A quick ride out along a bikeway to Katsuyama was Plan A... unfortunately, no-one told me of the change to Plan B... but I found out eventually.
I was woken at 5am by this wonderful rolling thunder - it just rumbled quietly for what seemed like ages... OK... another wet day and indeed just as I was about to leave it rained quite heavily. but that was it for the day - the clouds broke up and the sun began to shine again.
I was soon pedalling along the top of the levee that keeps Kuzuryu River from flooding into Fukui... but I had been warned there was a detour, so it wasn't long before I came across it... thankfully there were clear signs along the detour, telling me which way to zig or zag.. so back onto the levee again... but then something went wrong and the choice was to go down to a lower level track or back onto the street... of course I chose the lower one but after a little while I came to a barrier across the path - and so it was turn around and go back - this seemed to happen on too many occasions and eventually I dug up the mobile and checked Maps.me and headed off along the narrow streets.
I must say that the river was looking pretty nice - there isn't any 'landscaping' along the river, but the grass was green and so was everything else... heard heaps of birds peeping and think I could recognise some - but one in particular was definitely a nightingale...
so ever onwards... I came to a bridge - should I cross over here or continue on R168 - which I did, but shouldn't have... soon I was lost and couldn't work out if I was coming or going. Oh No!! I could feel Cranky Chris was starting to emerge! so I had to get onto R17 and yep sure enough I was - I followed the sign and soon ended up on an entry point to the motorway... dang!! had to do a big loop around before I could find out how to get past this! (I can imagine my Warmshowers host is scratching his head and saying - wot is she doing there!!)
but eventually I turned the right corner and was rolling into Katsuyama. It was much smaller than I had thought - and the railway station was a bit elusive to find - so I thought I would go into the city centre... sort of - but I did find an information centre and was sent off to a hotel near the temple... great! kill 2 birds with the one stone! not to be... pretty flash hotel - their lobbies rival anything in Dubai (well - sorta!) but the friendly but rather sad staff advised me they were fully booked... dang! could they point me in the direction of another one? very serious faces now... but phone calls were made and each time, their faces became sadder and sadder... Nothing available in Katsuyama... I might have more luck in Fukui!! I asked if there was something on the north side of the city where I would be riding off from in the morning... but no..... especially when they realised that I was on a bike... maybe catch the train back to Fukui?? so I went off to have a think.... and maybe check out the temple that I wanted to see anyways... so puffed up the hill to the car park... I think by now, Cranky Chris had taken over... I looked up at the new temple pagoda - it was all glitz, just the sort of thing I don't like.... it is only 30 years and basically built in the hope that it would spark a tourist industry for the town.... unfortunately its not working - maybe because there are only 3 hotels in town....
there is usually an issue with bikes on trains - they have to be bagged up... but I think that the station master didn't want to mess with Cranky Chris and he reassured me that the train was leaving in 4-5 mins (I actually thought he meant 45 mins so it was a relief when soon we chugged off). it was only a 1 carriage train and most of the passengers gave up trying to work out what i was doing - before nodding off to sleep on the 3o in ride. I had to get off 3 stops before the main station, no worries. I went to the Tourist info booth to be told there was only 1 hotel room left in Fukui, and it was expensive - at the Apa Hotel... I'll take it... and was ripped off... tiny room like most of the 3-stars I have been in - but 3 times the price..... sigh.... sometimes things just don't turn out right....
I have to try and remember the good things of the actual ride and forget about the end result.
No comments:
Post a Comment