{"id":2764,"date":"2017-01-12T23:24:38","date_gmt":"2017-01-12T14:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2017-01-12\/2764"},"modified":"2017-01-12T23:24:38","modified_gmt":"2017-01-12T14:24:38","slug":"cycling-through-bamboo-groves-and-up-steep-mountain-slopes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2017-01-12\/2764","title":{"rendered":"Cycling Through Bamboo Groves and Up Steep Mountain Slopes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n

I had a long and interesting bicycle ride down to Osaka last weekend that I've been wanting to write about,\nand I thought<\/span> I might<\/span> finally get around to it yesterday, but I went<\/span> on a ride<\/span> instead. Today, I'll\njust share some pictures from yesterday's shorter (76km\/48mi) ride\n(view at Strava<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nDestinations One and Two<\/span>\nthe hill in the foreground and the mountain in the background\n( they don't look like much from here )\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

First I visited a bump of a hill covered in bamboo and bamboo farming, with quaint roads running here and there through it.\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>\nEntrance to the Bamboo Forest<\/span>\n( one of several )\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\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>\nRoad Sliced Through the Grove<\/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 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I didn't know what to expect when I got<\/span> to the bamboo-grove hill (“<\/span>mountain”<\/span> is too much for this), but the road I happen<\/span> to\nhave entered on started off with quite the little climb, 300m (330yd) at 15%. The two photos<\/span> above are from that road. I guess<\/span> it's not well known, because I made<\/span> a Strava<\/span> segment for it<\/a> and\nonly seven people had ridden it prior. A shame.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Once you're up top, you can see bamboo put to use with various fence designs...<\/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>\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 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Each design is explained a bit with little signboards. The one below<\/span> describes the photo above,\nalong the lines of “<\/span>infinitely rolling waves”<\/span>...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 35mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

This was my first visit by bicycle, but I'd actually visited part of this grove some years ago by scooter, a few<\/span> of the photos\nfrom that trip later appearing on “<\/span>Photos of Farming in Japan\nfor Captain Bill<\/a>”<\/span> three years ago.<\/p>\n\n

This time by bicycle I made sure to do all the roads. It was nice<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 35mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.3, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 35mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nView from the Bottom<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The picture above, which I took while exiting the hill, happens to show just how flat the area is; it's near the bottom of the hill,\nbut the view is sweeping. I didn't<\/span> take the photo for the view, though, but as a memo<\/span> to myself that the road jigs to avoid\na barrier<\/span> and some steps. As I mentioned<\/span> the other day in “<\/span>Updating Maps for Cycling, Including Japan\u2019s Pseudo One-Way Roads<\/a>”<\/span>, I spend<\/span> considerable energy updating OpenStreetMap<\/a>, so I take<\/span> photos like the one above\nto remind myself to ensure that the map is correct.<\/p>\n\n

I meandered around to try different roads through the groves...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>80 sec, f<\/span>\/2.1, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 43mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 30mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 58mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/3.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>60 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 500 —\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>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHappy and Sad<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

While wandering around I came across this little side alley diving down the mountain, bathed in rich light filtering through\nthe bamboo. The beautiful<\/span> scene makes me happy, as well as the small sign on the right pointing down the road to a “<\/span>kids' (play) area”<\/span>,\nbut the sign on the left makes me sad, saying “<\/span>beware of perverts”<\/span>. I shudder<\/span> to think what prompts the need for such a sign,<\/span>\nbut they're not all that uncommon. Here's another one<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

The alley doesn't go very far, but halfway down is the turnoff for the kids play area, which I thought<\/span> had a lovely<\/span>\nmood despite the previous sign...<\/p>\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>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

It had the kind of ambiance I'd expect to see a movie<\/span> scene shot in.<\/p>\n\n

Unfortunately, the whole alley was just 100m long, but at 18%, a bit<\/span> steep. It probably<\/span> wasn't worth it, but I made a segment<\/span> for it<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

From there I made my way to the next destination, the mountain road on which the Yoshimine-dera Temple sits,\na temple<\/span> on a large<\/span> picturesque site that I've been to a number<\/span> of times, most recently\n“<\/span>The Whole Gamut of My Blog In One Spectacular Visit to the Yoshiminedera Temple<\/a>”<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

The first half of the climb, up to the temple's parking-lot entrance, is 2.6km (1.6mi) at an average grade of 10.4%<\/a>, though the last half a kilometer<\/span>\naverages 17%. Passing the parking-lot entrance, you then start what seems to be an even steeper set of more than a dozen<\/span>\nswitchbacks up the mountain, above and behind the temple, though in reality this second half of the climb<\/a> averages only 9.5% for its 1.4km (0.9mi).<\/p>\n\n

These distances and slopes are just guesses, because it's difficult to figure out just how long the road is. For some reason<\/span>,\nall the maps I've seen of the second half of the climb are wrong, each disagreeing wildly from the others and from reality (the\nlatter I can<\/span> check via the meager satellite-photo views that are available, and by trying to follow the maps while viewing video\nfrom my bike's front camera of my climbs).<\/p>\n\n

GPS tracks are worthless as references because of the bad signal one gets in these steep mountains. Even the government\nroad-outline data I use<\/span> (described here<\/a>) is patently wrong.<\/p>\n\n

I've updated OpenStreetMap for the area as best I can,<\/span> but not yet confidently enough\nto make one of my “<\/span>surveyed”<\/span> segment for Strava<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Anyway, about yesterday's ride, I had a<\/span> lot of apprehension about the climb. I'd done the<\/span> first half only once before, early on\nin my cycling life, as reported in “<\/span>A Day<\/span> of Vertical-Climb Cycling\nTorture in Western Kyoto<\/a>”<\/span>. When I did<\/span> that ride, its 2,490m (8,170') of vertical climb was a record<\/span> for me. Now, a year<\/span> and a\nhalf<\/span> later, it just slips into my top 25. It wouldn't be a noteworthy<\/span> ride for me now, but the memory of how tough the climb was\nis vibrant.<\/p>\n\n

So goal was simple: do the whole thing (both halves) in one go, without stopping. This harks back to when I was<\/span> just getting\nstarted in cycling and my goal for a tough<\/span> climb improved from “<\/span>don't quit”<\/span> to\n“<\/span>don't stop”<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

In the end, it was easier than I thought,<\/span> especially since the road was dry and so I didn't<\/span> have to worry too much about\nslipping on the steepest parts.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 31mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 200 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nStopping for a Break<\/span><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I stopped for a few minutes to eat some energy cookies<\/a> and chocolate yokan<\/a> at the place described in “<\/span>Without Fate: Dumping Ground of Monumental Proportions<\/a>”<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

It was a mistake to take a break at the top of the mountain, as the combination of sweat and cooling down made\nme quite cold once I got<\/span> on my way. My route<\/span> took me deeper into the mountains, so the actual temperature fell\nas well, down to just a smidge<\/span> above freezing.<\/p>\n\n

The route went up and down mildly for a while,<\/span> and then I took<\/span> a turn<\/span> I'd not taken before,\nand the road dropped like a rock.<\/span> The first<\/span> kilometer dropped at 13%, and as is my tendency when\nmy first exposure to a road<\/span> is as a descent,<\/span> the thought of climbing it sent figurative chills up my spine\nto match the literal ones from the previous paragraph.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n“<\/span>Village”<\/span><\/span>\n
seems too generous a word for a few<\/span> houses in the middle of nowhere\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I eventually descended into Kameoka City and rode across it toward Mt. Atago.<\/p>\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>\nFrom the Pre-Climb Foothills<\/span>\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 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPassable by Bike<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The OpenStreetMap data that my routing was based upon wasn't very good in the village just before the climb, and I\nwas<\/span> routed over some questionable “<\/span>roads”<\/span>, including some short unpaved areas. The road above<\/span> is lovely, but had I\nbeen<\/span> in a car,<\/span> the bollards would have been quite the surprise.<\/p>\n\n

I've since updated the map.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nGetting Near Sunset<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\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>\nAtago Shrine<\/span>\nI assume associated with the<\/i> Atago Shrine at the top of the mountain\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\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>\nPre-iPhone-Era Selfies<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

One serendipitous side effect of the bad routing is that I came<\/span> across these statues, which of course immediately reminded me\nof this place<\/a>. These statues were less whimsical, but still interesting in\ntheir unexpectedness. According to a plaque,<\/span> they are self portraits done by class-of-1989 graduating seniors of the local high\nschool.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 67mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I then climbed up Mt. Atago via a little<\/span>-used road that I'd been on only once before, as a descent,<\/span>\non this ride<\/a> in October. The road can<\/span> be a bit<\/span> rough\nin spots, but otherwise it's a lovely<\/span> climb and so I was<\/span> shocked to find that there wasn't even a Strava<\/span> segment for it.\nI made<\/span> a quick<\/span> segment from my ride data<\/a>, and found that\nonly eight others had done before. Very surprising.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 26mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/1.9, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLovely<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>80 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRiver-Observation Platform<\/span>\nat a dam, without much river at the moment\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

After that it was just a straight shot home, though I did<\/span> divert a bit<\/span> to do\na little 23%-grade climb<\/a> on the way home.<\/p>\n\n

Overall, it was a satisfying ride.<\/p>\n\n\n