It was my birthday last Sunday and time to do something special with my wife, yet without neglecting the fact that it was about time to hit the road again. So we settled on a combination of biking and hiking: bhiking.
Maybe this will become a new Positive Espresso tradition. Maybe not.
Here is how it works. Ask your partner/family to take the train to Takaosanguchi. In the meantime, ride there on your own by bike. Upon arrival, switch from biking shoes into hiking shoes and do a big hike together. Ideally, ride back by bike while she takes the train - but this may only work in summer when the days are long enough.
In the event, I was racing to Takaosanguchi at record speed and without break: 1h40, at 28km/h on average - not bad, espeically considering the wind was not exactly blowing in my favour.
We then hiked up to Takaosan over the main route through the shrine, enjoying beautiful views of the shrine and autumn leaves, as well as over Tokyo.
Down to our beloved Otarumi Toge where we promptedly spotted a lonely biker fighting up the last meters to the top. Then up again to Daiyosan and Nakazawayama, and via Nishiyamatoge and Mizawatoge eventually back to Takaosanguchi. Something like 25km in total, for which we took six hours with a modest amount of breaks.
Ludwig - thanks for the photos.
ReplyDeleteAs for bhiking, congratulations on finding a way to combine cycling with activity your spouse enjoys.
In my case, I think bhiking would be more like "bdog walking" and would go something like: get up early with Misako, my wife, and walk our poodle Max together from 6 to 7 AM (maybe starting earlier in summer), then take a Positivo Espresso ride from 7 until 4PM and get back in time to walk Max again together from 4PM until 5PM.