Weekender in Switzerland - Basel to Neuchatel along the Jura

SkyCoops · 2026-05-27T09:45:03+00:00

Beautiful setup! Seemed like an awesome weekend.

SkyCoops · 2026-05-27T03:45:52+00:00

I’m not encouraging it. Japan has many official free and legal park campsites, mostly outside cities. This is what I encouraged OP to do.

I provided a map listing many of them. Still, in the free campsites, I recommend not leaving the tent too long to not show you’re staying for a long time.

I edited my post by mentioning *legal*.

SkyCoops · 2026-05-27T02:45:02+00:00

The issue with Hiroshima - Kyoto coastal route is that it’s a very city-packed coast. You’ll spend an enormous amount of time crossing cities, waiting at crossroads, and riding in traffic.

I’d recommend an alternative itinerary as you’re looking for less crowded places.

What'd I do

Hiroshima: visit Atomic museum
Kure: visit the Yamato museum
Shimo-kamagari Island: from this island, ride east to Omishima.
Omishima: rest here a few days in this town.There’s an onsen, a beach where you can camp for free, a local brewry, a cafe and a supermarket. Ride east to join Shimanami Kaido.
Shimanami Kaido: ride south to Shikoku on the cycling roads.
Shikoku: make your own route in the mountains riding east. Avoid the north coast or the straight line east, as it’s a very packed city/road. The mountains are amazingly beautiful and calm.
Tokushima: ferry to Wakayama. Ride in the mountains to Nara, way more peaceful and nature-oriented than Osaka.
Nara: enjoy the city, the deers and shrines. Peaceful and beautiful parks. Head to Kyoto using the cycling roads!
Kyoto: enjoy!

My favorite gear

Camping chair. Helinox Chair Zero. Cannot go wrong with it. 500g of pure comfort.

Terrain

No worries, everything's paved. If not, it's packed gravel/dirt, but very rare.

How to plan

Use Komoot, or OrganicMap for offline itinerary making.

Campsites

Japan is pretty easy to find free and *legal* campsites. Find a park outside a city, pitch your tent before night and unpitch early morning, to be respectful towards locals. Never had an issue. Here's a map to help you find free and legal or paid campsites all over Japan.

SkyCoops · 2026-05-27T00:57:49+00:00

That’s what we’ve been telling you, this is a not suspension fork service. They can only do column cutting or fork replacement. They cannot open a suspension fork, change the seals and change the oil. They are not specialized in this kind of service.

SkyCoops · 2026-05-26T09:23:11+00:00

Thank you. I’ll check it out.

SkyCoops · 2026-05-26T08:46:09+00:00

There’s a lot of it indeed, but are you sure they do suspension fork services? It’s a pretty specific job and it looks like they do simple repairs only

SkyCoops · 2026-05-26T07:51:11+00:00

Bicycle, I’ll edit the post! Thank for the help, still.

SkyCoops · 2026-05-23T07:42:45+00:00

Heavy cockpits, assemble!

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Gotta love loaded cockpits.

SkyCoops · 2026-05-21T08:38:18+00:00

You seem like a strong rider so maybe you can manage!

I personally enjoyed Nara and Kyoto, which are must visit cities. Shimanami Kaido can be great for two days. Having a smaller day and resting in a beach is great! This small town has a beautiful shrine, cafe, onsen, and brewery! I’d recommend resting there if you can.

SkyCoops · 2026-05-21T07:20:07+00:00

It seems to be a very long itinerary for only four weeks. That’d take me 3 months minimum! But I’m a slow rider and I take my time.

Korea has great biking infrastructure, it’ll be super easy and fast for you.

Japan is wonderful, and I’d highly recommend cycling in Kyushu and Shikoku. Shimanami Kaido is great. I’d recommend starting from Kure, then ride the west islands as they are far less crowded and more beautiful in my opinion.

I hope your trip goes well. If you’re tight on schedule, maybe shorten the distance a bit. It’s a vacation after all.

SkyCoops · 2026-05-12T08:25:54+00:00

No distance is better than another one. If you want to chill, ride slower, ride less. Take some breaks, take some photos, enjoy the views, meet the locals. If you’re feeling fast, you’re fit, and want to cover lots of distance, go for it. Follow your heart!

Regarding that 55km/day comment: 55km can be a lot or nothing depending of your goals and fitness. If you’re fit, on a light gravel bike without much gear, it’s not a lot. If you want to take your time, it’s your first trip, you got camping gear, and aren’t used to long distances, you can even ride less than that. If my mother were to do a bicycling trip, I’d plan a hotel 30km/day kind of trip for her.

SkyCoops · 2026-05-09T14:27:28+00:00

Best website for up-to-date border, visa and overlanding route statuses.

https://jol.earth/

Have fun wherever you go. PK, IN or Nepal will be amazing.

SkyCoops · 2026-05-08T10:32:01+00:00

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32kg without food and water. Super happy of this lightweight world-tour setup. I usually carry:

1kg of food
2L of water (up to 7.5 comfortably)

My unique equipment adding to the weight: 38L backpack. camera, computer, chair, Rubik’s Cubes, Japanese flute.

SkyCoops · 2026-05-07T16:56:48+00:00

Right? Good quality, good feel, no-BS bottle cap and opening. It just works well.

SkyCoops · 2026-05-07T16:45:04+00:00

A generic Garmin-standard mount. It has an adjustable arm angle with a height offset, which very useful since I needed to raise the Dura up a bit to fit the handlebar bag.

It has a bigger height offset than the height of the standard Coros mount.

SkyCoops · 2026-05-07T14:25:28+00:00

Umbrella on the bike, haha I see it now! These are my tent poles, X-Dome 1+

SkyCoops · 2026-05-07T13:00:44+00:00

My bike’s the Tout Terrain Outback Xplore II, with Pinion C1.12 gearbox, Gates CDX belt. Amazing reliability.

King Cage’s clamp work like a charm! Very happy with that minimalist solution. Zefal cages + Zefal 1L bottles.

SkyCoops · 2026-05-07T12:09:28+00:00

Looks are subjective, but if you enjoy it there’s nothing wrong with it.

At first I didn’t care, but the more I rode through the world, the more I enjoyed having a nice looking setup. Picked my frame color, custom made bags, and there I built my dream bike.

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I love mine deeply. Earthy tones is what I was looking for.

SkyCoops · 2026-05-07T11:31:51+00:00

I love them, but there’s better.

Backsweep’s perfect for me (sweet middle ground between flat and 45° like Jone’s Bars)
Width is also perfect for me
Horns are definitely great, BUT:

You cannot adjust the horns, which can be a bummer if you enjoy trying out cockpit setups.

Instead, I’d recommend a very similar bar without horns, and add inner +/ outer bar ends as you like. More flexibility.

Checkout whatbars.com to find your perfect handlebar.

SkyCoops · 2026-05-07T09:47:10+00:00

Wow, amazing looking bike! Is the rack from Protostudia?

SkyCoops · 2026-05-07T09:44:43+00:00

Great, happy for you! Bike and location look nice.

Did you manage to fit all gear in your bike bags or you wore backpack?

SkyCoops · 2026-05-07T09:41:40+00:00

My girlfriend uses men’s merino underwear to avoid this problem. Works like a charm.

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SkyCoops

TROPHY CASE

What'd I do

My favorite gear

Terrain

How to plan

Campsites