Iburi was leafy and beautiful, reminding me of New Zealand. As I felt a few drops of rain, I pulled into the garage at 6:05 – just a few minutes after the time I estimated to my host. I was elated to have managed such a long ride and felt really proud of myself. My body wasn’t even feeling too bad, and my knee seemed fine. I’d now been to the southernmost point of Shikoku and my tracking map was starting to look impressive.

Our host made a delicious and simple curry rice for dinner, and we were joined by Andrej from Slovakia. Ben was a cheerful and enthusiastic character while Andrej was a little dreary, and not a fan of Slovakia, Russia, snakes or rain. After discussing wildlife we’d spotted so far, conversation turned to tomorrow’s weather forecast which was looking pretty rainy all day. The others were taking the bus various distances, but it was a regular city bus. Although I was tempted to pack up the bike, the idea of getting on a narrow small bus with so much luggage, wet, and then putting the bike together to ride 5 km from the bus stop to a temple and then tomorrow’s accommodation didn’t seem worth the hassle. Ben had reminded me over dinner about the four prefectures we pass through, and how they correspond to stages of the spiritual journey. Tokushima: Awakening (Hosshin – 発心), Kōchi: Training (Shugyō – 修行), Ehime: Enlightenment (Bodai – 菩提), and finally Kagawa: Nirvana (Nehan – 涅槃). It was a timely reminder and I think tomorrow my training will continue as I probably ride in the rain.

• 103.36 km of cycling with 881m of elevation gain
• On the go for 9 hours and 45 minutes!