Day 82 — Kusu to Kuju - Tom and Marilee Retire to the Road

November 23, 2025

Day 82 — Kusu to Kuju

Marilee here.

We woke up this morning to find the tent encased in ice! All our overnight exhalations were condensed and frozen on the tent fly. It was a glorious clear morning, but still quite nippy when we ventured out of the tent around 7, and it was well after 8 by the time the sun reached our campsite. So we had a second cup of coffee and relaxed while the sun dried off the tent before we set off for the day. No early start for us today.

We finally pushed off around 9:30, and we stopped in at the main building to say goodbye to our campsite host, who seemed less chatty than the night before — possibly a little tired out from all the conviviality (and wine) of the previous evening.

We were heading for the Yamanami Highway, a famous cycling route into the mountains of Aso-Kuju park. Of course, seeing as it is goes into the mountains, it involves a considerable amount of climbing, so we had thought ahead and decided to break the journey into two days. Distances would be short but the elevation gains, although still significant, would be manageable.

This fellow waved goodbye to us as we started the climb out of Kusu.

Seeing as we were on a highway again, rather than a dedicated cycling path like most of the day before, we had traffic to contend with today. So it wasn’t quite the relaxing ride that we’d enjoyed yesterday, but it was definitely scenic — blue sky, brilliant fall leaves, mountainsides and valleys and rushing rivers. And a steady climb throughout most of the day.

A huge solar farm on the slopes of a nearby mountain.

We chugged along pretty contentedly for most of the day, had a mid-day break along the road for mandarins and onigiri and watched a big group of motorcyclists take photographs of themselves and their bikes. Then, while labouring up a slope in the middle of the afternoon, something on my bike went SNAP.

It took me a few seconds to process what had happened — my right gear cable had snapped off at the shifter. Tom and I stopped and stared at the bike and tried to think about what we could do. We weren’t carrying spare gear cables, we were miles in either direction from anything resembling civilization — it seemed like the only option was to carry on.

Of course, now my bike was stuck in a high gear and we still had over 100m of elevation and almost 15km to get to our destination. Well, I pedaled when I could, and when I couldn’t, I walked. That last 15km took us well over two hours, but we got it done.

A bright spot along the way — a petting zoo! Very popular with families on this sunny long weekend.

As we came over the rim of the caldera, the forest thinned out and eventually gave way to open rolling plains, cut by deep river gorges, and with the jagged volcanic peaks in the distance. It was spectacular country, and with the bright cold sunshine and intense blue sky, reminded us of northern Utah.

Given the frosty conditions we’d encountered in the morning, I had taken the precaution of booking what seemed to be the last available affordable accommodation in Kuju, the oddly named Kuju Aid Station. It turned out to be a collection of old railway carriages that had been renovated into accomodation — a labour of love by the owners, now a fairly elderly couple, who have been running the place for almost 40 years. Let’s just say it’s not fancy.

But our railway carriage came with a westward facing deck, so we were sitting out enjoying the last of the sunshine when the lady in charge came over and asked if we wanted to go to an onsen. Well, sure! Next thing we knew we were sitting in the backseat of a little van driven by her husband, being chauffeured to an onsen. And when we got back, dinner was served in the main building.

After dinner, we finally got around to mentioning our bike problem to our hosts. We were hoping that they might know someone in the area who could drive us to Aso town, where there was a train to Kumamoto where we could get the cable replaced. They shook their heads for a long time, not able to think of anyone, while our hearts sank and our hopes dimmed — we were 50km from Aso which would be pretty hard to reach in a day with the walking/coasting downhill method that I was stuck with, given there was a long climb involved.

Then the man asked what was wrong with the bike, exactly. He and Tom went off to look at it, and the woman explained that her husband was a former triathlete, so he knew a lot about bikes. Then she bustled off to another room, returning with a framed certificate of completion from the Hawaii Ironman in 1985, and photo of a young beaming Japanese man in running shorts and a sweatband — her husband crossing the finish line.

While we were inside chatting, Tom and her husband were out Mcgyvering my bike. They wrapped the broken gear cable around a post to get some tension back, setting it on the lowest gear, and taped the stray cables together. Hill climbing would be easier, but I’d be spinning my wheels on the flats, though I could shift between the rings up front. The profile for the day was a long climb at first, but then a long descent, and the distance was not huge. Provided the cable held on the post, we were suddenly hopeful we would make it to Aso town at least. We were certainly grateful to our hosts for their help!

Kuju Aid Station. They certainly came to our aid!

Hot pot for dinner! Warm and filling, just what we needed!

The ingenious temporary fix that got me riding again.

Today's ride: 41 km (25 miles)
Total: 4,168 km (2,588 miles)

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