I posted some months back about my planned tour across Japan, which I had planned to begin on October first.

Due to my sister-in-law having her new baby in September, hiring new help for my business, and arranging extra classes for my daughter while I am away, I have had to postpone my departure for a few days. And all things I have had to do so far this summer have limited the time I have to prepare physically.

I plan to travel light, carrying only what spares I need, and the minimum of clothes and other things. I have one month to complete about 2700km. I have not planned a specific route, though there are some places and historical sites which I plan to visit along the way. I don't wish to carry camping gear, so I will be staying at inns, hot spring resorts, and hotels along the way.

Rather than ride a touring bike, I will be riding a folder. I have set up a Bianchi Fretta (a re-branded R&M Birdy) for the trip. I have upgraded the original 8 speed Alivio driveline to a Dura-Ace/XTR 22 speed system, with 20" Alexi 32 spoke wheels and Ultegra hubs. Brakes and shifters are XTR. The bar, seat post, frame pins and hardware have all been upgraded to titanium, I'm using a flat bar with Ergon ends. I will be mounting a light weight rack on the rear to hold a pair of small Ostrich panniers. I will carry the more important things in my Think Tank backpack. The saddle is a Brooks B17 Special, which is comfortable enough for long rides without cycling shorts.

I chose a folder for the convenience. I will be flying to Hokkaido, and can more easily carry a folding bike on the plane. My route has been more or less planned to keep me relatively close to rail lines, in case of troubles or crazy weather. I will return to Tokyo from Nagasaki on the bullet train.

I will be recording as much as I can of my trip, using a Gopro, and a Canon G7X. I'll be taking along an HP 2760P notebook to upload videos, communicate with friends and family, and, unfortunately, do a little work as well. I have ordered a new battery, and just upgraded to a 2TB SSD drive, which should be enough to contain the photos and video.

For the bike, I'll be carrying two spare tires, 4 tubes, a patch kit, a few extra chain links, two extra cable housings (precut), cables, and the necessary tools. I used to be a bike mechanic, and can do my own repairs. Most of the components on the bike are new, or near new, I will replace the brake pads and cables before setting out. Bike shops are common enough in Japan, and I can buy spares along the way if necessary.

My only concern now is being in good fitness for the ride. I completed my first training ride on Friday, a 90 minute cruise around Tokyo, with a couple moderate climbs. My main challenge is finding time to ride, and likely I'll only be able to manage three days of training each week between now and October.