We love travelling and cycling in Japan. The rewards are immense. Riding our trikes have given us the chance to get to know Japan, its people and their customs in an intimate way. We will definitely return to Japan with our trikes. It has become a favourite place to travel. However, having travelled extensively in Europe by bike, we have been spoiled by the infrastructure that is in place. All types of accommodation understand cyclists and their needs (and that of their bikes) and this is built in to their services. There is a massive network of bike routes, repair stations etc. As well, communities incorporate the needs of cyclists in to their town planning with dedicated routes for cyclists, etc.
Barry’s frustration with some of the dangerous rides we have had, has motivated him to learn how to create our own routes on the Ride with GPS app and also to use routes from Bike Map. We are in search of hidden Japan, off the beaten path.Today we will try a route he has created on Ride with GPS which takes us initially up into the hills on a steep unrelenting climb and the rest of the day we will be coasting downhill, all the way to Kusutsa on Lake Biwa.
The ride starts beautifully on narrow roads with lovely neighbourhoods like this. The only drawback is that the first 13 km will be straight up to 500 metres. Here goes…
We felt like we were the only people on the road, and we met two riders coming down. They are from Brazil but have worked and lived in Japan for over 20 years.
The lush countryside has homes nestled together in winding narrow roads. It feels like people have lived here all of their lives. We wondered how they felt when the expressway was being built overhead through this isolated paradise.
And oh yes, beware of bears as well. Yikes. It does make sense though, we are at a higher altitude and it will be less hot here. Didn’t realize there were bear in this area.
We discovered that for most of this climb, we will be alongside rushing water, boulders and waterfalls. It is not easy to get to the water from where we are as it is a bit of a climb, but we can hear and see the rushing water. We keep pinching ourselves that no one is here. We saw one car the whole time and the women were sunbathing on the rocks.
At one point, we could look over the guard rail and see the layers of the curves of the road we have been riding on for several Km kind of like a spiral staircase.
As we came around the corner and saw this beautiful pool with falls, it was tempting to jump in and cool down. But there was no access for us
Once we hit the summit, we were both relieved, yet a bit disappointed to be leaving this wonderful place which is so off the grid. Spectacular, and yes, we rode downhill in only minutes compared to the time it took us to climb. Unforgettable.
What a glorious way to finish the climb with a scenic downhill.
We are down to the level of farmland. We sure don’t love these roads that have grooves across them. It is not as easy to brake when you need to slow down your descent and it makes you feel like you are floating.
Barry’s work in creating this route for us, was worth the effort. The scenery was so beautiful and untamed. We had an outstanding day and felt that we experienced something very special. We love that it was off the grid and so unspoiled. We rode a long way and shared it with a couple of riders, a car, a sleepy snake and perhaps some monkeys and bears that watched us from afar. We are so tired and desperately need to have a shower. At the hotel, the first priority will be a trip to the hotel’s Onsen and then dinner, followed closely by a good sleep.
Today's ride: 67 km (42 miles) Total: 2,548 km (1,582 miles)
