I was thinking about going for the trail or at least a part of it by bike at some point, but I wondered if anyone here has done something similar before? I’m not religious and would rather do it for the experience and to get to know Shikoku better. I’m not sure whether this would be considered offensive to practicing buddhists in any way and I don’t want to disturb people in their religious activities. But it seems like some people have done this by bike before, so maybe it’s ok (looking at the paywall of a Japan Times article)?
I’m a moderately fit cyclist, I’ve done multi-day tours before years ago but not in Japan. So I’m also a bit unsure about steepness and weather conditions. Roads are probably in a decent condition (?) My options are an urban foldable bike (I kind of like that idea) or renting a decent one (probably better in reality).
Thanks, that’s a lot of useful info! Yes, weather is my main concern, heat but also typhoons. I played with the idea of hiking this trail for a while, but I rarely get 2 months off for such things. My experience from other trips into nature (car, hiking/public transport) so far was that roads are usually in quite a good condition (I once went all the way up Aso-san by car with a friend, which felt kind of weird from a European perspective, but also convenient I guess?). So, from that perspective an urban bike might do it. Traffic is also a good point, though.
Maybe ~March would be a good time.