Murakami Shi

In recent times, I had quite a few obstacles and dead ends which were sometimes frustrating. But this one was indeed very painful. I had just climbed a mountain on a nasty gravel road when I encountered a gate saying „Construction workers only“. I did not notice anything before. Well, I could cycle either all the way back or lift my bike over it. I took off my panniers and climbed over the gate with my bike. The road worsened but at least it was going downhill as of now. A few kilometres later, the road was in perfect condition and I spotted a few diggers, trucks and scooters. But something felt strange! It was awkwardly silent and I did not meet a single soul in this valley since this morning. It felt like after a zombie apocalypse. My instinct told me to turn around but I continued. And suddenly I eyed two more scooters standing on the road. No no no, please no! Now everything makes sense why I did not meet a single soul. The road ahead was gone. A landslide has washed away everything. Okay, stay calm. I climbed to a wall beside of it and walked on the other side to see if I could somehow continue. I knew that the next town, Murakami, is roughly 10 kilometres away. But there was a second landslide and it was impossible to get my bike around this one. To the left was the river and to the right the ascent. I walked back and balanced over the wall. There was now only one option left. Cycling all the way up back to the mountain and lifting my bike over the gate again to get out of this valley asap. I must frankly say, I was a little scared. Why? I didn’t know, there was no particular reason. Maybe because of all the monkeys, bear poo I spotted on the road, knowing that I am this time really far from civilisation (Murakami felt far away as I couldn’t get there by bike and of course I had no signal) or that it was soon getting dark. By no means, I wanted to spend the night here. But hey, I was just outside of my comfort zone. It is like in our everyday‘s life when we encounter situations which we don’t feel comfortable with. We don’t know the reason. Anyways, I drank and snacked something and then cycled all the way back. It took quite a while and it was getting real cold. At twilight, I arrived in Tsuruoka where I went straight to the supermarket. I treated myself to delicious food and a cold beer. At least I made it, spotted lots of funny monkeys and remained calm. Okay, lesson learned - do not climb over gates! Cheers and good night!

The next morning, I took the alternative route to Murakami along the coast. It was a pleasant 80 kilometer ride with some nice views. Awr, it could have been so easy from the beginning! Happens!
I had just finished lunch and left Murakami, when I saw a lady waving with chocolate in her hand at the side of the road. I stopped. She handed me the chocolate and got out her translator in the meantime. Tei Souma was her name and she asked me to come to her home so that she could pray to the Buddha for me. Ahhmmm? Sure, why not. You must know that she was a very trusting and smiling person. She just said with a big smile “oh happy happy, thank you“ which I replied also with a smile “I’m happy too, thank you!“
I parked my bike at the convenience store and hopped in her car. While Tei Souma was driving, she watched the baseball news, talked to me, used her translator and looked for something in her pockets. I was only thinking “oh madam please also pay attention to the traffic“. She got out money of her pocket and gave it to me. She also gave me a serious look and said “No“, which obviously meant that I should not even dare to refuse it. I had to promise that I would spend it on food. Alright, lady!
We arrived at her house where she introduced me to her husband Takasi Souma and friend Tei Itagaki. I was treated with ice cream, tea and other snacks. Then we went upstairs where the two ladies started the prayer. I could sense that this whole ritual was really powerful and of great importance. I shall never forget it! Once it was over, they thanked me several times with “happy happy, Japan wonderful, thank you“. We walked back down again. After saying goodbye to her husband and friend, Tei Souma drove me back to the convenience store where I had left my bike. She immediately when into the store and came back with more bags. Food and drinks for me. Oh please, I cannot accept this I thought. We took a selfie, said goodbye with thousand thank you‘s and how happy we are. Off she was leaving the parking lot with full speed.
Okay what just happened!? This whole thing from picking me up and dropping me off at the convenience store took maybe one hour. I packed all the snacks and drinks and started cycling again. I couldn’t hold it and just started laughing out loud for several minutes. Tei Souma is just such a happy person and her positives vibes and emotions are contagious. It took me a while until I processed this happening. She gave me so much energy, I felt strong like Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich and Tadej Pogačar together (Okay no, I was still slow like a snail on my heavy touring bike but at least it gave me a push for the rest of the day).
Dear Tei Souma, thank you so much for this wonderful encounter! At any time, I would gladly cycle those painful 150 kilometres for you from the day before just to meet you again. As so often in life, one thing leads to another…Read more