ISSUE 1 | 2020 • BICYCLING.COM 59photography by BRYAN BANDUCCI & PARKER FEIERBACH
WE WERE CHASING AN EDO
poet, trying to catch his vibe.
In 1684, Matsuo Bashō, the
greatest haiku master, walked
away from home to wander.
He left depressed, lonely, and
expecting to die on the medi-
eval highways. Instead, he
befriended strangers, embraced
the outdoors, and returned
renewed. Once a poet that
looked inward, his journey
through rural Japan turned his
focus to the world around him.
Our adventure had a more
humble origin: Joe Cruz and
Chris Burati talking big rides
over beers at a metal show.
Japan was Chris’s idea. He’d
studied Japanese literature,
and Bashō’s travel and poetry
on the landscape stuck with
him. Joe, the more experienced
bikepacker, charted our route:
800 miles from Tokyo—called
Edo when Bashō lived there—
to Hiroshima, following his
travels when possible. They
asked me to join because they
knew I’d say yes, and I brought
in fellow photographer Parker
Feierbach for an even quartet.
We rode 50-pound loaded
bikes over mountains, and
most nights we camped wher-
ever we found suitable ground:
fields, forests, the quiet edge of
a city park. We also stopped
at onsens, or hot springs, for
recovery, and greeted every
smiling local we encountered.
Once Bashō saw Japan beyond
himself, he couldn’t look away,
and he couldn’t stop explor-
ing. By the end of our ride, we
didn’t want to stop either.