{"id":2633,"date":"2015-10-16T21:53:04","date_gmt":"2015-10-16T12:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2015-10-16\/2633"},"modified":"2015-10-16T21:53:04","modified_gmt":"2015-10-16T12:53:04","slug":"last-months-particularly-epic-cycling-adventure-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2015-10-16\/2633","title":{"rendered":"Last Month’s Particularly Epic Cycling Adventure, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>40 sec, f<\/span>\/11, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nThe Theme for the Day<\/span>\non a ride a month ago that I'm only getting around to writing about today\n“<\/span>Do Epic Stuff<\/b>”<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The mountains around Kyoto are such fertile ground for cycling\nadventures, I consider<\/span> many of the rides I go<\/span> on to be “<\/span>epic adventures”<\/span>,\nbut the ride a month<\/span> ago hinted at in\n “<\/span>Preview of an Epic Cycling\nAdventure with Andy and Nigel<\/a>”<\/span> stands out.<\/p>\n\n

It was supposed to be a short,<\/span> vanilla outing\non well-known roads, but ended up being a\nfantastic<\/span> adventure. Finally, a month<\/span> later, I'm\ngetting<\/span> around to posting the longer version of the story.<\/p>\n\n

Andy Clark and I met up with Nigel Randell at a convenience<\/span> store at the foot of the mountains in northern Kyoto.\nJoking around about the horrible setting for a portrait<\/span> (a busy<\/span> background with cars, fences, signs), I took Andy<\/span>'s\npicture. A nice smile<\/span> can compensate for the worst background...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 35mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/2.3, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPicture Perfect Portrait<\/span>\nof Andy Clark\nat the Lawsons convenience store in Ichihara\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The route (full\nride map<\/a>) took us up the super-hard Momoi East<\/a>.\nThere are two mountain passes that are collectively referred to as “<\/span>Momoi”<\/span>\nbecause one normally just follows the road through the first right to the\nsecond, but we stopped in the small hamlet between, on a side<\/span> road, at the\nbulls-eye here in the map:<\/p>\n\n

<\/div>\n\n

Few riders seem to stray from the road marked in yellow, so don't realize that there's\na vending<\/span> machine at the bulls-eye spot. It's quite<\/span> convenient, and the guys got coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 34mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.3, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCoffee Commercial<\/span>\nwith a lion, because, well, lion\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

They're silly-crazy guys that egg each other on, so they got silly-crazy for the camera.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 38mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n“<\/span>Huge Guns”<\/span><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Their silliness somehow reminds me of a video<\/span> by Freddy Wong, an\nAmerican guy who started putting up videos on YouTube when he was 13 years\nold, with an ever-increasing quality and complexity of video-effect\nediting. He's now an<\/span> adult making what one can only imagine is an extremely\nlucrative living on YouTube. Anyway, Andy and Nigel's antics made me think\nof one of Freddy's earlier videos, “<\/span>Huge Guns<\/a>”<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

(You can see how far he's progressed in the video-effect department by comparing that\nwith\nhis latest video<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n

We had intended to return to the well-traveled road and finish our\nvanilla outing, but instead decided to take the road less traveled, the\n“<\/span>unknown”<\/span> road marked with the green arrow in the map above. I'd discovered<\/span> that road on a\nwonderful<\/span> trip<\/a> the previous week with Manseki, so I knew<\/span> that lovely\nroads awaited us.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 640 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLovely Roads<\/span>\ntaken while moving at 19 kph (12 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The rain that was starting to sprinkle was less lovely.<\/p>\n\n

At one point the road turns to gravel, and it's at that point that most\nfolks who ventured this far would turn around, but it turns out that the\ngravel section is only 250m long before the road returns to pavement.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFolks are Dying to See This View<\/span>\n(sorry)<\/span>\ntaken while moving at 24 kph (15 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLush Greenery<\/span>\ntaken while moving at 15 kph (9 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 1250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\ntaken while moving at 17 kph (11 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

We eventually make it to Ogose Pass (\u5c3e\u8d8a\u5ce0)<\/span> at 727m (2,385') and\ncontinued down the other side. Nigel thought to take a video<\/span> of me descending...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHeading Down<\/span>\n12:21 PM (from start: 3h 16m \/ 38 km \/ 23.9 miles)\nOgose Pass (\u5c3e\u8d8a\u5ce0)\nphoto by Andy Clark<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Nigel had issues with his camera, so I went<\/span> back and did it again...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHeading Back Up<\/span>\nphoto by Andy Clark<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMore Lovely Roads<\/span>\non the way down\ntaken while moving at 13 kph (8 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>80 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nNigel Descending<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I don't know whether you can see the green color of the road, but the\nroad surface was permeated with mossyness, which would make it extremely\nslippery if the rain picked up enough to make it through the treecover. It's steep<\/span> enough that it's slippery even when dry, at least when riding\nout of the saddle where most of your weight moves to be over the front\ntire, leaving little weight to help the drive wheel grab traction. I was a<\/span> bit worried about the return trip.<\/p>\n\n

Toward the bottom of the descent, there are some junk cars, an unfortunately not-rare\nsight in Japanese mountains...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 31mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>15 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 3200 —\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>80 sec, f<\/span>\/2.1, ISO 1250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSilly Selfie<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

We continued through the very small (seven houses) hamlet at the foot of the descent, and up the start of the next climb.\nEventually the road gets pretty rough and gravely, and in the previous trip I'd gotten only so far as a gate<\/span> across the road\na few<\/span> kilometers past the hamlet. But this time<\/span> we could ride through freely, and soon after the road returned to pavement.<\/p>\n\n

And, at about the same time, the rain really picked up.<\/p>\n\n

And then Andy got a flat.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>60 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSetting Up In The Slightly Less-Wet Area<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 58mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>50 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAndy's Frustrated Face<\/span>\nhe's a high-energy, high-happiness kind of guy\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 640 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSearching For the Source of the Flat<\/span>\nif it's something protruding through the tire, the next tube will puncture right away\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

After 1.1km of 7.9% climb on utterly-pristine paved roads, we came to a “<\/span>T”<\/span> in the road and this\nrustic road sign:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBoth Seem To Be “<\/span>Roads Less Taken”<\/span><\/span>\n“<\/span>Kuta”<\/span> one way, “<\/span>Haccho-daira”<\/span> another\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

We'd never heard of “<\/span>Haccho-daira”<\/span>, but knew “<\/span>Kuta”<\/span> well, so we went that way.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHeading to Kuta<\/span>\nat about the four-hour mark for my trip\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The pavement had ended at the “<\/span>T”<\/span>, and the road became very rough crushed rock... too rough to be called “<\/span>gravel”<\/span>...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 62mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nNot For Road Bikes<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Especially since Andy had already had a flat,<\/span> he wasn't in the mood to\nride this kind of crazy-rough surface on his road bike, but we egged him on\nfor a bit.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nSC-04E at an effective 31mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>220 sec, f<\/span>\/2.2, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMe Photographing the Rockfall<\/span>\nphoto by Nigel Randell<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

We really didn't want to turn around — that slippery return up to\nOgose Pass was on my mind — but we also didn't want to continue if\nthe road was this bad. Because I had<\/span> the most\noffroad-ish bike (my new\nbike<\/a> hadn't arrived yet), I took it<\/span> upon\nmyself to go ahead a bit<\/span> to see whether the road\ngot better, and indeed 200m later it did, changing to normal gravel. So with Andy<\/span>'s grumbles mostly ameliorated, we forged ahead.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 30mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/2.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCrossing Through 860m<\/span>\nPrior to this, the highest I'd ever climbed was the 817m to Onyu Pass\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nVery Nice Retaining Wall<\/span>\nour tax yen at work   \/-:<\/b>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>800 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nApproaching the Pass<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>800 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMinetoko Pass (\u5cf0\u5e8a\u5ce0)<\/span><\/span>\nelevation 887.5m (2,900')\ntaken while moving at 10 kph (6 mph)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

This pass doesn't actually have a name<\/span> that I could<\/span> find, so I just<\/span> named it myself, for the mountain that it goes\nover.<\/p>\n\n\n

Having arrived at the pass we knew that it must be mostly downhill from here, literally. Little did we know that\nthe best adventure for the day still awaited.<\/p>\n\n

Continued here...<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The mountains around Kyoto are such fertile ground for cycling adventures, I consider many of the rides I go on to be \"epic adventures\", but the ride a month ago hinted at in \"Preview of an Epic Cycling Adventure with Andy and Nigel\" stands out.<\/p>

It was supposed to be a short, vanilla outing on well-known roads, but ended up being a fantastic adventure. Finally, a month later, I'm getting around to posting the longer version of the story.<\/p>

Andy Clark and I met up with Nigel Randell at a convenience store at the foot of the mountains in northern [...]","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\/2633"}],"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=2633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}