Exploring The Mountains of Northern Kyoto by Bicycle

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/4000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Pausing for a Quick Photo

on a bicycle ride in the mountains north of Kyoto

left to right: Kumiko Mini,
Lianca Van Der Merwe,
Antti Riikonen, and
Ross McLean

Today I made my first “real” bicycling ride. Normally the bicycle is just for transportation from one place
to the other, and not my first choice for either exercise nor pleasure, but I recently replaced my 10-year-old
mamachari (“Mama Chariot”, heavy, built like a tank,
and can carry oodles of kids and stuff) with a lighter cross bike.

今日は初めての本物の自転車でツアーイング。新しい友達と一緒に55キロの山巡り。大原と貴船を見に行きました。

Through the
Cycling Kyoto Facebook group I learned that some folks would have a “slow
easy” ride today, so I thought it was a good opportunity to give it a
try.

We ended up going 55km (34 miles) up into the mountains and back. The “and back” part was easier.

We met up at the Sanjo St. bridge at 11am, and soon headed off...

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/8000 sec, f/1.8, ISO 100 —
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City Riding

heading north on Kawabata St.

川端通で北へ








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/4000 sec, f/1.8, ISO 100 —
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Back Street








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/8000 sec, f/1.8, ISO 100 —
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First Sight of Nature

along the Kamo River (賀茂川)








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/320 sec, f/9, ISO 100 —
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Mountains Where We're Heading








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/640 sec, f/9, ISO 100 —
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Heading Up

it's been a mild ascent the whole 25 minutes it took to get here,

but now it's starting in earnest








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/250 sec, f/8, ISO 100 —
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Oh Deer!

construction








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/250 sec, f/8, ISO 100 —
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Village








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/160 sec, f/8, ISO 400 —
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Steep

坂がきつい

It wasn't all that steep as far as mountains go, but it was certainly
the most steep road I'd ever taken on a bike. It rose 210m over about 900m
length. Since it was my first ride I decided that I would always stay at
the back. This gave me a great excuse to rest if I wasn't the slowest, and
if I was the slowest, well, what do you expect from the guy at the back?

It turns out that Lianca's normal road bike is in the shop, so she was using a heavy mountain bike,
which wasn't really appropriate for this kind of riding. So, I could take it easy most of the time.

The trip down the other side of the mountain was equally steep...

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/320 sec, f/8, ISO 100 —
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Coasting

We stopped by the Family Mart near the Sanzenin Temple. I've visited that temple
numerious
times in the past,
but I would have never imagined going that far by bicycle.

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Ross's New Bike

taking a break

We then retraced our path part way...

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/3200 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Ohara Countryside

(taken 1-handed at 30kph)

This time I thought I'd try to stay with the two guys when we retraced our steps back up the aforementioned steep climb....

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/160 sec, f/14, ISO 1600 —
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Starting the Ascent

Coming off an injury, Ross is riding for the first time in a month and
so was taking it “slow and easy”, and Antti was kind enough to slow down to
keep him company. I hadn't really been taxed in the 20km we'd done so far,
but the photo above was the last I saw of them for quite a while. They made
it look effortless, but I can assure you it was most certainly not
effortless.

Still, I made it to the pass without passing out or even stopping, and so I waited for the
rest of the group and tried to catch an “action shot” as they came by (though I realize now
that I should have set up a bit downhill, so they'd have some speed...)

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/160 sec, f/14, ISO 1400 —
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Kumiko








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/160 sec, f/6.3, ISO 140 —
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Lianca








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/160 sec, f/16, ISO 360 —
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Single-Handed Snapshot

at 50.3kph, downhill








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/5000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Flat(ish) Countryside

Having retraced our steps for 8km, we headed back into the mountains, toward Kibune.

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/160 sec, f/9, ISO 640 —
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Staying With Ross

(for a short moment)

貴船へ

Somewhere near Kibune we stopped for a quick photo, seen at the start of this post.

Sharp readers will of course recall that the same bridge guardrail appeared on my blog eight years ago,
at the end of “Getting Ready for Summer, in Kibune”.

Then some quick individual snaps...

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Ross McLean

very Mc, very Lean








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1600 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Antti Riikonen








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1600 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Lianca Van Der Merwe








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/2000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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KUMIKO mini








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/800 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Ross's Shoe Covers

were so incredibly brilliant pink that the camera couldn't capture them properly








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Chatting, Oblivious

to the guys already leaving in the background

Since I wasn't in any of the group pictures, I thought I'd at least grab
a snap of myself for my own memory, on one of the road-curve mirrors
ubiquitous in the mountains of Japan.

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1000 sec, f/1.8, ISO 100 —
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“OSHA Orange”

is the color of my windbreaker. I call it my “Ninja Jacket”.








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/500 sec, f/1.8, ISO 100 —
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Hitting the Touristy Area








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/2000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Short Pause

at the entrance to the Kibune Shrine (貴船神社)








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/500 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Something Is Just Not Quite Right

about this shot, as we head a bit farther up the mountain.

Can you tell what it is, and explain it? (Hint: it's not Photoshop)








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/400 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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High Point of Our Trip

410m, at the Kibune Shrine Okumiya (貴船神社奥宮)









Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Still Plenty of Snow








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Plotting The Return Home









Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/160 sec, f/1.4, ISO 220 —
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It's All Downhill From Here

Since the ride was done save for returning home, the two guys took off
at their own speed, and we never saw them again. After getting down into
town, I decided to pop over to a park where I knew Anthony was playing with
friends. The moment I said “bye” to the other two I'd been returning with
and was on my own in the city, the bike ceased to be fun. It was now just
drudgery “get to Point B” work.

So, while I enjoyed the first 45km of the trip, it's the social aspect of it
that appealed to me. The last 11k was drudgery.

Anyway, here's what the Google Earth shows for my ride:

The red arrow is about where this post's lead photo was taken.

Later that evening, I had dinner at Via Transito, the Italian restaurant
located here
owned by friend Salvo Mannino.
Salvo had helped me buy my new bike, and had introduced me to the Kyoto Cycling group, so I wanted to stop
by to thank him and report on my ride.

Damien and Kumiko joined me and Anthony for a wonderful dinner and conversation.

Nikon D3X + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1600 —
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Chatting with Salvo

Via Transito Italian Restaurant

I remembered to take a picture of the salad, but then forgot after that. It was tasty.

Nikon D3X + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1600 —
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Salad with Cheeze and Potato








Nikon D3X + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 23mm — 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1600 —
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Making a Pizza

My neck and shoulders are a bit sore from the ride, but otherwise I seem not too much worse for wear. Not sure when I'll do such a thing again, but it was a wonderful day for the experience, made all the better by the company I lucked into having.

Was a good day.