This xkcd comic came out today with perfect timing:

Today's xkcd Comic
perfectly appropriate for today's blog post

Last month I was contacted by GearBest and asked whether I'd like to do a review of a product from their cycling gear or LED lights categories; I'd get to keep the product in exchange for an unbiased review. Probably they'd seen my headphone review done under similar circumstances. I get this kind of message every so often and don't usually accept, but a bicycle light piqued my interest.

I chose to try out a small, $50 head-mounted light that I thought might be useful for nighttime riding:

Skilhunt H02 R + Included Headband

The flashlight easily separates from the bundled blue and yellow headband, so you can use the flashlight around the house or out and about as a normal handheld flashlight.

Skilhunt H02 R

It's quite small... a bit longer than the palm of my hand is wide, and about as thick around as my thumb. Unlike a traditional flashlight, the beam comes out from the body at a right angle.

It is ridiculously bright for its size.

After dinner with Carlin the other evening, I stopped by the grounds of the Kyoto Imperial Palace Park, which can be very dark at night, and snapped some comparison photos. Mouse over the buttons below the photo to see the same scene illuminated with the flashlight's four levels of brightness:

The five pictures are all calibrated to the same exposure, and accurately represent the experience in real life.

Off shows the darkness without the light. I would not take the chance trying to walk on that path without some kind of light.

The low setting (5 lumens), which hardly makes a dent in the scene above, is appropriate for reading or in a tent or other close-in situations where you prefer not to blind yourself. Even at this lowest setting, though, take care not to look directly into the LED, because is bright enough to be physically painful, as my personal testing for this review reveals. “5 lumens” sounds dim to me, but this lowest level is plenty bright even for walking around.

The next brightness level, the 120 lumens of “medium”, is probably brighter than any triple-D-cell flashlight I had growing up. It's more than appropriate for walking or, I'm sure, hiking. It's phenomenally astounding to me how bright one tiny little LED can be. Technology is amazing.

The final two brightness levels, high and turbo, are just more of the same (400 and 860 lumen respectively), and perhaps are less important for walking or hiking than for search-and-rescue, but as I'll get to in a bit, I think they're important for cycling.

Now that I've made the basic introduction, let me make it clear that I'm no expert in lights, cycling, or the combination thereof, so take this review with that grain of salt.

Battery

This flashlight can take three kinds of battery (one “18650”, two “CR123”, or two “RCR123”), none of which I'd ever heard of before. All seem to be at least not uncommon for use in flashlights. The “18650” is apparently used in Tesla cars.

The flashlight didn't come with a battery, so I bought this 3500mAh rechargable “18650” and recharger for about $25. Judging by the limited research I did on Amazon, there's quite a range in power capacity among “18650” batteries. I noticed claimed capacity ranging from 1500 mAh to 4000 mAh. The one I bought had the largest capacity among batteries that didn't look to me like cheap, dangerous rip-offs. With modern batteries, you do not want to take chances with inferior quality.

Head-Mounted Light

The flashlight is small, and the combined weight of the flashlight, battery, and head-mount band is not appreciable while wearing. I found it a bit more comfortable to wear over a cycling cap than on my bare head. In either case, my helmet fit over top.

Even in the limited testing I've done, I've found definite pros and cons to using head-mounted lighting. So far I've tried it on two night outings: the first was a 20km ride that was about half through city, and half along a spooky river-side path of oft-changing quality, and the second was the aforementioned visit to the dark park where I took the photos above, and then the subsequent ride home through the city.

Pros, head-mounted compared to bike-mounted:

• You control where the light shines. Want to see something off to the side or further afield or closer in front? Just point your head where you want it. Huge benefit that trumps all cons.

• Can move your head side to side slightly to create movement in shadows that helps decipher the 3D nature of the scene, such as rocks and ruts in the path.

• Stays with you while off the bike.

• Controls, being at the front of your head, are always easy to find.

Cons, head-mounted compared to bike-mounted:

• The source of light next to your eyes can exacerbate the hazy effect of fog, and bugs that happen to be flying by that are suddenly illuminated inches in front of your eye can scare the bejesus out of you.

• While stopped at a traffic light, or other time you're not actively using the light to see, you have to take care not to absentmindedly shine it in people's faces as you wait.

• The light source near your eyes creates a mostly shadow-less view, which makes it more difficult to gauge the 3D nature of the scene (though as noted above a slight swaying of the head can remedy that).

• Probably looks silly unless you're climbing out of a cave.

Use for Cycling

The relatively-low 120-lumen power mode is more than enough for walking or jogging, but for the higher speeds of cycling you need to be able to see further ahead in time, which means seeing further ahead in distance, so the brighter the better.

Riding along the dark riverside path from Osaka, which sometimes is really nice pavement and other times pockmarked mud, I felt fine doing 30kph (20mph) with the light at full 860-lumen power.

Here are two more examples of the light at full power:

The temple building and trees in the last example are about 45m~50m away (150' ~ 165' away), which is almost six seconds away at 30kph.

Back to my experience on the riverside path, I could use the lower power modes when the pavement was better, but I didn't feel comfortable to go 30kph... I needed to be able to inspect the road surface clearly as I went, and for this I wanted the brightest light possible.

Unfortunately, the claimed battery life at the brightest “turbo” setting is only one hour, which may put a crimp on an all-night mountain-path ride. The 400-lumen “high” setting is rated at three hours. Running and hiking would be no problem, I think, as the 120-lumen “medium” mode has a claimed battery life of 11 hours. (The lowest 5-lumen mode has a claimed battery life of five days.)

They don't specify what capacity battery was used to come up with these numbers. As I noted earlier, I found a huge range in battery capacities (1500 mAh to 4000 mAh), so I'd expect the same range in how long one can use the light. I wish they'd have mentioned the battery capacity that the claimed battery life applies to.

The Purpose of Lights while Cycling

I don't ride much at night except for short jaunts around the city, and as such I usually don't need lights to see, but instead to be seen, so for normal cycling day or night I use bike-mounted lights on both the front and rear. On the front I use a Knog “Blinder” front 4-LED square, and on the rear a Knog “Blinder” rear 4-LED strip. These are extremely bright from the “be seen” point of view, but provide almost nothing in the way of path illumination.

A nice feature of these Knog Blinders is that they're rechargeable, and recharge via a normal USB plug. That means that I can recharge them on very long rides via the small backup battery that I use to recharge my phone on the go. They last a long time on one charge, so I don't often need to recharge them on the go, but it's comforting to know I won't be stuck in a long tunnel without a tail light.

I also have a Pedallon LED 100-Lumen Rear Bike Light that I bought over the summer for $18 (now on sale at Amazon for $13, or the physically same product at GearBest for $10). It's very bright (in the “to be seen” sense), but I found the controls a bit over complicated, and the battery didn't last as long as the (twice-the-price) Knog Blinder. I tend to take long rides, so I prefer the Knogs.

Speaking of controls, the controls for the this Skilhunt H02R flashlight are simple and easy to remember. It has one button. When you press to turn it on, a short click turns it on to the power level it was last at, while a half-second press turns it on to the dimmest 5-lumen mode, which is really convenient when you want to make sure you don't blind yourself when turning it on to look at a map. Turning it on via a double-click on the button puts it immediately into turbo mode.

Double-clicking while it's on puts it into a seizure-inducing turbo-flash mode. A half-second press turns it off. A normal click while it's on, of course, cycles through the power levels.

Aside: Modern Reflexive Material

In addition to being astounded at the brightness of a modern flashlight, I was also amazed at modern reflective material. These days lots of running clothes come with little design flourishes of reflective material... perhaps just a few squares the size of a fingernail arranged in some kind of decorative pattern. I thought these were marketing hype, with little value for safety, but I was very wrong.

While riding down the dark riverside path, folks wearing clothes with these little fingernail-sized patches of reflective material were visible from very far away, and with the movement of their body highlighting their presence even more. Tiny fragments of reflective piping in the shoes, or a small tag on a sleeve, etc., were impossible to not notice 20 or 30 seconds ahead of time. It was astounding.

Most folks out running in the dark had at least something reflective on them, but some folks, notably elderly folks out for a walk, were generally wearing black and were invisible until bathed in the direct illumination of the flashlight.

From now on, I'll put much more stock in reflective flourishes when shopping for clothes and gear.

Summary

All in all it's a great flashlight with a size/price/brightness combination that I find to be amazing. If I lose it, I would spend my own money to buy another.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Autumn Colors Have Definitely Arrived
in the cold mountains of northern Kyoto

I had a nice ride the other day with Andy Clark and Michael Edwards.

While meeting up in the morning, Nigel Randell happened to stop by on his way to work...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos

And we were approached by an American tourist passing by who saw our nice bikes and just wanted to say “hi”...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — ¹/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Carlin Eng
in Kyoto

It turns out that he works for Strava, the running/riding community site where your activities can be mapped and compared to your prior efforts and to others. In the nine months since I started cycling, I've been absolutely shocked at how motivating Strava has been for me; upon returning from a ride, the satisfaction to see the “PR” (personal record) badge on a particular route is something that drives me, and I feel disappointed when I don't earn it.

Strava does have its issues, including the wild inflation of vertical-climb numbers for a ride, prompting my May blog post “The Voodoo of Elevation Gain and Strava”. Andy and Michael know of my data geekiness along these lines, so when Carlin said that he was a data engineer for Strava, Michael and Andy instinctively parted, lest they get caught in my “let's talk about data” tractor beam. 🙂

Actually, we just exchanged pleasantries and made sure Carlin was aware of the plethora of wonderful mountain rides in the area. He showed us (on the Strava App, of course) the ride he'd done the previous day up in the northern and western mountains, a great route, so we were satisfied that he'd at least had a good sampling. (Along the lines of “voodoo elevation gain”, Strava says his elevation gain on that ride was 3,890m, but it was actually 2,036m — 6,680' instead of 12,760'.)

Wishing him a good time on the temple tour he had planned for the day, Andy, Michael, and I took off north toward Kibune.

We stopped for a photo at the same bridge that appears in the first photo on my very first cycling-related blog post....

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/100 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Group Shot
on the way to Kibune (貴船)

Our route would take us over Seryo Pass (芹生峠), a climb I have done only once, with a non-cycling friend, on a folding city-commuter bike (see “Conquering Kyoto’s Seryo Pass with Manu Mohan”), stopping often. So, doing it today “for real” for the first time made me a bit apprehensive: it's long, steep, with lots of rocks, leaves/moss, broken pavement, etc.

I made it, more than an hour faster than that first time, but still slow going. My time of 37:06 was minute slower than Michael, and almost four minutes slower than Andy. I'm just happy that I was able to do it without stopping.

Halfway down the other side, Andy got a flat...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Impromptu Pause

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Roadside Mirror

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — ¹/125 sec, f/5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Really Bright
bright light and dark shadows were too much for the camera sensor

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/7.1, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Deep
deep gorge, deep colors.... sadly, doesn't come across well in the photo

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Our Tax Yen at Work
worker cleaning middle-of-nowhere street with leaf blower.
— what a fantastic waste of resources —
taken while riding at 21 kph (13 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cool As Always
but deep in these northern mountains, it got downright cold.
Glad I brought a light jacket.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 41mm — ¹/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Photo Op

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 41mm — ¹/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Posing
to me it looks like they're just checking their six,
but they were “posing” for the shot.
taken while riding at 33 kph (21 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Not Posing
just normal countryside riding at or below the posted speed limit
taken while riding at 34 kph (21 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Hamming It Up
taken while riding at 34 kph (21 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
taken while riding at 35 kph (22 mph)

As Andy was hamming it up for the camera, I commented to Michael that Andy was leaving him in the dust. Of course Michael can't have that, so takes off like a shot....

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Overtake
taken while riding at 36 kph (22 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
He's Gone...

Andy knows the area particularly well, and brought us on a side road through a hidden little village...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 47mm — ¹/125 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Secret Path
taken while riding at 12 kph (7 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 47mm — ¹/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 47mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.6, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Incongruous Objet d'art
taken while riding at 19 kph (12 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 35mm — ¹/125 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Another Small Path
by a river with absolutely pristine crystal-clear water

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 49mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.7, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Insanely Steep
35%? 40%?
Andy rode up it like it was nothing; I didn't have the guts to try

UPDATE: as per Rick's comment, I went back and measured the slope with the compass app on my iPhone. It's a bit of a long story involving some confusion on my part, but in the end the slope turns out to be a 36.4% grade, which is about what I guessed, and more than I'm willing to try while clipped in.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Back on the Main Road
taken while riding at 32 kph (20 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Typical Scene
just another day in Kyoto
taken while riding at 45 kph (28 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/2000 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Discussing the Finer Points
of art, literature, space exploration, and carbon wheels
( actually, I think they were discussing work-related research reports )
taken while riding at 34 kph (21 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/1600 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Perfectly Pleasant Day
taken while riding at 19 kph (12 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Entering a Small Village
taken while riding at 13 kph (8 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Sweeping Views
from a now-closed road replaced by a tunnel far below us
( it was my second time on this road, the first having been here )
taken while riding at 14 kph (8 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 27mm — ¹/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Messy Road
I guess our tax yen is not being spent enough
taken while riding at 11 kph (7 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/13 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pathetically-Shaky Photo
I'd mistakenly left the aperture stopped down too far
taken while riding at 45 kph (28 mph)

The interior of this tunnel has appeared twice before, here and here.

Then we stopped by the Ochiba Shrine (the aptly-named “Fallen Leaf Shrine”)...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Group Photo
at the Iwato Ochiba Shrine (岩戸落葉神社), Kyoto Japan

I've visited this shrine during the fall-foliage season many times, first having written about it on my blog five years ago in “Carpet of Yellow at the Iwato Ochiba Shrine, Deep in the Mountains of North-West Kyoto”, then again three years ago, and at about the same time, one of my first real wigglegrams was made there.

I learned about this shrine five years ago when a friend wrote on his blog about a bicycle trip here. Until this year I couldn't fathom ever coming this far by bicycle, so it means something to me to be able to come here to see the colors by bicycle. I actually came the day before as well, on a solo ride to take in the fall colors.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Quintessential Shot
at this shrine during the foliage season

On the way home I think I bonked a bit — la petit bonk — and suddenly felt depleted about half way up the climb to Kyomi Pass. So back in the city after we all went our separate ways to return home, I stopped by a restaurant for some All American calories...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/1600 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Big Burger at Speak Easy

In the evening I treated myself to a sports massage at Dou, the clinic run by my friend Kentaro Kataoka, who once appeared on my blog giving an impromptu massage to another friend.

Then to cap off a great day, I met Carlin Eng, the Strava engineer I'd met that morning, for dinner. As is my habit with folks new to Kyoto, I took him to Uroko...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — ¹/40 sec, f/2.2, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cheers
Carlin Eng opens the Strava Kyoto office for a few hours
at Uroko (鱗), Kyoto Japan

I go to Uroko often, though I don't think I've mentioned it since “Facebook Engineering Opens a Satellite Office in Kyoto”. As with that event, I shamelessly used dinner to bribe my way into an opportunity to talk engineering and user experience directly with a member of the company. They're probably not the appropriate person to talk to about my various concerns, I know, but it's fun and enlightening.

I really like Strava, but there are many things I wish were different, and likely would be different if they had unlimited resources and didn't have to worry about business. I'm acquainted with at least five billionaires that I can think of... if one of you are reading this, please buy Strava and make me King. 😉 That'd be a nice achievement to have, in addition to the “KOM” (King of the Mountain) and “QOM” (Queen of the Mountain) achievements, “KOS” (King of Strava).

Strava aside, Carlin was a great guy to chat with, and I hope he looks us up next time he visits Kyoto so we can all go out riding together.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 31mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
NORU Kyoto's First Social Ride
Minobu, James, Antony, Lianca, Joshua, Scotty, Tomas, Ross, Kumiko, Michael, Me

Yesterday was the inaugural social ride hosted by NORU Kyoto. Whatever allergy/sickness that has been plaguing me of late was in remission, so a slow relaxing group ride seemed perfect for me.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Gathering
at NORU Kyoto

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 47mm — ¹/640 sec, f/2.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Heading Out
passing in front of the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine (北野天満宮)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/1000 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ross and Tomas
taken while riding at 18 kph (11 mph)

This was my first ride with Tomas, the fastest rider in the group. Although I'd not ridden with Tomas before, we'd chatted at other events and share an interest in photography and programming. I was happy that my first ride with him was a slow social group ride, allowing me to keep up and chat.

To give a sense of Tomas' speed, his time on my benchmark Hanase Pass climb is less than 24 minutes, which seems inhumanly fast to me. My best time is more than 32 minutes.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 52mm — ¹/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Making Our Way Out of the City
nature and mountains are never very far away when in Kyoto

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 46mm — ¹/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Antony Chugging Up In The Mountains

A few people were new to the group, including Antony who had never really ridden in the mountains. His showing up in street clothes without experience largely paralleled my own first ride, except his bicycle was much less appropriate for the mountains than mine, and this ride was going to be longer than what I did. He had guts. It would be interesting to see how far he got.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 31mm — ¹/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Joshua and Lianca
heading up to Kyomi Pass (京見峠)
taken while riding at 14 kph (8 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 50mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.7, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Rush Hour
Lots of hikers making their way up as well
taken while riding at 16 kph (10 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 38mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.4, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Making It Look Easy
James on his first ride with the group
taken while riding at 11 kph (7 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — ¹/125 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Scruffy Ross
at Kyomi Pass (京見峠)

I was about to have you compare the photo above to “clean-shaven Ross”, but it turns out he's not as clean-shaven in that pic either.

We took some group photos near Kyomi Pass, one of which opens this post.

I Photoshop'd myself into the copy seen above, from a separate photo that Joshua took. It turns out that I was standing a bit closer to the camera than anyone else, so my height was exaggerated to the point of making me look grotesquely big. So, I took the liberty to shrink myself to a more contextually-balanced size. 🙂

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Heading Down

A bit of “motion blur” adds life to cycling photos, but I had incessant problems with blur and focus all day 🙁

Our route, a clockwise version of Kyoto's “Heart Loop” ride, next brought us to Mochikoshi Pass, which from this direction is neither long nor challenging.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Gathering at the Top
Mochikoshi Pass (持越峠)

I continued down early to set up to take photos of others coming down, settling for a spot with a small splash of color because it didn't seem like the rest of the (very steep) way down would offer a better background. Sadly, I was wrong and it would have been much better had I continued, but I guess it doesn't matter because most of the photos didn't come out. I think I just don't know how to use this small camera I bought for use while cycling. I'll bring my Nikon D4 on the next social outing.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 30mm — ¹/80 sec, f/2.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ross Leads The Way Down

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — ¹/80 sec, f/2.1, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Antony and James
too fast to capture

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.1, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
“Oddly Wrong” Joshua

The bad Photoshop job above is the result of a joking promise I made to Joshua to “make him look fast” by adding motion blur. He'd come around the corner slowly, and did a track stand in front of me to pose for the photo. Sadly, I'm no good at this kind of Photoshop, so it would have been easier to make him look fast by just asking him to go back and actually be fast (something he's more than capable of doing, as an exhausted me found out on my first ride with him).

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 29mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Heading Back Toward Town
closing out the first half of the ride
taken while riding at 30 kph (18 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 29mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Typical Japanese Country Scene
beautiful nature, utility pole, cinderblock wall, cyclists
10:54am - taken while riding at 28 kph (17 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 29mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.1, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Another Typical Japan Scene
old Japanese architecture, Michael looking fast and calm
taken while riding at 32 kph (20 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 56mm — ¹/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Not Quite So Typical
James and Antony roll past an old farmstead

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Color-Coordination Par Excellance
this was my first ride with Nishimura-san
taken while riding at 57 kph (35 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 32mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lovely Corrugated-Metal Background
I missed a background of rich autumn colors by a couple of seconds 🙁
taken while riding at 35 kph (22 mph)

The biggest problem I face trying to capture the photos I want (besides the need to avoid crashing) is getting far enough back to include all that I want while at the same time excluding unsightly stuff from the background. The shot of Tomas above was just a bit too late to capture what felt to be the perfect combination, and I ended up with dilapidated corrugated metal for my background.

Undaunted, I tried again later on the next little climb...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — ¹/125 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
A Tomas In Its Natural Environment
taken while riding at 20 kph (12 mph) up the Ichihara Byass

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Fake Aero
taken while descending at only 30 kph (19 mph)
( if he'd actually been going fast, I'd not have been able to take the pic )

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
taken while riding at 37 kph (23 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Convenience-Store Stop
at about the halfway point

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — ¹/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Village Detour
we popped up to the top of a short hill overlooking a village

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
View of the Village

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 46mm — ¹/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Heading Down Through the Village
taken while riding at 20 kph (12 mph)

We then did the last climb of the day, to Ebumi Pass (江文峠), then down the other side to the large but picturesque village of Ohara (大原).

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/9, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Typical Ohara Scene

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 46mm — ¹/500 sec, f/2.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Me
photo taken by a passer-by

While I'd stopped to take photos of the fields, the others had gone to a farmers' market to partake of what the fields produced...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
At a Farmer's Market

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bicycle Parking

The return to Kyoto from Ohara is downhill the whole way, which I'm sure Antony appreciated. Having ridden over three passes on that heavy city bike, I'm sure he was exhausted.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Downhill All the Way
taken while riding at 41 kph (26 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — ¹/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Back in the City
passing through the Shokoku-ji Temple (相国寺) complex

Antony, who lives near me, joined me for the ride home after coffee and cake at NORU Kyoto.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Feeling Satisfied
after a long ride in the mountains on a bike not meant for the mountains

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lovely Early-Autumn Day in Kyoto

In the end my ride was about 66km (41 miles). Here it is on my cycling heatmap and at Strava.

A great day with great folks.

Update: here's a short video from the ride.

One “Kyoto Heart Loop” Ride
highlighted among all the cycling I've done this year
私のサイクリング経験の「ヒートマップ」。よく行く所は赤くなる。

I built a “heatmap” showing all the places I've ridden my bicycle since getting into cycling earlier this year. I thought it might be interesting for visitors researching rides they might want to try.

It's here: “Heatmap of Jeffrey's Cycling in Kyoto”.

At the moment it includes data on 76 rides, with areas of yellow and red being more-often visited roads.

Clicking anywhere I've ridden brings up a list of rides that passed the area...

In the example above, I'd ridden the clicked-on road three times. Clicking then on the most-recent ride name highlights the whole ride on the map, and info about the ride shows up at the top:

The info at the top includes a link for the activity at Strava, and any related blog posts or Facebook photo albums.

Mountain passes are marked with a triangle icon; clicking on one brings up its name and elevation...

You can turn off the mountain-pass display by clicking on the triangle icon in the upper-right corner of the page.

I don't know whether this will actually be interesting for anyone besides me, but since I made it, I thought I'd share it.

(Thanks to Google for providing the tools that do all the hard work of mapping and display.)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/3200 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Getting Ready for the Day's Photos
Sarah Knights, at the entrance to the Kurama Temple, Kyoto Japan
last month

Only a month and a half late, I'm finally getting around to posting about Stage Two of Bridget and Sarah's Tour de Kyoto. These two visitors from Australia were introduced in Bridget and Sarah’s Tour-de-Kyoto, Part 1 and Part 2.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/640 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Photographer's Crouch
as she photographs Manseki Kanemitsu

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — ¹/400 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos

The morning had revealed that Sarah's tire did not survive the previous day's puncture-festival, but Manseki kindly loaned her a wheel, so she could ride for the day.

These pictures at the entrance to the Kurama Temple were on our way to the first big climb of the day, Kyoto's big “Hanase Pass”, which rises 500m over 5.8km for an average grade of 9%. Now that I'm used to it it's not that tough..... unless I try to go fast, which makes anything tough.

I was hoping go fast. At least, I was hoping to stick with Bridget on the climb, but she left me right away and I did not see her for most of the climb. She went on to capture the Queen of the Mountain ranking for that climb, meaning hers was the best time among all females registered with Strava. She beat my best time by more than a minute, and I was slower than my best by half a minute.

Sarah, who is not a climber as much as a downhill and flat sprinter, captured the 5th best overall women's time.

Kumiko was able to complete the climb, making it her first ascent of Hanase:

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Kumiko Triumphant Arrival
Hanase Pass (花背峠)

The climb is well within her abilities, but I think she had a mental block against it because she had to abandon her first attempt, which she'd made when first getting used to riding while clipped in (something that caused me much trepidation until I got used to it).

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 33mm — ¹/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
High Fives

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 37mm — ¹/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Manseki Arrives
he was riding a bike with gearing that made the climb much tougher than it needed to be
( but the bike looked good, which was the important thing 😉 )

We then returned partially down the mountain, and gave Momoi Pass (West) a try. This is ridiculously steep (more than 16% for more than 400m), so at the time I was concerned about doing this while clipped in. As such, I wimped out and took advantage of my bike's easiest gear, which I had been trying not to do because the new bike that I had on order (and which I've not moved up to) doesn't have such an easy gear. The next time I try it, I'll again feel a bit of hope-I-don't-fall-over trepidation.

Bridget again got the Queen of the Mountain on the climb.

After the climb, on the way down the other side through the pleasant forest...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 72mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
taken while cycling at 42 kph (26 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/1000 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Entering a Small Village
taken while cycling at 27 kph (17 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — ¹/2000 sec, f/1.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Quintessentially Japanese
( the “peace” signs )
taken while cycling at 15 kph (9 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — ¹/2500 sec, f/1.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
taken while cycling at 20 kph (12 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 49mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.7, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
taken while cycling at 36 kph (23 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 33mm — ¹/80 sec, f/2.2, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Sarah Photo Op
amidst the moss

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 37mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.4, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bridget's Turn

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 37mm — ¹/80 sec, f/2.4, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Kumiko

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/60 sec, f/1.7, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Manseki

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/100 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Me
( obviously taken by someone else, but I forget by whom )

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/100 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 47mm — ¹/100 sec, f/2.6, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 31mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/100 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Colorful
the lichen was as rich an orange as the moss was green

After a mini detour in the mountains for the photos above, we headed down from Momoi Pass toward the village of Ohara. It has some very steep sections that on the way up are really tough, but fun on the way down. Sarah really likes to hightail it on the way down, so I asked her to wait a bit to allow me to set up for an “action shot” of her descending....

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Fast Into the Curve

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Faster Out of the Curve

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
And Then She was Gone

I took photos of the others as they came by the curve, but only Sarah went fast enough to make a fast-looking photo.

Later in the extended downhill ride is a long, fast downhill section that Sarah would have certainly gotten top rank on if she had not stopped too soon. But not knowing the roads, it was probably a smart idea to stop, lest she get lost as she left us all behind.

As it was, Bridget added to her Queen of the Mountain collection.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/2000 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bridget Selfie
in the Ohara village of Kyoto
taken while cycling at 16 kph (10 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/3200 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Beautiful Countryside
with rice almost ready to harvest
taken while cycling at 23 kph (15 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/5000 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
taken while cycling at 27 kph (17 mph)

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 70mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
“SLOW DOWN”
“in front of private houses”
taken while cycling at a reasonable 28 kph (18 mph)

One place we didn't slow down was for this downhill sprint on a major road. Sarah, Bridget, and Kumiko all beat the previous Queen of the Mountain time, despite a lumbering bus sitting in our way for the last while...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/5000 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lumbering Bus Blocking Our Path
taken while cycling at 53 kph (33 mph)

Even though we had to put on the brakes and I had time to pull out the camera to take a shot, Sarah set a new record time by more than 20%.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 32mm — ¹/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Back in the City
five hours and 58km (36mi) into the ride

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — ¹/80 sec, f/2.1, ISO 400 — image data — nearby photos
Noodle Restaurant for Lunch

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/60 sec, f/1.7, ISO 640 — image data — nearby photos
Ready to Eat

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — ¹/60 sec, f/1.7, ISO 1250 — image data — nearby photos
Mini Dessert
great way to end a ride

And so ended Bridget and Sarah's Tour de Kyoto 2015.

Hopefully it's planted the seeds for a repeat next year!