Monday, Monday, Can’t Trust That Day
Hikone to Komagene
(Monday) May 29, 2023
The day started out gray then it got worse. We had a scheduled 2 hour bus ride to our starting point in order to avoid a lot of kilometers of riding through one of Japan’s more industrialized areas. Not only would it be boring but there would be heavy truck traffic as well. We opted for a mountainside starting point with a 1000+ meter climb (over 3,400 feet) but it being over a fifteen kilometer distance the climb itself would be gradual. Lunch would be at the top.
However, what should have been a two hour drive turned into a three and a half hour slow motion tour due to road construction and heavy traffic. Instead of starting our ride at 9:00 am we did not get rolling until a few minutes before 11:00. I was last off the bus and last to start up the mountain but was able to move up ahead of our sweep, Chris after passing some other riders. Nice to know that I am not yet ready for a permanent position at the back of the pack.
Lunch was a soggy but welcome respite after the long, wet slog up the mountain and even with the wind and rain increasing in intensity, I felt good afterwards. My new rain gear and a change to a dry base layer of clothing prevented the chills that plagued my previous rainy day experience. The mid day rain was heavy at times, expanding the tiny mountain streams into raging torrents that were almost kayak-able. However, as I moved down to lower elevations the temperature became warmer and I was able to peal off one or two warm but wet layers.
The ride may have been quite beautiful under different circumstance but every vantage point for a view out over the countryside was clouded by a dense gray mist. Eventually I settled onto a lightly developed roadway for the final twenty kilometers to a hotel that was a carbon copy of the place we stayed last evening, right down to every detail of the lobby and dining area. Almost a Groundhog Day moment except for the wet and dripping clothing that I carried to the laundry area and a room to myself for the night!
