Next stop Igawa

This was the 2nd part of the split distance, giving the legs an easy day. Our destination of Igawa was pretty much a service stop along the rumbling T1. Not much of a breakfast at the lodge, so we stopped just along the road for a better version. As I collected the bike I felt a grab and looked down to see 2 nailheads sticking out of the upright I'd rested it against, on the panniers. Couldn't see any damage, so counted my luck. The road improved significantly with better surface and a wide shoulder. About 10km later a motorbike came past and biffed what turned out to be my sling pouch with my passport, vax book and about $180 in cash. We were both somewhat shocked. I'd packed it back into its usual spot in the small top compartment on the Osprey pack, which sits atop my panniers lying E-W. The compartment pocket was open. I don't know what happened but I was very relieved to get it back. It could well have been the pull I felt when I moved the bike following the later breakfast. Nervously checking, I found all of the cash missing but the passport and vax book and bankcard were still there. I'm not sure what motivated the return but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Maybe the prospect of police getting involved was sufficient to return the pouch with the travel docs. Worse was that I'd been delaying transferring more cash into my wallet which I keep on me, to cover the loss risk. Fortunately, Mingi had enough cash to get me through the next days until we got to an ATM to replenish. Wandering back after dinner I enqyired about the Truck parked up along the enlarged roadside areas. A driver told me some companies had a blackout period from 6 pm to 4 am. Presumably because it reduced the crash risk significantly on the transcontinental journeys.Read more