It's turning into one of those days.

The usual spills - fortunately no serious injuries - and a broken spoke: all are enough to disrupt the plan. One cyclist is hours behind while another has lost an hour already. And it is only 3pm, with another 50km to go from where we are...

Oh well. If you have to be frustrated and hopelessly delayed, there are worse places for it to happen. We are cycling along the coast between Otake and Hiroshima, with mountains climbing their way into the distance in every direction, all lush with trees.

The check points are in the car parks of convenience stores and the cyclists are supplementing our chocolate spread sandwiches with DIY sushi, dumplings and soup, chicken with noodles and heaven knows what else, all fresh and incredibly tasty. And very cheap! Who said Japan was expensive?

Not this way!!