Hey everyone - here's a quick update on some of what we got up to in Itadori, where we stayed with a Japanese family organised by the biketrial association. We stayed with a huge family: 2 grandmas, mother, father, aunt, daughter, son & 2 grandchildren. 3 other biketrial boys & one of their dads also stayed there - they stayed in the main house & we slept in the grandma's house across the road - they even put up a union jack flag in the window for us! They lived really high up in the mountains next to a crystal clear river - it is definitely one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. We swam in the river and were able to swim out to waterfalls which were really warm! The family took us to the 4th biggest shopping mall in Japan - if I had money, I could have really shopped there! They also took us to their Summer Festival, for which they dressed me up in a Kimono! A great experience, but they are so uncomfortable! I had to dance a traditional Japanese dance with the grandma and mother around a band that was playing. As much as we enjoyed ourselves, I discovered that women are definitely treated as second class citizens. During meals, all the females in the family kneeled on the floor to eat, while the men sat at the table (including the 3 and 5 year old grandsons). I was allowed to sit at the table, but only at the seat furthest away from the father and didn't get offered alcohol (although I did try sake on the first night). Pete did really well in the trial again, and combined with the last 3 rounds his final world ranking is 20th in the world which is excellent in my opinion! Very proud of him. Hope everyone reading this is well.