Day 40: (80 km) Toyama - Uchinada
(08/07/09)

Half way done with the trip. Just half way. Ten weeks feels like a long time some days. The cycling isn't hard--this is the best shape I've been in since high school. Emotionally, however, the ride is taking its toll on me. Though rootless, jobless, and homeless, the structure of the ride keeps me from being completely free to drift, to disappear, become a ghost for a time. It is a challenging middle ground. Fortunately there are a few good people around to keep everything in focus.

This morning I stuck around in Toyama trying to find the purse. After tracing my steps it was obvious it wasn't going to show up, so I filed a police report in the hopes that someone might discover it before the trip ended. There wasn't much cash in it, but my pride was more than a little wounded by the loss.

My mood improved after three hours cycling in rain so hard it stung, dodging trucks, and being pummeled by the swaths of water as they passed by. Taking a back way into Uchinada I passed through lush marshland, and was treated to the sight of a Japanese heron taking off, neck stretched out into the sky. After the day's sprawling truck filled streets, it was a welcome moment of quiet grace. The street took me through rows of old houses, their wood dark from age and rain, before leading me to the Uchinada Welfare Center (a city owned onsen and inn).

After devouring half a pizza I slipped into the bath to soak away the cold, tension, and unhappiness. It worked. Going through my bags afterwards, I made a discovery. Wedged deep inside the lining of my front pannier was the purse. Laughing out loud, I showed it to Mary, who cheerfully chided me for not having searched better the previous night. But if I had found it then, I wouldn't have had the valuable (if not entirely pleasant) experience of the past twenty-four hours. I would have never filed a police report in Japan, cycled through the hardest rain I've ever felt, or seen a heron making the seamless transition from water to sky.

The day reminded me that things tend to work out, and that most experiences, good or bad, are valuable. It's amazing what food and a good hot bath will do.