A Solo Version of The Recent Social Ride to Onyu Pass

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Really Windy

note the completely-horizontal wind sock just right of center

( it's actually a koinobori, but still blown horizontal by the wind )

After the really pleasant social ride to Onyu Pass most of the way toward
the ocean, far north of Kyoto the other day, I thought to more or less do the same ride again by myself, to do some things that
would be inappropriate on a social ride: ride fast, and pause to explore tangential areas.

I started off zipping up and over Hanaore Pass the 40+km (~26 miles) to the village of Kutsuki in about an hour forty five minutes
(as opposed to two and a half hours on the social ride), then immediately lost any gains in the schedule to some exploring...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
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Road Off to the Right

I wonder where you go...

I knew from previous geeking over satellite photos that there were some roads in this area that appeared to climb up into the
mountains a short while, and that this was one of them. Other than that, I didn't know what to expect, so just took it to find
out.

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

Up Up Up

I used the in-camera indicator to make sure the camera was exactly level for this picture,
and perhaps if you remind yourself that while staring at the center of the frame, the steepness
of the road will become apparent. Or maybe not.

It turned out to be 1km at 10%, which is steep but not crazy.
(The segment is 994 meters long, which of course in Strava's weird-math universe rounds to “0.9km”.) The road surface was lovely.

The road abruptly ends at what looks like two gravel parking lots, and continues as a gravel path up into the mountain.
The two “gravel parking lots” are really the former locations of buildings (some kind of prefectural nature center),
but now that the places are cleared, they really don't want folks parking on them... they blocked off the entrances
with a mound of dirt, bollards, and rope:

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 35mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Entrance Denied

Bird photographers were parking along the road to then walk up the gravel path. It would have been nice to have these areas open.

Just a little bit before the end of the pavement, there's a tiny road running off to the north....

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 27mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 —
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I Wonder Where This Goes








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/60 sec, f/1.7, ISO 320 —
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Very Steep

but at least it's wet and slippery








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/80 sec, f/2.1, ISO 640 —
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Descent into Richness

the area had such a lovely, earthy mood, with wonderful light

And then suddenly...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Suspension Bridge

オグラス山吊橋








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 65mm — 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Still Windy

path-marking ribbon fluttering horizontally








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 50mm — 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

As Thick as my Arm








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
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Looks Like a Toy

lack of small details make this huge anchor look like a toy








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 67mm — 1/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
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Bridge Plaque

“Ogurasu Suspension Bridge”

March 1990









Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Old Instructions

The “400m to the right” place is now an unaccessable parking lot,

so what will I find 600m to the left?

Let's find out...

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

Up Up Up








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO 200 —
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Flattening Out

but still feels like the middle of nowhere








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO 200 —
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Civilization

opens out into a park area with a baseball field

グリーンパーク








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.1, ISO 200 —
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Awesome Climbing Area








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Bocce-Ball Players








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 35mm — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Roller Slide!!

smaller version of this kind of awesome

( sadly, it looks too small for me to even try )








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

Massive Structure Covering.... Nothing

So, that was a fun place to explore. Heading back toward the bridge, I came to a place where
the road diverged in the yellow wood...

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

The first time by I'd looked down the other path as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth, but left it for another day,
but now that I was right back here, I thought I'd actually take it. It did not disappoint.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
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Fabulous Toilets








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 —
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Spacious Rest Area








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

Road Turns to Gravel

so I turned around

I retreated back across the bridge, up the short super-steep super-wet section (somehow safely), then
down the initial “where does this go?” climb, and continued on matching the route from the other day's social ride.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 33mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Crossing Into Kutsuki Village

After a short stop at the only convenience store for miles around, I
made the Ohikodani climb a bit faster
than on the social ride, though at 23½ minutes, still more than two minutes slower than Ionut did.

A hiking trail crosses the at the road pass, climbing up the mountain on both sides of the road. I climbed up the
southern side for a bit, yielding a nice view:

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

After descending back down to the main road, I made the 10km slog mostly up hill to the base of the day's main event,
the climb to Onyu Pass. I gave it a good go. It was quite windy on the open road, but during the climb
there was wind only on some of the hairpins, dropping off soon after. Wasn't too bad.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 52mm — 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Onyu Pass

おにゅう峠

I was very happy to better my previous time by two minutes,
setting a new PR at 22:22. Overall it's only 20th best,
though out of all riders 85kg (187lb) or above, I'm the better.