Until the night before, I was thinking, "If I want to gain altitude to avoid the heat, I should go to Shibutoge, Kinseitoge, or Mugiso Pass, which are all 2,000-meter-high areas..." I was thinking, "If I want to gain altitude to avoid the heat, I'll go to Shibutoge, Kinseitoge, or Mugiso Pass, which are all in the 2,000-meter class..." But I was flicking through my phone and before I knew it, I had booked a cheap business hotel in front of Yamagata Station.
This is why we are going to Tohoku.Plus, this morning I managed to wake up at four in the morning!I did, but my body doesn't feel refreshed. Since the end of the rainy season, I've left the air conditioner on 24 hours a day in my room, but when I get ready, I start to sweat strangely.
I had changed the dehumidifying air conditioner, which is normally set at 25 degrees Celsius, to 27 degrees Celsius last night, so that must be the reason. So I put a cold sheet on the back of my neck and tried to go out....
When I got down to the parking lot, I was trying to sign up for the Metropolitan Area Touring Plan on my phone, but I couldn't seem to shake it off. "No, this might be weird..." I thought. So I went straight to the nearby convenience store to buy this....
Return to the bike and measure on the spot....
My normal temperature is in the 35 degree range, so it's a little high. But it's 50% chance that it will go up or down from here (wild thought), so I'll just get on the bike and start riding.
So, we left at 6 am.
Take the Tohoku Expressway to Fukushima.
Even though it was a Sunday during the Bon Festival, the roads were empty at this time. We made smooth progress and took the Tohoku Expressway from Kawaguchi. I was feeling neither good nor bad when I started running, but my body was honest as my cruising speed was about 15km lower than usual when I was running naturally.
We continued on to the vicinity of Utsunomiya and took our first break at Otani PA.
I was thinking of going back to Utsunomiya to eat gyoza if I wasn't feeling well, but it seemed to be okay. We headed north, and our next stop was Abukuma PA in Fukushima Prefecture.
At this point, I had a chat with a rider on an NC700X, which was parked next to me, as we had in common a middle class parallel twin touring bike.
The pannier case and top box have additional hand-made blinkers and brake lights beautifully embedded in them, and the LED lights on the engine guard were also made by him.
The in-car camera is installed with a stay that he made himself, and there is even a monitor installed in the tank, which is used as a trunk in NC. He even installed a monitor in the tank, which is the trunk of the NC. He does not only the electrical work but also changes the tires by himself.
After the break, we headed for the Ban-Etsu Expressway.
As usual, I've been going out without thinking much about the route, but today's long distance may be tough for my physical condition. If that's the case, I decided to follow my usual course in the opposite direction. I decided to take the usual course in reverse: Gold Line, Lakeline, and Skyline.
This was a touring plan for the Tokyo metropolitan area. I took the Banetsu Expressway again to move to the entrance of the Gold Line.
By the way, I spotted a suspicious Crown on the highway, so I slowed down. A minivan came from behind and passed the Crown, but then it changed lanes and turned on the red light! This is luck... I got off the train at the Bandai-Katoh Interchange, but I saw a building on my left that caught my attention, so I took a closer look....
What is this? It's huge!
It is said that the statue of Kannon was built by a private individual with his own funds. It is said to be 57 meters tall.I don't know if he weighs 550 tons or not (Showa story).
Vacations are always rain.
Now, after the tedious highway travel, it was time for the real touring. We started climbing up the Gold Line smoothly, but... Here it comes. It's getting worse. We put on our rainwear at the shoulder of the road, considering our physical condition.
So, we continued on our way. It was totally fine from Gold Line to Lake Line, but as we approached the Bandai-Azuma Skyline, the rain intensified. We missed the left turn and had to take a break at the change of direction point of the Tsuchiyu Tunnel.
Yeah. After the tunnel, the rain got even stronger... We unhesitatingly entered the skyline, but it was cold as we gained altitude. Even though it's August, I turned on the grip heater while driving!
So, we finally gained some elevation....
Yes, I did. I'm heartbroken.
I don't know where the name "Fudosawa" refers to, but if we were to go up from the Lake Line side, the beautiful scenery would be over Jododaira. So, if we continue on, there is a possibility that we would only get cold and not gain anything.
We gave up completely and took Fukushima Prefectural Road 30 toward Fukushima. As we lowered the elevation, the temperature rose and the weather started to improve. We arrived at Michi no Eki Tsuchiyu and had lunch.
Go to the inn early.
After eating, I was relieved and remembered that I wasn't feeling well today. I decided to go into the inn early today to prepare for tomorrow. After getting off at Fukushima City, we will make a forbidden highway warp from the Fukushima Nishi Interchange.
Weather recovering and temperatures rising as we approach Yamagata...Oh, by the way, I haven't had any soft serve ice cream yet today!So we took a break for soft-serve ice cream at Furuseki PA in Miyagi Prefecture.
Hokkaido soft serve ice cream... It's not a local flavor at all, but it's not extravagant. The temperature has risen considerably and my body is warming up. Quick... Something cold..... What the hell is going on? (ANGER AND SADNESS)
When I asked the store owner, he said they weren't open today... Even though it's the Sunday of the Obon vacation?
By the way, there are just over 20 kilometers left to go from this PA to the hotel we reserved. It's almost on the highway, so we should be there in 20 minutes, but... I was so shocked that I sat down in the parking lot and took a break for about 30 minutes.
I used the energy I had recovered at the hotel to get into bed.
The hotel is located on the main street in front of Yamagata Station. I thought I'd make up for it with a nice local meal since I arrived so fast. I thought about it, but I didn't feel like moving anymore. I ate onigiri (rice balls) and salad at the convenience store on the first floor of the hotel, and brought this for dessert from home.
Today's mileage was exactly 500km, but most of it was highway travel, so it was almost a moving day.
Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be a bit better than today's, so I'm going to bed early. Good night.
When I got down to the parking lot, I was trying to sign up for the Metropolitan Area Touring Plan on my phone, but I couldn't seem to shake it off. "No, this might be weird..." I thought. So I went straight to the nearby convenience store to buy this....
Return to the bike and measure on the spot....
My normal temperature is in the 35 degree range, so it's a little high. But it's 50% chance that it will go up or down from here (wild thought), so I'll just get on the bike and start riding.
So, we left at 6 am.
I was thinking of going back to Utsunomiya to eat gyoza if I wasn't feeling well, but it seemed to be okay. We headed north, and our next stop was Abukuma PA in Fukushima Prefecture.
The pannier case and top box have additional hand-made blinkers and brake lights beautifully embedded in them, and the LED lights on the engine guard were also made by him.
The in-car camera is installed with a stay that he made himself, and there is even a monitor installed in the tank, which is used as a trunk in NC. He even installed a monitor in the tank, which is the trunk of the NC. He does not only the electrical work but also changes the tires by himself.
As usual, I've been going out without thinking much about the route, but today's long distance may be tough for my physical condition. If that's the case, I decided to follow my usual course in the opposite direction. I decided to take the usual course in reverse: Gold Line, Lakeline, and Skyline.
So, we continued on our way. It was totally fine from Gold Line to Lake Line, but as we approached the Bandai-Azuma Skyline, the rain intensified. We missed the left turn and had to take a break at the change of direction point of the Tsuchiyu Tunnel.
So, we finally gained some elevation....
Weather recovering and temperatures rising as we approach Yamagata...
Hokkaido soft serve ice cream... It's not a local flavor at all, but it's not extravagant. The temperature has risen considerably and my body is warming up. Quick... Something cold.....
The hotel is located on the main street in front of Yamagata Station. I thought I'd make up for it with a nice local meal since I arrived so fast. I thought about it, but I didn't feel like moving anymore. I ate onigiri (rice balls) and salad at the convenience store on the first floor of the hotel, and brought this for dessert from home.
Today's mileage was exactly 500km, but most of it was highway travel, so it was almost a moving day.
Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be a bit better than today's, so I'm going to bed early. Good night.
