I slept restlessly listening to the rain and hoping it would all blow over. I played through a Plan B and a Plan C. I got up at. 4.45 am to check out the plausibility of B and C.
We had another extraordinarily good breakfast and got ready to leave. It was a steady drizzle.
Once the bikes were ready we headed out across the red bridge adjacent to the hotel for a quick squizz.
To the right.To the left.
I noted this sign at the hotel, and could not agree more.
This is the ‘huge’ hotel sign we missed in yesterdays location confusion.
This sign led to our confusion, but all ended well and we had a good overnight stay, with two wonderful meals.
The rain was a heavy drizzle by now and we hoped that it did not deteriorate. The upside was that there was minimal wind and it was not cold. So getting wet was more tolerable.
The camera does not come out very often when it rains either, so less photos today.
We followed the Shimanto River from our accomodation for maybe 12 plus km. Here are a couple of photos. It is a pretty river, with lush vegetation.
We had over 2 km of tunnels again today, and this one was a bit of fun. for about half the length we had it to ourselves. I practised my best Freddy Mercury ‘ay-oh’ calls. They reverberated beautifully.
Hitting the coast it all looked a bit dismal.
This island has a shrine on it. Guess the pilgrims need a boat. In the photo you can just see the opening to the shrine path at water level.
Same island a bit further on.
This car and motorbike have been consumed by the creeper.
Today we stopped at a few Lawsons shops so I started calling the day Tour de Lawson. We had time to kill as the accomodation check in was 4 pm and we had a shorter day of about 77 km scheduled.
Lawsons have clean toilets, a wide variety of fresh food to eat, and this one had a coffee machine. It provided us shelter and we could watch some of the heavier rain despite the fact we were soaked.
Ride bikes, have fun, feel good!
Shimanto city arrived soon enough, another Lawsons to grab some food to take to our accomodation as it does not provide any food options, and is somewhat remote.
Red seems to be the favoured bridge colour. I must look into why.
In Shimanto City we were meant to turn right about 50 metres short of the bridge but decided to see what the road was like adjacent to the river. It was a great little road and we were able to follow it to our accomodation.
The full length of the Shimanto River is 196km. There are 47 submersible bridges. They are designed to withstand the forces of floods, which occur 3-4 times a year courtesy of typhoons.
A map showing some of the bridges
We had time to spare so decided to visit the first bridge. Curiously there was a security guard at the car park. There were about 6 cars there, in a car park that could take say a hundred.
As we rolled down to the bridge there was another security guard who indicated we could not ride on the bridge. We dumped the bikes and walked out, took our photos and headed off.
Imanari submersible bridge (chinka bridge)View from the bridge upstreamView from the bridge downstream
Closer to our accomodation these boats were moored alongside the rivers edge.
Our accomodation is over the Takase submersible bridge.
Looking upstreamLooking towards Takase
Thankfully the owner was willing to let us in early. The bikes are stored in his bike shed along with out wet gear and shoes hoping it might dry a bit overnight.
Kenji relocated here from Tokyo many years ago, buying this house and developing three accomodation rooms. Ours is made up of two rooms, both with tatami flooring (no shoes, sleep on the floor Japanese style).
Our windows look out on this lovely garden.
What a day. Certainly less than ideal riding conditions that make it all a bit slower, but it was actually enjoyable and refreshing. I think the fact that it was a Sunday helped, as the traffic was less than it might have otherwise been.
The weather forecast indicates tomorrow should not rain, but instead is talking about a northerly wind of up to 50 kmh. Guess which direction we are heading tomorrow 🤣. You just have to laugh and hope it all works out fine. 😊
Thanks for reading. I’m looking forward to getting to bed a bit earlier tonight as last night was later, and I got up earlier.
What a brilliant trip this has been so far. We have covered just under 400 km in four days. Huge cultural learnings, wonderful scenery, lovely people.
I slept restlessly listening to the rain and hoping it would all blow over. I played through a Plan B and a Plan C. I got up at. 4.45 am to check out the plausibility of B and C.
We had another extraordinarily good breakfast and got ready to leave. It was a steady drizzle.
Once the bikes were ready we headed out across the red bridge adjacent to the hotel for a quick squizz.
To the right.To the left.
I noted this sign at the hotel, and could not agree more.
This is the ‘huge’ hotel sign we missed in yesterdays location confusion.
This sign led to our confusion, but all ended well and we had a good overnight stay, with two wonderful meals.
The rain was a heavy drizzle by now and we hoped that it did not deteriorate. The upside was that there was minimal wind and it was not cold. So getting wet was more tolerable.
The camera does not come out very often when it rains either, so less photos today.
We followed the Shimanto River from our accomodation for maybe 12 plus km. Here are a couple of photos. It is a pretty river, with lush vegetation.
We had over 2 km of tunnels again today, and this one was a bit of fun. for about half the length we had it to ourselves. I practised my best Freddy Mercury ‘ay-oh’ calls. They reverberated beautifully.
Hitting the coast it all looked a bit dismal.
This island has a shrine on it. Guess the pilgrims need a boat. In the photo you can just see the opening to the shrine path at water level.
Same island a bit further on.
This car and motorbike have been consumed by the creeper.
Today we stopped at a few Lawsons shops so I started calling the day Tour de Lawson. We had time to kill as the accomodation check in was 4 pm and we had a shorter day of about 77 km scheduled.
Lawsons have clean toilets, a wide variety of fresh food to eat, and this one had a coffee machine. It provided us shelter and we could watch some of the heavier rain despite the fact we were soaked.
Ride bikes, have fun, feel good!
Shimanto city arrived soon enough, another Lawsons to grab some food to take to our accomodation as it does not provide any food options, and is somewhat remote.
Red seems to be the favoured bridge colour. I must look into why.
In Shimanto City we were meant to turn right about 50 metres short of the bridge but decided to see what the road was like adjacent to the river. It was a great little road and we were able to follow it to our accomodation.
The full length of the Shimanto River is 196km. There are 47 submersible bridges. They are designed to withstand the forces of floods, which occur 3-4 times a year courtesy of typhoons.
A map showing some of the bridges
We had time to spare so decided to visit the first bridge. Curiously there was a security guard at the car park. There were about 6 cars there, in a car park that could take say a hundred.
As we rolled down to the bridge there was another security guard who indicated we could not ride on the bridge. We dumped the bikes and walked out, took our photos and headed off.
Imanari submersible bridge (chinka bridge)View from the bridge upstreamView from the bridge downstream
Closer to our accomodation these boats were moored alongside the rivers edge.
Our accomodation is over the Takase submersible bridge.
Looking upstreamLooking towards Takase
Thankfully the owner was willing to let us in early. The bikes are stored in his bike shed along with out wet gear and shoes hoping it might dry a bit overnight.
Kenji relocated here from Tokyo many years ago, buying this house and developing three accomodation rooms. Ours is made up of two rooms, both with tatami flooring (no shoes, sleep on the floor Japanese style).
Our windows look out on this lovely garden.
What a day. Certainly less than ideal riding conditions that make it all a bit slower, but it was actually enjoyable and refreshing. I think the fact that it was a Sunday helped, as the traffic was less than it might have otherwise been.
The weather forecast indicates tomorrow should not rain, but instead is talking about a northerly wind of up to 50 kmh. Guess which direction we are heading tomorrow 🤣. You just have to laugh and hope it all works out fine. 😊
Thanks for reading. I’m looking forward to getting to bed a bit earlier tonight as last night was later, and I got up earlier.
What a brilliant trip this has been so far. We have covered just under 400 km in four days. Huge cultural learnings, wonderful scenery, lovely people.
The view out our bedroom window, through the glass. Rain was forecast, but was ok at this point.
Had another amazing breakfast presented in a series of smaller dishes and we carefully negotiated out way back up the shiny, slipper stairs in the one size does not actually fit all soft slip ons that you are required to wear.
I walk up sideways, as my feet are also longer than the tread, so probably a comical look.
As we left, the manager used his iPad translator to express his concern for us as rain was forecast. So far, the Japanese people have been incredibly nice and humble and wanting to help as much as possible.
The first part of the ride, some 30 km or so, was getting through Kōchi. We followed a series of shared pathways, and on the whole it was a good route.
We stopped and started a lot as there were many road crossings. At this one, Tony readjusts his gear.
An example of an excellent snared pathway alongside the river
Big cities have busy intersections. It was not always a matter of crossing at the lights. We had a couple of very steep overhead crossings to negotiate, pushing our heavy bikes up, then controlling the descent with the brakes.
This one was smooth, but steep. That’s me pushing, nearly at the topThis one is different again. Push the bike up the ramp, whilst walking stairs. This particular overhead crossing had four such arms, descending to your required corner,
In a small residential, mixed farming area we noted this beautiful blossom tree.
Not far away, this lovely couple appeared.
This was their view through the tunnel under the rail line.
By this point we had donned our rain coats several times for rain showers. Up in the hills heavy mist descended.
We passed through another two km of tunnels today. The longest was 983m long. There is an older tunnel to the left no longer in use. This tunnel was ok as it had the shared pathway through.
We eventually reached the coast, but the weather ensured less than ideal viewing conditions.
The longest climb today was 6.2 km. Yesterdays tough one was 5.8 km. Distance is less relevant than how much climbing you have to do.
Yesterday the climb averaged 7.9% for the entire distance. That’s not an easy climb. Today the average was around 4.6% so much more ‘doable’.
This is Tony’s bike computer showing the climb. He was 200 metres in, as indicated by the white circle. The colours on the grid relate to steepness. Red and orange are the worst.This is our ride data for the whole day. You can see the climb in question.
Climbing usually means great views. We climbed in drizzle. We took our rain jackets off as climbing makes you hot and you become a sweat box. We preferred the drizzle.
A few photos taken by Tony during the climb.
Looking back to the bridge we had crossed.
The climb had a name….Nanako Pass. It’s always a great feeling to reach the top.
Heading towards our overnight accomodation we rode alongside the Shimanto River. Our accomodation was well signposted…so we thought. Great road.
Arriving at what we thought was our accomodation, it turned out it was a day spa. I was very confused as I was certain I’d mapped this correctly. I had a horrible thought I’d totally stuffed it and was getting frustrated because the last 5 km it bucketed down, and it was still pouring and I was not keen to head back out.
After maybe 20 minutes of uncertainty, it turned out there were two adjacent buildings and only 50 metres away was a little sign saying ‘hotel’. Phew!!
Happily ensconced in another traditional Japanese style room, we both headed off to the day spa!! There is no shower in our room, you go to the onsen.
You wear your designated gown, strip off, enter the onsen, sit on a little bucket stool and shower, enter the spa, sit, soak, get out, shower again and wash your hair….then leave into another room where your towel is to dry and dress.
Tony progressed to the showering stage but chose not to go another few metres to the spa. The water is incredibly warm.
Dinner was at 6 pm. We approached three rooms with closed sliding doors. We were not sure which to open but then I saw this.
We had an incredible meal. We thought we were done after the first few dishes, plus our own little hot pots cooked next to us.
Then out came the tempura, then the salted fish, then the rice and miso, then the savoury custard.
Finally icecream turned up and we presumed that it was done!
A great day on the bikes, despite the weather. We are somewhat concerned about tomorrow as this is the radar. I sometimes wonder why we dry clothing knowing it’s going to get wet incredibly quickly.
The weather forecast for tomorrow is 4-6 mm each and every hour!
Hardest mattress ever, with a pillow that actually felt like it had woodchips in it, I slept ok! Looking out the window, this lovely view greeted me.
I had to show you these. Each place we’ve stayed has had different attire for us to wear, so I tried this on for size, and it was surprisingly comfortable. I felt like I was off to theatre to operate!
Breakfast was at 7 am and we got dished up these 10 courses plus green tea, and awful airline style coffee. The food was great, but too much, and I over ate.
Other guests wore those operating theatre pj’s to breakfast!
Back to our room and some of breakfast did not stay with me. I felt really pretty shite with stomach cramps. But we pushed on and headed off for another day.
Our bikes were where we left them, in reception.
Heading along the coastline there were some lovely vistas.
At this beach, the surfers were out. I did not see much surfing as the waves are pretty flat. Maybe they just sit and chill and chat with their mates.
Yesterday we had around 3 km worth of tunnels to ride through. One of those tunnels was super scary with a 30 cm lip for cyclists. I got off and walked as there is no room for error and if you deviate slightly, your off the lip and into the traffic.
This was our first tunnel today, and you can see there is a walking/bike path that does narrow considerably, but was ok.
Today we had a tunnel that was 960 metres long, no verge. So we put our front lights on and we already had our rear radar flashing and road through as fast as we could. Cars overtook us and were very considerate.
Our bike computers work off GPS so when in tunnels it cannot connect, thereby not acknowledging the distance. Today we did around 2 km of tunnels, so 5 km in two days.
We turned right away from the coast to head inland. Looking at todays route, you can see why. We cut off the coastal tip saving many km in reaching our destination. However, Shikoku is hilly and the trade off was a climb.
It started off nice and friendly, but that did not last for long .
We had a decent climb to do. 5.7 km long, nearly 500 metres ascent, with pinches over 12 percent. I still felt sick as a dog. Here is the first climb graph.
I recall saying in my first blog I was at up to 90% pre open heart surgery. I am not! I found that climb difficult today. More difficult than before. I think it is more like….65-75%.
I stopped several times to decrease my heart rate, protecting those coronary grafts. My back was behaving today so that was a bonus, and my knee coped. I just spun it up in my granny gear.
The vegetation was dense forest with steep drop offs. The road was very narrow.
Here I am at the pass, thankful that I did it, given what happened to me 9 months ago. My body has been brutalised, I have had life saving surgery, but I have recovered enough to make it! I was quite emotional as I did think a lot during the climb about my cardiac journey and recovery. I know not many OHS patients get to do what I have achieved. I still hate climbing 🤣
So we spent 5 minutes or so at the pass recovering and looking around. There are a series of walks.
I found this old sign leaning against the loos. No idea what it says.
What goes up must go down. The joy of the descent. Silly me did not notice my bike computer had paused and missed 5 km of descent data at speed. Ho hum.
Here is an interesting scene on a hillside. Quite a significant infrastructure which we were thinking to prevent a landslide??
I mentioned earlier the road is narrow. We had pulled over to let the truck pass us, and boom a car was heading up.
We watched this unfold with interest. The driver of the white car did a marvellous job. He was literally only cm off the barrier. They took turns moving a few cm until they were clear.
Moving on, we continued following this river, all the way out to the ocean.
I particularly like these few snaps of the river.
We found a vending machine in this village so stopped for maybe 10 minutes. I was starting to feel normal again.
As we left the village, we encountered this reptile. Not our first this trip.
The snake is a Japanese rat snake and not venomous unlike the mamushi which is venomous and inflicts numerous deaths in Japan annually.
Yesterday Tony was within cm of running over a rat snake. The snake doubled back and there I was on Tony’s tail. I let out a shriek, as I had visions of running over the snake and it getting caught in my spokes or chain or higher, my legs. Nothing happened, the snake survived, as did I.
We stopped to look at this snake today and it did not move. We gave it a wide berth and again it did not react. I reckon two minutes later it would have as we passed a car heading into the village.
Japanese rat snake
Back on the coast we noted the refuge tower. There are lots of signs along the coast warning which areas are subject to tsunami inundation. The refuge tower points to the hills.
Found some toilets so stopped here. Nice view from the seat.
By 1.30 pm I felt I could eat, so we stopped at a Lawsons ( like a seven eleven), and grabbed a few items. The older lady who served me reached over and touched my chest scar and said ‘heart.’ I said yes, and she put on a sympathetic sad face. Very sweet of her.
Tony noted this brute of a car. I’m standing there as a reference point. It is a tiny car.
Views along the coast as we approached Kōchi.
By chance, following the Kōchi Cycling Road. Misnomer of a name, as a lot of the route we went in today was footpaths, barrier wall roads, residential laneways and so on.
The route had a detour due to civil construction works, and took us past a rest area. This sign was on the grass, well would be grass if mowed, but it is protected for bees and snakes!
This is an example of a barrier wall path we were on. Well made and quiet. Volcanic sand beach.
Castle like structure high on the hill.
Our accomodation has a small onsen. No bathroom. No shower. You use the onsen.
So off I go in my robe, to be confronted by 5 naked females…my first mistake was the robe needed to be left in the first room not the onsen room.
Second mistake was I brought my towel with me.
Third….I hopped into the very warm water with these women who had no inhibition vs me 🤣😳🙈
I felt like the elephant in the room! They were all so…petite…
Then a lady maybe my age but larger came in.
I sat in the water wondering how long they’d all stay….one by one they left until it was me and the other larger lady.
I got out to wash my hair (special area) and she got out and we started talking. She was Japanese and spoke a little English and told me she’d been to Esperance (WA) and had held a koala.
I got back to the room feeling somewhat….still prudish. but I had ventured further that Tony. He did not proceed past the first room.
Dinner was eaten here. We’d paid half board. A beautiful dinner with far too much food again.
We went for a short walk to the suspension bridge by the accomodation. Lovely views of the river.
Today we rode 103 km. I climbed a decent climb and survived. ❣️
Tonight we sleep tatami room. Beds on the floor.
I did not tidy up for the photo!
Rain is forecast tomorrow. 96% chance, 45% chance of thunderstorms. Hopefully we can work around the rain, otherwise we will just get wet. One way of washing without feeling like the elephant in the room 🤣🤣🤣
We woke up super early today as we needed to board the 5.30 am ferry from Wakayama to Tokushima on the island of Shikoku.
Here is my side of the bed, and that is my bike. I do love my bike, but I’ve never slept quite that close to it before. 🤣
It was only a short 3.5 km ride to the ferry. I needed to buy bike tickets (I’d purchased ours online but the bikes I needed to do at the port).
We were directed to Lane 4, alongside the motorbikes and a semi trailer in Lane 5.
That’s me, waiting patiently. The little backpack has 3 bananas and a bun to share for breakfast.The ferry at the end of the building.Tony’s bike. The crew strapped it and placed wheel chocks.
The ferry is a decent size and the vehicle deck was about 3/4 full on the first crossing of the day. On board we sat in an area with tables and vending machines selling a huge range of drinks and snacks.
That is how our coffee came today, in a can. My caffeine connoisseur would be barista son in law Rory would be super unimpressed.
The sun was poking its head through as we left the port of Wakayama.
A few hours later we approached the island of Shikoku and the port of Tokushima. The crossing was very smooth with hardly a ripple.
Docked and we rolled off, following a criss cross of residential lanes to keep us off the main roads, but eventually they came. Hard to avoid in big cities.
We watched these young lads setting up for their baseball. Very flat and pristine pitches. Wonder how they keep the weeds out?
Flying into Osaka yesterday, we flew over Shikoku and was very curious about greyish looking wet areas. We now know what we were looking at.
In France it is wheat field after wheat field to support their habit of eating bread. In Japan, replace the wheat with rice fields. They are everywhere, jammed between homes, anywhere that is flat.
There is an intricate drainage system in place, with turtles galore. I did wonder how they keep the turtles out of the rice fields as I imagine the turtles would be a pest there.
The rice fields are just being planted out, and it is fascinating to watch. There are tractors that automatically plant the young crops.
Another thing that intrigues me are the number of cemeteries on hills. Shikoku is hilly so maybe there are not a lot of options given flat land seems to be taken by the rice fields.
For a period of time we followed this lovely river, the Naka.
Most villages have a shrine at their entrance.
Our bike computer told us we had 15 climbs today. There were a few three km climbs, but all were quite comfortable gradients.
Many were through heavily wooded areas above rivers, and the various shades of green were lovely.
We noticed a number of walkers doing the Shikoku Pilgrimage, where they walk (or cycle) to 88 temples. The standard walking route is 1200 km can take 30-60 days to complete. The white shirt, hat, staff is part of the standard attire.
Our route seemed to bypass food options so we were delighted to come across Noah’s Ark! Not sure of the name of this restaurant but I recognised it from a v-blog I watched by two Malaysian cyclists who stopped here.
After removing our shoes we were seated at a table that is low to the ground but has a generous footwell below it. Green tea appeared.
We ordered slightly different meals, as included some sashimi with mine. It was super delicious and all up very reasonably priced at 2900 yen ( about $35 aud).
I do find paying cash in foreign currency difficult without glasses to read the numbers….the magnifying glasses are on whilst I sort the yen out 🤣
My back was being quite tweaky after lunch so we stopped here so I could stretch it, surrounded by vending machines. They are every where .
We hit the coast around the Muroto Anankaigan National Park. Very picturesque.
These man made cement blocks are interesting, used to stop erosion. Reminded me of knuckles, the game that was played when I was younger…just a few years ago, but a giants version.😊
We are now in Shishikui, a coastal village. The washing is out drying, of course! A lovely view from our room. Dinner we lashed out at the Seven 11….I had a bag of salad and some pickled squid. Tony had a few nori rolls.
Breakfast is at 7 am. We will be there on the dot.
Today was a solid day of just over 100 km. It was about 50% footpaths of various construct and quality, 25% road, balance agricultural dirt and sealed tracks and residential lanes.
This is the longest day I’ve done on the bike since open heart surgery 9 months ago too. So thankful I have the opportunity to do these adventures. It will take my body a few days to adjust and adapt.
It has been a long two days, leaving Devonport 5 pm Monday, arriving in Japan 6.30 am Wednesday. We overnighted in Melbourne, had an early flight to Sydney with 90 minutes between landing and the international flight departing to Hong Kong.
We did see our bike bags in Sydney as we transferred by bus to the international terminal, by ours chance. We were pretty pleased as all that luggage had international connection tags.
We had an agonising 8 hour wait in Hong Kong leaving there at 2 am! We arrived in Osaka at 6.30 am this morning.
After showing our QR codes to immigration and customs, scanning our passports three times, finger printing and photos taken I join the queue to obtain a rail ticket.
It’s a long and slow queue and I’m tired. I get to the front to be told I’m in the wrong queue…..aaaagh. Fortunately no one was in the other queue a bit further up the way.
Two trains and we arrive in Wakayama at our hotel and it’s only 9 am, checkin is at 3 pm. For an extra 8800 yen (about 100 aud) we get to our room early (after eating tomorrows breakfast today, as they would not refund but would allow pre eating!)
Kensai airport is on the little island off Osaka (to the left of the O in Osaka on the map). We then travelled to Wakayama by train, and tomorrow Tokushima on the island of Shikoku by ferry.
We immediately hit the sack and slept for a bit over 2.5 hours feeling somewhat less tired than earlier.
Then it was down to business putting the bikes together. Tony does a great job and today had very little wriggle room.
Tony is wearing the pj’s issued by the hotel. Curiously I have noted people wandering around the hotel in them.
My job is to do the washing, cleaning what we wore on the plane, and hanging it up to dry. Hence why Tony is wearing the pjs.
You can see Wakayama Castle in the background.
Having noted Wakayama Castle from our window, once we were all sorted and showered, we headed off for a walk towards the castle.
We entered via this gate
Beautiful gardens surround the castle.
Our first animal sighted in Japan is….a turtle.
There is also a turtle basking in the sun on the small solo rock.
At the bridge entrance we were required to remove footwear.
The timber may look smooth, but in fact they are overlaid planks that hurt hurt feet longer than the plank width. So tip toeing easier.
The castle was built in the late 1500s as has been reconstructed a few times due to destruction. The last rebuild was more recent, with the castle razed during WWII.
Tony finds cats hidden away including this dozing feline.
We departed by the rear gate where equine activities used to take place.
We found our dinner at a supermarket in the railway station, adjacent to our hotel. Very yummy and reasonably priced. The sushi cost around $15 aud. The strawberries were sweet and succulent.
We also purchased some snacks to carry in the bikes. Needless to say, these are mine. Two of those packets Tony will have zero interest in. He has his own supply, the high sugar type.
I do love wandering around food shops in other countries to see what is on offer.
Years ago we acquired a reputation from our friend Helen, whom we met doing LeJog and then a French north to south ride. She told us she knew the Yaxleys had arrived (in Dover) by the windows.
We actually got into trouble at Cheddar (England) as the owner did not appreciate the ‘look’. 🤣
I often think of Helen and did today as we headed back to the hotel and saw this…..
Check the windows a few floors from the topClose up
Tomorrow we are booked on the 5.30 am ferry. We need to be there just after 5 am and ride there, so we will be up early.
We are going to hand over our luggage being stored here for a fortnight, then hit the sack.
It is eight months since my life saving open heart surgery. Time has marched on, and a lot has happened.
On the downside I suffered a known complication of open-heart surgery. 40% of open-heart patients leave hospital with fluid in their left chest area. Most reabsorb and a small percentage do not.
Of course, I wanted the full experience and ended up in Mersey ED one Monday afternoon and was diagnosed with pleural effusion and a partial lung collapse.
I ended up having my chest drained at a hospital in Launceston. That is not overly pleasant as they access the pleural area in between ribs in your back with a long needle. The specialist physician had two cracks at it and it is a very sharp nervy bony pain.
Pleural rub continued for a few more weeks and I got to see my favourite cardiac surgeon and cardiologist again.
Pleural rub is where the inflamed pleural lining, that usually sticks to your lungs, has become separated and inflamed and rubs against your lung. It is not painful but somewhat perturbing each and every breathe.
One can never have enough radiation of one’s lungs. I have had at least 10 plus chest X-rays in recent times. My chest X-rays are fascinating post surgery.
Cable ties…101 uses. Although these are stainless steel/titanium ones.
At Christmas we were with two of my children in Hobart that included the bonus of being with my young grandchildren.
We then headed to Norfolk Island for a week. In the middle of nowhere some 2500 km east of the Australian coast. A fascinating history and I really looked forward to this sojourn.
One of my ancestors came out with the First Fleet into Port Jackson and was transferred to Norfolk Island a few weeks later. A very interesting story of his life in England, then Norfolk Island where he had many children, including my great great….grandmother Sarah.
I have done a lot of reading and research on Richard and his daughter Sarah and I loved being able to walk over where his farm was before the family moved to Van Diemens Land.
This tree is on my ancestor’s former farmland now known as Hundred Acres Reserve – the Moreton Bay figs were planted by the English and are massive now, and very old.
We chilled most days on the beautiful beach at Emily Bay. I swam and snorkelled and loved watching the fish in the fringe coral reef.
The lone Norfolk Pine on the right is known as…the lone pine! Captain Cook mentioned that tree on his voyages, meaning my great great….grandfather would have seen that tree in Emily Bay, and here I was walking where he once would have.Lone pine
Returning home, we determined that my rehab goal was to get myself fit enough to start cycle touring again.
I was doing around 3-4 hours rehab per day but reduced that now to a mere 3 hours that includes cycling, walking, swimming, weights and stretching. I am not back to where I was but maybe 85-90% and that’s good enough for our plans.
The best way to live life, is just to get on with it. It is the best way I know how to thank my specialists who saved my life. ❣️
Where are we going? Japan. A shorter trip as I have some work commitments either side, but still away 19 days, cycling for a fortnight predominantly on the island of Shikoku and including the famous Shimanami Kaido, a 60 km dedicated cycle way over many islands on the Seto Inland Sea.
Shikoku – one of Japan’s five main islandsThe island of Shikoku. We will catch the ferry to and from Tokushima to start and finish our ride.
Our route will take us around the whole island, and include mountainous areas including the Iya Valley.
Part of the Shimanami kaido bike routeA broader view of the Shimanami kaido.
It is only a fortnight now until we go – routing is finalised and uploaded to our Hammerhead GPS devices that sit on our bike showing the route. I have organised the accomodation, a real mixture of western and Japanese. I love Japanese food too!
I am thankful to be able to be fit enough to continue what we love doing so let’s get this show on the road! Stay tuned!
Thanks to Greg for the image below that he created – it is the logo for the group I set up known as Heartz.
It is 10 weeks since I joined the lifesaving, life altering, zipper club. I think to really understand the consequences you have to have experienced it first-hand.
Your life is not defined by your scars. To me, scars are part of the rich tapestry of life. Since the age of 18 I’ve worn a significant knee scar that has generated many questions and been a conversation opener.
Scar wise, my arm and chest scars are another badge of my life and what I’ve endured and worked through, and I am sure there will be many more conversations to be had.
The sternum scar over the top of where they use the bone saw to open your chest and retract it. The concept is pretty extraordinary really.The arm is healing nicely too – I do get pain in my lower hand but massage it heaps.
I caught up with one of my dearest friends recently. Despite staying in touch heaps, we had not seen each other face to face for ages. She was really self-conscious about some scars on her face, courtesy of sun damage and skin cancer.
She had to point one out to me, and then, yes it was obvious, but I initially did not see it – because I love her and our enduring friendship, and that graft does not define her, or our relationship. It is part of her story and her life tapestry.
In my lifetime I have now had 15 general anesthetic operations (including a life saving ruptured appendix operation where I was given only 24 hours (without the surgery) to live due to the degree of gangrene and peritonitis) and 16 procedures done under twilight sedation, and I know I have more ahead with my knee needing a total knee replacement, plus two feet reconstructions. My fingers remain in my ears and I’m going la, la la for a bit longer. More scars!
I am glad I have been through what I have. Apart from being a necessity to continue living and not dropping dead, it has provided me with a lot of other benefits. I have met some wonderful people in the process. I have discovered more people than I ever realised cared about me and reached out to me.
With lots of spare time to think and reflect, it has also provided me with a very clear-headed reality check on other issues that are not within my power to fix alone. Therefore, I will stop trying (and/or hoping) and give myself peace and acceptance instead.
Myths and misconceptions:
There have been a few and let’s address them as they both rattled me at the time.
Firstly, it has been suggested that I have cardiovascular disease as a result of having the Covid vaccine. Seriously!?! The facts are I had been seeing my former cardiologist for some 16 years due to an incidental finding on a lung scan back then – and it was noted that there were what appeared to be, possibly external, calcifications. I still have a copy of the original letter that cardiologist wrote that said – this lady is highly unlikely to be a candidate for cardiovascular disease (due to my fitness).
Even googling that link, I have not been able to find one that possibly links an exacerbation to cardiovascular disease – other cardiac issues, yes I found articles, but not cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular disease does not just happen. It takes years and years of development, and mine totally predates covid even being known about. Mine has likely developed over 30-40 plus years.
There are risk factors you can control and have influence over, and others you cannot.
I currently weigh 67 kg, have a BMI of 21, have never smoked, do not drink alcohol except on rare occasions, have a total cholesterol of 2.8 (as of a few weeks ago – the bad cholesterol was 1.1) and low blood pressure. I passed all tests including ECG, echo and stress tests without issue – but passing those means nothing really if they can hide the fact that you have advanced coronary artery disease.
I cannot escape my extraordinarily strong cardiac family history and disposition or the fact that I’m post-menopausal.
It was also suggested I would need to start eating healthier. Anyone who is close enough to me and can witness firsthand what I do and do not eat will tell you I am very picky (except when bike touring – I experience the local cuisine to the max). I eat low carb and the only dietary change since my diagnosis is cheese – I eat it rarely now.
I chose to reduce my consumption of red meat a few years ago after being required to project manage departmental support for a local regional abattoir. I saw, heard and smelt things I never thought I would, and the look in the cows’ eyes as they waited to be ‘processed’ was sad and pitiful. Personal choice. It had a profound impact.
I think that my blood tests, weight, BMI, blood pressure etc is testimony to the fact that I do eat healthy. I did not get cardiovascular disease due to my diet (per the specialists). It was my genetic disposition tied in with being post-menopausal.
Kicking Goals
I have completed a fortnight of work – part time but last week worked over 30 hours. I start at around 4.50 am as my mental clarity is strongest between then and 9 am (drug cocktail time).
I have completed 36 financial assessments in the first fortnight and sorted out $10 million in messy budget reconciliations (a process that took a few of us two weeks last year). I am delighted that everything balanced, and I nailed it in half a day this year- my brain is working ok!
Going back to work is part of my overall rehab and readjusting to normal life.
I need to juggle my daily cardiac rehab with work and balance it with my recovery. First two weeks went ok and physically I am feeling ok. On weekdays I spend 3 hours a day doing cardiac rehab. Weekends are around 4 hours per day. I have added in stretching and some light weights as my arms have suffered badly with being fairly useless appendages for 10 weeks.
This weekend I have kicked some physical goals too. My first cycling goal was to enter and finish the Trek 70 km Saturday event (with 5 climbs). I did it! Whoot woo – and got a great reception upon my return.
Today I rode 100 km – that was my second goal.
Both of these goals were riding on Zwift – not out on the road – as I still have sternal precautions in place but look forward to some cafe coffee cruises soon enough.
At the current rate, I am doing just over 500 km per week cycling – at week 10 – that is pretty cool and a huge confidence boost. As a comparison, I was doing around 1000 km per week pre surgery at 2.5-3.0 watts per kg. Currently I am pushing around 2.0 watts per kg.
I have written an article on using Zwift as a possible adjunct cardiac rehab therapy – Dr Ash is looking at using it for a medical journal article and for patients who have the capacity for ‘fast tracking’ rehab.
I have also established a Zwift Facebook support group for cardiac patients – and there are 48 members currently. One of those, a 35-year-old male had open heart surgery last week in Germany and we will watch his rehab with interest, as he purchased a recumbent bike to use on Zwift.
Goals
We will cycle tour again – in 2023. Subject to suitable travel insurance (as our current insurers will no longer insure me) I think I have found one that will – established for “seniors” (a concept I still have difficulty with at 60!) and will cover cardiovascular, cancer and a range of other preexisting medical conditions. Mind you, I think I am a far lower risk now than I was in May when I rode 3000 km in Europe with my ticking time bomb.
I have multiple maps in progress with a range of countries and ideas – the world is our oyster. We have toyed with redoing LeJog (UK), loops out of Paris or Amsterdam or Switzerland or Rome or Milan and so on! We will nail it and I look forward to sharing those blogs in 2023.
Thankyou
How can you thank the team that saved your life? I will be forever indebted to Dr Stephen Broadhurst (radiologist), Dr Nikhil Pal (cardiologist), Dr Ash Hardikar (cardiothoracic surgeon), Dr Katja Brede (anaesthetist) and their wonderful additional support and surgical teams for diagnosing me and their parts in saving my life – for giving me another chance to be a better version of me. To the nursing, medical, ancillary, catering and orderly staff at Calvary ICU and surgical ward and Erin my cardiac rehab nurse – thank you for your part in caring for me. To friends including Paul and Shaun for their professional support and knowledge.
The only man to have truly touched my heart – Dr Ash Hardikar.The message Ash sent me which I read and re-read to assure myself I am going ok.
The best way I can thank them all is to live my life to the fullest. I still have cardiovascular disease – there is no cure. I have rerouted cardiac plumbing that will require monitoring and maintenance for life – but that is a small price to pay for the privilege of living longer and having a heart receiving it’s proper quota of blood.
To my friends, family, work colleagues, neighbours, Trek, Zwift Australia and my extended Zwift family who chose to support me with visits, phone calls, texts, emails, sending cards, get well gifts, cooking food and hampers thank you. Your thoughtfulness at what was a horrific shock in my life has been very much appreciated.
To the 10,000 views of my blog on my website – wow! That just blows me away. 1800 views of my first blog alone! What started out with me a huge emotional mess to the strong and positive person I am today has been a massive journey and transformation.
Hugest thanks to Tony – for his love and support through this journey – as he has worried heaps. We are a team and we will continue to have exciting adventures – hopefully well away from hospitals!!
Final words
This is to be my last cardiac blog – I think lol…..I feel that I am at a point now where gains will be marginal rather than some of the quantum leaps I have made.
I am proud of me. I have always had a strong work ethic that I credit to Professor Bernie Einoder, the man who initially reconstructed my knee at age 18. He told me that I would get out of rehab what I put into it – I worked hard – 3 hours per days for 6 months. It took me 2 years to walk without a perceptible limp – and I have just reapplied those same ethics this time around.
I applied that work ethic post my ruptured appendix in 1999- that was around a 3-month recovery from the damage the toxins had done to my body.
At 10 weeks post having your chest cavity sawn open, your lung collapsed, heart stopped and placed onto a heart lung bypass machine, having three grafts stitched on, having your heart restarted, having your chest wired and pulled together – being able to ride 100 km is a pure gift of joy and way ahead of when I thought it might be possible. My first ride was in week 3 and was for only a few km.
The best reason to keep living. My two darling grandkids – I get to see them grow up a bit more.
Two weeks ago, Sienna turned 4 – yes I am in my dressing gown still.
Hugs and love to all those who have been a positive influence in my journey – it is not over, I will continue to evolve and grow with loving thanks to you all.
Bit dramatic? Bit offensive? Build a bridge….I’ve been a bit flatter the last few days and it made me smile.
I’ve plagiarised the title from Trek. I’ll get to that! Just thought it was a great headline grabber after reading it in their book this week.
I’ve had an interesting fortnight since my last blog. Not all a bed of roses as this rehab gig can be ‘a cranky bitch’ a phrase coined by an old high school friend Wendy earlier today.
I am making solid progress physically, building up to 5.5 km daily walks, and today 78 minutes sitting upright on my bike on Zwift. My walks are great along the banks of the Forth River and our lovely beach here in Turners Beach. Some recent photos.
Part of the new coastal bike path being constructed. This path will turn to the east and cross over the Forth River and head to Leith. It is a very exciting development locally.The Forth River, looking towards the mouth, Leith on the eastern shore.Our beach, looking east, low tide, towards the Forth River mouth, Leith on the eastern shore.Tony and Khaleesi, low tide, river mouth A great long beach at lower tides, looking east. This aspect is only a few hundred metres from our home.Looking west towards Ulverstone with Table Cape in the far distance
I saw my cardiologist who described my progress as way ahead of others similar age and stage. I think that is the benefit of my pre surgery fitness.
Tiredness and emotional fragility and residual aches and pains are my main gripes. Lack of concentration and poor memory too.
He tweaked my medications a little more beyond my cardio thoracic surgeon, to try and reduce the brain fog and dizziness a bit more. I have been tracking my blood pressure daily and it is consistently low, around 90/70.
In discussion with him and my cardiac rehab nurse Erin, I have started to decrease the walking and increase the Zwift cycling. My knee (advanced osteoarthritis, bone on bone) is playing up and not coping well now with the 38-40 km walking per week. I cannot not see the point in taking Celebrex just to walk an hour when I have an alternative cardiac option in my garage.
I am well overdue for my total knee replacement, and seriously, I am not in the right mental state to have that any time soon.
So I will reduce weight bearing exercise and increase non weight bearing. Sensible but then there is my bum! I still have to sit upright (ie not putting hands on the handle bars)
It hurts sitting up for long periods. We tried a recumbent option with a chair but less power output again vs bum pain….🙈😳
Concurrently with this issue I was feeling guilty that I was letting Trek down. I am a Zwift Trek Ambassador in Australia and leader backup the weekly Trek ride on Saturday. A 70 km, 5 hill climb event.
I had a chat with Trek’s Aaron who reassured me that Trek invest in people, all was good, and they’d help me however needed.
That led to a discussion on my bum discomfort and he told me he’d post me a saddle from an ebike, designed for more upright pedalling.
Boom. A parcel arrived with a bonus, socks and a Trek book.
The saddle is heaps better, tilted back. I can tolerate a longer time in the saddle.
The broader saddle is much better for being seated upright, no arms policy. Once I am able to weight bear through the arms I will likely swap back, and retilt the saddle forward.
The Trek book! Somewhat of a history book on Trek but also their business philosophies. I do love this particular business lesson : we love our customers and employees and work with some of the best people in the world. But we don’t works with assholes.
I think most of us can relate to investing far too much time with people like Tom in the story above. I try hard with many people and I need to learn to turn away from the very few Tom’s in my life.
Here is a much butt happier Sharron, courtesy of Trek.
In other news, I am a very goal oriented person. If I do not have goals, I tend to flounder. Two have been set in the last fortnight.
Firstly, we have booked to travel to Norfolk Island during our Christmas break for one week. Norfolk Island is a territory of Australia about 2.5 hours flying time east of Sydney.
There is a strong family connection as my great great…..grandmother was born there. A great story for another day.
The second goal. We are starting to scope a bike packing cycle tour. It will be impossible for me to get travel insurance now to include cardiac (silly as I am far far less risk than I was in May). We will go to countries where Australia has a bilateral health agreement. There are 11 such countries.
Again, another story, another day.
Thanks for everyone who has been in touch in the last fortnight. Your continuing encouragement is so very welcomed as some days are tougher than others.
The messages on Zwift, strava, Facebook and texts are so gratefully received. Your encouragement and care is not taken for granted and I am very humbled that you take the time. ❣️
Thank you to the many friends who have sent me texts and pm’s asking how I am going in the last fortnight, particularly in the absence of no blog last weekend. I am most appreciative and thankful for your care and concern.
Simple reason for no blog….I was just very tired and my motivation levels were low.
The last fortnight saw many changes, with a major one being Tony returning to work and me fending for myself. Whilst I have excellent personal leave provisions, Tony has none and when he does not work, he does not get paid. His bank account has taken a large hit at my expense with a month off work pre and post surgery.
Survive I have and I have improved significantly although it is hard for me to see and acknowledge from day to day. However, I have charted my progress and can see my improvement.
My day starts something like this. I am awake by 4.30-5.00 am as I am uncomfortable in bed with chest discomfort. I am sleeping on my back with 3 European pillows lifting my upper body angle. My natural pre surgery position is on my side, but that is not possible currently.
Between 5 am and 9 am I am at my most alert. 9 am is drug cocktail time and I get dizzy and light headed and fuzzy.
I do my first walk before 9 am and my first day home I walked 320 metres (day 10) . This morning I walked 4 km (day 30).
I then rest for 2 hours or so, often falling asleep on my recliner.
Rest is a huge part of where I am at currently as I exercise my lungs and heart within defined acceptable parameters.
So to that burning question, and one the surgeon Ash asked me when he saw me a few days ago…..”is she back on the bike?”
Raw footage, uncensored .
So now you know. I started on Zwift on day 19. Per the guide below the question I raised with the cardio rehabilitation lady who overviews my rehab.
I had a cardiac rehabilitation appointment mid week on week 3 and sought to unpack the line re recreational. It was determined Zwift was ok, 8 kmh was 💩 and a short time…..well 😳🙈😀
Let’s say that as per the video, you have to sit upright and that is self limiting due saddle ergonomics. At 8 weeks I can lean forward and use the handle bars which will see and increase in power output and duration.
I talked to Trek this week and they are going to send a saddle to try designed for more upright riding.
I Zwift around lunchtime, rest, then do my afternoon walk then rest again.
I fall asleep during each rest period, as I do after dinner before I head to bed around 9 pm. I have my evening drugs then and I have some pain tablets around 1 am.
I am tracking my rehab and you can see the progress below. Day 10 I walked 320 metres in the morning and today, day 30 I walked 4 km. I am walking twice a day (most days) plus zwift.
I am being tracked by many on both Zwift and strava who are providing me with great encouragement. I rest/sleep in between each rehab episode.
Drugs are necessary and I have set up my own webster packs using disposable containers I used at Calvary. I have an am and pm container.
Two of the drugs are messing with me, causing side effects including dizziness. Dr Ash has has halved one drug and swapped another from am to pm, hopefully meaning the worst light head feeling is whilst I am asleep.
I am also tracking my blood pressure. Each morning it is around 90/70 which is particularly low and hence why the beta blocker can be halved. It will be interesting to see if this change makes me feel a bit more human.
I have been blessed with friends sending me cards and gifts including home made biscuits, cakes, flowers, scratchies, food hampers and so on, but two I want to share from the last two weeks.
The first is from Zwift Australia. A total surprise.
I loved the Zwift ribbon. Inside was a lovely hamper of goodies from Byron Bay.The words were special.
Then there was this thoughtful gift from my daughter Hannah, who is also a physiotherapist. I get heaps of upper back and neck aches since the surgery and my hands get cold (beta blocker side effect).
The larger heat pack drapes around your neck and covers the upper back. Every person undergoing open heart surgery needs one of these packs made in Adelaide using lupin seeds.
My first social event was yesterday. I had a friend from my teenage athletic years undergo open heart surgery 12 days before me. He and his partner visited for lunch. We compared war wounds (literally) and stories and went for a walk to our local beach. Lovely to catch up as we both progress through rehab.
Tony, me, Graham and Narrinda
Certainly this has been a time of reflection. Cardiac blues are a thing!Whilst there are things that rattle/disappoint me as I convalesce and focus on getting stronger, I am trying to focus on the positives – family (my kids, cousins, uncle, aunt) and friends who have taken the time to show their care and concerns and keep my spirits higher. Huge thanks and hugs for your positivity.
The lesson is support those who support you. Let the others go. ❣️
The blog has been extraordinary. Over 10,000 unique visits. Words fails me. A topic that interests many.
The new cardiac zwifting Facebook page I established, Heartz, has attracted a nice core group. Two zwifters I have known for a few years have contacted me in the last week, both facing their own open heart surgery journeys and I will happily support each the best I can.
I need to change the cover page. I have a concept, but not the artistic ability!
That’s it for now, probably things I meant to say but have forgotten, such is my memory at the moment.
yakkablog 