... setting out on a morning when the weather forecast is "cloudy" with an increasing chance of rain, and enjoying perfect riding weather, with blue sky in the afternoon.
... heading up Tomin no Mori and Kazahari Pass for the first time after my 50th birthday, having not gotten in decent rides the last few weekends and eaten a huge piece of cheesecake at lunch yesterday, without pushing the pace, and still getting within five minutes of my personal best.
... enjoying piping hot "oyako donburi" at Yakyu-tei cafeteria at the far end of Okutama-ko.
... Yamanashi Route 18 over Tsuru Pass back to Uenohara, with the Steve T. side route around Tawa Pass.
... hopping a train back from Hachioji thereby avoiding the sakura crowds.
It was a great day for a ride, and I was happy to get in one of the Positivo Expresso classic routes. There were almost no motorcycles on Kazahari and surprisingly few cyclists. Route 18 over Tsuru was deserted as usual. The first ride I have done with over 2000 meters climbing in many months. I would like to put together a string of these in coming weeks.
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| Sakura out the window on Saturday evening. |
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| Sunday's steed - the Ti Travel Bike, with dynamo hub/light, 32/36 spoke wheels, 2 x 1-liter bottles of water, underseat bag and fastback DLX fenders ... which on this bike work fine with 700x23mm tires but rub with 700x25mm. |
Man... I hate living over here in Shitamachi. Up and down the Arakawa or the Edogawa, or a couple hours on the train to get anywhere nice.
ReplyDeleteОчень красивые фотографии!!!
ReplyDeleteWhich route is Kazahara pass on?
ReplyDeleteOne time I took route 33 ,left turn from route 7 in front of Musashi itsuka ichi station, to Uenohara and there was a pass. It has 2 tunnels at the top. I was just wondering what it is called. It is not as hard as Wada.
After further study I see that it (Kazahara pass) is on route 206 Okutama Shuyu Road 1155m at the summit.
ReplyDeleteRoute 205 seems to just end without connecting to 206? Have you taken it?
CM: If you take the left turn onto Route 33 and climb the side of the valley to the tunnels, we call those the "Koubu Tunnels" ... I am not aware of a name for the actual pass since the tunnels go deep through the hill. Yes, Kazahari Pass is on Route 206.
ReplyDeleteRoute 205 is the road up the North Fork of the Akigawa, and it dead ends. BUT, there are two routes out of that valley by road bike.
(1) Nokogiri Pass, over the mountains on the North side of the valley and down to Route 411 just west of Okutama Station, and
(2) the famed Kazahari Rindo -- which climbs at 15-20%+ grades past the "mushroom [research] center" and then all the way up to Kazahari Pass ... where you must climb over/around a fence to rejoin Route 206 there. Also, last year there was some serious tree removal/construction on Kazahari Rindo which required dismounting the bicycle, walking through thick piles of sawdust past sleeping workers in heavy equipment, etc. ...
Thanks. Which do you think is harder, Kazahara Pass or Yamabushi Pass on Classic ride #2.
ReplyDeleteDavid, the 甲武トンネル passes through the 笹尾根 (Sasa-one - a bit misleading since the ridge is mostly completely in the forest and there isn't much bamboo grass) and the pass close to the tunnels is called 浅間峠 (Sengen pass). Quite a nice hiking trail, and it includes another Mikuni-toge!
ReplyDelete