Day 9-10 My Wheel Doesn’t Turn
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I cycled from Hana-chan family’s home in Ginowan to Nago to see the northern parts of Okinawa. I am to come back to her house so I can get a diving license. Hana-chan and her husband are diving instructors, and I am finally going to take lessons to get the diver’s license, which had been my dream for a long time. Because I had a few days before then, I decided to go cycle up north.
As you head to the north, the scenery becomes even more beautiful and you start to see a lot more trees, beautiful beaches and nature. Hana-chan made me onigiri lunch, so I stopped in one of these beaches and ate in sunshine.
Just when you think everything is going so well and smoothly along the coast of these beautiful beaches, something unexpected happens. Of course. The bike rack on the back of my bike slowly fell down onto the wheel and the wheel didn’t turn any more. There was a small incident back in Kyushu, which had probably loosened some bike parts. At first I didn’t know why the wheel didn’t turn any more. I sat on the street, turning my bike upside down with my panniers off, trying to figure out what was going on.
After struggling to fix it for about 20 minutes, a local man on a bike came by and asked if I was OK. Honestly, I wasn’t. I wasn’t succeeding in fixing although it wasn’t such a serious problem. A couple more guys came by. I borrowed a wrench from a construction guy, and with a help of one of these guys, the rack was back in the normal position. Whew, I was so glad I could go forward again, and that the problem was nothing serious.
In Okinawa, there’s this thing called, yuimaaru. It means to help each another when someone is in trouble. Everyone is so friendly and kind, and wants to help you when you need it. Thanks to their help, I didn’t feel alone.
That evening, I stayed at a dorm/guest house called, Saboten Smile, in Nago. It was such a cute and homey place, run by some young guys who barbecue every night. They’d been continuously barbecuing 230 nights at that point. I joined in, and there I met four travelers who had come from Tokyo. They were in fact originally from the UK and Canada, working or studying in Tokyo. They’d come to Okinawa for a little while to get away from the earthquake chaos.
Well, with what had happened to my bike, I decided to go to a bike shop just to be sure if everything was ok. Instead of heading any more north from Nago, I went to a bike shop called, Heart Cycle, where I found a really kind and very knowledgeable mechanic, who took a look at my bike.
We found a few things I should have fixed before. I decided to come back to Nago after going back to Hana-chan’s home the next day to spend a few days to get the diver’s license. My stay in Okinawa wasn’t supposed to be too long, but my plan has now changed.
About the Author: Sachi
