Jeffrey E.F. Friedl's Blog, page 28

Bicycle Ride Around Japan’s Largest Lake, Part 1

Wednesday's Outing

230km (143 miles) by bicycle

I had a nice
bicycle outing on Wednesday with friends, riding around Lake Biwa (the largest
lake in Japan). I ended up covering about 230km (143 miles).

Despite being almost twice as long as my previously-longest
ride, it was much easier for two reasons: it was mostly flat (just
1,600m / 5,250' of vertical climb over the 230km, compared to, for example,
2,500m / 8,300' over 99km), and I was much better at
keeping myself filled with calories. I'm starting to discover that it's
easier to ride the bicycle when you have energy.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/200 sec, f/5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Gathering

in front of Sanjo Starbucks, Kyoto Japan

Gorm Kipperberg,
Kumiko Naka,
and Joshua Levine

5:38 AM ( 12 min) - 1.3 km (0.8 miles)

To explain the last line of the caption, the photo was taken at 5:38am,
12 minutes (and 1.3km) after I left my house.
Most photos are denoted this way to help give a
sense of travel. The elapsed time
(“ 12 min” in
the example above) is just how long since I left
the house, so it includes both travel time and pauses (traffic, chatting, snacks, sightseeing, etc.)

I'm not one to get up that early, much less be out and about already
that early, but we knew we had a long day ahead of us, so the meeting time
was set for 5:30am. As ridiculously early as that is, the sun is up even
earlier... it rose at 4:42 that day. The sun rises early in the Land of the
Rising Sun. (I didn't realize until checking the data while writing this
post, but the sunrise at 4:42 that day is the earliest of the year.)

Anyway, before we could go around the lake, we had to get
to the lake, so we got going and headed over the small mountains in
between. This involved two little climbs totaling 200m (650') of elevation
gain. We arrived at the lake in great spirits
ready to go.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/2500 sec, f/4, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Arriving at Lake Biwa

6:22 AM ( 55 min) - 13 km (8.1 miles)

taken while cycling at 14 kph (8 mph)

The cyclist at the left in the photo above is not part of our group. He looks to be setting up his bike for a picture, likely before he starts his
own trip around the lake.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 44mm — 1/4000 sec, f/4, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Photo on the Go

6:23 AM ( 56 min) - 13 km (8.2 miles)

taken while cycling at 25 kph (15 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/1000 sec, f/4, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

My Attempt at a “Selfie”

6:23 AM ( 57 min) - 14 km (8.4 miles)

taken while cycling at 18 kph (11 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/12800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Dawn at the Lake

6:26 AM ( 59 min) - 15 km (9.1 miles)

(it wasn't really dawn, the sun having been up for almost two hours, but it still felt that way to me.)

We soon stopped at a picturesque spot to take some photos before starting the
circumnavigation loop in earnest...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 56mm — 1/2500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Memorial Photo

6:31 AM ( 1h 4m) - 16 km (9.9 miles)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/10000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Misty Morning








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 67mm — 1/3200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
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Shooting the Breeze

This was the first attempt at a trip around Lake Biwa for all of us but
Joshua, who has done it many times, and his laid-back demenor rubbed off, and we all felt at ease.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 32mm — 1/6400 sec, f/2.2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Bottom of the Lake

6:35 AM ( 1h 8m) - 16 km (10.0 miles)

taken while cycling at 19 kph (12 mph)

The huge lake narrows in the south to eventually become a river. The bridge seen in the background of the photo above cuts across the bottom of
the lake/river, so our route takes us over it to the eastern side of the lake.

The view from the bridge was pretty...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 65mm — 1/2000 sec, f/8, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

View from the Bridge

6:39 AM ( 1h 13m) - 18 km (10.9 miles)
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Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Waiting At The Trail Start

6:41 AM ( 1h 14m) - 18 km (11.4 miles)

Immediately at the end of the bridge one can get onto a walking/cycling
trail that runs up much of the eastern side of the lake. I had stopped for
a minute to take photos, so they waited for me there. Then it was time to
being the ride in earnest...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

6:43 AM ( 1h 16m) - 19 km (11.7 miles)

taken while cycling at 23 kph (14 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 32mm — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Many Facets of the Shore Area

7:06 AM ( 1h 39m) - 29 km (18.2 miles)

taken while cycling at 24 kph (15 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Biwako Rainbow Bridge

7:17 AM ( 1h 50m) - 35 km (21.5 miles)

taken while cycling at 26 kph (16 mph)

Before the lake really opens up, there's one area where it narrows to
less than a mile across, and so
there's a big bridge over it at that point.
Joshua wouldn't have time to do the whole trip around, so we stopped at the
bridge for snacks before he left us with parting advice on the upcoming
route, then took the bridge heading back toward Kyoto.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 33mm — 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Pause that Refreshes

snacks and stretches

7:23 AM ( 1h 57m) - 35 km (21.8 miles)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

My Caffè Latte

it's mellow and rich

After the break, the three of us (Gorm, Kumiko, and I) continued the trip around. We still had
almost 200km (125mi) to go.

At one point we came across a truck with a jet engine mounted on it,
shooting its massive exhaust into the trees...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Recycled Jet Engine?

8:00 AM ( 2h 33m) - 43 km (26.6 miles)

taken while cycling at 25 kph (16 mph)

It was spraying some kind of insecticide, I suppose.
They had us wait while they turned it off so that we could pass.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Rice Paddies

8:02 AM ( 2h 35m) - 44 km (27.2 miles)

taken while cycling at 27 kph (17 mph)

At one point we came near a twisty access road for a
temple high up on a mountain (Choumeiji
Temple / 長命寺). Gorm and Kumiko kindly waited
while I popped up the 150m of vertical climb up a
12% grade. I couldn't access the temple grounds
proper with the bicycle, so I didn't have any
nice view from up there, but a third of the way
back down the access road, a nice view opened up:

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 72mm — 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Nice View from 100m Above (a little snippet of) the Lake

8:34 AM ( 3h 7m) - 53 km (33.1 miles)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 40mm — 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Continuing

8:45 AM ( 3h 19m) - 57 km (35.4 miles)

taken while cycling at 26 kph (16 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/60 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400 —
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Gorm Always has a Smile

8:48 AM ( 3h 21m) - 58 km (36.0 miles)

taken while cycling at 21 kph (13 mph)

I don't know how common a name “Gorm” is in Norway, where Gorm is from, but had I heard it prior to meeting him I
would have thought it was the name of a
midevil overlord who ate children for breakfast. But with his incessant smile from the first moment I met him, he's forever made the name “Gorm” synonymous
with “robust friend of cheery attitude”. (Wikipedia lists various meanings for the
word, including a king from the 900s.)

For the record, I have no evidence that Gorm eats children for any meal
whatsoever, though as a professor of economics with a PhD from UC Davis, he
may well be similar to a midevil overlord; you'd have to ask his
students.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/80 sec, f/5.6, ISO 500 —
map & image data — nearby photos

8:51 AM ( 3h 24m) - 59 km (36.6 miles)

taken while cycling at 21 kph (13 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Passing Over an Inlet River

click through for a wide panorama

9:05 AM ( 3h 39m) - 65 km (40.3 miles)

taken while cycling at 23 kph (14 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/2000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Interesting Sky

I like the shadow of the contrail on the apparently-slightly-lower layer of clouds

9:06 AM ( 3h 39m) - 65 km (40.4 miles)

taken while cycling at 24 kph (15 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 26mm — 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

More Rice Paddies

a common sight along much of the east side of the lake

9:09 AM ( 3h 42m) - 67 km (41.5 miles)

taken while cycling at 30 kph (19 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 46mm — 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Gulf

the lake is about 16km (10mi) wide here

9:52 AM ( 4h 25m) - 78 km (48.5 miles)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Right Along the Lake

9:53 AM ( 4h 26m) - 78 km (48.7 miles)

taken while cycling at 27 kph (17 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 40mm — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Somewhat of a Tropical Feel

10:51 AM ( 5h 25m) - 103 km (64.2 miles)

taken while cycling at 23 kph (14 mph)

We still hadn't gone even half way yet, and what we'd done so far was
mostly flat, though with many small undulations up and down along the way.
Some major climbs awaited before we turned the metaphorical corner and
started heading home.

To be continued...

Conquering Kyoto’s Seryo Pass with Manu Mohan

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/4, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Well-Earned Refreshment

Manu Mohan at Seryo Pass (芹生峠)

680m of elevation (2,230')

Kyoto Japan

Today I went with Manu Mohan on his first “real” cycling ride.

Manu is a National Scholar student of linguists at Kyoto University who
happens to part-time at the convenience store near me, and his easy smile
and cheerful attitude made me want to connect with him beyond the
30-seconds snippets at the cash register. When he saw on Facebook that
I was into cycling, he expressed interest.

So today we got together for an easy, untaxing first ride.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Meeting Spot

Nijo Castle (二条城)

I somehow had it in my head that he lived near Nijo Castle halfway
across town from me, so I suggested that we meet there. It turns out that
he lives a short walk from me, so it was silly that we both went over there
to meet! But it wasn't totally out of the way from where we were going to go.

Wanting an easy yet satisfying route for his first ride, I thought of my first ride earlier in
the year, so we headed north up the gentle slope that is Kyoto city proper
toward the mountains.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 67mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 —
map & image data — nearby photos

10:19am - taken while cycling at 15 kph (9 mph)

Manu's Wachen BF-70F
folding bicycle is designed for convenient city travel, and not really appropriate
for hills, but he hit his first hill better than I did...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 38mm — 1/125 sec, f/4, ISO 200 —
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Unfazed by the Hill

10:23am - taken while cycling at 27 kph (17 mph)

He seemed to be fine to continue, so we headed into the mountains, up toward Kibune.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 49mm — 1/100 sec, f/2.7, ISO 320 —
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On the Way to Kibune

at the same location we stopped the first time I rode here







Panasonic LX100 at an effective 50mm — 1/100 sec, f/2.7, ISO 250 —
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Through Kubune

11:03am - taken while cycling at 8 kph (5 mph)







Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1600 —
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Kibune Shrine

貴船神社







Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 —
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Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/60 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 —
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Manu is a native speaker of English and an Indian language I don't
recall (Hindi?), and even though I came to Japan before he was born, he's
much better at Japanese than me. He also speaks Chinese and French, and
dabbles in others. Out of my league.

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

Getting Steeper

11:16am - taken while cycling at 12 kph (7 mph)







Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 —
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The Top of Kibune

Kibune Shrine Okumiya (貴船神社奥宮)

Manu's bike is not appropriate for the mountains... it's designed for
convenience in the city. It can fold up into a conveniently small space,
and it's intended for moving in city traffic.

At 14kg (31 lbs) it's heavy, it has short cranks so that you don't get
much leverage on the pedals, and its lowest gearing is still a heavy 52/28 (1.86 front-to-rear ratio), meaning that
for every revolution of the pedals, you have to give it enough power to
rotate the tires 1.86 revolutions. If you're going up a
steep slope, that's a lot of power needed each time around.

(By contrast, I think my bike has a lowest
gear ratio of about 0.8, meaning it's much easier to keep going up
a steep hill.)

Nevertheless, I asked whether he'd like to try continuing farther up the
mountain. Beyond where we were, the road quickly becomes quite steep and
twisty, and I thought perhaps a taste of this would be useful information for the
future.

So we forged on...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 40mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.5, ISO 500 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Going Vertical

11:29am - taken while cycling at 7 kph (4 mph)







Panasonic LX100 at an effective 40mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2000 —
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Getting Really Tough

11:29am - taken while cycling at 7 kph (4 mph)







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

Manu's “This is Not Humanly Possible” Face

11:31am - taken while cycling at 9 kph (6 mph)

Before turning around, I wanted to give his bike a try, and let me tell you it was difficult.
Much much much more difficult than mine. When he tried mine, he felt like he was flying...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 56mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250 —
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A Different Experience

With my bike he thought he could continue, so we switched and continued on...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 800 —
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Ridiculously Difficult

the photo makes it look like I'm going downhill, but it's very, very uphill

photo by Manu Mohan

Besides being inappropriate for the mountains, Manu's bike is really
inappropriate for me. It's probably a bit too small for Manu to begin with, but for me it
felt like I was riding a
toy like
this.

I took it as a challenge... my first assault (if you could call such
a slow-motion effort) of Seryu Pass from the
difficult southern approach would be on this bike.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 640 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Barely Enough Speed

to be considered “movement”

photo by Manu Mohan

We took our time... we'd ride for 50~100m, then rest, then ride again, then rest again. It got ever steeper.

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

Pausing

near the site of the famous snowball-in-the-wife's-face incident

Manu never gave up, never complained... just kept pushing on. After
3.3km (2mi) of ridiculous 12% grade, we made it to Seryo Pass (芹生峠). It was my first time by bicycle to the pass from this side.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
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Top of the World







Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
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Elated

to make it at all, but especially so on such a bike

photo by Manu Mohan

By this time it had started to rain — it's now the rainy season in Japan — so we headed down slowly and carefully. It's easier going down.

Some of the views were really nice, though the photo doesn't capture it at all

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/60 sec, f/5, ISO 250 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Really Great View

We got quite chilly on the way down, so we stopped in Kibune for hot tea
and hot noodles. But by the time we left, the rain was coming down in
earnest, so we got soaked in no time, and absolutely froze heading home.
The UnderArmour “Storm” windbreaker I brought along and used for the first time
was not as waterproof as I had been lead to expect, making it the first UnderArmour
product (among very many) that I've been disappointed in.

Chilly return aside, it was a fun day and I really enjoyed to get to
know Manu more. He's busy with school and work, so I don't know how much
time he'll have for cycling (or, with that bicycle, how much inclination),
but I hope we ride again soon.

Miyama Cycling Tour with Joshua and Manseki, Part 2

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 320 —
map & image data — nearby photos

The Road Ahead

may it forever be more interesting than the one behind
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Continuing from “Miyama Cycling Tour with Joshua and Manseki, Part 1”, this
post picks up after we (Joshua Levine, Manseki Kanemitsu, and I) had left
the main road to take an old road over a mountain instead of a new, flat, boring
tunnel through it.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 5000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Pleasant Mountain Path

offically a “road”








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/5, ISO 3200 —
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Nice Lighting

12:29pm - taken while riding at 13 kph (8 mph)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/11, ISO 2200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Solitude

is not quite as nice as a good riding companion
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When we turned a corner and were presented with this vista, I jokingly asked Josh to return so I
could have some “human interest” in my photo, and even
though I was obviously joking, being the mensch
he is, he hesitated only long enough to flash a big grin, and bolted down. Just as quickly, and without
words, Manseki followed.

I enjoyed a rest while they headed back down, then snapped some photos as they came back up.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 500 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Photo Finish

So they both get an extra 30m (100') of vertical climb added to their trip
over mine.

The road got considerably more strewn with debris once we crossed the pass at the top and headed down...

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1000 sec, f/4, ISO 6400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Debris-Filled Road

requires considerable care

1:00pm - taken while riding at 15 kph (9 mph)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 4500 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Depressing Reality

A common sight in rural Japan

1:03pm - taken while riding at 12 kph (8 mph)

I don't know what's so attractive about the beauty of Japanese nature
that makes a small but highly-impactful segment of society want to so
incessantly dump garbage at every conceivable spot of beauty. Trash
disposal depends on the municipality, but is generally really cheap, so
this makes no sense aside from “some people are just monumentally selfish”
angle.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 450 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Tucked-Away Village








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1250 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Riding on the Edge

cut into the mountain

1:18pm - taken while riding at 19 kph (12 mph)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4.5, ISO 640 —
map & image data — nearby photos

View from the Edge

1:18pm - taken while riding at 20 kph (12 mph)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Big Wooden Building

of a forestry company

1:28pm - taken while riding at 27 kph (17 mph)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/2500 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

“Kura” Fire-Proof Storage Building

I love the ornate windows

1:29pm - taken while riding at 29 kph (18 mph)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1600 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Impressive Property

1:29pm - taken while riding at 30 kph (19 mph)

I didn't get much chance to check out the property (the same one with
the kura seen above) as I flew by, but it was impressive. It was probably just an old farmstead, but it certainly caught my eye. I'd like to
revisit at a slower pace some day.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/2000 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Opportunity Missed

checking out the map makes the road at right look inviting

1:31pm - taken while riding at 22 kph (14 mph)

Toward the end I was quite tired, so I'm actually happy we didn't do too
many more little highly-vertical side trips, but now, after the fact, I can lament a bit.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/4000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Sales Pitch

“Active Charge Miu”

Its light grapefruit flavor was quite tasty.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
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More Friendly Folk

this was a common scene along the route

1:43pm - taken while riding at 13 kph (8 mph)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/2500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

The 100km Point

heart rate 106 bpm, speed 20.6 kph, elapsed time 6:04:57

1:44pm - taken while riding at 21 kph (13 mph)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Tunnel #1

this one was uphill; Manseki is in front of me pulling away

1:58pm - taken while riding at 14 kph (8 mph)
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Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/2000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
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“I've Got a Little Something For You, My Pretty”

2:00pm - taken while riding at 19 kph (12 mph)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/4000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Masked Rider

I saw a couple of highly sun-averse ladies like this

2:03pm - taken while riding at 23 kph (14 mph)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
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Stupidity on Display

our tax yen at work

2:09pm - taken while riding at 22 kph (14 mph)

A short segment of main city road in the eastern part of Kyoto city proper is
currently under construction to cut the number of lanes in half, and
double the level of inconvenience.
Someone in city government deems it worthy to spend the money (and
the diverted attention of every driver going by) to note that fact on this
sign in the far northwest mountains an hour's drive away. The changing messages on the sign asks people to stay away from the half-mile
stretch of road that they are unlikely to come anywhere near in the
first place.

To get there, you would literally have to drive for an hour, snaking
your way through the mountains into the completely opposite side of the
city nowhere near the road in question.

Just stupid. There was another electronic sign like this five minutes later,
imploring the same thing.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Tunnel #2

so very pleasantly downhill; Manseki is a smudge in the distance

2:10pm - taken while riding at 44 kph (27 mph)
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Just after exiting the tunnel, we passed by the Ochiba Shrine
(“Fallen-leaf Shrine”), which has a gorgeous carpet of
yellow in the fall. I'd first heard of this place years ago when a
friend had bicycled here, and it seemed to me at the time impossibly
far away for a bicycle... even on the scooter it took an hour. Never would
I have believed I'd be riding a bicycle out here myself, much less after
having ridden 100+km first.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1600 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Word of Warning

“Frequent Cycle Accidents; Be Wary of Oncoming Traffic”

2:17pm - taken while riding (carefully) at 31 kph (19 mph)

We eventually got onto a smaller more up-and-downy road that brought us by
the “Yama no Ie Hasegawa” restaurant that I visit
a few times a year. Josh had business to attend to so continued straight home, while Manseki and I paused
for coffee and cheesecake...

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

The Pause that Refreshes

Yama no Ie Hasegawa (山の家はせがわ)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 1250 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Mine

Cheesecake and Coffee

From there it's almost all downhill until home...

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/2.2, ISO 500 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Fast and Fun

3:24pm - taken while riding at 30 kph (19 mph)

It's mostly downhill unless you go out of your way for some hills,
such as the ridiculous 22% grade that I wrote about before.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/3.5, ISO 900 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Less Fast, Less Fun

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu

Back in the city, Manseki showed me a really interesting temple I'd not heard about... its story to get its own post at a later date..

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/290 sec, f/2.2, ISO 32 —
image data

Interesting Temple

not your normal Buddhist paraphernalia

Later that evening, I got to finally meet Manseki's wife when we all got together for dinner...

map & image data — nearby photos

Interesting Company

Manseki and his wife, Mariko

Saikontan Restaurant (菜根譚)

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu

Like Manseki, she's smart and easy going, and so the conversation flowed. I had a great time.

All in all, a good day.

Miyama Cycling Tour with Joshua and Manseki, Part 1

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/2000 sec, f/2.2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Just Another Day at the Office

would rob us of this experience

— Joshua Levine rides through the countryside of Miyama, Japan —

taken while riding at 9 kph (6 mph)

A week ago, I did a nice long bicycle ride in the mountains north of
Kyoto (route and
data). Manseki
Kanemitsu and I tagged along with Joshua Levine
on a route that he does often.

It totaled out at 131km (81 miles), making it my longest ride so far.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/5000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Ready to Roll

The route took us up the mountain toward Hanase Pass (花背峠), a 500m
(1,650') climb that holds a special place in my heart as my first real mountain
climb, and every time I've done it since I've done it faster than the
previous time.

That would not happen this time, as we paused before the pass at a
natural spring where I sometimes see folks filling up water jugs.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Fill'er Up

Josh mentioned early on that we'd stop here, so I somewhat slacked off the whole
climb knowing the pause would kill the time-to-the-top measurement. So later when
I checked the data for
the climb, I was shocked to realize that had I not stopped, I would have easily broken my record.

Part of the attraction of cycling is the joy of seeing and discovering
the countryside at a slower pace, but also part of it is the feeling of
accomplishment I get when I make a new PR (personal record) on a section of
mountain. It's quite superficial, I know, but I was inept at physical
activity for the first 47 years of my life, so I'm simply amazed that I can
now do some of these things. If someone else does it, I think “well sure,
because they're normal people in good shape and it's natural for them”, but
for me, it's like a dog making scrambled eggs: it's not the accomplishment
itself so much as who's doing it.

Anyway, we went down the other side of the mountain, past
Cowbell, and farther north until eventually
we got to a road I'd never been on. It's always nice to ride a road for the first time, and since
Joshua was leading, I didn't need to pay attention to the route at all. It was nice.

I finally had to stop and pull the camera out when we passed a rice
field being planted completely by hand. I would have loved a lens with more
reach, but this is what I got:

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 2200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Rice Planting, Old-School Style

It's a bit hard to see what's going on, but the adults are in the paddy
planting rice seedlings one by one, and the kids are penned off under the
tent to the right.

Two of the adults have infants strapped to their back.

The road eventually worked its way back up to another climb, this time toward Sasari Pass (佐々里峠).

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 4000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Steep Section

10:14am - taken while riding at 7 kph (4 mph)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 1800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Flying By

Josh showed me a spot to stop and photograph a wonderful vista, but the photos didn't end up well.
I'll just have to go back and try it again.

Cresting the 735m pass earns you a long, lovely downhill. It was a bit
dicey at times trying to juggle the camera, brakes, and steering while
plummeting down the mountain, but I wanted photos showing the lean of the
bike in a curve....

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 1600 —
map & image data — nearby photos

taken while riding at 24 kph (15 mph)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 1800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

taken while riding at 30 kph (19 mph)









Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 640 —
map & image data — nearby photos

taken while riding at 31 kph (19 mph)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 1000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Takin' it Easy

taken while riding at 19 kph (12 mph)









Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 900 —
map & image data — nearby photos

The Breakaway

10:48am - taken while riding at 35 kph (22 mph)

After the descent the road mostly flattened out for a
long while, and Josh stepped on the gas a
bit. Manseki noticed this and kept up, refusing to be left behind,
drafting just inches behind Josh's rear wheel. I was
slow to notice, and even if I had, I wouldn't have been able to keep up.

Josh just kept going faster, and Manseki just kept staying right with
him. Two minutes later they were almost out of sight...

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

10:50am - taken while riding at 35 kph (22 mph)

... and half a minute later they went around a curve, and I'd not see them again until they stopped 10 minutes later.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 560 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Bye-Bye...

10:51am - taken while riding at 34 kph (21 mph)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 500 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Cornucopia of Architectural Styles

11:01am - taken while riding at 16 kph (10 mph)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 320 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Friendly Wave

there were a lot of cyclists out that day

11:03am - taken while riding at 32 kph (20 mph)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Fixing a Flat

11:03am - taken while riding at 33 kph (21 mph)








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 360 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Drafting

11:07am - taken while riding at 30 kph (19 mph)

I tried drafting with them for a while, but especially with my long
history as a driver (car and motorcycle), I felt uncomfortable with so
little time buffer in front. I understand why professionals do it,
but I'm not a professional. Perhaps I'll try again after I get a suitable amount
of experience (and after I put the camera down

Happy Birthday To Me: Reviews of Some Toys I’ve Recently Gotten

My birthday was in April, so in the “Happy Birthday To Me” spirit, I'll
consider anything interesting I've acquired in the last few months a
birthday present to myself. Much of it is related to cycling, which I've been getting into.

Anyway, here are some mini reviews on some of the stuff, in case others' find any of it useful...

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Apple iPhone 6+

My old iPhone 4s was feeling old. I replaced the battery in March, but
it still couldn't hold a charge, so I thought it was a good time to
upgrade. The 6+ has been really useful on bike rides, with a screen big
enough to actually see maps, a battery big enough to last most of the day,
and a barometric barometer (that is as of yet, unfortunately, underutilized
by trail-logging apps).

I'm pleased with the size, and it feels good in the hand. I just wish
that the sleep/awake button didn't have buttons opposing it on the other
side of the phone, since that makes it hard to squeeze with one hand (I
keep also squeezing the volume buttons).

Apple Pay isn't used in Japan, so I don't get any benefit from that. The
unlock-with-your-thumb thing is amazingly useful, much more so than I
expected (I registered both thumbs), and now I find that I keep trying to
unlock my iPad that way.

The camera sucks, though.

I've cracked the screen only once so far.

Aukey AIPower 20Ah USB Power Brick

I wanted to be able to charge my phone, iPad, and other devices like GPS units while on a long bike ride
or long flight. This thing is amazing... I charged it once when I got it a month or so ago, and have not needed
to charge it again yet.

It turns out that the iPhone 6+'s battery is sufficiently good that it'll last all day on a long bike ride if
I don't need the screen too much (e.g. if I don't need to continuously display the map), but I did need the map
for most of the time on
my first 100km+ ride and this power brick was indispensable.

Andy Weir's The Martian

I can't say enough about how good this book was. It's a novel with a
compelling story told very, very well. It's probably listed under “science
fiction”, but while it's fiction and it's got a lot of science, it's not
“science fiction” at all.

I put this on my Kindle to give me something to do while waiting in line or the like, and it just
grabbed me and didn't let go.

Fantastic, fantastic book.

I just peeked at IMDB and found that Matt Damon will play the
protagonist in the movie version, and my first reaction was disappointment
(a “star” in a role tends to draw attention to their celebrity, taking away
from the character they're supposed to be playing), but upon reflection I
can totally hear the opening monologue in Matt Damon's voice, so I'm looking forward to it.

3M Clear Security Glasses SF201AF

I originally got these clear glasses (and another pair with dark lenses) for when riding on my scooter... I never want to ride with my eyes unprotected, and especially in the hot summer it's more comfortable to leave the
visor up, so I thought these simple clear glasses with really flexible temples might be nice. They're great.

But it turns out that I use the clear ones on my bicycle more than the scooter. When descending a mountain shaded
by trees, it's too dark for normal sunglasses, but without some eye protection I risk a bug in the eye at 50kph,
and the wind just makes my eyes water anyway. These solve both problems.

They do scuff easily, but that's not a major problem for how I use them.

Mio Fuse heart-rate monitor

This watch-like device detects your pulse and sends it via bluetooth to
your phone. I use it on bike rides to record my pulse, which turns out to
be pretty uninteresting because it doesn't get all that high, even when
climbing steep hills. (I think this is less a statement about how strong my heart is,
and more one about how weak my willpower is: I tend to give up mentally before physically.)

Doppleganger Saddle Cover DSC74-BK

This is a cushy gel-filled cover for a bicycle seat, and it's fantastic.

On my first long bike ride earlier this year, besides
tuckering myself out, my rear hurt quite a bit from all the time on the saddle. “Real” cyclists wear pants
that have cushions built into the crotch area. On one hand, this is convenient because they provide padding
whether on the bike or sitting on the ground taking a break, but on the other hand, they're expensive
and can be described, at best, as making you look like you're wearing diapers. (But it can get much worse,
as
a Google Image search shows.)

I suppose I don't look like a real cyclist if I don't have these kind of shorts, but if you've seen my blog
lately, you know I don't have much style sense.

These days when I ride, or go to the gym, I tend to be decked out in stuff from
Under Armour, which as I've written before, I'm enamored with
to the point that I bought their stock. I visited their “Brand Store” in Osaka the other day, and it was nice to find
a huge selection of stuff in my size, but the prices there were full retail, which is too pricey for me, so I didn't buy much.

BM Works SLIM3 bicycle iPhone Holder

I wanted a way to securely hold my iPhone on my bicycle handle bars, and
this product certainly does that, but I found it to be a disappointment.

The biggest problem is that its “clear” cover is highly reflective, so in bright daylight
it often makes it completely impossible to see the screen until you get the tilt just right, not something
fun while trying to check a map in traffic.

It also makes the buttons on the side of the phone difficult to press, and disables the iPhone's
unlock-with-your-thumb thing.

I no longer use it, though I may pull it out if ever faced with a long ride in the rain for which I don't know the route.

TiGRA Sport Bicycle Mount

This is how I mount my phone on my bicycle now, and it's absolutely fantastic. The phone is fully accessible,
super easy to take on and off. (I can even take it off one-handed while riding, to snap photos
like this one).

How great is it? It's so great that I shattered the screen of my iPhone while using it, yet I still use it.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 40mm — 1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Oops

When checking out mountain roads on my scooter, in preparation for
last Wednesday's torturous(and tortuous) bike ride, I used the TiGRA mount to
affix the phone to my scooter. While driving around, I would take photos of vending machines as a way to record their location
(I geoencode all my photos), so that I could have a map of all available sources of water on the ride. At one point while
whipping the camera around for a photo of a vending machine I was passing, I was dismayed to notice my iPhone 6+
bouncing on the ground beside me, trying, but failing, to keep up with the scooter.

I have no idea how it happened, but I can only imagine that I simply
forgot to actually snap the phone into the holder. It holds the phone
very securely, so it's inconceivable to me that it somehow got
jiggled loose. It's also inconceivable that I somehow bumped it loose with
the camera... I imagine that any impact strong enough to force it out of
the holder would shatter the plastic and the phone before separating the
phone from the holder.

I have such faith in how well made this product is that the only
plausible explanation is that I really really really screwed up, such as
laid it sort of into the holder and then got distracted, and so never
finally put it in. (My sister once put both contact lenses in the same eye after being
distracted in between, so I know such distraction is possible.)

Apple charges about $150 to replace the screen, or, if the screen isn't
the only damage, about $430 to replace the whole unit. I went to the Apple
store in Osaka the next day, and am glad I arrived 20 minutes before they
opened... I was about 10th in line. Ten minutes later, there must have been
30 people.

At first they noted some microscopic dimple in the housing of the phone,
and said that the whole thing would have to be replaced. I preferred to pay
the lower amount, so pushed and asked them to at least try replacing only
the screen. They said okay, and told me to come back in 90 minutes.

I popped over to the Nikon Service Center to have a little plastic protective cover
on my D4 replaced... I'd cracked that too somehow some months before. It was $15.

Back at Apple, they indeed could replace just the screen, so I was happy to save almost $300.

I paid my $150,
and declined an invitation for an immediate session with an Apple Watch. (I knew that I wasn't
really interested in an Apple Watch, but surprised myself at how quickly I said no.)

I then headed over to the Under Armour store, which was nearby, to
spend some of my “savings” on a hat, socks, and windbreaker, all in
“high-visibility yellow” (the same color seen here, and
in all these
photos).

Back home, I snapped the phone into the TiGRA mount and indeed could not believe that
the phone could possibly come out accidentally, so I chalked this up to fate and my own stupidity. I used it on Wednesday's long mountainous bumpy ride and it performed flawlessly, offering 0% worry.

My only reservation about this product is the packaging it came in, which was a clear plastic
box built like a tank. It seems to be gratuitous overkill, a monumental waste of plastic, and
a huge hassle to open.

Roswheel Rear-Carrier Bag

This is the bag seen on the back of my bicycle in recent photos, such as
this one. It's a piece of crap, but for $15, I shouldn't complain.

It's intended to hold on to the rear carrier via Velcro, but the design is so bad that if there's anything in the bag
besides air, the weight jiggling back and forth while riding wants to pull the bag off the side of the carrier. Plus,
the sides are not firm at all, adding to the tendency for the thing to want to drip over one side or the other.

I went to the hardware store and got some firm metal strips to brace the thing. I bolted them to the carrier
facing up, and made holes in the bottom of the bag so that the bag can slip into the strips and be held very firmly in place. It's invisible when the bag is on the bike, but makes the bike look super dorky when the bag is not there. But it works.

Knog Blinder Front Light

This is an LED light for the front of a bicycle (its light is white, as opposed to red for a rear light). The LEDs are very bright to look at, and I got this to augment the red Knog Blinder that I already had rear.
For safety, especially in tunnels, I want a light so that I can be seen, and that's what this light does, even in daylight. It's really really bright.

I leave it flashing on the front of my bike as a matter of policy, all day. If it's a really long ride, I may have to
recharge it with the power brick noted above, but I've had to do that only once so far when I'd forgotten to fully charge it
before heading out for the day.

And since this post is ostensibly about my birthday, let me share a birthday story that my sister sent recently,
about her husband Marty's birthday:

Considering it's your birthday, I have a funny birthday story to tell you.

Marty's birthday was a couple of weeks ago. A few weeks before that,
the kids and I were badgering him for ideas about what he wanted for his
birthday. The evening that conversation took place (Come on, Marty, give
me a hint!) I just happened to leave Firefox open on my computer to
Amazon.   When I sat down at my desk the next morning after Marty went to
work - there it was!   The hint! In the Amazon shopping cart had a little
“1” in it - and it was a pair of bicycling gloves in Extra Large that
looked a lot like the pair he'd had for years!    Wow! He must need a
replacement pair!    What a cute way to let me know what he wanted!    Of
course, I ordered it immediately. It took a long time to arrive, so it
was a good thing we had several other gifts to give him on his birthday. But when the gloves finally arrived, I tucked it under his pillow for a
very late gift.

Words cannot describe the blankness of his face as I cheerfully told him
the present he had hinted at had finally arrived.   “You know, the one you
put in the cart on Amazon?” was followed by an even more profoundly
thorough blankness.   After a polite but baffled thank you, he gently
reminded me that he never, ever, under any circumstances buys any type of
glove before trying it on, and would never order them online.   After my
response of “Well, why did you put it in the cart, then!”, the conversation
sort of went downhill.  “Well *I* didn't!”  “I didn't!”  “Well, do you
think the kids did it?”    A vaguely irritated and thoroughly bewildered truce
was called.

It was maybe 5 minutes later that realization dawned, at which point I
sheepishly mentioned to Marty that, “you know, Jeffy sometimes borrows my Amazon
account.”  And Marty noted that, “well, he's been into biking lately”.
Anyway, the gloves are on their way to Japan.

Hah! I ordered some stuff through her account during
my recent vacation in The States, and had apparently
left the gloves in the shopping cart. How convenient for me! I use them on every ride now.

Thanks Marci!

A Day of Vertical-Climb Cycling Torture in Western Kyoto

The problem with adding a new hobby is that it takes time away from other things. I've been cycling a fair amount lately,
but still must devote time to family and my Lightroom work, so what
falls behind is my blogging.

Yesterday I lead a
100km extreme-mountain cycle ride with some friends from Cycling Kyoto. I was the slowest/weakest of the five guys, so “lead” was only in the map
sense, but I purposefully made a route in the mountains of western Kyoto
with as much vertical climb as I could fit in.

It ended up being a hot, brutal day. (Cyclists apparently love to use words like “brutal” and “hard”.)

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/550 sec, f/2.2, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Starting Out

7:43am - taken while moving at 26 kph (16 mph)

Because I knew it was going to be a tough day, I didn't bring my heavy camera... just my phone...
so I don't have any good photos.

I didn't even think I'd actually do much of the ride because I had cold
symptoms from the previous day, and I would have bailed on the whole thing
had I not been the leader. As it turned out, the hard effort seems to have pushed the cold aside, and
I got through the whole day.

We started with a warm-up 160m (525') climb, then moved on to Koshioyama (小塩山) and the 570m (1,870') to its top....

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/3600 sec, f/2.2, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Not From the Top

from 415m (of 600m) up Koshioyama (小塩山)

9:14am - taken while moving at 2 kph (1 mph)








iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/120 sec, f/2.2, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

The Top

Salvo Manino, Thomas Busch, Gorm Kippenberg, Manseki Kanemitsu

We were quite the international group, with folks from Italy, Germany, Norway, Japan, and America.

The road to the top is a dead end, so we headed back down the way we
came, moved to the next mountain road to the south, and headed up it. On the way I noticed a monkey in a tree, only the second time I recall seeing
a monkey in the wild. It just sat there not giving me much though, so I had
time to take a picture, but of course the iPhone camera doesn't do a good
job so you can barely differentiate it from the branches....

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/320 sec, f/2.2, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Manseki and Monkey

the monkey is in the far upper right

The second big climb had a pause halfway through at the Konzo Temple
(金蔵寺), which I posted about six years ago,
and also here and here. A the time I wrote those, never in a million years would I believe I could ride a bicycle there, but there I was...

iPhone 6 + iPhone 6 back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/60 sec, f/2.2, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Pause at the Konzoji Temple (金蔵寺)

photo by Thomas Busch

We then continued up the mountain, which includes a couple of short (350m long) segments of
extreme slope... not as bad as the 22% slope that I posted about the other day,
but almost as bad. We plowed through them, then mostly down for a long enjoyable ride through scenic countryside...

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/2800 sec, f/2.2, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Mountain Countryside

Somewhere along the way I broke one of my spokes. Luckily Manseki had a Band Aid with him,
so we used it like a piece of tape to hold the spoke inside the wheel, to keep it out of the way and unmangled...

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/120 sec, f/2.2, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Bicycle First Aid

We eventually came into the mountains of northern Takatsuki City, and
took a detour to the Honzanji Temple (本山寺). This involved a 350m
(1,150') climb over 3,100m (2mi) of road, giving an average slope of more
than 11%, but it was the final 700m (half mile) that set this segment apart... it
had a consistent slope of a stunning 16%.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/40 sec, f/2.2, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Manseki Going Straight Up

The photo above of course doesn't show the slope well, they never do, but it was ridiculous. When taking the photo above, I was standing still,
having stopped on a big climb for the first time since a month earlier
(after which completing climbs without stopping became a specific goal).
Manseki also stopped for a moment, the first time I'd ever seen him stop on a climb. It was tough.

But we all made it.... eventually.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/120 sec, f/2.2, ISO 50 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Resting at the Top

Honzanji Temple (本山寺）

Takatsuki, Japan








iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/120 sec, f/2.2, ISO 40 —
map & image data — nearby photos








iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/640 sec, f/2.2, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Cooling Down

Manseki douses himself with water

In Japan, convenience stores and drink vending machines seem to be ubiquitous, so one gets used to relying on them. But on this course, there were long sections without drink vending machines, and most of the course without a convenience store,
so those who didn't heed my warnings about lack of services got tuckered out for lack of energy.

So after finally making our way down the mountain and into Nagaokakyo
City, we could stock up on food for the first time since the early morning. I ate a lot, and drank even more.

So with bloated stomachs, we made our way to the toughest climb of the day, up to the Yoshiminedera Temple, and then beyond.

Overall the route we took entailed 420m (1,400') of vertical climb over 4,400m (2.75mi) of distance, yielding
an average slope of 9.5%, but this includes a long section of relatively-mild leadup. Some sections of road
were considerably more steep.

We paused at the entrance to the temple.
We didn't go inside, but I've posted it about it many times before, including

here,
here,
here,
here,
here,
here, and
here.

As I mentioned before, photos never seem to show the steepness well....
the section of road leading up (on the right) was really Really
REALLY steep....

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/140 sec, f/2.2, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Looks So Flat

but was anything but

parking entrance to Yoshiminedera Temple (善峯寺)

The particularly tough thing about this section of road was that it wasn't the end...
the next sections would be even worse.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/15 sec, f/2.2, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Looking With Trepidation









iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/60 sec, f/2.2, ISO 40 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Cooling Off

Dipping a towel into the river

I headed up first, and stopped part way up ostensibly to make sure no
one took a wrong turn at an intersection I'd forgotten to explain, but
mostly that was just an excuse to stop. It was tough.

Here's Thomas coming up after me...

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/30 sec, f/2.2, ISO 40 —
map & image data — nearby photos

He's Down There

toward the right









iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/30 sec, f/2.2, ISO 40 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Still Going

Despite these steep climbs, it only got worse.

Eventually we all made it to the top...

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1/350 sec, f/2.2, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Happy at the Top

Manseki wearing Gorm's sunglasses, which Gorm had dropped along the way and Manseki had found

When I arrived at the top to find Gorm waiting with a worried look, he
asked me whether I'd seen his sunglasses. I had not. The look on Gorm's
face said everything.... "I really want my glasses, but I even less want to
go down looking for them if that means having to claw myself back up here."

Luckily, Manseki had found them so there was no need to go back down.

The original plan allowed for one more steep climb, but we were all exhausted, so we called it a day and headed
back into the city.

I processed my ride data (as per “The Voodoo of
Elevation Gain and Strava”) and uploaded the correct data to Strava,
yielding this
report. All in all it was 99km of distance, but the real number is the
2,500m (8,300') of vertical climb. By a little bit, it's the most I'd ever done in a day.

I slept well.

Kyoto’s Nasty 21% City-Bike Hill Climb

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/3.5, ISO 560 —
map & image data — nearby photos

This Hill is Not Steep

It's Nasty Steep

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu

距離125mで高度上昇26m、21％の坂を頑張りました。

I went out for a long bike in the mountains of northern Kyoto on Saturday,
and after 120km (75mi) of tough ups and pleasant downs with friends (that
I'll write about separately: here and here), I made an attempt at a hill so steep that its
name on Strava is “Nasty”.

It's so steep that they have a mirror over the road, pointing down, so that folks coming from below
can see whether the road is clear up over the lip.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/4000 sec, f/2.2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Car Heading Down

note the mirror facing down

The hill rises about 26m over a distance of
125m (85' over 410'), which puts the overall steepness at 21%, which is
exactly what Kyoto City labels the road at. That's about the same slope
from the ground to the top of a 6-story building over the course of a football field.

I was tired after eight hours of hard riding, but had heard about this hill
the other day and wanted to try it. Manseki kindly used my camera to snap some shots.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/3.5, ISO 250 —
map & image data — nearby photos

I'm Down There Somewhere








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/3.5, ISO 360 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Chugging Up








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/3.5, ISO 1400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Grinding It Out








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1600 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

I Survived

It took me 51 seconds.

I had to make a new segment on Strava (which is not available yet)
because the
one that was already there is way off from reality, putting the ending
point well beyond the end of the hill instead of at the end of the hill, so
after you're done with the climb, unless you move an
unnaturally-far distance from the end of the hill before stopping to
recover your breath, the stop is counted in your climb time. Just stupid
and sloppy.

Lots of segments in Strava are like this because people who create them
are sloppy, and Strava doesn't give any way to provide feedback or to even
see who made it. So I have to end up making new (carefully-measured,
seemingly-redundant) segments. But Strava also doesn't give any way to
describe a segment beyond the title, so these carefully-measured segments
aren't presented as such to folks who come across them, so perhaps they get
lost in the slew of crap.

Kyoto’s Nasty 22% City-Bike Hill Climb

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/3.5, ISO 560 —
map & image data — nearby photos

This Hill is Not Steep

It's Nasty Steep

photo by Manseki Kanemitsu

距離125mで高度上昇26m、２２％の坂を頑張りました。

I went out for a long bike in the mountains of northern Kyoto on Saturday,
and after 120km (75mi) of tough ups and pleasant downs with friends (that
I'll write about separately), I made an attempt at a hill so steep that its
name on Strava is “Nasty”.

It's so steep that they have a mirror over the road, pointing down, so that folks coming from below
can see whether the road is clear up over the lip.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/4000 sec, f/2.2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Car Heading Down

note the mirror facing down

The hill rises about 26m over a distance of 125m (85' over 410'), which
puts the overall steepness at 21%, though Kyoto City labels the road at
22%, perhaps because its measurements are more accurate than mine. In any case, that's about the same slope to the top of a 6-story building
over the course of a football field.

I was tired after eight hours of hard riding, but had heard about this hill
the other day and wanted to try it. Manseki kindly used my camera to snap some shots.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/3.5, ISO 250 —
map & image data — nearby photos

I'm Down There Somewhere








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/3.5, ISO 360 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Chugging Up








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/3.5, ISO 1400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Grinding It Out








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1600 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

I Survived

It took me 51 seconds.

I had to make a new segment on Strava (which is not available yet)
because the
one that was already there is way off from reality, putting the ending
point well beyond the end of the hill instead of at the end of the hill, so
after you're done with the climb, unless you move an
unnaturally-far distance from the end of the hill before stopping to
recover your breath, the stop is counted in your climb time. Just stupid
and sloppy.

Lots of segments in Strava are like this because people who create them
are sloppy, and Strava doesn't give any way to provide feedback or to even
see who made it. So I have to end up making new (carefully-measured,
seemingly-redundant) segments. But Strava also doesn't give any way to
describe a segment beyond the title, so these carefully-measured segments
aren't presented as such to folks who come across them, so perhaps they get
lost in the slew of crap.

Photo-Development Challenge Results #2: Statues

It's been three months to the day since I posted
“Photo-Development Challenge: Inspire Me and Others With Your Artistic Interpretation”, and I'm mortified that it's only the second set of results that I'm finally getting around to sharing
(the first having been
“Hillside Temple Buildings” 2½ months ago).
In retrospect, it was irresponsible of me to post the challenge right before
a long family vacation. Sorry.

In any case, to recap what's going on, I posted some raw photos and
asked others to develop them to their taste, and here I'll share what those
different interpretations looked like.

First, today's subject in its unprocessed, straight-from-the-camera (via default Lightroom settings) originalness...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 250 —
image data

The Unprocessed Original

This is from the
delightfully whimsical Otaginenbutsuji Temple (愛宕念仏寺) in northwestern
Kyoto, which I've not nearly posted enough about.

As before, I'll present the results in the order I received them, starting with my own processing that I did at the time...

My Version

I put an almost-daylight white balance to match the splashes of sun, and
created a bit more visual range by increasing contrast and making
highlights brighter while making shadows darker. I think this leaves a
slight spotlight effect where there are splashes of light. I also added a
slight vignette.

processing by

Werner Gansz







div.c2577 { padding-left:1em; border-left: 5px solid #555; margin-right:3em; margin-bottom:30px }
p.p2577 { margin-top:0}
div.d2577 { margin-bottom:0}

Werner comments:

I love these guys. The two statues on the right were the best focus and
light so I used local radials to bring out their features and textures. I also used the GND to darken the strip of sunlight at the top which I found
distracting.

My Reaction:
Well, now mine feels dark and muddy.

processed by:

Niels Volkmann

Niels comments:

Thoughts on processing: immediately I thought this would make a nice b/w-conversion. By using some lightening/darkening I would like to put some focus on the face of the rightmost statue.

My Reaction:
Nicely done. It looks like you cropped it to just fit the four in front, which feels more balanced. The focus is indeed on the rightmost statue, but perhaps a bit too brightly for my taste, but still
much better than mine.

— processing by anonymous —

Contemplation

Contentment in the crowd

My Reaction:
This uses the crop instead of brightness to put the focus on the four main statues, and
so it can actually lose contrast buts still work well. This is really interesting to me.

processing by Herve

Fear and Serenity

My Reaction: Juuuust a bit too-strongly implemented, but an interesting
idea to focus on the emotions and juxtapose two opposites.

processinb by

Ben Willmore

Ben's comments:

1) As usual, crop to refine composition.

2) Emphasize green by messing with saturation/vibrance blend.

3) desaturate and darken surrounding areas to keep the eye from spending too much time there.

4) Split-tone to add warmth to highlights.

My Reaction:

This crop really identifies the heart of the photo. It's how I should have
cropped with my feet at the time. Maybe because I read Ben's comments
before looking at the result, I ended up focusing too much on the
desaturation on in the background and wish it were a little more lightly
applied.

One person, nnkka, submitted three versions...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 250 —
image data

— processing by nnkka —

“Iced”








— processing by nnkka —

“Magenta”









Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 250 —
image data

— processing by nnkka —

“Pseudo B&W”

nnkka's comments:

iced version

I was at a loss in what to do. Then I fooled around and made the blue version to get going.

magenta version

Then I made highlights magenta using the tone curve, and decided it added something unusual to mossy statues. My friend said the statues looked magical, I think that's great.
Split toned green shadows to balance out.
Then vignette, to better focus the viewer's attention.
Cropped for composition, as the highlights in the back could be distracting.
Used graduated filters to desaturate and darken the defocused statues in the back, so attention is on the foreground.

pseudo B&W version

Then I clicked B&W and really liked it, but to me B&W is just a gimmick, but I wanted to use it here. I ended up trying to tone the image lightly to make people think it's pure BW, when actually it was toned.

My Reaction:
A progression from muddy (a blue version of mine) to crisp. Having seen the bright area in the back cropped out
in the first two, it's distracting to see it in the third, which just goes to show that it was the right move to crop it out.

processing by anonymous

My Reaction:
This is a nice balance between Werner's and “Contemplation” (showing that all three are in a nice ballpark).

image data

processing by

Tom in SF

comments:

This image seemed to be about one active statue amongst many sleeping
ones.

Decided to emphasize this difference by color separation via Topaz Labs
and Totally RAD plug-ins.

Considered cropping the result as well, but thought to leave the full
composition alone for now.

My Reaction:
LAVA! (or, given the posture of the guy in question, “Hell”)

processing by

Amit C

comments:

Here I cropped a bit to give focus to only the four statues in the front
and wanted to saturate the greens to make what is covering the statues pop
out more. Also felt the image needed more sharpening and some contrast to
make it more appealing.

My Reaction:

A very nice balance, and, oddly, the most “3D” looking one to me.

It was fun to see the repeating themes (particularly the crop) and unique takes. I just must apologize again
for taking so long.

Discovering Kyoto’s Wonderful Toji-in Temple on a Tour with NORU

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/320 sec, f/10, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Basin Above the Garden

at the Toji-in Temple (等持院), Kyoto Japan
Vertical Desktop-Background Versions



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I had a fun outing this morning on a temple tour lead by Joshua Levine,
who wanted to lead a test tour in preparation for offering tours by bicycle
as part of his “cycle cafe”
NORU, scheduled to open near the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine at the end of
the month.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 26mm — 1/320 sec, f/5, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

First Stop

Hirano Shrine (平野神社）

Unlike the cafe whose target demographic is cyclists, the tours merely
use bicycle as a means to move around freely, so they're cute
highly-adjustable easy-to-ride little bikes. Riders ranged from 153cm to
192cm (5'0 ~ 6'2) and we all had a great fit. The bikes were surprisingly easy to ride.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 31mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Compact Parking








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/640 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Always Impressive

with how many tourists can be crammed into the Golden Pavilion








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Kumiko · Joshua · Sara · Dino · Manseki

The test subjects consisted of some cycling friends (Kumiko, Manseki,
Michael who had to leave before this photo was taken, and me), and two
non-cycling acquaintances of Joshua visiting from Switzerland, Sara and
Dino. They fit the demographic for this kind of tour, and if their reaction
is any indication, it will be a great success.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Running Commentary









Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 48mm — 1/640 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Sort of Freaky View

of the top of the Golden Pavilion (金閣寺) poking above the trees
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 45mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Off to the Next Spot

taken while moving at 16 kph (10 mph)

The next stop was the Ryouanji Temple...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/4, ISO 6400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Garden-Viewing Room

Ryouanji Temple (龍安寺）

(The sort of yellowish-green tone to the back room screams
“fluorescent-light white-balance problem” to my gut, but it was actually
that way in real life, green flooding in from the overhanging trees out the
door seen in the background.)

The temple's grounds are gorgeous in the autumn,
gorgeous in the
spring, really just quite nice any time. But it's most famous for its
Zen rock garden. It seems that I've never posted specifically about it,
which I find hard to believe, but all I can find are one-off pictures of
it, here, here, and here. Perhaps
it's telling that all three are provided as desktop backgrounds.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Off to the Next Spot

taken while moving at 8 kph (5 mph)









Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Bicycle Parking

Toji-in Temple

The next spot, the Toji-in Temple (等持院), was new to me and by far the highlight of the trip.
Unlike the Golden Pavilion which was mad-house crowded, and Ryouanji which was normal crowded,
Toji-in was almost empty, yet the garden was prettier than both.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 5000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

More Running Commentary








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Enjoying the Garden








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 58mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Enjoying Tea








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 32mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 140 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Enjoying Each Other








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 40mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Tea House Above the Garden

It as brilliantly sunny, which makes it difficult to get shots that
don't feel washed out. I had my polarizer filter (which makes a huge difference) and so
it helped, but with many of these shots I had to be sufficiently aggressive
with post processing that they start to edge toward an HDRish feel (what I call
single-shot HDR). I
don't care for HDR, but it's a “lesser of two evils” situation.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/16, ISO 640 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Kitchen Roof

pointing out that the littlest rooflet sticking up would be above the kitchen

The shot that leads this post was created with Lightroom 6's new HDR
photomerge feature, combining seven shots that I created in rapidfire with
a bracketed-exposure burst (handheld). I just selected them, invoked “Photo > Photo Merge > HDR” and let it do it. It corrected for the slight movement among the shots, and came up with a great
result without any further input from me.

On the other hand, the next two highly-similar shots are of the aforementioned “single-shot HDR” variety...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 26mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos









Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Wood and Bamboo

corner of the tea-house veranda floor








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/8, ISO 140 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Private Garden

It seesms that the guy in the room at right was the only other person there at the time
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/60 sec, f/7.1, ISO 6400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Hallway
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Another two-methods pair, one from a single frame and one combined from multiple frames...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Room All To Themselves










Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/5.6, ISO 2500 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Not Quite Alone

The tour continued on to other places, but I had to bow out early for a prior commitment, so this is where the story ended for me.