It’s suddenly gotten much hotter lately, hasn’t it?
I love the cool night breeze right before summer arrives.
During this time of year, I find myself taking the long way home.
Also, I went for a ride with my friends from Circles on my day off!
I came across such an incredibly amazing road that I’m sitting here at my computer now, just desperate to share that excitement with you.
How to encounter such a road.
First, we meet at 5:30 in the morning.
What? You think that’s too early??
There’s just something so pleasant about feeling the cold air before sunrise as you start to pedal.
Heading to the mountains in search of a challenge
Determined to make it a tough ride, we naturally headed for the mountains.
We set our sights on Ishigure Pass.
We climbed while feeling like we might die, but the fresh green leaves were so refreshing, they actually put me at ease.
A surprise hike, too.
Beyond Ishigure Pass, there is a mountain called Mt. Ryu-ga-dake. The name, which is associated with a dragon god who brings rain, comes from a legend where a local warlord held a rain-prayer festival to honor the dragon god.
That kind of origin story really appeals to the guy in me (lol).
There’s a spot on Mt. Ryu-ga-dake where you can go hiking, so on a whim, we decided to do just that!!
This was the hardest part. The other two kept climbing higher and higher, so I was barely keeping up.
Actually, if I’m being honest, I got left behind. Yeah.
Even so, the sense of accomplishment and the view when I reached the summit made me feel from the bottom of my heart that it was worth it.
But I don’t recommend hiking in cycling shoes.
You’ll slip and fall just like I did.
For times like that, I recommend attaching a pair of BEDROCK sandals to your saddlebag and changing into them when you hike up the mountain.
I want you to see me completely exhausted, so I’m including this as a bonus.
After the hike ended and we descended the mountain...
The reward for climbing the mountain.
It’s no exaggeration to say that this downhill reward was the reason we climbed the mountain by bike.
I was filled with pure joy.
And then, we pedaled hard in search of something delicious.
And then, a wonderful road suddenly appeared.
We found a shop that looked tasty and decided to change our route.
That change led us to a road I’ll never forget.
Wild wisteria flowers were blooming along the road, enveloping everything in a lovely scent.
The sunlight filtering through the trees shone down, so bright
that I started to think I’d wandered into a scene from a movie!
The highlight of this route is a "araigoshi"—where a stream crosses over the road.
Rather than explaining, it’s faster if you just take a look.
It looks like this.
When you see a road like this, there’s only one thing to do.
That’s right, lie down—the ultimate symbol of youth.
It felt so good, and it made me feel like I was really living my youth, haha.
And here is that wonderful route!!
Please feel free to use it as a reference!!
The araigoshi is about 7.5km in, so I definitely hope you all get to experience it too!
Another wonderful encounter
Then, we headed to a yakiniku restaurant I’ll surely be visiting many times!
The woman who runs the place was the very definition of a "mother."
Her hospitality was such that I truly felt the meaning of the word.
Naturally, my mouth started watering and a smile spread across my face.
In closing
This ride reminded me once again that I truly “love” riding my bike.
I’ll keep reporting back if I come across any more “This ride was the best!!” moments!
Also, please give my Instagram account (@hey_off) a follow if you’d like!
You can see my daily life and ride updates!
