It was time again … time for the Coast to Coast 2025! Was I doing it on a fun little bike, like my Hunter Cub from last year? Nope! No, this year I was back to the good old Tracer, so it was time to mount up with the usual crew, and get ready to get twisty.
Odawara in Kanagawa prefecture, to Joetsu in Niigata prefecture via mountain roads to the tune of 500Km. Bring it on.
We were ready. Maps were loaded, and we and many others were at the start point, admiring that sun rising over the Pacific Ocean. Then more dedicated riders turned up, and instantly started swapping out brake pads. Now that’s a statement of intent.
How can I describe this year’s run? In a word … smooth. Really. I don’t think I’m even retro-tempting fate here, it went well, smooth. Fun, and with no drama. No broken bikes, no revving a 125cc bike to hell in first gear to get up slopes, no one disappearing off the road – just simple, twisty fun.
It was one of those rides where you just flow, the curves came and went, we took turns leading, and had some laughs at the rest stops. There were some odd things; we had to stop at a rail crossroads at one point, and it only occurred to me when I looked at the photos, that we had stopped at exactly the same crossing two years previously (different train though). How random is that.
We made it to Joetsu with a decent amount of daylight left, though we had taken it very easy, and we were all quite impressed at just how smooth things had gone.
At the Route Inn hotel, there was time for a bit of a soak in the onsen, before meeting up for a spot of Italian food with a bunch of other Twistybutters at a nearby restaurant, which looked very nice from the outside, but inside looked like the nicest nuclear bunker you’ve ever seen.
As always, a tip of the helmet to Touge Express for putting the maps together for the ride; be sure to check that site out if you’re riding in Japan.
(This all happened at the beginning of May. I've just been very lazy sorting this post out. Thanks.)
