{"id":2600,"date":"2015-07-25T16:20:28","date_gmt":"2015-07-25T07:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2015-07-25\/2600"},"modified":"2015-07-25T19:08:55","modified_gmt":"2015-07-25T10:08:55","slug":"my-first-visit-to-obama-by-bicycle-no-less","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2015-07-25\/2600","title":{"rendered":"Obama Hosts My First Bicycle Visit to the Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 46mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/10, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFruits of My Recent Bicycle Ride<\/span>\nShirahama Beach, Takahama Village, Fukui Prefecture (\u798f\u4e95\u770c\u9ad8\u6d5c\u753a<\/span>\u306e\u767d\u6d5c\u6d77\u6c34\u6d74\u5834)<\/span>\n1:35 pm (from the start of the ride: 9h 11m \/ 107 km \/ 66.4 miles)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Tuesday was the “<\/span>Sea Day”<\/span> holiday in Japan, so I took<\/span> the opportunity to\nmake my first bicycle ride to the sea. Kyoto is about as far from the sea\nas a big<\/span> city gets in Japan, so even though I've been to a lake<\/span> that looks like an\nocean<\/a>, I'd not yet<\/span> been by bicycle to the actual ocean.<\/p>\n\n

\u3053\u306e\u9593\u306e\u306f\u6d77\u306e\u65e5\u3067\u521d\u3081\u3066\u306e\u6d77\u307e\u3067\u306e\u30b5\u30a4\u30af\u30ea\u30f3\u30b0\u3092\u3057\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3001\u4eac\u90fd\u5e02\u5185<\/span>\u304b\u3089\u3002\u4e8c\u6642\u9593<\/span>\u306e\u5e30\u308a\u96fb\u8eca<\/span>\u3092\u542b\u3081\u306617\u6642\u9593\u639b<\/span>\u304b\u308a\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002157\u30ad\u30ed\u3092\u8d70\u3063<\/span>\u3066\u3001\u4e00\u756a\u5c71<\/span>\u304c\u591a\u3044\u9053\u3092\u9078\u3073\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002 \u7372\u5f97\u9ad8\u5ea6<\/span>\u306f2,800m\u3067\u3057\u305f\u3002\n\u697d\u3057\u304b\u3063\u305f\u3002<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>4000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMe and the Mermaids<\/span>\nMermaid Beach, Obama Japan (\u4eba\u9b5a<\/span>\u306e\u6d5c\u3001\u798f\u4e95\u770c\u5c0f\u6d5c\u5e02)<\/span>\n4:32 pm (from the start of the ride: 12h 8m \/ 145 km \/ 90.3 miles)\n\nphoto by Antti<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

It was a long trip.<\/p>\n\n

I left the house at 4:24am, and returned 17 hours later at 9:33pm,\nthough two hours of that was the return from the ocean by train. All in all<\/span>\nit was 151km (94\nmiles) of cycling to and along the ocean<\/a>, followed by a train<\/span> back to Kyoto, then another\n6km (4mi) of cycling from Kyoto\nStation<\/a> to home.<\/p>\n\n

Befitting the length of the trip, this post is also long.<\/p>\n\n

I was joined by Antti, whom we saw shining in this day of mishaps<\/a> last\nmonth, and Eric Findlay, who I'd run into by chance the day after that ride\nwhen he recognized me from my blog while we were both at the same bicycle\nshop.<\/p>\n\n

We met at 4:30am in the early-morning dusk (sunrise was 4:58am) and headed north towards the mountains. Before diving into the mountains\nfor the real climbs of the trip, we stopped at a convenience<\/span> store that would be our last access to food for about five hours...<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n5am Selfie<\/span>\n5:08 am (from start: 44 min \/ 11 km \/ 7.1 miles)\nIchihara Lawsons (\u30ed\u30fc\u30bd\u30f3 \u9759\u5e02\u5e02\u539f\uff09\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nEric Cooling Off<\/span>\nhaving just poured refrigerated water over his head\n( it was already hot at 5 am )\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I picked a route with as many mountain passes as I could<\/span> fit in...\nHanase Pass (\u82b1\u80cc\u5ce0\/760m\/2500'),<\/span>\nSasari Pass (\u4f50\u3005\u91cc\u5ce0\/739m\/2400'),<\/span>\nGonami Pass (\u4e94\u6ce2\u5ce0\/656m\/2200'),<\/span>\n\nand two smaller unnamed passes.<\/p>\n\n

With this in mind, I took it easy going up the first and biggest climb\nof the day, Hanase, only to be shocked the next day when looking at the\nstats for that climb<\/a> that I missed<\/span> my PR (34:20) by only 10 seconds. Not only wasn<\/span>'t I trying,<\/span> the road in many places was a shallow<\/span> river due to runoff\nfrom a typhoon<\/span> that had hit two days prior, and one can feel the slowdown\nas the tires have to cut through the water.<\/p>\n\n

I did keep the camera in the back bag instead of around my neck, so perhaps that sped me up a bit.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Antti wasn't even trying either, it seems, since his time was almost 5\nminutes slower than his best, but even then he was 2½ minutes faster\nthan me.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 72mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTypical Misty-River Scene<\/span>\n6:46 am (from start: 2h 22m \/ 31 km \/ 19.6 miles)\ntaken while cycling at 20 kph (12 mph)<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

It was absolutely beautiful in the mountains, perhaps in part because of\nthe early time of day. The first<\/span> six or seven hours of the ride were the\nmost beautiful I'd ever done.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAntti<\/span>\n6:56 am (from start: 2h 31m \/ 35 km \/ 21.7 miles)\ntaken while cycling at 24 kph (15 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nEric<\/span>\n7:04 am (from start: 2h 39m \/ 38 km \/ 23.6 miles)\ntaken while cycling at 28 kph (17 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\niPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f\/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>460 sec, f<\/span>\/2.2, ISO 32 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRescuing a Turtle<\/span><\/span>\n\u4e80\u3092\u6551\u51fa\u3059\u308b\n7:58 am (from start: 3h 34m \/ 55 km \/ 34.3 miles)\nphoto by Antti<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

While flying down a long hill between Sasari and Gonami Passes, we came\nacross a turtle<\/span> smack in the middle of the lane. Both sides of the road\nwere extremely steep slopes — one up the mountain as seen above, the other down to a\nriver<\/span> — so even if the turtle didn't get smooshed by a truck,<\/span> his outlook\nwasn't good.<\/p>\n\n

I found a slightly less-sleep slope heading down to the river, and left\nthe turtle in the ferns. Hopefully it's a good<\/span> spot for him.<\/p>\n\n

Not long after that, at the turnoff to Gonami Pass, we were surprised to\nfind a cafe<\/span> that was sort of open. They were hosting overnight\nriver-rafting customers for breakfast and so weren't really open, but they\nkindly spared some coffee for us.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 50mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCoffee Break<\/span>\nTautasya Cafe (\u7530\u6b4c\u820e)\n8:11 am (from start: 3h 46m \/ 58 km \/ 35.7 miles)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/2.1, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMaking-Them-Wait Selfie<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Once on the bike again, it was all new roads for me, starting with my\nfirst ascent to Gonami Pass. 23 minutes later, a the<\/span> peak we cross into\nFukui Prefecture.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\niPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus front camera 2.65mm f\/2.2 at an effective 31mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>60 sec, f<\/span>\/2.2, ISO 40 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n“<\/span>Gonami Pass”<\/span><\/span>\n9:09 am (from start: 4h 45m \/ 63 km \/ 39.3 miles)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>80 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 1000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAntti Setting Up<\/span>\nfor his “<\/span>Gonami Pass”<\/span> shot\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 41mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSignpost<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>40 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHeading Down the Other Side<\/span>\n9:15 am (from start: 4h 51m \/ 64 km \/ 39.6 miles)\ntaken while cycling at 14 kph (9 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 31mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAmazing Views<\/span>\n9:18 am (from start: 4h 54m \/ 65 km \/ 40.1 miles)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFirst Flat of the Day<\/span>\nwhile a road crew cleans up after the typhoon the other day\n9:43 am (from start: 5h 19m \/ 67 km \/ 41.9 miles)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

This is Eric's first long mountain ride with his new Trek bike (the one\nhe was ordering when we met), and so the rock-strewn road was perhaps new\nas well.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 54mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 640 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOn The Road Again<\/span>\n9:54 am (from start: 5h 30m \/ 68 km \/ 42.2 miles)\ntaken while cycling at 42 kph (26 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 65mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMore Vistas<\/span>\nthat the photos are not doing justice\n9:58 am (from start: 5h 34m \/ 69 km \/ 42.9 miles)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 27mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSupersteep<\/span>\ntoo steep even for the road to be cut into the mountain,\nthe road is a ledge wrapping around the mountain\n10:06 am (from start: 5h 42m \/ 73 km \/ 45.2 miles)\ntaken while cycling at 39 kph (24 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 27mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFlattening Out<\/span>\n10:08 am (from start: 5h 44m \/ 74 km \/ 46.0 miles)\ntaken while cycling at 27 kph (17 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPicturesque River<\/span>\nlike so many of them tucked among the mountains of Japan, filled with fly fishermen\n10:13 am (from start: 5h 49m \/ 77 km \/ 47.7 miles)\ntaken while cycling at 13 kph (8 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1000 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCrossing a Small<\/span> Valley<\/span>\n10:38 am (from start: 6h 14m \/ 79 km \/ 48.9 miles)\n10:38am - taken while cycling at 24 kph (15 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 60mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nGorgeous Farmstead<\/span>\n10:41 am (from start: 6h 17m \/ 80 km \/ 49.8 miles)\ntaken while cycling at 24 kph (15 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

After crossing the small valley, we could have continued on a fairly<\/span>\nflat and direct route to the sea, but instead we jigged west for 20km\n(12mi), taking a little<\/span>-traveled road over two unnamed mountain passes. I\ndon't<\/span> think we saw a single<\/span> car for over two hours.<\/p>\n\n

Just after the first little pass at 342m (1,125'), 7 hours after starting the trip, we got our first distant and hazy view of the ocean...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOcean View (Sort Of)<\/span>\nthrough the haze of an increasingly-hot day\n11:19 am (from start: 6h 55m \/ 89 km \/ 55.6 miles)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Along with our first view of the ocean, we got our second view of a flat<\/span> tire...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 37mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFlat #2<\/span>\nEric's other wheel's tube calls it a day<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

A bit farther down the mountain there was a little<\/span> lookout with a nice<\/span> view of the ocean...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 44mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAntti's Best Smile<\/span>\n11:33 am (from start: 7h 9m \/ 90 km \/ 56.0 miles)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I didn't realize it while taking the photos, but in looking at them\nafter the fact, I find it<\/span> odd to realize that Antti is never smiling in any\nof the shots. He's such a<\/span> pleasant guy to ride with and chat with, such\nthat I always<\/span> see him as smiling, but I guess<\/span> it doesn't come across to the\ncamera.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>80 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRespite From the Heat<\/span>\nrepairing a flat under an overpass\n12:23 pm (from start: 7h 59m \/ 98 km \/ 61.0 miles)\ntaken while cycling at 10 kph (6 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>80 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nThis Time It's Antti's Tire<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCurvy Highway<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>60 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nDenied<\/span>\npublic road over a mountain inexplicably closed off\n( we had to go through a 700m tunnel instead )\n12:51 pm (from start: 8h 27m \/ 101 km \/ 62.5 miles)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 30mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFinally About To Arrive<\/span>\n1:18 pm (from start: 8h 54m \/ 106 km \/ 66.0 miles)\ntaken while cycling at 14 kph (9 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\niPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus front camera 2.65mm f\/2.2 at an effective 31mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2400 sec, f<\/span>\/2.2, ISO 32 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOcean Selfie<\/span>\ntaken with the iPhone so that I could<\/span> send to Fumie\n1:19 pm (from start: 8h 55m \/ 106 km \/ 66.1 miles)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\niPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus front camera 2.65mm f\/2.2 at an effective 31mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1300 sec, f<\/span>\/2.2, ISO 32 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nGroup Selfie<\/span>\ntaken with the iPhone so that I could<\/span> send to Cycling Kyoto<\/a>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 35mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/10, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSurprisingly Uncrowded<\/span>\nTorihama Beach, Takahama Village, Fukui Prefecture (\u798f\u4e95\u770c\u9ad8\u6d5c\u753a<\/span>\u306e\u9ce5\u5c45\u6d5c)<\/span>\n1:23 pm (from start: 8h 59m \/ 106 km \/ 66.1 miles)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/10, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTouching the Water<\/span>\nto make it official\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

We moved east along the beach on a beach<\/span>-front bicycle path, and upon rounding a bend<\/span> found the crowds that I'd have expected on a holiday.<\/span>..<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 67mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/10, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLooks Unfun<\/span>\nWakasawada Beach (\u82e5\u72ed\u548c\u7530\u6d77\u6c34\u6d74\u5834)\n1:38 pm (from start: 9h 13m \/ 107 km \/ 66.7 miles)\ntaken while cycling at 14 kph (9 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Without the tree cover of the mountains, the sun was really hot, with a\ntemperature<\/span> to being with of 35\u2103 (95\u2109). The route<\/span> called for a\nlittle<\/span> excursion<\/a> to a view<\/span> spot on a nearby<\/span> mountain, but Eric was\nfeeling tired, so he relaxed in the shade at a temple<\/span> while Antti sprinted\nup and I plodded<\/span> up.<\/p>\n\n

It took me 11 minutes to climb the 160m (530') to the top (Antti just nine), and by the time I got<\/span> there the heat was sucking energy from me at an alarming rate. The view was<\/span> worth it, though...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nView from 165m Up<\/span>\nYasuragi Park (\u5b89\u3089\u304e\u516c\u5712)\nthe beaches we'd ridden past are in the center\n( water at right is the sea; water at left is an inlet )\n1:57 pm (from start: 9h 33m \/ 110 km \/ 68.5 miles)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

We descended back to the beaches to collect Eric and load up on cold drinks, and continued East.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2000 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAoto Bridge<\/span>\nwe'd be going across that later\n2:38 pm (from start: 10h 13m \/ 117 km \/ 72.7 miles)\ntaken while cycling at 27 kph (17 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

There's a train station across the bridge, and Eric took up my\nsuggestion to avail himself of it to head home. He was clearly<\/span> quite tired,\nbut never once complained or asked us to go slowly or in any way modify our plans. Of course<\/span> we would have, but he didn't want to impose.<\/p>\n\n

I don't think he estimated the level of the ride quite right, but having\ndone 118km over more than 10 hours and 2,300m (7,575') of vertical climb,\nit was more than enough to be proud of.<\/p>\n\n

So, as Eric headed across the bridge to a train<\/span> station, Antti and I headed<\/span> for the next big mountain climb.<\/p>\n\n

Except we didn't make it... it turns out that the road we intended to take becomes rough gravel:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 43mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nNot Appropriate For Road Bikes<\/span>\n3:27 pm (from start: 11h 2m \/ 124 km \/ 77.2 miles)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

My usually-meticulous route preparation had failed us this time, as I thought<\/span> it was paved the whole way. I was bummed<\/span> because I was<\/span> really hot and tired, but had resigned myself to just exit my body and do it semi-consciously. I was also<\/span> hoping to get\ngreat shots from 500m up.<\/p>\n\n

Instead I had to make do with a rare<\/span> break in the foliage on the way back down the little paved road that we'd done...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n3:28 pm (from start: 11h 4m \/ 124 km \/ 77.3 miles)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Since the beaches, we'd been heading deeper out onto a peninsula,<\/span> so had to double back to the bridge to return to the mainland.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>800 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nView from the Aoto Bridge (\u9752\u6238<\/span>\u306e\u5927\u6a4b)<\/span><\/span>\nof the inlet created by the peninsula.\n3:47 pm (from start: 11h 23m \/ 130 km \/ 81.0 miles)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Then it was 20km or so along big roads and bicycle paths toward the town of Obama.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 56mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n4:09 pm (from start: 11h 45m \/ 138 km \/ 85.5 miles)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n4:14 pm (from start: 11h 50m \/ 139 km \/ 86.5 miles)\ntaken while cycling at 17 kph (10 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>800 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nObama Comes into View<\/span>\n4:28 pm (from start: 12h 4m \/ 145 km \/ 89.8 miles)\ntaken while cycling at 35 kph (22 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 35mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/3.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTaking a Dip<\/span> in the Ocean<\/span>\nat Mermaid Beach\n( I didn't think it was possible to have whiter skin than me, but the boy from Finland proved me wrong )\n5:48 pm (from start: 13h 24m \/ 149 km \/ 92.7 miles)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/3.2, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOn The Train Back Toward Kyoto<\/span>\n6:59 pm\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Antti and I both brought bike bags so that we could bring our bikes on the train. But I'd loaned mine to Eric earlier in the day, and Antti had forgotten his\nat the beach. But we stopped<\/span> by a 100<\/span>-yen shop and bought some bicycle covers, tape, and Velcro... we then removed the front wheel of the bike and used Velcro to\nafix it midbike, then covered everything and taped up the bottom.<\/p>\n\n

I wasn't sure that the train company would let this haphazard cover\nthrough — I'd heard that they were quite strict — so I was<\/span>\nfairly stressed about it, but it turns out to have been just fine. Being\nthe end of a three<\/span>-day weekend, the trains were packed and we had to stand\nmost of the way, but we got a great<\/span> connection and it took only two hours\nto reach Kyoto Station.<\/p>\n\n

A short ride from there to home, and I was<\/span> enjoying a cool<\/span> shower by 9:45pm and a cold<\/span> beer by 10pm.<\/p>\n\n

I was quite achy the next day, but got talked into riding up to Hanase\nPass again. This time I actually<\/span> did go very slowly<\/a>, but\nit somehow seems to have broken the achy feeling, and I actually<\/span> felt\nbetter after that.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tuesday was the \"Sea Day\" holiday in Japan, so I took the opportunity to make my first bicycle ride to the sea. Kyoto is about as far from the sea as a big city gets in Japan, so even though I've been to a lake that looks like an ocean, I'd not yet been by bicycle to the actual ocean.<\/p>

\u3053\u306e\u9593\u306e\u306f\u6d77\u306e\u65e5\u3067\u521d\u3081\u3066\u306e\u6d77\u307e\u3067\u306e\u30b5\u30a4\u30af\u30ea\u30f3\u30b0\u3092\u3057\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3001\u4eac\u90fd\u5e02\u5185\u304b\u3089\u3002\u4e8c\u6642\u9593\u306e\u5e30\u308a\u96fb\u8eca\u3092\u542b\u3081\u306617\u6642\u9593\u639b\u304b\u308a\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002157\u30ad\u30ed\u3092\u8d70\u3063\u3066\u3001\u4e00\u756a\u5c71\u304c\u591a\u3044\u9053\u3092\u9078\u3073\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002 \u7372\u5f97\u9ad8\u5ea6\u306f2,800m\u3067\u3057\u305f\u3002 \u697d\u3057\u304b\u3063\u305f\u3002<\/p>

It was a long trip.<\/p>

I left the house at 4:24am, and returned 17 hours later at 9:33pm, though two hours of that was the return from the ocean by train. All in all it was 151km [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,1,2,6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}