Today was the last of our three days biking in the Japanese
Alps. We began the day at an altitude of 1500 feet and, over a stretch of 25
miles, climbed steadily to 3250 feet. The scenery during the climb had two
elements: there were large mountains looming above us in all directions, and
the road itself was lined almost continuously by commercial establishments
(mostly large stores).
As soon as we reached the top of our climb and began to
descend, things changed dramatically. Over the first seven miles of our
descent, we dropped fairly steeply back to an altitude of 1500 feet on an
incredibly windy road full of hairpin turns. That 7-mile stretch of road was in
a wildlife preserve, so there were no buildings at all, just forest.
Once the hairpin turn road ended, our ride continued until
we reached our destination, a beautiful spa hotel. Our hotel room had its own
hot tub and a large window that allowed us to watch the loud and colorful
afternoon thunderstorm (which developed seemingly out of nowhere after yet
another day riding in perfect weather).
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| Early in our ride today, leaving the town of Ueda |
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| Mountains looming over a field for a golf-like game |
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| A town nestled in the mountains |
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| Roadside store during our ascent |
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| We made it to the top of our ascent! |
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| Part of our route map today: seven miles of hairpin turns |
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| Carol is barely visible as she rounds one of the many hairpin turns |
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| We stopped briefly on our descent to view this old railroad bridge |
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| In front of our spa hotel |
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Our hotel room
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| Enjoying a relaxing dinner |
