Home » Japan » The top half of Japan… and the decision to head onwards alone

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair” (Robert Frost) .

The top half of Japan… and the decision to head onwards alone

Rob Lilwall
2007-12-01 14:32:32

Displayed times (last time: )

wants to take a more direct route west through China and central Asia (i think!)... as we zig zag our way south through Japan we will cross paths in major cities and on lonely mountain tops... but then will have to wait a few years before we can exchange stories back in London.

So I have been forced to reassess my goals for this journey. I had originally envisioned a one year peddle through Asia, partly to give Al a bit of company and partly because I felt like a break from teaching and partly because Asia seemed like an interesting place. It suddenly came home to me the other night that my new route is pretty radically different from my original plan...(which had been to cycle with Al all the way, for about a year).

I am forced to rethink why I am doing this trip... I now expect to spend more than 2 years cycling through these far flung places, and I will be alone for most of it. The charity side of things has become more and more important to me, so Australia will be a good place to do lots of fund raising... and I guess this just feels like the right thing to do... things rarely work out as expected and the paths which providence has prepared for us can often take surprising turns ... one thing leads to the next, and then, before you know it, you are tens of thousands of kilometers from home, alone with a bicycle, and trying to figure out an interesting way to get back.

Traveling alone, it is actually easier to meet new people, so i think that for both Al and I, we will have a more immersed, if intense engagement with the places we pass through by riding alone. At the same time, I know that as well as meeting many new and wonderful people, there will also be days of loneliness and darkness, when I wish I was not alone. Starting this trip with Al was a great thing. I have been able to learn first hand from the maestro of cycling, wild living, and networking. in some ways I feel I became far too reliant on Als expertise.

... so, I guess I will now get plenty of practice at surviving on my own. I hope and pray I am doing the right thing!

As always, your emails, prayers and donations to Viva Network (the childrens charity i am supporting, who do wonderful work for children at risk in South America, Africa and the Philippines) are much appreciated.

www.cyclinghomefromsiberia.com (just click on the link from this homepage to give money online to help children at risk around the world through Viva Network)

For anybody who would like to receive Als extraordinarily insightful updates first hand, please check out his website www.roundtheworldbybike.com