Herding Cats

Getting 18 people out the door is no easy feat. We had a late meal and good night's rest after arriving in Chitose Friday night. Saturday breakfast was another smorgasbord of fish, rice, potato salad, and pickled condiments. In preparation for our first ride, the group gathered in the hotel parking lot and proceeded with an impromptu session of standing yoga poses before folding ourselves into two vans with limited legroom to be transported to the bikes 40 minutes away to Sapporo city limits.

When we arrived, bikes were distributed, and we spent the next hour adjusting seat heights and moving gears around to accommodate our individual needs. Then we rode exactly one block to a convenience store where we created a long line for the bathroom, marveled that an electrolyte drink would be called Sweat (and looked like it too), and bought snack bars for extra sustenance. Gary got spaghetti. It was nearly lunchtime when we started our ride.Read more