The agony of choice

This vote ends on August 2nd! (this vote was not released in time on the English page as it was a test)

As I am slowly approaching ground zero of the 3/11 Earthquake and Fukushima it’s almost about time to start the donation campaign for the victims.

The voting system is now installed and is waiting to announce the first voting result. Soon I’ll be cycling through the Japanese Alps from Nagoya to Matsumoto. You can vote between two routes:

Route 1: Historic Torii Pass

Across the historic Torii Pass. After Kiso national Route 19 leads through a tunnel. The Torii pass is located exactly above it on the historic Nakasendo road. The challenging part is that this path is a gravel road as it was in historic times. It will be a big challenge especially with my bicycle trailer. I suppose I might have to push my bicycle for at least half of the stretch.

What does this stretch do for me as a voter?

Anyone who’d like to see me grind my gears in the truest sense of the word on camera should vote for this route. However it offers wonderful views of the historic road, beautiful mountain vistas and even a little Shrine (Ontake-Schrein) that are waiting to be explored. And of course you will see how it is to cycle or stumble up the road by bicycle and what it’s like to slide down again.

Route 2: Three dam gorge

This route is longer but certainly more convenient to ride, however it is perhaps not as spectacular. After Kiso I’d follow prefectural road 26. Probably the most impressive dam of my whole bicycle trip is located where road 26 merges into route 158 at the Nagawado Dam. It looks a bit like the dam from the James Bond film Golden Eye. Alongside route 158 two further dams are also waiting to be explored.

What does this stretch do for me as a voter?

The three dams are are very impressive and even the reservoirs are worth seeing. Especially Azusako lake, which stretches across two gorges.

What does my vote do?

The amount of votes for the winning route will be donated. The amount of votes for the route which did not win will be used for administrative costs.

Example:

10 votes for Torii. = 10 € for the aid projects.

1 vote for the 3 dam gorge. = 1 € for administration.

So in this vote the Torii pass option would have won and I would have cycled across the Torii pass.

Why can’t I just purchase a single vote?

That’s because of the comparably high paypal transaction charges. With a transaction of a single Euro 37ct are lot when using Paypal e.g. So 3,70 € would be lost when purchasing ten single votes. However with a single transaction of 10 € only 54ct are being lost by transaction charges.

So I wish you fun and exciting votings!

For those of you who don’t have a paypal account or/and don’t want to open one there will be soon the possibility to purchase votes Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diner’s Club, Giro pay and other options.