There is this Japanese word, Ikigai, meaning the purpose for which one lives and is associated with longevity and happiness.   It has been astonishing to all four of us backing away from everything this year how much having a “purpose” makes in ones overall sense of well being even if that purpose is biking from one place to the next.   

Biking was a gift that we slowly treasured.  Usually we were pushing the girls, pushing the miles, seeing what we could do in a day, but this trip was different.  We had a large cushion of time on the end so when the choice was bike only 20 miles but enjoy another hot springs, why not, we were not in a hurry  to the end, no one seemed in a hurry to get “the biking over with.” At one point after going over 50 miles, the longest Lily had ever biked she looked at me and said how much she loved this trail and biking and wanted to take a few pictures.  My heart swelled not at just what she could do, but her enjoyment of it and love for the adventure.

Part of the joy of being on the road was the trail itself.   At times there were two lanes of bike trail in one direction, two in the other direction and a fully separate walking path.   The infrastructure behind these bike trails left us all in awe and talking about what it would take to do something similar at home.  Nearly all 400+ miles were on dedicated bike trails and the sections that were on the road were well marked, protected and very few cars.  The commitment to health, movement and wellness was a noticeable difference throughout the country. Instead of endless parking lots and suburban sprawl the whole country was made up of densely packed cities or towns with expansive green hills, trails, rivers and parks immediately accessible.  The paths were impressive easy to bike, occasionally having bike only tunnels or an extended pathway that took you out on a boardwalk above the river. Occasionally a section would be under construction and you would read that you could go the way of “the busy road” or the “tiresome walk” but these were part of the adventure.  Almost the entire path has some blooming tree or flower and we would spend hours surrounded by poppies or daisies . And then there was the added fun of passport stamps, bike art, and bike museums.

Part of the joy came from the people.  Large groups of fast road bikers would race by on their multiple thousand dollar bikes, all to come to a screeching halt to get a passport stamp.  Old men doing splits on the walking section of the town, so many thumbs up as bikers passed us in all directions. A group of over a 100 women, all in yellow, all biking in a line together.  A surprising number of people who looked to be learning to bike ride with unbucked helmets on backwards.

We talked, called family and friends, had work meetings, listened to audio books, day dreamed as  we pedaled from one town to the next. We biked every day but one when after 7 days, the sky opened up and rained for the first time and a bee sting Isabelle had got above her eye the day before resulted in such severe swelling  she could barely see out of one eye, the other being completely shut, essentially eliminating her depth perception. We figured between the two events we would take a day off. Each day structured and led by the girls growing their own leadership skills, each day growing stronger mentally and physically.   

We found purpose in movement and loved every bit of it.