Yesterday, DG and myself got on the bikes for the first day trip of the year, clocking up 290Km (180miles) door to door, which was a fair distance given we barely hit an expressway – just small local roads on a bike trip to Hakone and Ito.
We went from Fujisawa in Kanagawa-ken, down the coast road for a while, then up into the mountains of Hakone on some of the great special roads. Often when I’m up there I go to the Gyoza Centre near Gora for lunch, and then we headed down the spine of the Izu peninsula, before the long haul back up the 135 coastal road. We actually headed to a bar a friend of mine owns for a soft drink, but unfortunately he seemed to have shut it for the night.
I was pretty pleased with the day’s ride – I think my riding’s getting better especially on the corners and inclines which is good, staying on top of the throttle a bit more, and keeping the bike lower when I need to in corners.
As always, there were great moments and views you wish you had a helmet-cam for, but there were others – a parade of about 20 very expensive sports cars (Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini) and customs, a lot of very nice ‘bikes – which we did get some photos of. It was kind of ironic, as we sat in the tea lounge of the Toyo Tires Turnpike Cafe, we saw a woman posing (for want of a better phrase) who might have been a model of some kind being steadfastly ignored by all the men around as they gawped over the expensive car show. There’s no accounting for taste I suppose. Finally she gave up and got back in the Ferrari she arrived in.
Other interesting notes were route 102 which where we joined it had a very impressive incline for a few kilometres, and about half way up, a set of traffic lights, which mercifully stayed green, and a fully automated self service petrol station, which had us a bit confused for a couple of minutes.
I had to avoid a bat of all things on one road at about 70km/h, and avoid a moron stepping in the road just a kilometer from home, justifying again the concept that the most dangerous part of a bike trip is in the last few miles. Fortunately, neither flying mammal nor walking mammal were hit (although why the guy was walking around in the road I have no idea).
As soon as I have the route plotted, I’ll put it up on brightblack, as much for my own benefit, but I hope someone finds a new, great road for them.
Update: Finally got it into Google Maps here (Aug. 10th).