2023 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

[Prairie Dog]

Ride up Mitsuishi Rindo Road

The two-day layoff in Nagano was invigorating for the soul but didn’t do us any favors for our bodies on yesterday’s ride. We cycled a 34 km loop on local roads including a leg burning 14 km climb up to a lookout with superb views of the townsites below.

The ride starts off fairly innocuous as we pass under the Chuo Expressway.

Talk about a tight squeeze. Things start to get interesting as we begin the arduous climb up the logging road.

Timely stops such as this to rest the legs are always welcome.

Onward and upwards.

Still a long way to go as indicated by the road above us.

Falling rocks come with the territory here as there are no preventative measures to avoid such pitfalls.

It’s easy to be distracted by the vibrant fall colors of the Japanese maples while focusing on the climb.

Near the top of the lookout, we stopped to take in the view of our progress.

Big thumbs up for the Missus. This would be her second trip up in as many weeks but first time doing it clockwise.

Almost there.

Atop the lookout and time for a much needed break and a few photo opps.

Feeling rejuvenated after a quick bite it was time to head back down. We had to be cautious of leaves and rocks on the road so a reasonable pace descending was in order.

We arrived in the resort of Shimobe Onsen and proceeded to ride down the main street to the bridge crossing.

Crossing a pedestrian bridge over the Fuji River and the road towards Minobu-san.

Hope to get one more ride in before we return home. It's been a fantastic trip and it will be hard to leave this wonderful land.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Our last ride prior to leaving for Tokyo was a memorable 26km loop that took us into the scenic districts of Seigo and Sugiyama including another climb up to Minobu-san. It was capped off with a fun decent which took some effort to get to but seductive vistas certainly made it a worthy undertaking. I have no words to describe the feeling of how I feel about this beautiful area of Japan. My life long partner and best friend has been by my side all of this time and I don’t know how to thank her enough. During our rides together, she reflected upon her childhood memories pointing out places where she once hiked, played, and socialized with school friends.

I wasn’t able to take as many photos as I would have liked on the last ride as we were somewhat pressed for time in finalizing details for our trip back home to Canada as well as tidying up around the home. Our hope is to return within the next two years to extend our rides to multi-day tours to areas further out from the home base here in Minobu. Until then, I’ll cherish the memories that I have from the past two weeks.

First time for soft serve soy. It tasted just like the real McCoy.

 

[DaveMatthews]

Stunning. You have outdone yourselves Art and Sai!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

An epic trip, Art & Sai!

 

[Rome]

Our last ride prior to leaving for Tokyo was a memorable 26km loop that took us into the scenic districts of Seigo and Sugiyama including another climb up to Minobu-san. It was capped off with a fun decent which took some effort to get to but seductive vistas certainly made it a worthy undertaking. I have no words to describe the feeling of how I feel about this beautiful area of Japan. My life long partner and best friend has been by my side all of this time and I don’t know how to thank her enough. During our rides together, she reflected upon her childhood memories pointing out places where she once hiked, played, and socialized with school friends.

I wasn’t able to take as many photos as I would have liked on the last ride as we were somewhat pressed for time in finalizing details for our trip back home to Canada as well as tidying up around the home. Our hope is to return within the next two years to extend our rides to multi-day tours to areas further out from the home base here in Minobu. Until then, I’ll cherish the memories that I have from the past two weeks.

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First time for soft serve soy. It tasted just like the real McCoy.

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Fantastic pictures man.
Cannoli cone never had that.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Stunning. You have outdone yourselves Art and Sai!

An epic trip, Art & Sai!

Thanks guys. I much prefer the serenity of the countryside to the chaos of the city.

 

[Surrey Pete]

A foggy day for a ride makes for an interesting day for photos. These are from Crescent Park in South Surrey BC :

Heading back home:

 

[JGcycle]

A foggy day for a ride makes for an interesting day for photos. These are from Crescent Park in South Surrey BC :

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Heading back home:

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The fog gives an air of mystery to these fine shots.

 

[RabH]

After a full week off the bike I was itching to get out again, with light winds for a nice change it was the perfect day to ride over the Forth Road Bridge! It was a pretty chilly start when I set off just before 9.30am, around zero but with very little wind it felt fine! I had the heated gloves on the middle setting and they were nice and toasty! It was way colder earlier so that's why I waited a bit and with rain forecast for around 3pm I still had plenty of time for my planned route (or so I thought)!

The Black Loch looking calm for a change!

A couple of miles further and the Ochill Hills came into view and they were looking so nice shrouded in sun, I actually had them in sight for most of my ride and they remained that way while I only had the sun fleetingly...

From the same spot I also had the Campsie Hills in view, the sun didn't like them today though...

I passed over the canal near Linlithgow and 2 swans were making their way down the canal, just as I got my phone out one disappeared off to the left! I think it was camera shy...

This was just after passing through Linlithgow, the peaks of the Ochils were just peeking through and still covered in sunshine!

I was now closing in on the Forth Bridge, this is just after passing through Newton!

I arrived at the bridge and the sun was still deserting me, at least it kept the temp above zero with the cloud cover! I had the bridge mostly to myself today, only 1 other cyclist and a few pedestrians!

I was just about to put my phone away when I spotted the train crossing the rail bridge, only a short one though so not the easiest to spot! I caught it almost dead centre though!

After crossing the bridge I stopped in Inverkeithing for lunch before turning west for home, the wind was now picking up a bit and it was straight from the north so it was a biting cold wind! Thankfully I wouldn't be heading north anymore though! I had to use the main road for a few miles but it wasn't too bad, thankfully there is a cycle path after that for a couple of miles and it was free of ice! After passing through Crombie I dropped down a lovely descent into Torryburn and on through Newmills and Low Valleyfield, arriving in Culross where I stopped for this photo!

Looking across the Forth to Grangemouth!

After Culross I took the cycle path to the Kincardine Bridge where I normally use the path over the bridge but due to works on the bridge the path was closed, luckily the traffic was light and I rejoined the path at the other side of the bridge where I had a nice closeup view of the Ochils over the Clackmannanshire Bridge!

I still had no sun but the hills certainly did!

The view going over the Clackmannanshire Bridge is just breathtaking when the hills are lit up by the sun but it would have meant turning north so not today! It was now time to turn south towards Grangemouth so I had the breeze right at my back now and it was very welcome!

The River Forth at Grangemouth looking east!

I continued south through Falkirk and up the big climb to Glenn Village before taking the back road up to Shieldhill which is a massive climb, I stopped at the top of the climb for these photos and some of the Ochils were starting to cloud over now!

This is looking back down at the climb I just tackled!

I then took the road towards Slamannan but decided to turn east and then south to enjoy a very fast descent and joined the road up over Heights which is like a rollercoaster, part way up one of the climbs I spotted a rainbow out to the NE!

I got a better view at the top of the next climb, it was so bright!

Of course the rainbow meant there was rain in the vicinity and just as I was passing over Heights it started and it was pretty heavy, thankfully after all the climbing I was nice and warm so it didn't really bother me! I enjoyed the descent down to Blackridge and turned west for home, the rain actaually stopped for a bit but as I was passing through Caldercruix it started to really pour down! At least I only had a couple of miles to go though so it wasn't long before I was home and enjoying a lovely hot shower! I was actually hoping to go out yesterday but there was freezing fog hanging about so I knocked that on the head, it was a great decision as today was fantastic despite the rain at the end of the ride!

@Jeremy McCreary Your photos were truly breathtaking, especially the waves and that incredible sunset!
@Prairie Dog Another amazing ride PD, you and Sai are truly blessed to get to ride those spectacular roads!

 

[Prairie Dog]

We already miss the awesome mountain rides and look forward to another trip back in the near future. It looked like another fantastic day on the bike for you, RH. Spotting the train crossing the bridge and the rainbow couldn’t have been timelier. Well done!

 

[Readytoride]

@RabH - as always your rides and photos are such a treat...although I did flinch at the comment about ice (thankfully lack of!) on the bike trail. Been a while since I've visited this forum due to a very full schedule of "things not related to cycling". My bikes have been sitting gathering dust as life, and the weather change from summer to a cold and not-cycling-friendly winter, has taken over my free time. But it's wonderful to enjoy everyone else's rides from all different points of the globe.

 

[Readytoride]

@Surrey Pete - your photo of the autumn tree and bench underneath is brilliant! Hope you don't mind but I downloaded it as a subject to use in some artwork I plan to do later this winter. I'll share once I have the art finished. Not sure if it will be a painting or a collage. Bit up in the air at the moment on which medium will be chosen.

 

[Surrey Pete]

@Surrey Pete - your photo of the autumn tree and bench underneath is brilliant! Hope you don't mind but I downloaded it as a subject to use in some artwork I plan to do later this winter. I'll share once I have the art finished. Not sure if it will be a painting or a collage. Bit up in the air at the moment on which medium will be chosen.

No problem. I sometimes take screen shots of an image posted here and use it for a while as a desktop pic but don't tell anyone............

Here's one more :

 

[Readytoride]

Soooooo pretty. Thank you.

 

[Prairie Dog]

I was back in the saddle today on the fat bike since returning home from my overseas trip. Precip wise, it’s been one of the driest months on record here and the local trails show it. Studs were still a must as there was plenty of ice sprinkled in with patches of dirt and hardpack. It resulted in a fast-paced ride with a few sketchy sections of ice under cover and exposed roots.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@Brix and I are meeting at Bankside SE1 in London, UK from December 18-22, 2023. Not that I really hope to meet any of the UK EBR members there, but just saying

This photo was taken in 2022. Here's the view of the City of London as seen from Southwark Bridge (the least frequented of London bridges because of a poor traffic link on either side; it is quite popular among the cyclists though). Our hotel is located near Southwark and Blackfriars Bridges, and in direct vicinity of the Tate Modern gallery as well as of Millenium Foot Bridge, opposite St. Paul's Cathedral.

 

[Art Deco]

@Brix and I are meeting at Bankside SE1 in London, UK from December 18-22, 2023. Not that I really hope to meet any of the UK EBR members there, but just saying

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This photo was taken in 2022. Here's the view of the City of London as seen from the Southwark Bridge (the least frequented of London bridges because of a poor traffic link on either side; it is quite popular among the cyclists though). Our hotel is located near the Southwark and Blackfriars Bridges, and in direct vicinity of the Tate Modern Gallery as well as of the Millenium Foot Bridge, opposite St. Paul's Cathedral.

That Southwark area is close to where our students stayed. It is (or was) quite vibrant, touristy, and still safe enough for the females to venture out alone, with excellent public transportation hubs. Good choice.

 

[Taylor57]

The boys came over today and we did about a 20 mile tour around Palm Springs. Level 2, Espin Sport 1 and The Gravelster all performed like champs! We all took turns on the different bikes. Boy, after not riding Sport for awhile, I forgot how much the cadence sensor affects the pedaling. Then got a nice wake up call when I jumped on Gravelster with one gear! Stopped at the Heyday for Burgers and then finished the tour. Lovely day for a bike ride.

 

[Art Deco]

The boys came over today and we did about a 20 mile tour around Palm Springs. Level 2, Espin Sport 1 and The Gravelster all performed like champs! We all took turns on the different bikes. Boy, after not riding Sport for awhile, I forgot how much the cadence sensor affects the pedaling. Then got a nice wake up call when I jumped on Gravelster with one gear! Stopped at the Heyday for Burgers and then finished the tour. Lovely day for a bike ride.

Excellent. It's been cold and raining here, so it's good to see folks out in good weather...somewhere.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

That Southwark area is close to where our students stayed. It is (or was) quite vibrant, touristy, and still safe enough for the females to venture out alone, with excellent public transportation hubs. Good choice.

As a frequent traveller to London, I was quite surprised to find the Bankside area full of hotels. It is indeed a safe area. For a contrast, the area of Old Kent Road (which is also denoted as SE1!) and where I often used to stay felt not that safe!

My history interest has led me to read and watch more about the air Battle of Britain of 1940-1941. Before, I could not quite understand how so much space could be found in London to build hypermarkets in the Old Kent Road area! Guess what? Open big space can be found in British cities where German bombs fell during the Battle or Britain, and Old Kent Road had actually got its load of bombs during WWII... Or, wherever in an English city you can find a huge parking lot, that place was bombed (I could see it in Coventry, for instance).