Wow, after all of this writing about touring and stuff I suddenly go off and sell my bike.

Actually, I’ve been considering it for some time now, so for a few weeks ago I listed it up for sale on the prefectural JET website. A guy was interested, he stopped by today, gave it a test ride, and purchased it on the spot, as-is, and with cash.

Why did I sell it? It wasn’t ideal for touring. I’ve decided that I want a more touring-oriented bike, and that hybrid just wasn’t cutting it. Now I have the task of purchasing a replacement bike before the weather gets all nice and pretty again (currently it’s snowing).

My main problem is getting over the sticker shock of bikes in Japan versus America. In Chicago, the bike I want (Surly Long Haul Trucker) costs $950. However in Japan the exact same bicycle costs a bit over 160,000 yen… which is around $1,650.

Yeah, that’s a $700 difference for the exact same bike. The only difference is that one is on this side of the Pacific and the other is on the other.

So my goals now are to either find a way to get an American-priced (or at least cheaper) LHT to Japan or to find a similar-quality bike from a Japanese manufacturer or at a cheaper price.

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