bewarethefuzz
Well-Known Member
Nicknames used and some places/foods and culturural things have odd names but you should be able to guess your way thru it. :cheers:
Lugnuts, Bambi and I went and hooked up with EasternBeaver in Shimizu and went on one of his wonderous backroad tours. If you haven't been out EB's way yet, DO IT!
Met up and hit the road with EB at Shimizu exit of the Tomei. Yep, a couple of us were late! Tried to blame it on the fog but EB wasn't having any of that!
First stop combini breakfast
Stopped to take in some highland views here
and there were some other riders in them there hills!
lot of water up there but luckily none falling on us yet.
EB had taken us up to Ikawa by the Hatanagi dam and it was a long way from Ebina so we rolled into a scenic Ikawa for fuel. On the way we found the local Hobbit train. Just like a real one only minnier
Got hit with a downpour at the fuel pump and hid out till the bulk had past. Then EB wanted to show us a mountain pass over into Yamanashi. The mapple shows it as 8km of dirt but he assures us it isn't and all was hard bitumen last year. He's the local mountain goat so off we went. Was pretty excited as my last mountain pass with him was great(Abe pass) and this one looked higher. Maybe 1800m.
A corner was missed somewhere and we ended up on, what do we call this EB? DIRT?!
He swore it wasn't dirt but the navi showed us to be on the wrong road. He got lucky this time!
So back we went down the 60 scouting for the .
Found the turn and the navi tried to lead us over this bridge
Avoided that and then headed for the top of the Southern Alps
As the road went higher, it got dodgier with very real chances of landslides and became an excersize in puncture avoidance from the debris of previous slides
And then the road came to an definite end at about 1850m Check it out here
So another turnaround and back down we went. But EB took us down an alternate route with great views, turns, much improved surface, upto 1870m and no one around. Could see all the way back down to Ikawa from up there
Someway down we stopped for a powow and resigned ourselves to the fact a Yamanashi crossing wasn't on the cards for Bambi, Lugnuts and I so we were going to skip heading for the TR BBQ and go west skirting the southern edge of the Alps and see how far west we could get.
EasternBeaver left us contemplating trying to make it to the BBQ or just head home. We split above Ikawa with him going south-east for Abe Pass or Shimizu. All this before lunch!
Now 3, off we went down the 60 and 388. That 388 is a beauty!
Starving, we found a soba/udon place at the top of another dam(lotta dams up that way)
Then that little train went chugging down the line hanging off the other side of the valley
It was around half 2 and our chances of making IIda in Naganao were looking slim but we decided to ride till we either found a place on route or madeit to IIda. The later meant the 152 at night with atleast a little rain, a good chance of fog and Lugnuts and Bambi not used to that sort of thing.
We swung south on the 77 and west on the 362. A long stop found no accomodations so it looked like the long hall. Some way down the 362 we tried to short cut across the 286. A caution had us at a stop and Bambi told us to turn around and check out a Ryokan a little ways back. Great call!
Monzenya Ryokan - 3500yen + meals. Dinner - 1100yen. Big rooms, by a famous temple and the Tenryu river. Nice place.
Day 1 + 380km done!
Couple of happy riders there!
Lugnuts, Bambi and I went and hooked up with EasternBeaver in Shimizu and went on one of his wonderous backroad tours. If you haven't been out EB's way yet, DO IT!
Met up and hit the road with EB at Shimizu exit of the Tomei. Yep, a couple of us were late! Tried to blame it on the fog but EB wasn't having any of that!
First stop combini breakfast
Stopped to take in some highland views here
and there were some other riders in them there hills!
lot of water up there but luckily none falling on us yet.
EB had taken us up to Ikawa by the Hatanagi dam and it was a long way from Ebina so we rolled into a scenic Ikawa for fuel. On the way we found the local Hobbit train. Just like a real one only minnier
Got hit with a downpour at the fuel pump and hid out till the bulk had past. Then EB wanted to show us a mountain pass over into Yamanashi. The mapple shows it as 8km of dirt but he assures us it isn't and all was hard bitumen last year. He's the local mountain goat so off we went. Was pretty excited as my last mountain pass with him was great(Abe pass) and this one looked higher. Maybe 1800m.
A corner was missed somewhere and we ended up on, what do we call this EB? DIRT?!
He swore it wasn't dirt but the navi showed us to be on the wrong road. He got lucky this time!
So back we went down the 60 scouting for the .
Found the turn and the navi tried to lead us over this bridge
Avoided that and then headed for the top of the Southern Alps
As the road went higher, it got dodgier with very real chances of landslides and became an excersize in puncture avoidance from the debris of previous slides
And then the road came to an definite end at about 1850m Check it out here
So another turnaround and back down we went. But EB took us down an alternate route with great views, turns, much improved surface, upto 1870m and no one around. Could see all the way back down to Ikawa from up there
Someway down we stopped for a powow and resigned ourselves to the fact a Yamanashi crossing wasn't on the cards for Bambi, Lugnuts and I so we were going to skip heading for the TR BBQ and go west skirting the southern edge of the Alps and see how far west we could get.
EasternBeaver left us contemplating trying to make it to the BBQ or just head home. We split above Ikawa with him going south-east for Abe Pass or Shimizu. All this before lunch!
Now 3, off we went down the 60 and 388. That 388 is a beauty!
Starving, we found a soba/udon place at the top of another dam(lotta dams up that way)
Then that little train went chugging down the line hanging off the other side of the valley
It was around half 2 and our chances of making IIda in Naganao were looking slim but we decided to ride till we either found a place on route or madeit to IIda. The later meant the 152 at night with atleast a little rain, a good chance of fog and Lugnuts and Bambi not used to that sort of thing.
We swung south on the 77 and west on the 362. A long stop found no accomodations so it looked like the long hall. Some way down the 362 we tried to short cut across the 286. A caution had us at a stop and Bambi told us to turn around and check out a Ryokan a little ways back. Great call!
Monzenya Ryokan - 3500yen + meals. Dinner - 1100yen. Big rooms, by a famous temple and the Tenryu river. Nice place.
Day 1 + 380km done!
Couple of happy riders there!
k1: 
