Kori Amongst the Flowers

Along Yoshino Kaido between Oume and Okutama

Tamagawa from the bridge at Kori near end of Yoshino Kaido

June has been a bust from a cycling perspective.  Of course, an overseas trip (and the prep and jet lag to follow) meant no cycling except a few commutes for a big part of the first half of the month.  And rainy season weather and schedule issues have caused me to drive rather than ride on my Thursday trips to Keio SFC, knocking out another 80 kms per week.  Plus work has been fairly heavy and I am now pretty much behind schedule on all non-urgent projects.

My basic attitude is that this is okay. After the Okayama 1200, I wanted to rest my body, especially my hands which had some numbness in a couple fingertips on the right hand for weeks after.  But the Hokkaido 1200 starts on July 15 at 5AM, and I am starting to feel a bit out of shape and realize I have not much time to do anything about it!

There is an election in July.  The posters are up! Smiling fresh faces of "new" politics, as usual!

Near the Fussa beer brewery.  Lots of green.

Yoshino Kaido near the climb to Jerome Hill. Low traffic after 5PM.

So I was very happy to finish work on a draft at 3PM Saturday and see dry pavement outside, with the weather not quite as hot and humid as it had been in the morning.  I seized the chance for a ride up to Kori (end of Yoshino Kaido, in Okutama) and back.  By 5PM it was noticeably cooler, and I was riding in daylight until I stopped for a quick bite to eat in Oume (Baigo area along Yoshino Kaido) on the return.  The traffic -- both foot traffic on the Tamagawa path and road traffic on highways -- was light the entire trip, and it was cool enough to be really pleasant on the last 2/3 of the trip.  I rode the Ti Travel bike -- I will use it in Hokkaido and need to make sure it is in good condition.

The hydrangeas and other flowers were spectacular after the rain of recent weeks.

More hydrangea.

For those who do not live in Japan, this is a rest stop and public bathroom.
Nice, simple wood architecture. No vandalism so it looks good even a number of years after built.
I did not use the facilities this trip, but the last time I did they were spotless.

Instead of a convenience store, I stopped at a pizza/pasta local place on the return trip.
Hibachiya in Baigo, Oume.  Very much a Japanese melted cheese globby pizza, but filling, and the beer was cold.

Turn around point. A classic checkpoint for any brevet heading out of Tokyo via Okutama.

I rode only 122kms, but still it was the longest ride for me yet this month.  I need to get in at least a couple more decent rides over the next 10 days.  Then I can focus on just making sure I get sufficient rest the week or so before Hokkaido.