Ever since I came to Japan, I've been able to think in Japanese. It's probably because it became necessary here. I think a lot on rainy days, but I'm soaked from head to toe so I can't write anything down, which is a pain. Today was nothing but mountain roads and heavy rain. I rode 72 km and climbed 800 metres of elevation too! Normally that would be tough, but lately I feel like I'm getting mentally stronger.

I got up at 5 and set off at 6. The last climb was 300 metres, so I was worn out, but I knew the campsite was close, so I pushed through.

I was tired and my brain wasn't working, so I made lots of mistakes and ended up in an awkward situation. I'm tired so I don't want to explain, but I wrote down the causes:

I didn't check whether I had cash before going to the campsite I didn't look up nearby restaurants and convenience stores before going to the campsite, and I didn't buy food in advance I didn't check whether I had water I didn't buy a lighter! Without a lighter I can't even cook my backup meal

You can probably work it out from those.

So the rainy season has begun. I knew in advance that it would start today, so I was able to prepare mentally. I figured that if I told myself it was going to get tough, I wouldn't be surprised when it did. Even so, there's no way I'm giving up. The rain is really inconvenient and I'm wet all day, but I think it's 99 percent mental. That's something I realised when I did the tour in Scotland with my friends. I'm really glad I did that tour. It was good preparation. Still, I've never experienced several days of heavy rain in a row on a tour, so the rainy season could be a serious test.

Sometimes when it's raining, I can think deeply without worrying about what's around me. Today was the same, so I wrote down what I thought about.

Honestly, I don't usually treat Japanese as a language. I think of it as a big puzzle. Every day I'm searching as hard as I can for the right way to solve it. Understanding goes without saying, but I think of output as a puzzle too. When I'm saying something and it feels unnatural, I know straight away that it's the wrong solution. Lately I've been enjoying talking to people, and I've stopped worrying about not being perfect. Even so, there's an ideal way of speaking I'm aiming for, so I'm still working hard and correcting myself. I think language is a truly beautiful thing. Isn't it amazing that we can express everything about ourselves with nothing but sounds from our mouths and curved lines (characters)? Today, when I phoned the campsite, I misheard what was said and heard laughter from the other end of the line. I felt a bit down, but after I hung up I laughed too. If I worry too much about what people think, I'll never solve this puzzle I love so much, and wouldn't that be a waste? So even if I get laughed at, I won't let it bother me, and I intend to keep going until I've solved it perfectly.

Lately I've been getting up early and covering most of the distance then, so that I have some breathing room in the evening. Today I knew it was going to rain, so I got up at 5. The time I get up depends on my mental state and how my body feels, so I also think that sometimes it's better to sleep until 9.