Olympic Rider Recon Ride #2

My second Olympic rider recon ride, Friday, July 23, started at Aihara near Sagamihara, went up Doshi Michi, over Mikuni Pass, and down to a station on the Odakyu Line near Odawara. It was another beastly hot day, but tolerable once up around or above 400m elevation. Doshimichi was a mob scene of local cyclists, motorbikers, and motor vehicles on the holiday weekend. Yamanakako was even worse. The only Olympians I saw were the Great Britain team (G. Thomas, T. Hart, and the Yates brothers?), heading down from Mikuni toward Yamanakako as I climbed, but not enough time for me to get out my camera or even confirm who was whom -- similar to my experience on Wednesday with the Slovenians!  I wanted to shout a warning to their trailing car "traffic jam ahead!" ... but they were gone by in a flash.

The climb from the South to Mikuni Pass was mobbed with at least 10x the riders I have ever seen there, mostly walking up the steep South side in the heat. Young, old, families, roadies, cyclotourists, and more.

My route

Detour to avoid the busy traffic around Tsukuiko

Lower Doshimich

The bridge at Ryogoku

A local team rides up Doshimichi

Approaching the real climb

At the michi-no-eki

Endless line of cars trying to enter the michi-no-eki

Upper Doshi

Memorably good steak sandwich here - Yamanakako at the end of Doshimichi

En route to Mikuni

Cyclists walking up the "donut" section of Mikuni

Heading down from Oyama/Ashigara toward Matsuda
Japanese harmony with nature, as the expressway in the sky frames the river and mountains.