Jeffrey E.F. Friedl's Blog, page 24

Touring the Countryside of Otsu City with its Mayor

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My New Photography Assistant

Naomi Koshi, who moonlights as the mayor of the City of Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan

僕の撮影アシスタント、越直美さん

(アシスタント以外の副業は滋賀県大津市の市長です）

The other day I got to participate in a relaxing countryside tour in the
city of Otsu, next to Kyoto. The tour company, Tour du Lac Biwa (“Lake Biwa Tours”),
specializes in unique experiences of things not generally open to the
public (even to Japanese) combined with countryside food and hospitality,
all presented in English.

この間、面白い事できました。このヴィデオ（NHKより）は簡単に説明します。

When I've gone on tours by them in the past (including this, this, this, and this) it's usually been
as a “test foreigner” to give them feedback as they design their tours, and
to share my photos with them. It's a symbiotic relationship, where I get to
do really fun stuff I'd not normally have access to (unless I paid to go on
the tour, of course), and they get my considered opinion and some pictures
for their web site.

My blog write-ups about my experiences with them probably sound like
advertisements; I think they're really great and
the time I had with them was one I want to share. I've been living in Japan on and off
for 25 years, yet these tours have let me experience new things most
Japanese don't even get to do.

Anyway, this time was a bit different, as they were hosting the mayor of
Otsu, the city where most of their tours take place, to show what they as a
tour company are doing to promote the area, and to explore how to work
together with the local government. I was one of three long-term foreign
residents of Japan invited to join the discussion (and the tour) with the
mayor.

Otsu is a medium-sized city with a population on par with Honolulu or
Anaheim, and in land area with San Jose or New Orleans. Being immediately
adjacent to both Kyoto and Japan's largest lake has garnered it a rich part
of Japan's history, yet the separation from Kyoto by a small line of
mountains has kept much of it free from the urban sprawl that has been
crowding out Kyoto's nature more and more over the last 1,200 years.

The Mayor of Otsu for the last several years has been Naomi Koshi, who
surprised me both by showing up in jeans and a T-shirt, and by being fluent
in English. Her clothes were perfectly appropriate for the activity, but
somehow I had a more stuffy pre-conceived image of “The Mayor”. Seeing her
this way made me feel immediately comfortable.

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Pre-Tour Briefing

at Shiga Station (滋賀駅), Otsu City

It turns out that Naomi is a Harvard-educated lawyer who has practiced law in both New York
and Tokyo. She grew up here in Otsu.

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Bicycle Introduction

The adventure this time was a version of Tour du Lac's “Lake
Biwa Electric Bike Tour”, abbreviated in several spots to accommodate
the mayor's schedule.

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The Entourage Departs

The bikes are electrically assisted, so it's not at all the cycling that I do,
but it certainly was a perfect fit for a relaxing tour because we could go
up into the hills with absolutely no effort.

The bikes used by NORU tours in Kyoto, which I've written about
before, are not electrically assisted, but they don't need to be because of the
flat routes they take. On this tour in Shiga, we'd be going way up to a
rice field in the hills, so the electric motors were much appreciated. It took a bit of experience to figure out that paradoxically, the less effort
you put, the faster you went: the electronic motor would do all the work if
you just lightly moved the pedals, but would scale back to leave you in
full control of the power if you leaned into it.

So, the entourage of cyclists, TV crews, newspaper reporters,
photographers, tour staff and city staff headed out for the day's
tour...

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First Stop

Juge Shrine (樹下神社)

Despite being just a few minutes from the station, the area was
remarkably serene. Normally the tour would go in to explore the shrine
area, but on our abbreviated tour we merely stopped for a photo...

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Photo Op

one of many

The next stop a short distance away was at the house of local artisan
Masao Iwasaki, who specializes in a distinctive type of pottery.

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At Masao Iwasaki's House

岩崎政雄の家

His house is hundreds of years old with a lovely thatched roof, but due
to the abbreviated schedule of the day, I didn't get a chance to explore it
with my camera as much as I would have liked.

He's turned one of the rooms into a
gallery/showroom open to the outside, so you can just walk up to check
out his work....

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Looks Marshmallowy Soft

We stole a few moments to go inside...

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Wide Variety of Pieces








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Distinctive

His style is quite distinctive, and can perhaps be a bit overwhelming when so much is displayed together in one presentation,
so I found it better to concentrate on an individual piece at a time.

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Dimpley-Face Bowl (えくぼ鉢)

$50 plus tax









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Photo Op with the Mayor

the artist and the mayor photographed by the artist's wife








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One Of His Works

in situ








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On The Move Again








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Lakeside Park








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Lovely Day

The little park is one that you literally won't find on the map, but the
locals (such as the tour leaders) know it and bring their kids to play in
the water, or do yoga in front of the wonderful view. There's nothing
particularly special about the place... it's just a quiet, lovely
place to relax.

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Riding Along the Lake

You may recognize this general view as one that appeared often in “Pleasant 105km
Bike Ride From Kyoto, Along Lake Biwa, to Takashima’s Shirohige Shrine”.
It was, as seems to be the theme for this tour, lovely.

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Shino-san

one of the tour leaders








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Another Abbreviated Shrine Stop

The Hassho Shrine (八所神社)

This shrine played a part in Japan's war-torn history 500 years ago,
saving some important relics from a powerful warlord trying to obliterate
all opposition in the region. But on our abbreviated time table, we didn't
do more than stop by the parking lot.

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Heading Up into the Hills








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Steep!

the ease of the battery assist made the cyclist in me feel ashamed








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Still Going Up

passing by rice hung to dry








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Not Your Typical Tourist Activity








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Still Heading Up

very much appreciating the battery








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Almost There








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Introductions

the 86-year-old man in the blue hat is the chief elder of the local farming community

who told us stories about farming in the area when he was a child in the 1930s








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Expansive View








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Rice Harvest

I've written about the rice harvest many times,
such as “Stages of the Rice Harvest”
and
“The Rice Harvest, Old-School”, and
many others (including
here,
here, and
here). This tour would be the first
time I'd actually get to try it myself.

(This part of the tour is obviously seasonal, so I suppose other times of the year you might participate in
planting, or just visiting.)

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Fruits (so to speak) of his Labor








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Very Sharp Sickle

As the farmer explained how to harvest rice, he pointed at the blade of the sickle and, well, let me quote him:
“It's very sharp, so if you cut your finger, it hurts.”

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Deep Experiential Knowledge

This is perhaps just the curious geek in me, but I love to listen to experts talk about things I know little about.
For example, the Sarah of my recent post “Bridget and Sarah’s Tour-du-Kyoto”
is an expert in food preparation on a huge mass-market scale (e.g. preparing 100,000 boxed lunches for an airline or supermarket chain). I'm familiar with the end product but have only a vague imagination for the challenges that go into the design and preparation
of that end product, so I find it fascinating when someone can shed real light on it. As I chatted with Sarah, I sensed in her
a “this must be really boring and no one ever asks me about this stuff” reaction, but I found it interesting.

So in the same way, I found it interesting as the community elder
explained a difference in how they tie the rice bundle now compared to when
he was a kid. I didn't even fully grasp what he was saying, but was
fascinated by the fact that it was something that anyone gave a thought to.
But, of course, they must give it a lot of thought, as it's an important
part of the process; if the knot fails or is too tight, rice production
suffers. Such detailed thought about such a seemingly-trivial issue
illustrates to me how much thought must go behind so many aspects of life
that we don't have a personally-detailed understanding about.

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Tying the Bundle with Debbie

Debbie is the mom of Anthony's friend, Kenny









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Harvesting Like a Boss

Steve Burkholder swings the sickle for the first time









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I gave it a try as well. The sickle is indeed very sharp and easily cuts through the rice stalks.
Four cut handfuls make a bundle to be tied...

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Tying my First Bundle

photo by Hiromi Kawaguchi








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Over Here to Hang It...

photo by Hiromi Kawaguchi








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Hang it to Dry

after about a week, it'll be ready for deshucking and consumption

photo by Hiromi Kawaguchi








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Heading Back for More

photo by Hiromi Kawaguchi








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Photo Op

photo by Hiromi Kawaguchi








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Fun New Experiences

the mayor grew up here, but had never done this








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Haming It Up for the Camera








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More Serious For the Camera








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Japanese Sake Made From This Rice

one of nature's more enjoyable bounties

The rice we're harvesting is a special rice intended for sake (Japanese
rice wine) production. I asked how it was different from normal Japanese
white rice, but I didn't fully understand the subtle nuances. I asked in
Japanese; I should have asked in English through one of the tour
leaders.

In any case, the sake is made at an old brewery in downtown Otsu that
one can visit as part of a
separate “culinary feast” tour. I did this tour last year and to my shame
I haven't written about it yet, but it was really interesting. Public
access to the brewery is normally limited to just a modern storefront, but
as members of the tour we were ushered through the back door into the
bowels of the 100-year-old complex, where we were given a tour (and samples!) by the nth-generation headmaster brewer
running the place.

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Mayoral Duties








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Photo Op

photo by Hiromi Kawaguchi








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Another Historical Stopping Point

On the way to the next part of the tour we stopped for just a minute at
a mini shrine related to one of the bigger ones we'd stopped at earlier,
for another touch-point on the history of the area. I think more interesting to the
foreign visitor is how the mini shrine (at the left of the
photo above) seems to be on the property of the nearby houses, such as the one
being gestured to on the right.

The shrine and its historical significance are a source of pride to the community,
and part of that pride is evident in how the line between personal and shared space is
more flexible than what we're used to in The West. Having lived here so
long I've gotten used to it, but this was the first time it was pointed out
to me so clearly. It's one of the many little tidbits that make Japan so
“foreign” and interesting to western visitors.

We then visited a couple of houses in the community...

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Rice-Cooking Stove

第一竈 萬能型

The stove above immediately caught my eye as looking old and interesting, especially with the style of writing on
it that says in Japanese “No. 1 Stove” and “Newest Style”, and in English script “Lead Type”
(which I suppose is a reference to a kind of metal rather than leadership, but without hearing it pronounced correctly it's up for speculation).

So while I'm writing this article I was surprised to find that this
stove is still for sale
new for $700. Seems a bit pricey, but perhaps it'll pay for itself
because it burns the discarded husks left over after the rice
harvest...

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Looking Deep Inside

rice husks and a bit of dry pine to get things started








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Quickly Raging

the design makes it burn very hot very quickly, like a rocket engine

There's rice and water in the pot being held above. It's put on the stove and that's it: in 15 minutes the rice is ready to eat.

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Rice Cooker

modern convenience

While the rice was cooking, we moved to the house of one of the farmers, and had
a lovely bento lunch made with local produce.

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Unwrapping Our Lunches









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Lovely Presentation

the beauty and practicality of a furoshiki cloth









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Yummy











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Yummy

the aforementioned sake









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Bag of Rice

showing off the results of an earlier harvest








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Interview

There were two separate TV crews following us around. The national broadcaster (NHK)
ran this video that evening.

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Typical Countryside Scene

The lady tending the garden in front of her house had nothing to do with the day's events, but she happened to be nearby
and happened to be working on her garden, and since it made a quaint scene, I thought to snap a photo. But just as I was about
to take the photo, one of the tour leaders also noticed her and started chatting like the neighbors they were, to which the happy smile
was added to the scene.

We said good-by to the Mayor Koshi, who was taken away by car, and to
the news crews who then went their separate ways. We then had another
pleasant ride back along the lake to the train station where we'd started
out....

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The lakeshore was lined with flowers, so I had to stop everyone for one last photo op...

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Nice Memory of a Nice Day

The three ladies in the foreground are the bilingual tour leaders

the man is Mr. Fujiwara from the Otsu City office of tourism

So that was my Tuesday. At the risk of overusing the word, it was a lovely day.

One of my favorite photos of the day was one of the first I took, shooting backwards as we rode up a hill to the first
shrine. I had hoped the focus would be on the mayor, but her smile was so big that it's clearly evident even out of focus,
complimented by Steve's in-focus smile:

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Ill-Composed, Poorly-Focused, Tilted

but it sums up the day perfectly

So, I Finally Bought a Road Bike

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Instructions Included

“Inflation: 8.5 BAR — 120 PSI”

I haven't posted anything in a week, or even read email in a week,
because I've been working on some new software projects.

The lack of externally-visible productivity (sorry if you've written and
I've not responded) is not because I bought a new bicycle, but while we're on the subject, BTW,
I did buy a new
bicycle.

This is a long article written mostly for my own memory. I won't feel bad if you don't read it all

p.subhead { font-size: 110%; font-weight: bold; margin-top: 40px }

The Old Bike

If you've seen any of my many cycling posts,
you'll know that since I started cycling earlier
this year, I've been riding a Trek
7.3FX “City/Fitness” bike that I picked up used at a local shop, seen
in many of the photos on this recent blog post.
I've ridden it about 3,500km (2,200mi) through the mountains around
Kyoto.

It's light by non-cyclist standards, weighing in at 13.2kg (29lb)
without drinks or luggage. Compare that to the normal mamachari
(“Mommy chariot”) that I bought when
I returned to Japan 10
years ago, which weighs in at 22.2kg (49lb). But by
cyclist standards, where 7kg (15lb) bikes are common, the Trek is
heavy, and so I've been told many many times “Dude, if you get a
lighter bike you will positively fly up the mountains!”

I liked this because I was a strong powerful rider in their mind without
actually having to be strong and powerful. If I actually got a real
road bike, I'd be discovered for the slow lumbering give-upper that I am.

Also, physics doesn't back up the thought that the bike weight would
have such impact. Sure, it sounds like a big deal
to cut the weight in half, but when trying to chug uphill you're not just
pushing the weight of the bike, you're pushing the weight of the bike
and the rider (and all the stuff I take
with me, like my camera, lots of drinks and food, etc.). My weight of 85kg (187lb) dwarfs that of the bike,
mitigating the savings. I calculated that moving
to a 7kg bike would cut the weight I have to push uphill by 6%. Big whoop.

But then, weight is not the only factor in what makes a bike fast. There's the aerodynamics of the bike, and
of the position it puts your body in. There's the amount of friction in the
wheel hubs and other moving parts, and of the tires on the road. There's
the “rotational weight”, which apparently can have a
big impact, so saving weight on the wheels makes for a bigger benefit than the same weight saved
elsewhere.

And then there's the psychological factor... if something about the bike
makes you feel faster, you will be faster.

I don't think this will all add up to much, but it'll add up to
something, so I went ahead and bought a new bike. If nothing else, at least it will shut up
the cacophony of “man, you should get a real bike...” comments.

The New Bike

The new bike arrived a few weeks ago, but it was a long, convoluted road to my front door.

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Straight From The Factory

After much research, I bought a bike from Rose, a
German manufacturer. A number of friends
have bikes from German manufacturer Canyon
so I looked into getting one there, but at the
time they didn't have any in my size.

Preparing a bike to order at Rose's website is really great because you
can customize everything about the bike, and they present a huge menu of
options. I chose the X-Lite CRS
3100 Di2 as my base, but then was given the option to customize:

frame size
frame paint scheme
crankset (crank and gears that the pedals attach to; I got Shimano Ultegra Semi-compact 52/36)
sprocket (the set of gears at the rear; I got Shimano Ultegra 11-speed 11-32)
wheels (I got Shimano Dura Ace C24)
tires (Continental GP4000 S II 700x25)
seat, seatpost, stem, handlbars, handlebar tape

Their system makes sure that all components work together (some tires can't work with some wheels, for example),
and shows an image of the result updated in real time with the changes you make. It's very spiffy.

I selected fairly high-end gear because I didn't want to outgrow the bike any time soon. When I got into photography
a decade ago I was fortunate enough to read this article on tripods by Thom
Hogan which teaches that there are two ways to buy a high-quality tripod. The first way is that you waste money on
successively-better inferior equipment until you finally buy something that's actually good, or, the second way is that
you just buy something actually good right away.

I think this advice applies to a lot of things that are meant to be used for a long time, like furniture, luggage,
lenses, suits, etc.

So, I researched as best I could, and relied on the informed opinions of friends I trusted.

Once you've made your selections at Rose's web site, actually placing the order is a much less enjoyable experience.

They say that they accept PayPal, but it turns out that this is only for
customers in the EU. At least this tidbit is mentioned in the small print
on the site. As for credit cards, not mentioned anywhere on their site is
that they accept only “3D Secure” cards, which
is something I'd never heard of. It turns out that it's not common in The
States... none of my cards had it, nor my parents' cards (I was visiting
them when I first tried actually placing the order).

The last resort is a bank wire transfer, so with that method of payment I finally placed
the order for my bicycle.... but when I got the wire details, I
realized it was a dead end because they don't accept standard international wire
transfers, but only wires on some obscure little system used in Europe. Another tidbit they failed to mention on their
site.

I couldn't believe how difficult they made it for me to give them my money. They seem to be set up for worldwide
sales, but judging by my experience, they appear to have never sold outside the EU. I was
ready to give up, until my brother Steve came to the rescue: he had a credit card Rose
would accept.

So with his help I placed my order. I had to rebuild the order from
scratch; I would have liked to have just updated the payment method on the original order, but
for inexplicable reasons Rose doesn't allow anything to be changed once an order has been placed. Absolutely
nothing can be changed, even if the order wouldn't move to the next stage for over a month.

Yes, my order would just sit there waiting to be built for five weeks because, I suppose, one of the components I customized was backordered. I was willing to wait.

Meanwhile, I returned to Japan. Upon entry I told the customs
officials about the impending arrival of the bike, and they had me declare it as “unaccompanied baggage”. As such, things would go much more
smoothly if the phrase “unaccompanied baggage” would be
written on the box somewhere, and I had to beg Rose to add the phrase to my mailing label.
It took some back and forth because they really really really don't want to change anything
about the order after the “order” button has been pressed, but they finally did it for me, thankfully.

Six weeks after ordering, it finally arrived to my door.

I was excited when it arrived, of course, but with the willpower of Zeus himself, I set the
box aside unopened for five days because I had family things that needed my attention and so
didn't want the distraction of the new bike.

Unboxing

Finally two weeks ago I opened the box...

Nikon D4 Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Nice to Meet You








Nikon D4 Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Dura-Ace Wheel

— the more you pay, the less you get —

( the wheels were a costly upgrade, but they are very light and were well recommended by a friend )

photo by Fumie Friedl

When the box first arrived, I posted a picture to the “Cycling Kyoto!”
facebook group, to which I unsurprisingly received replies like
“Nice box!”. My reply to that comment was "Dude, it's HUGE... I can make a fort, a pretend store,.... really, the ideas are limitless. So
cool.".

A week later when I actually opened the box, I followed up
with....

Nikon D4 Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 360 —
map & image data — nearby photos

“This box is great! It's like the front of a choo-choo train! So fun!!”

photo by Fumie Friedl

You wouldn't think that a bicycle would need much of a manual, but there were separate
manuals for many parts, including five different manuals for the electronic shifters (separate manuals for front
derailleur, the rear derailleur, the controller, the battery, and the shift levers).

Most manuals came in at least a few languages, but the manual for the battery (just a
battery!) seems to have come in all languages...

Nikon D4 Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 450 —
map & image data — nearby photos

“Battery: When No Longer Needed, Recycle It”

(my English translation for the substance contained in a full page of drivel per language )








Nikon D4 Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Lots of Manuals









Nikon D4 Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 3200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Complimentary Bottle

I don't know whether the yellow was coincidental, but it was a nich touch








Nikon D4 Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Oops

One of the crank arms (where the pedals attach) had a huge gash in its metal on the inside
edge, something that had to have happened before he bike was assembled at Rose. To their credit, when I
contacted them about it, their first immediate reply was that they would send a
replacement and so would I be able to install it? That was cool.

To swap it out requires specialized tools, but would take only five minutes, so I said
I could have a bike shop do it. But then I
also said that I'd consider just accepting a credit to my account and deal with it completely
myself. If this idea appealed to them I thought they'd propose an
amount, but instead they replied “Great, we've credited you €50”. Uh, okay, I would have like to have been given the option to accept
or decline, but sure, that seems reasonable.

There wasn't much assembly to be done, but part of it was hooking up the battery (that of many manuals) in the seat
stem to a wire coming from the frame. A special tool was included to
facilitate this, but it was impossible to use. I think they installed a
wire backwards or something, and I sent them photos to let them know about a possible problem in their assembly process. But I could work around it
easily enough.

The bottle cages, which I had bought separately, are to be installed with two simple screws each, and this proved to
be a much more difficult task for me. I somehow installed the first cage upside down, so I had
to take it off and reinstall it. Silly me. But then I inexplicably did the exact same thing
with the second one. Am I old enough to use the phrase “senior
moment”?

Day 0 Test Ride

I'd never ridden a bike with drop handles, so was a bit worried
how I'd handle how it handles. As a little test, I cycled over to NORU Kyoto for a cup of coffee and to show off
the new bike.

iPhone 6 Plus iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 39mm — 1/40 sec, f/2.2, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Me and the New Bike

with two properly-instaled bottle cages,

and two friends, Andy and Joshua

at NORU Kyoto

photo by Ross McLean

As I explained above, I wasn't too hopeful for how the low weight (7.2kg
without drinks or luggage) would help me when climbing mountains, but I did
have hope for how the large 52-tooth front gear would help me on a fast
straightaway. With that in mind, on the way home I gave it some gas on a
600m (⅓ mile) straightaway where the speed limit is 50 kph.

I kept up with the cars, so figured that I did it sort of well. I'd find out the details
once I got home and uploaded the ride data to Strava.

Finally before returning home, I wanted to see how it felt on a hill, so
I gave a try to a little hill that rises 47m over 600m (150' over ⅓
mile) for an average grade of 8%.

What I found out is that exherting oneself on the new bike is no more
nor less tiring than on the old bike... hard is still hard. I didn't give
it 100%, but the 70% I gave felt like 70% on the old bike.

So I returned home and uploaded the data to Strava, and was a bit
surprised to find that despite not having given it my all, I actually beat
my previous best time on the
straightaway section by two seconds, to log a time of 50 seconds with
an average speed of 47kph (29mph).

This was the second fastest time of all the 316 people who have recorded
attempts of the segment at Strava, which might sound impressive except for
the fact that most folks riding the segment don't realize nor care that it's
a segment; they're just cycling by on the way to or from somewhere.

Still, it's rare that I get into the top anything, so I'll take it. If I go there some Sunday morning when there's no traffic, I'm sure I can beat
the 46 seconds currently listed as the top time (but if any of my friends
actually make an effort at a time, I'm sure they can do it faster than I
can).

More surprising still was my time on the
little climb near my house where I beat my previous PR by 13 seconds to
log a time of 1:15. This put me in sixth place out of 526 riders who have
logged the segment with Strava. This was better than the 6% improvement I
thought I might find, so I was pleased.

Day 1

The next day I went out for a quiet ride with
Michael Edwards,
and we did a “Heart Loop”, a common Kyoto route described here.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 31mm — 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Michael Edwards

at the start of our ride

Michael was feeling sluggish due to jetlag, having just returned from a
visit to The States, so we took it easy, and I got the chance to start to
get to know the bike.

Michael is a fast guy, so his “taking it easy” on the first little climb
out of Kyoto (3% for 1.5km) was still faster than I'd done it the first
time. But it felt easier than the first time, so that boded well.

When we got to the farming village of Ohara, we stopped for some photos...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 33mm — 1/2500 sec, f/2.2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

photo by Michael Edwards

When I was configuring the bike at Rose's website, I could choose black
or white for the stem (the short segment that connects the handlebars to
the bike frame), and for some reason I thought that white might make for an
interesting accent. I realized that I was wrong on that point the moment
the bike arrived, and the white stem just looks out of place.

As I write this article a week later, it's already been changed for a
black one, but not for vanity reasons. More on that later.

Most bikes tend to look generally the same to me except for paint and
color, and mine is no different, but Michael's is unique and stands out
with some very futuristic aero features, such as non-round spokes and his
new handlebars, which look like something Darth Vader would fly...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 33mm — 1/2500 sec, f/2.2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Michael's Bike








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 33mm — 1/2500 sec, f/2.2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Closer Crop

I'll have to do a photo session with Michael and his bike with my good
camera, so I can do both justice. You can't tell
in the photos above, but his bike is very cool; I
hereby dub it “blade”.

We continued on, and on the first big climb (7% for 1.7km) we rode slowly together and it
was very easy. When I got home and checked the data, I was shocked
to find that I'd missed my PR by only a slim margin (6:15 vs. 6:01). If I'd known at the time
it would have changed how I felt about the rest of the ride... it was really shocking to me
that an effortless lazy stroll on the new bike could end up being almost as fast as a fairly
hard effort on the old bike.

Then there was a
long downhill where I tried go quickly. I had hoped the
larger gear on the front would allow me to continue to accelerate as long as I had power, but
I quickly “spun out” (reached the
limit for how fast I could pedal), and so my speed was similarly limited. I
was disappointed, and not surprised when I returned home to find that I'd beat my PR by
only four seconds (2:27→2:23).

Then we came upon a short little uphill sprint that I
like to try my best on, so I hit it
fairly hard. Like the little uphill sprint I
tried the previous day, I didn't feel any
faster, just equally tired. Thus, it was one of the biggest shockers for me
when I got home... it turns out that I
crushed my PR on this one, despite giving it only an 80% effort.
My previous PR was 1:44 on a
day that I got a
running start at it and gave it absolutely everything I had, but today I did it in
1:19, an improvement of 24%.

Again, I didn't know any of this while I was out riding.

After a long lazy climb back into the mountains, we came to Mochikoshi Pass (持越峠), a short but brutal climb that rises at a
10% grade for 1.1km. Unlike, say, the much more difficult Momoi
Pass where the brutality is in trying to merely complete it, the brutality of Mochikoshi Pass East is in trying to
do it quickly. The steepest section is at the beginning, leaving little left in the gas tank
for the remaining bulk of the climb.

Michael, who had been one of the more vocal “dude, if you had a real
bike...” crowd, suggested that I could do the hill in five or five and a half minutes. Considering that my times on previous
attempts had been 6:27 and 7:05, anything below 6:00 seemed far fetched,
but to make an informal timing I left a stopwatch running on my handlebar-mounted phone, and
noted its times when I crossed the starting and
ending points of the segment.

It was horrible. I was breathing so hard for the entire run that my throat
got cracked and dry. It was not fun at all.

But I did it in about 5:05, which perhaps made up for the pain that
persisted in my throat for the next couple of days as the pain turned into
a mild cold (or the pain was an early warning for
a mild cold). I was
stoked... the bike really did make me faster.

Michael was still in “taking it easy” mode, so I'd left him behind at the start, and
was likely not visible to him on the hairpin-filled road after the first 30
seconds, yet based on how I started he was able
to predict that I'd done it in five minutes. When I
got home to check, it turned out to have been 5:01. Amazing
observation skills, Michael.

We took it easy for the rest of the ride back to Kyoto, stopping by
the Hasegawa cafe for coffee.

We then stopped by the
“Nasty” 21%
grade. As I mentioned in my update on riding clipped
in, its an ultra steep section like that still makes me worried about
falling over, so I thought I
should just get it over with.

I was quite apprehensive about it, especially since a large group of
riders arrived just after us and so any falling over would be done in front
of them.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/1600 sec, f/2.1, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

“Please don't fall Please don't fall Please don't fall...”

photo by Michael Edwards








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.1, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

this is the “it flattens out near the top” section

photo by Michael Edwards

My concentration was not on speed, but on simply not falling over, and it turns out to have been no problem. It also turns out that I again crushed my PR, going from 39 seconds to 33
seconds. As I write here,
Strava has issues with this particular segment, but I believe my 33-second time is the 3rd
best overall.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 58mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Some Guy Having Fun

one of the group that arrived just after us

( he doesn't look worried about falling over )

So, that was my first real ride, 57km (35mi) filled
with new personal records and hope for the future. Michael and the others
were right: I would be fast on a new bike.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned about the throat pain, I did come down with a cold for a few days.
Once it was mostly better, I went out for a ride just to try to chase the cold away with some physical effort.

Ride #2

On Ride #2 I did some exploring
of new mountains, and some short climbs. I didn't exert myself too much, but still made a few new PRs, so that was nice.

The electronic shifters are nice, but they are not as smart as I'd hoped. You can press the button to shift gears
very quickly, and it tries to move the derailleur faster than the gears can actually shift, so if you're not careful,
you can get some clunking and skipping.

And even if you're careful, it still clunks and skips at times under heavy load. It's much better than what I had
before, but it's not at all perfect. It's nice and I don't feel the need to change it, but using it still requires
skill.

Ride #3

The next day I went out for an easy ride with Anthony, 43km (27mi) along a river and back.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 49mm — 1/640 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Riding Around the Yodogawa Kasen Park

(淀川河川公園)

taken while moving at 22 kph (13 mph)

We went as far as this
park that I wrote about 8½ years ago, which is absolutely
stunning during cherry-blossom season. When we were there, it was “just”
simply lovely.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/250 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

taken while moving at 16 kph (10 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 60mm — 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Rich Late-Afternoon Light

on the way home








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/7.1, ISO 320 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Encroaching Grass

taken while moving at 18 kph (11 mph)

It was a trivial ride for me, but quite an accomplishment for
12-year-old Anthony, who hasn't ridden his bike much lately. I'm glad I
made him get a shower right away after we returned home, because he then
fell asleep and didn't wake up until it was time to get ready for school
the next morning.

Ride #4

I was feeling better from my cold, so the next day I did a more ambitious ride of
110km (68mi) with lots of climbing, with Manseki. We had great fun exploring new
mountains to the southeast of Kyoto.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 70mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Manseki Being Manseki

cresting the pass at Mt. Kasatori (笠取山)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

near the pass at Mt. Kasatori (笠取山)

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu

It's interesting to compare the photo above with this photo
(also by Manseki) at the same location on a ride in March, going the other
way. It was one of my first long rides, and the climb absolutely killed
me.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

At One of the Many Nameless Passes

( the same pass seen here on that ride in March )

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu

The jersey has text at the bottom saying “Give Your Brain The Night
Off”. I thought this might have more “character” than the rolling
billboards that cyclists tend to wear. Some cyclists are actually paid to
wear their sponsor's logos (such as Sarah, seen here, who I
believe is sponsored by Aussie retailer bikebug). I'm not good enough to be
sponsored by anyone, so instead I'll go with “character”.

Moving off into uncharted territory, we climbed a road up
Mt. Tanakami (田上山)

that I'd seen on Google Earth, which is great for finding unmapped logging
roads and the like. I've since added the road to OpenStreetMap.org, and the
segment to Strava. I currently have the “King of the Mountain” (best ever)
record, simply because I'm the only one to ever log it with Strava.

There's a nice view from the top:

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 50mm — 1/160 sec, f/8, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

View of Otsu and Lake Biwa

from the pass on Mt. Tanokami (田上山)

For context, the bridge seen in the background of this picture
can be made out near the upper left of the photo above.

Descending the other side of the mountain involved a kilometer of gravel and fording a stream, but we were soon thrown into
our next climb.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 35mm — 1/160 sec, f/9, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Prepared for Anything

but on the inside the “16%” made me quiver

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu

I don't know what road the “16%” sign was for, but it wasn't for the road we were on,
because the climb was not bad at 7% for 4.6km,
followed by the most lovely fast descent
where I could average over 40 kph for more than three minutes.

It ends near some nice rice fields, where the harvest has started.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/4000 sec, f/2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Rice Harvest

I had been hoping to make it as far as this remote temple, but
we were taking it too easy and time was running short, so we turned around
at the gate of The Miho
Museum.

On the way home we stopped by the
Sajo Towson (茶丈藤村) cafe, which is run by a cyclist friend of
Manseki. We'd stopped by on
that ride in March as well.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Cafe Sajo Towson (茶丈藤村)

I had some Terabe Mochi,
which was a waste because I scarfed it down but its delicate flavors are
better suited to a slow lingering enjoyment. I should just bring some home
next time.

The proprietress, Maria, kindly gave us an extra little snack, some kind of
semi-sweet translucent jelly-like “noodle”...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 26mm — 1/100 sec, f/1.9, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

I Don't Know What This Is

other than “tasty”

Getting closer to home, we swung by this
lovely little segment that I discovered while on the kicking-my-cold
ride two days prior...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1/30 sec, f/4, ISO 3200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Pleasant Road in the City

Feeling mentally comfortable on the bike, I made PRs on the last two
climbs before home, where I tied
Gorm's time on Kosekikoshi Pass (小関越), and shaved off a few seconds
from the climb
up the hill at Keage (蹴上げ東), which I last PR'd after the 230km ride around Lake
Biwa.

All in all, a good day.

Ride #5

Finally, my most recent ride was another heart loop. It was a group ride where we mostly stuck together, but I still made a bunch of PRs,
including averaging almost 60 kph (37mph) for the two minutes down
the fast downhill
I mentioned from Day 1.

Twice I hit a five-second average of 70 kph (44mph), but that seems to
be my limit. I've been told since then that gains beyond that are to be had
in aerodynamics, so I'll have to follow the advice in this well-timed GCN
video on aero-riding.

I couldn't repeat my 5:01 time on Mochikoshi Pass, even though I felt I
tried harder. The first initial climb just killed me, and I had nothing
left for the rest. I did a 5:10. I guess this tells me to take it easy on
the first climb, then use the saved energy on the “easier” (everything's
relative) last ⅔ of the segment.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Joking Around After the Ride

at Yama no Ie Hasegawa (山の家はせがわ)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/4, ISO 1000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Coffee and Cheescake

my standard order

So, that's my experience with the new bike. After 309km (190mi) I feel
pretty comfortable with it, mostly.

It's my first drop-handle bike so I've still got to get used to the
various riding positions it affords. They're so different from anything
I've ever experienced that I don't have the knowledge to differentiate
between something I've just not gotten used to yet, and something that's
misadjusted. So with this in mind, I went to someone who does have that
knowledge, and stopped by for a followup bike fitting at Vincent
Flanagan's PedalForth.

Since this was a followup to my earlier bike-fitting
session, Vincent started right in with the measurements of the bike's
current setup, and asking me how I feel about that current setup.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Vincent Working On My Bike

PedalForth Fitting

I felt mostly good about the bike, but felt that maybe the reach to the handlebars was a
bit long, and that I wasn't sure yet how to get the most power through the pedals.
Now when riding hard, I sometimes feel I'm not being particularly
efficient. I don't know whether these are issues of the bike setup or just my ignorance on how
to ride this kind of bike.

Vincent did his thing, and we ended up moving the seat up by 23mm (⅞"), the handlebars back by 32mm
(1¼") and up by 21mm (⅞"). They sound like small changes, but they made a
world of difference and suddenly the bike felt “right”.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/60 sec, f/1.7, ISO 320 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Much Better

photo by Vincent Flanagan

As a bonus side effect, the re-positioning of the handlebars required a shorter stem, so I was able to get rid of the
white one that stuck out like sore thumb.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.1, ISO 2000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

More Powerful Power Transfer

currently being measured: knee angle at maximum extension

It felt great on the ride home, but unfortunately a busy schedule and another mild cold have conspired to keep me off
the bike. I can't wait to try the new setup on some real climbs...

Bridget and Sarah’s Tour-de-Kyoto, Part 3

Finally getting around to finishing Day 1 of “Bridget and Sarah's Tour-de-Kyoto”,
after Part 1 and Part 2
last week.

After many flats and a nice visit to a rural temple, we headed south toward Kyoto...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 46mm — 1/1250 sec, f/2.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Making 40kph Look Like Nothing

taken while cycling at 40 kph (25 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/2000 sec, f/2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Quintessential Rural Kyoto

taken while cycling at 33 kph (21 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 56mm — 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Why Go Through a Tunnel

when you can take a steep, twisty, ill-maintained road over it?

taken while cycling at 23 kph (14 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Wet Slipper Photo-Op








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/500 sec, f/2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Fast Downhill on Rt 162

taken while cycling at 49 kph (30 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 43mm — 1/160 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Reminders that We're In Japan

taken while cycling at 30 kph (19 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 40mm — 1/25 sec, f/2.5, ISO 3200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Un Go-Aroundable Tunnel

Kasa Tunnel (笠トンネル）

taken while cycling at 41 kph (25 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

I Love Going Downhill

(so do they, but they kindly stayed back for me to take a few pics, which unfortunately didn't come out)

taken while cycling at 35 kph (21 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

See'ya!

taken while cycling at 36 kph (22 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Bu'bye!

taken while cycling at 32 kph (20 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Scheewwwwwwwwwww......

2:51 PM (from start: 7h 16m / 76 km / 47.2 miles)

taken while cycling at 41 kph (25 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 43mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Coattails Aflappin'

(yes, I just made up that word)

taken while cycling at 24 kph (15 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 320 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Stopping For Sustenance

at Yama no Ie Hasegawa (山の家はせがわ)

My favorite little secret restaurant in the middle of nowhere. Clicking on “nearby photos” above shows
the many times I've posted from here.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 1250 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Ready To Eat a Horse

but this curry will do

The girls were starving and were finished with their curry before
the photo above had finished writing to the camera memory card.

On the way home after lunch, we stopped by Kyoto’s Nasty 21% city-bike hill climb,
which Bridget hit with abandon...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 62mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Rocketing Up

Nasty 21% Slope








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 62mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Concentration









DMC-SZ9 at an effective 26mm — 1/640 sec, f/3.1, ISO 160 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Ridiculously Steep

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 49mm — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Last Curve








DMC-SZ9 at an effective 26mm — 1/1000 sec, f/3.1, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Almost Done

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu

Bridget's time of 41
seconds is almost certainly earns her the “QOM” (Queen of the Mountain
— fastest female) award, but due to problems with
Strava's system many faster irrelevant entries pollute the data, so
we'll never know.

I was really reluctant to give the steep hill a try with my new clipped-in
shoes/pedals, but I figured that if I was going to fall over, I should fall over with my current bike instead of the new one on order, so I ended
up giving it a try, making it my fifth attempt overall...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/640 sec, f/2.1, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Not Fallen Over YetJF100_04691

taken while I was cycling at 13 kph (8 mph)

photo by Eric Findlay








DMC-SZ9 at an effective 26mm — 1/250 sec, f/3.1, ISO 125 —
map & image data — nearby photos


Just After I Passed

this really shows the steepness

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu

I didn't fall over (yeah), and my time of 39
seconds tied my personal best. (I've since done it in 33
seconds, but that's a different story.)

Now back in the city we stopped by a bike shop to get new tubes, and later we all met for
okonomiyaki and yakisoba...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/2, ISO 2500 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Kanpai!

(“cheers”) at Kiraku (きらく三条本店)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 2000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Yakisoba (Fried Noodles)

And so ended Day 1 of their Tour de Kyoto. Day 2 would be tomorrow.

To be continued...

Bridget and Sarah’s Tour-du-Kyoto, Part 3

Finally getting around to finishing Day 1 of “Bridget and Sarah's Tour-du-Kyoto”,
after Part 1 and Part 2
last week.

After many flats and a nice visit to a rural temple, we headed south toward Kyoto...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 46mm — 1/1250 sec, f/2.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Making 40kph Look Like Nothing

taken while cycling at 40 kph (25 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/2000 sec, f/2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Quintessential Rural Kyoto

taken while cycling at 33 kph (21 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 56mm — 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Why Go Through a Tunnel

when you can take a steep, twisty, ill-maintained road over it?

taken while cycling at 23 kph (14 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Wet Slipper Photo-Op








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/500 sec, f/2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Fast Downhill on Rt 162

taken while cycling at 49 kph (30 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 43mm — 1/160 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Reminders that We're In Japan

taken while cycling at 30 kph (19 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 40mm — 1/25 sec, f/2.5, ISO 3200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Un Go-Aroundable Tunnel

Kasa Tunnel (笠トンネル）

taken while cycling at 41 kph (25 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

I Love Going Downhill

(so do they, but they kindly stayed back for me to take a few pics, which unfortunately didn't come out)

taken while cycling at 35 kph (21 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

See'ya!

taken while cycling at 36 kph (22 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Bu'bye!

taken while cycling at 32 kph (20 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Scheewwwwwwwwwww......

2:51 PM (from start: 7h 16m / 76 km / 47.2 miles)

taken while cycling at 41 kph (25 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 43mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Coattails Aflappin'

(yes, I just made up that word)

taken while cycling at 24 kph (15 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 320 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Stopping For Sustenance

at Yama no Ie Hasegawa (山の家はせがわ)

My favorite little secret restaurant in the middle of nowhere. Clicking on “nearby photos” above shows
the many times I've posted from here.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 1250 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Ready To Eat a Horse

but this curry will do

The girls were starving and were finished with their curry before
the photo above had finished writing to the camera memory card.

On the way home after lunch, we stopped by Kyoto’s Nasty 21% city-bike hill climb,
which Bridget hit with abandon...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 62mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Rocketing Up

Nasty 21% Slope








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 62mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Concentration









DMC-SZ9 at an effective 26mm — 1/640 sec, f/3.1, ISO 160 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Ridiculously Steep

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 49mm — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Last Curve








DMC-SZ9 at an effective 26mm — 1/1000 sec, f/3.1, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Almost Done

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu

Bridget's time of 41
seconds is almost certainly earns her the “QOM” (Queen of the Mountain
— fastest female) award, but due to problems with
Strava's system many faster irrelevant entries pollute the data, so
we'll never know.

I was really reluctant to give the steep hill a try with my new clipped-in
shoes/pedals, but I figured that if I was going to fall over, I should fall over with my current bike instead of the new one on order, so I ended
up giving it a try, making it my fifth attempt overall...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/640 sec, f/2.1, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Not Fallen Over YetJF100_04691

taken while I was cycling at 13 kph (8 mph)

photo by Eric Findlay








DMC-SZ9 at an effective 26mm — 1/250 sec, f/3.1, ISO 125 —
map & image data — nearby photos


Just After I Passed

this really shows the steepness

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu

I didn't fall over (yeah), and my time of 39
seconds tied my personal best. (I've since done it in 33
seconds, but that's a different story.)

Now back in the city we stopped by a bike shop to get new tubes, and later we all met for
okonomiyaki and yakisoba...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/2, ISO 2500 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Kanpai!

(“cheers”) at Kiraku (きらく三条本店)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 2000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Yakisoba (Fried Noodles)

And so ended Day 1 of their Tour du Kyoto. Day 2 would be tomorrow.

To be continued...

Comfy British Cycling Shirts in Japan at NORU

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

NORU Kyoto

first floor of the Yokai SOHO building

Kyoto japan

I stopped by NORU Kyoto today, which reopened after a summer hiatus. I'd mentioned them last May in “Discovering Kyoto’s Wonderful Toji-in Temple on a Tour with NORU”.

I picked up a nice
quick-dry T-shirt from Morvélo, a British cycling brand.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

My New Shirt

Kumiko was helping the guys out at the shop

I think that NORU is the only place to get them in Japan, though I suppose
you could get them directly
from the company if you didn't mind paying more plus shipping.

It's much more expensive than the 500-yen Uniqlo T's that I
wrote about three years ago, but also much more comfortable and stylish. The price is on par with comparable T's from the Under Armour brand that I
like so much (and whose stock I own), but I've got to admit that I like
the Morvélo style better.

I learned today that “vélo” means “bicycle” in French.

I almost bought this
retro-looking jersey, which to me looks like a movie poster from the
1930s, but held off until I get a better feel for what size will be
appropriate when I start riding a real road bike.

I also picked up a Chapeau!
base-layer T-shirt whose fabric felt so good when I came across it on
the rack that I just had to have it. I think I'll wear it around town as
opposed to waiting for it to be cool enough to wear it while cycling.

Chapeau! is another British cycling
brand that I think is exclusive in Japan to NORU. “Chapeau” is of course
French for “hat”, but it's also the cycling term for “kudos”, a verbal “hat
tip” recognition of something well done.

Fumie’s “Swanilda” Tutu

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Final Adjustments

adding new hooks so that it can be worn even more snugly

チュチュのサイズの調整。Ｓサイズでも大きすぎる。

Fumie had her annual fall ballet recital yesterday, and it was amazing.
Sadly, no video was allowed this time, but she's really progressed in
technique and presentation. She is a real ballerina.

She did the technically-demanding “Swanilda” variation from Coppélia's act three, wearing this:

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 4000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Fumie's Pancake Tutu

昨日、妻はこのチュチュを着て踊りました。美しかった。









Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 220 —
map & image data — nearby photos









Nikon D4 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/400 sec, f/1.4, ISO 250 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/400 sec, f/1.4, ISO 220 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Update On My Fear and Trepidation of Cycling Clipped In: It’s Mostly Gone

この記事は長いですが、簡単な要約すると、新しいサイクリング用の靴を慣れてきました。

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted “Trepidation and
Anticipation: Moving Up to Cycling Shoes”, which opens with the same
photo seen above, and in which I admit my anxiety of riding with shoes that
physically clip to the bike's pedals. The fear arose from not being able to
put my food down in an emergency, thereby causing me to fall over, perhaps
on nasty rocks or at high speed, or, even worse, in front of friends.

Prior to this change, since I first got bit by the
cycling bug in January, I'd ridden 2,978km (1,850 mi) with normal
shoes, which is roughly the straight-line distance from San Francisco to
Chicago, though with an accumulated 50,507m of elevation gain, what I've
actually done has exceeded that hypothetical route by almost an order of
magnitude. This is not very much compared to many cyclists around here, but
it's a lot for someone like me and I'd grown comfortable with how I was
doing things.

Here's how I used to ride:

DMC-SZ9 at an effective 28mm — 1/250 sec, f/3.3, ISO 800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Rodeo-Clown Style

with normal sports sneakers

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu (May 14 2015)

This is from a
60km outing to the mountains of Uji in May, one of the many days of
exploration on the bike that I've not been able to write about yet.

There are great benefits to wearing normal shoes when cycling, the
greatest of which is the ability to immediately (and without thought or
effort) move your feet from the pedals and place them on the ground, saving
you from unceremoniously crashing over or into something.

But the ability to walk normally when not on the bike is also a great benefit...

DMC-SZ9 at an effective 58mm — 1/640 sec, f/4.2, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Moving From a Dead-End Path

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu

In the photo above I'm climbing up an embankment separating the
dead-end path I'd mistakenly taken from the main road I should have been
on. The steep climb on slippery grass was difficult enough with the
ultra-grippy workout shoes I was wearing, so I can imagine it would have
been extremely challenging with hard-soled cycling shoes with
smooth-plastic soles suffering from a big cleat-wart on the front. On the other hand, such an attempt would have certainly been humorous fun for
those watching.

Later on the same trip, while riding a mountain trail, we stopped at an observation deck,
while walking around I didn't have to hobble around.

DMC-SZ9 at an effective 26mm — 1/200 sec, f/3.1, ISO 160 —
map & image data — nearby photos

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu

Road-bike cycling shoes are meant for riding the bike, not walking
around. The cleat bolted onto the bottom of the sole under the ball of the
foot makes for an awkward hobble at best.

Later we got some bad directions and ended up walking down a mile of steep mountain trail...

Nikon D700 Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 1400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

It was no problem for me with my sports shoes, but others had to pick and choose their steps much more carefully.

Nikon D700 Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/400 sec, f/11, ISO 6400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Avoiding the Gravel-Puncture Gods

I realize that I'm new to cycling, but somehow I think they're not doing it quite right...

So, given the advantage to normal shoes, why would anyone physically
clip oneself to the bike pedals?

The reason that I heard most often from those that did it (which is
pretty much everyone else that I ever road with) is that it made them feel
safer and more efficient.

The “safer” comes from not having to worry about slipping off the
pedals, and that does sound appealing. I'm not quite sure how or why it
happens, but when going up very steep sections of road, I'd have one foot
slip off on average perhaps one time a day. At best this was jarring, but
sometimes could be painful as my shin hits the pedal or delicate parts slam
into the bike.

In any case, I intended to give them a try, and as I wrote I was quite
nervous at the idea. I gave them a short little try, and came up with “Gave The Cycling
Shoes a Try; Wasn’t So Bad”.

Two weeks have passed, and I've ridden a total of 523km with them.

The first long mountain ride with them, reported on in “Clipped In: Baptism By Fire, But
Feeling Well Satisfied”, helped me
get over a certain part of the fear, including
some of the fear of falling over if I can't
unclip quickly enough. Because I did fall over
once for exactly that reason, and didn't get hurt to badly, I realized that it wasn't necessarily the end of the
world.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/8, ISO 3200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Still Alive

after having fallen over due to an inability to unclip quickly enough

Perhaps my biggest steps forward came a couple
of days later with this 83km (52mi)
mountain ride with Manseki. We'd originally planned to do a simple,
light ride just to get our mojo back after having been away from the bike
while having our respective summer vacations, but we ended up doing so much
more.

First I learned that you don't actually have to keep both feet clipped
in all the time. We'd met for the ride here in town at Kyoto's Nijo Castle,
which involved some slow riding through crowds on sidewalks, and I was
scared to death of having to suddenly stop my already-slow progress because
of someone making a sudden change of direction, but Manseki told me he
always keeps one foot unclipped in such situations. This was an
enormous relief, and made things much easier.

For our ride, we decided to man up and climb over Hanase Pass (花背峠)
to have coffee at Cowbell, a ride I've done before described here. I have a
love/fear of the climb to Hanase Pass, 5.6km (3.5mi) of unrelenting
steepness that has no flat or downhill parts. I've done it many times but I
still feel slightly ill right before each attempt, simply at the prospect
of subjecting myself to the climb.

But I made it without stopping or falling over, and that certainly gave me extra confidence.

After coffee, we decided to try the climb to Momoi Pass (百井峠), and again, my level of trepidation
spiked. The distance of this climb
is short — just 1.2km (0.75 mi) — but the average slope is over 11% and the average for the
main 600m of it is over 15%.

In fact, the only other time I'd even attempted this soul-crushing hill, I ended up walking the whole way to accompany a friend who was new to
riding clipped in and fell over, right in front of me, at the steepness at
the start of the climb. This instilled a lot of fear in me, both of riding clipped in,
and of that particular climb.

So, buoyed by my success at Hanase Pass, I decided to confront my feat of Momoi Pass head on.

It was much more brutal that I remember from walking up it some months
prior, so much so that I quickly decided to abandon my policy of not using
my smallest (of three) front chain rings. A real road bike, when I get one,
won't have such an easy gear, so I've been trying to do all my rides
without. But this attempt was way too much and I wasn't sure that I could
do it even with the easy mountain-bike gearing. Thoughts of falling over
onto the horribly-potholed road filled my mind as I decided to downshift to
my bike's easiest gear.

In trying to downshift on the slow, steep climb, the chain popped off
and I came to an immediate halt. This was exactly one of my main fears of
riding clipped in. No forward movement means that you fall over
immediately, and this is what happened... except somehow — I have no
idea how — in that split second the frantic spasms of my foot freed
itself from the clip and I could put my foot down, avoiding the fall that
my mind had already decided was a foregone conclusion.

I put the chain back on and continued on up without further incident.
Surviving the chain incident, and making it to the top of Momoi Pass, did
wonders for my confidence.

That day's ride, which I hope to eventually write about separately, then
took us through some wonderful countryside that was new to both of us.
At times I forgot that
I was riding clipped in, and the sudden
re-realization of it would bring a shot of
adrenalin and minor fear. I'd been told many
times that the biggest chance of falling was when idly coming to a stop and not unclipping because you simply forgot
you were clipped in. I could now see how this was entirely possible.

Some of the wonderful mountain roads we took had the nasty combination of steepness and slipperiness
(due to wet mossy/green stuff)...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 72mm — 1/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Fun Little Hill Covered With Moss

120m of 19% to start a 700m section averaging 12%

There's a real chance of the entire wheel slipping when applying power
up these steep grades, so being able to complete this without falling over,
despite the occasional slip, also added confidence.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 1000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Slippery 'n Slimy

The return climb up the other side of the same pass is even steeper, and is
even more mossy (similar to the photo above, which is of a flat section
elsewhere on the road). Confidence goes up again.

The next ride was “Bridget and Sarah’s Tour-du-Kyoto”...

DMC-SZ9 at an effective 30mm — 1/200 sec, f/3.3, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu

On this 100km ride I noticed two changes:

No longer did I get a shot of adrenaline when I suddenly remembered that I was clipped in.
I often found myself chatting at stops without any conscious memory of having unclipped.

This told me that I was now comfortable with the shoes in “normal”
situations.

This was great, meaning that I had passed through the “slowly roll to
a stop and fall over because you forgot to unclip” danger stage, which
for me turns out to have been just one ride.

But at times I ride in situations that are not normal, such as this ridiculously steep hill:

DMC-SZ9 at an effective 26mm — 1/400 sec, f/3.1, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Heading Up “Nasty” While Clipped IN

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu

I've written about this hill in “Kyoto’s Nasty 21% City-Bike Hill Climb”.

I can do this climb nonstop in my bike's easiest mountain-bike gearing,
though it's a different matter to be able to do it and have
to do it. I was hesitant (frankly, scared), but I switched to the
easiest gear and gave it a try while clipped in. It turned out to be no
problem.

In the past I've been able to do this with 28F 23R gearing (1:1.22
ratio), so in theory I should be able to do it while clipped in on the new
bike I've ordered, whose easiest gearing is 36F 32R (an easier 1:1.13
ratio), but I'm sure that the stress and fear of being clipped in will play
a part, perhaps for the better or perhaps for the worse. We'll see.

My next ride was the next day, again with the two visiting Aussies. It turnd out to be mostly a repeat of the ride a few days ago with Manseki where we did Hanase
and Momoi Passes.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Feeling Confident

11:25 AM (from start: 3h 45m / 34 km / 20.9 miles)

This time up the feared Momoi Pass, I made sure to get into my lowest
gear early on, so I didn't have any chains popping or falling over, and I
could do it nonstop.

It remains to be seen whether I could do it on a road bike with normal
gearing. Among our group that day, I think Bridget was the only one who
could.

The next ride was an easy 108km round trip to Osaka. There are no hills,
so nothing to challenge my remaining fears.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

No Worries

photo by Manu Mohan

Finally, my most recent ride was the most awesomely epic awesome bit of
epicness seen in “Epic Cycling Adventure with Andy and Nigel”. The original plan was less ambitious overall, but did include what for me was a scary
challenge: to try again
the eastern climb to Maegahata Pass (前ヶ畑峠),
the main brutal part of the climb seen in July's “My First Ascent of
The Most-Heinous Momoi Pass East”.

It includes some truly heinously steep sections, and is long. I worried that I simply wouldn't have the power and endurance to do the whole
thing in a road-bike gear, but I wanted to try. I needed to try. If I couldn't do it, I'd rather fall with my current bike than with the new
one.

I took it slowly but surely, and made it. I was slower than last time,
but in a more difficult gear and clipped in, so I'm satisfied.

From there we decided to head north, and ended up on an epic journey. I had a chain pop off again (and again somehow didn't fall), a flat tire
(my second ever), and a lot of fun.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Descending Ogose Pass (尾越峠)

photo by Andy Clark







Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

This Road Is Passable

I can't figure out why the sign said “Road Closed”

I've still got the fear of super-steep roads in a road-bike gear, but maybe a few attempts
(and perhaps a few fall) will cure me of that. In any case, that aside, I'm pretty comfortable with the shoes.

I'm also happy to find that I can still use the special pedals (Shimano
Dura-Ace) with normal shoes, such as when I used the bike to pop over to
church for Mass. That's a nice bonus.

Photoshop Calendar Templates for 2016 (through 2020)

Calendar Built With My Photoshop
Script

FYI, I've just updated the page for my Photoshop
calendar-template-building script to include pre-built PSDs for 2016
(and 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020), in case you can't run the script but have
Photoshop and want to make some custom calendars.

Bridget and Sarah’s Tour-du-Kyoto, Part 2

This post picks up from “Bridget and
Sarah’s Tour-du-Kyoto, Part 1” about a great ride with a couple of
Aussie girls visiting Kyoto. That first part of the story left off
3½ hours and 41km into our ride, after Eric had fixed his flat.

We got almost four whole minutes farther down the road before the next flat, this time on Sarah's bike.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/60 sec, f/1.7, ISO 1250 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Sarah Goes to Work on Her Flat

Despite the rain, things got bright after that because we didn't get another flat for almost a full 30 minutes!

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/640 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Flat Roulette Picks Bridget








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/1000 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

The Culprit

the thorn from a bush plucked from her tire








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/1000 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Scenery

at least we had some for this tube change

The rain abated a bit, so later when after having crested a short mountain pass, I went ahead to try to set up for an “action shot” of the others coming
down...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 70mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1600 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Bridget “Action” Shot

Unfortunately, the whole “come down one at a time” idea seems to have been lost in the translation,
because Sarah came down so quickly after Bridget that I had almost no time to prepare for her shot...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 70mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Fuzzy Sarah

... and Eric came even more quickly after Sarah ...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 70mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 320 —
map & image data — nearby photos

No. Time. To. Unzoom.

And by the split second later when Kumiko came by, I gave up even trying.

After that we had a while to ride on generally-flat country roads...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/160 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Still Looking Fresh

51km (35mi) into the ride

taken while cycling at 20 kph (12 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 30mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.2, ISO 200 —
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Pleasant Side Road

taken while cycling at 25 kph (15 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/1250 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 —
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Pink Roadside Flowers

taken while cycling at 25 kph (16 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/1000 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 —
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Sarah Flat #2

Sarah's first flat had been due to a tear in the sidewall of her tire,
which left the new tube vulnerable to puncture, and sure enough she got
another flat. We had plenty of spare tubes among us as a group, but since
Sarah and Bridget had deep-rim wheels, none of our short-stem tubes would
work for them.

So, they made do as best they could patching the punctures on the tubes
they had, and using patch kits (and candy-bar wrappers) to try to add
support where the tire had ripped (support to stop the rubber of the tube
from trying to squeeze out under the intense pressure of inflation.)

DMC-SZ9 at an effective 26mm — 1/500 sec, f/3.1, ISO 100 —
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Picturesque Old Farm House

more nice scenery

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu








DMC-SZ9 at an effective 26mm — 1/200 sec, f/3.1, ISO 100 —
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World's Most Annoying Dog

this dog barked angrily nonstop while we were there,

even while the lady of the house was being obviously friendly with us

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu

The only plausible reason that I can come up with for the dog to be
that gratuitously annoying is that at least one member of our group
must have been a space alien masquerading as a human, and the dog noticed
and was trying to sound the alarm. I wonder who it was.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 67mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Serving-Tray-Sized Leaf

collecting rain water across the street from the annoying dog








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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On The Road Again

taken while cycling at 22 kph (14 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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We've Lost Count

photo by Eric Findlay








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 56mm — 1/125 sec, f/4, ISO 200 —
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Approaching the Joshokoji Temple

the last 50m are a doozie

With all the tire troubles we cut short the intended route and instead
popped over to the Joshokoji Temple (常照皇寺), which has been seen on my
blog a few times including this introduction and this snowy photo shoot. It's far out in the middle of nowhere, so doesn't see a lot of
tourists.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 37mm — 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Explaining Something or Other








DMC-SZ9 at an effective 26mm — 1/250 sec, f/3.1, ISO 160 —
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Sarah and Something or Other

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 44mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.6, ISO 200 —
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Heading Up

Sarah is a white smudge in the middle of the frame

Just as Sarah was starting up the long flight of steps, Bridget asked her to step aside
so that she could get a clean shot, but Sarah didn't hear her and so not realizing she
was blocking anyone's shot, took her sweet time to enjoy the pleasant stroll up, leaving
Bridget to laughingly complain in mock anger the whole time.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 31mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
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Not Waiting Any More








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/25 sec, f/1.7, ISO 1600 —
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Inside the Sanctuary

it's actually much darker than it looks in this photo

This is the only temple I know that allows photography inside the
sanctuary (or whatever it's called; I'm not sure of the proper term).

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 29mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.1, ISO 2500 —
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In Another Building

with many antique items on immediate display








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 30mm — 1/80 sec, f/2.2, ISO 3200 —
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Lighting a Candle








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 30mm — 1/80 sec, f/2.2, ISO 3200 —
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Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/30 sec, f/1.7, ISO 3200 —
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Older Form of Transportation

tiny palanquin from a time when people were apparently much smaller








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 29mm — 1/125 sec, f/4, ISO 200 —
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Rear Garden








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 29mm — 1/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
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Small Alcove








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 29mm — 1/80 sec, f/2.1, ISO 500 —
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Return Trip Down








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/2000 sec, f/2, ISO 200 —
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Back on the Road Again

heading in the general direction of home

taken while cycling at 34 kph (21 mph)

It was a simple 40km ride back to the city... how hard could that be?

To be continued...

Epic Preview of an Epic Cycling Adventure with Andy and Nigel

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 44mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.6, ISO 1250 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Epic River Forging

the waterfall is from the road to where the road's been washed out

They said “Road Closed”, but no road is closed on an epic day of epic cycling done epically.

I wasn't originally planning to cycle today, but a hastily arranged plan
for a short ride to attempt the most-heinous Momoi Pass
(east) while riding
clipped in without falling or otherwise stopping.

But in the end no only did I conquer that personal goal, I went on to have
the most epic cycling adventure with Andy Clark and Nigel Randell.

The ride was only 100km (62mi) long, with only 1,841m (6,040') of elevation
gain, but it was epic and I'm too exhausted this evening to write about it
properly. So, for now, just a few highlights...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 38mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.4, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Epic Friendship

lion sheds a tear of happiness to witness such friendship









Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/80 sec, f/2.1, ISO 1250 —
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Epic Selfie

look what impact with a Canyon did to those cars

( and apparently Andy's face )








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 34mm — 1/320 sec, f/2.3, ISO 200 —
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Epic Gravel

We were so close to turning around, but we forged on, to be rewarded with...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/640 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 —
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Epic Elevation

at least for Kyoto; 888m elevation

Minetoko Pass (峰床峠)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 38mm — 1/80 sec, f/13, ISO 640 —
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Epic Views

during/after a rain

1:48 PM (from start: 4h 43m / 47 km / 29.5 miles)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 30mm — 1/125 sec, f/4, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 —
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Epic Barriers

it was either this or retrace hours' worth of ride








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/40 sec, f/11, ISO 1600 —
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Very Epic Socks

“Do Epic Stuff”








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/60 sec, f/1.7, ISO 1250 —
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Epic Hospitality

we were freezing; she opened the restaurant for us and fed us hot food

Iroha Cafe (いろはカフェ)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/80 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Epic Washed-Out Road

this is the area before it starts to get bad

We forged a river for a while, until we got to a spot where the road
still actually existed under the water, then could more or less ride again,
though the water hid some nasty surprises like open drains just waiting to
suck us in. I was most worried about falling and getting the camera wet,
but we made it.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 46mm — 1/100 sec, f/2.6, ISO 1250 —
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Epic Riding

back on the road, so to speak








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/25 sec, f/1.7, ISO 3200 —
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Epic Tunnel Dash

we could go around, but didn't want to take the time








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/200 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Epic Curves

taken while cycling at 38 kph (24 mph)









Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 1250 —
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Epic... Uh.... (never mind)

photo by Andy Clark

now I know what happens when I give my camera to Andy

To be continued...