Bear Neccesities Tunnel Count = 0 On my rest day yesterday I had gone to tge cycle shop and had a good chat with the sales guy. When I showed him my route he said I would definitely see bears ! I proceeded to buy a Bear Attack Spray ! So I did three routes when I got back to the hotel, the original through the mountains. A second which went partly inyo the mountains and a third which stayed well clear and followed the river. I also routed myself past hhe Sapporo Dome as I remember how futuristic it looked back in 2002 for tge World Cup with its retractable pitch. After having a good look at the Dome I now had to choose a route, but in reality my choice was made. I certainly didnt want to meet a Bear, especially as they are hungry having just come out of hibernation, however the mountains are usually more scenic. Well decisions ... it was blowing strong and blustery again, this time from the Southeast - which would help all three routes but the mountain routes finish heading east so I would have a nasty 20 miles into the wind. So I followed the river and actually found a good route pretty much atop the dyke, traffic free. It did keep switching between tarred and gravel but it was good. Every direction change was problematic having to lean left, then right just to stay on the bike - the gusts were well over 30mph. I stopped for lunch at Shinshinotsu after a tricky 30 miles, however the next 30 were along the dyke and mostly North so I made great time finishing at 4o'clock. The weather for my remaining 3 days looks very poor, cold, windy, sone rain but it suvgests strong wi ds against which is not what I want ... hopefully it may change !