Bike travelling for heavier people

6 comments

1. This isn’t travel advice exactly, but what you are planning if you could find the bikes is a lot of cycling every day, even if it is an electric assisted bike. Just Tokyo to Hiroshima and back is approx 1700km, and that doesn’t account for detours to sightsee.

   You say you’re trying to turn your life around, are you already used to cycling that amount on a daily basis for 3 weeks straight? If you aren’t, there’s a very high chance that you could cause an injury, and that isn’t something you want to deal with on a holiday.

   I’ve had many friends/co-workers who enthusiastically jumped into a new vigorous sport without building up to it and ended up with a musculoskeletal injury. The worst one was a 22 year old living a sedentary lifestyle who took up soccer and injured her knee at her second session. She had to have surgery and was in bed for the better part of 6 months.

   If you can’t find bicycles or decide against it, I would advice you use the train lines rather than drive. The trains in Japan are incredible and an experience all on their own, plus a lot more convenient than driving. You can easily catch trains to the city centres then rent bikes to use to explore the city and it’s surrounds. Also using trains you’ll end up walking a lot more. I was averaging 25,000 steps a day and I travel at a very relaxed pace.

   So using trains, you should still be able to cycle or walk around the cities and get your fitness up that way.

   TLDR: don’t cycle all the way if your body isn’t used to it. Don’t rent a car, use the trains, then rent bicycles in each city. Also in Japan you’ll easily walk 15-20km a day and that’s also a great way to work on your fitness.

   Edit to add: In most cities you couldn’t just park bicycles anywhere. You had to look for bicycle parking which I found to be an extra hassle. Someone else can correct me if they know more, but I remember in Sapporo bicycle parking wasn’t common amd fines for leaving it anywhere were hefty.

2. Edit: just saw you’re leaving this Saturday! So this option wouldn’t work anyway. I’ll leave it up in case it’s useful to someone with a similar idea in the future. Sorry…I hope you can at least enjoy some cycling day trips while you’re there.

   This might not be exactly what you’re looking for, but have you checked out cycling tour packages? I’ve never done one in Japan, but I’ve had good experiences with them in Europe. This is the kind of thing I mean: https://biketourjapan.com/ (I found this one with a random internet search.)

   There seem to be many companies that offer tour packages like this. They can be very (very!) expensive, but in my experience the cost usually covers bike/e-bike rental as well as lodging, luggage transport, and some meals. I don’t see anything on the website I linked above about weight restrictions, so that still might be an issue if you ask them about it—but something like this would at the very least simplify the multi-city bike rental aspect. You likely wouldn’t get to pick your itinerary unless you pay a lot more for a totally personalized route, but it might still be more fun and in-line with your initial idea than driving or riding trains.

3. My uncle cycles a lot and he just takes his bike as check- in bag. He does have one of those cycling bikes a la tour de france, so ot weighs peants and is made to deasemble.

   Also as a heavy woman (130kg) who used to be even heavier (175kg) i have never heard of a bike not being made for your weight. Yes an ultra light, resin bike will not hold you. But a normal metal bike should work fine. I even once bike on my 6year olds bike once.

   What I have found a problem in japan was height. When looking for a bike in miajima there wasnt one suiteable for my 198cm tall husband.

4. I must agree with thedoobalooba

   it is a very far way to travel with bike. people have done it, but they have had support in the form of a car with the luggage following them, they had their own bikes, they had access to replacement bikes, all that stuff.

   you are starting with many detractors, not only the weight, or the ability to source the actual bikes.

   i think you are heading directly into catastrophe if you attempt this. and even if you pull it off, it may not seem like reward but a punishment.

   I suggest you start smaller.

   go to japan, enjoy it. walk a lot (you will be walking a lot!)

   rent bikes on a day to day basis. do smaller trips, daytrips. lake biwake is pretty good for that, you can rent bikes at almost all train stations and bring them back to another train station.

   you might not get super awesome e bikes, and you might still risk not getting a bike if the bikes are not made for you. I dont think his is a problem you can manage on the bike side of the equation

   dont rent a car unless you need to get to a place where there is no public transport.
   take trains, and walk.

   enjoy the trip. dont sit around doing nothing or just in a car. get out, exploring on foot, and if the possibility arrives, yes on bike

   its not what you were planning, but its still very good

5. Travelling that far by bike in the middle of summer wouldn’t be remotely enjoyable or achievable. It’s in the mid 90s in Osaka and Tokyo next week.

   Take the train and look into some shorter bike trips along the way, like the shinminami Kaido.

6. There are so many issues with this plan I don’t even know where to start. But I’ll say one thing, it’s never truly flat in Japan, even next to the ocean. 70% of Japan is mountains