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A few images from yesterday’s 55 km brisk ride up to the village of Amehata and back. Water levels of both the Amehata River and Lake were low and we noticed that the work crews on the dam were dredging sections of the river below the road. It was our guess that they were reusing the...

The family abode where we are staying at is likely one of those homes that you referred to. However, seeing that it’s facing a mountain side, there’s a good chance that it could be wiped out by a landslide. Same goes with some of the other homes and businesses along the street.

We thought about taking the Creos, removing their internal batteries and bringing the extenders but then it would be up to the discretion of the airline agents to allow them to be brought on board as carry on items. We couldn’t get a definitive answer from our carrier one way or the other. With...

Part 2 – The Return Our arrival at Lake Motosu and we were counting on a fast descent before the sun disappeared behind the mountains. We start our descent only to be temporarily delayed by road construction but only for exactly one minute. There was an actual countdown clock placed on the...

Yesterday’s ride, once again, would take us into the Yamanashi ‘Inaka’ or countryside and points beyond including the next prefecture over. The route my wife told me was called Inokoshira Rindo. Rindo meaning forest roads. She also mentioned something about riding up the side of a mountain which...

Now that is ONE beachin' ride, dude!! I knew better than to do battle with nature’s little warrior. A mantis-cifent creature for sure.

We took today off and spent the day with friends of Sai’s but here’s my trip report from Saturday’s ride. Once again, we rode our bikes from homebase but on this occasion 73 km and back to the Rakuza road station in Fujikawa. At one point, the temperature reached as high as 28C and humidity...

Just doing a bit of catch up. Our ride a few days ago took us on a double loop from homebase through the towns of Rokogu and Fujikawa. We didn’t stop very often and when we did it was usually getting our bearings in order to make sure that we were on the correct route. There’s no escaping...

People’s depiction of Japan tends to be taken from images and videos primarily of the big cities. However, if you drive or even ride further out in the countryside, it’s much different, more relaxed and laid back in comparison and depending on where, there's likely far less traffic to deal with...

Thought that I would share footage of our last out and back trip from Minobu to Narada, Yamanashi. Hope that you enjoy watching it as much as we loved riding it.

To be quite frank, I enjoy both disciplines and find that they complement each other and that could be the dangling carrot for me. I get as much an adrenaline rush standing on the pedals of my road bike as I do when climbing technical rooty/rocky terrain on my emtb. Same goes for descending. I...

Wowsa! The hills around Minobu really pack a punch. It sure beats the heck out of the flat as a flounder routes where we normally ride back home. Plenty of ups and downs this morning to keep us on our toes plus a great cardio workout. But upon reflection, it was all worth it in the end. 👍...

Yesterday’s ride would take us north from our homebase in Minobu to the village of Narada located in the mountainous region east of the Minami Alps. Considered a hidden gem, it’s relatively still undiscovered by many tourists. A distinct landmark is the Nishiyama dam constructed back in 1960s...

Rest up Rab. You’ll be back in saddle before you know it as we all know how much you love to ride. All best buddy. 👍

That’s what I love about the countryside. Life in Minobu is a far cry from what it’s like in Metro Tokyo. Population: 10,000 and likely declining. Problem here is that there are really no attractions other than a renown Buddhist temple where tourists pay through the nose to stay, chant and eat...

Yesterday was an off day from the bikes as we took time to visit with Sai’s 80 year old obasan (aunt) and pay respects to her father’s gravesite up in the hills. I like to think that he has a beautiful view atop. I finally got around to editing the footage I shot on the first day. Follow Sai...

Pics of a 40km first ride today around Minobu in stellar conditions despite it being 54% humidity. Overall elevation gain was just under 600 meters. It rained the second day while we were in Tokyo and most of yesterday at our homebase so it was a good time to prep the bikes. Speaking of which...

Arrived in Japan Monday afternoon. Bikes made the trip over in fine fashion from what I could see at first glance. Will do a closer inspection once they’re fully assembled in a few days time. A few evening pics around the district of Shinjuku after we checked into the hotel and went for dinner.

Thanks JG. See you on the flip side.

It’s been a hectic week as fall yard and garden chores have kept us busy with little time to ride. I did manage to fit in a few last outings on the bike and was still able to eke out over 1000 km last month. Talk about horsepower. I spotted these saddled riders on their steeds in an open field...