Extending my reach from Nisshin with a second two-day tour, this time to Kyoto. The first night was a repeat visit to Takatoriyama campground in Taga County, Shiga Prefecture, followed by a hotel stay in Otsu City, setting up a short push on the third day to make a luncheon appointment with an old friend in Kyoto before riding Shinkansen back to Nagoya.

My first solo two-overnight ride from the house. Travelling on the coldest days of the season was a good shakedown for winter equipment and clothing. I packed the wherewithal to have the option of bagging the bike and returning by train, and I used it, for reasons explained herein.

After months of waffling (according to friends observing my social media posts), on Christmas Eve 2024 I rode to Sakushima, an island in Nagoya Bay. It was a wonderful trip in more ways than one, and I look forward to visiting the island again.

2-4 December 2024: A town so nice I went there twice. A second journey to Gero hot springs, this time with no stopover on the way up. A full day of rest before the return offered a chance to explore the town just a little, and failure of my camping stove added to the adventure.

20-21 September 2024: Wherein I explore an alternative north-bound route to that used in the July excursion to Gero, and face a trade-off between convenience and solitude.

16-18 July 2024: A casually planned three-day ride to a popular hot spring resort. Surprises included: an unridable hiking trail; a flat tire repair challenge in a rainstorm on a mountain road after dark; a midnight map reading failure; and the kindness of strangers.

21-25 May 2024: A sentimental multi-modal journey to Tokyo and the Kantō plain to visit old friends and make new connections.

18-20 March 2024: A three-day ride into the foothills behind Okayama led by a friend in the area, in which I brought a road bike to a country tour and … found out. A tale of hot springs and cold weather.

1-2 January 2024: A two-day trip starting on New Year’s Day to a free campsite within easy riding distance from Nagoya; but the mountainous route chosen for this first ride to the site was full of surprises.

12-13 October 2023: A two-day trip to a mountain campground in Shiga Prefecture, in the direction of Biwa Lake and Kyoto east of Nagoya. Good conversations and rural scenery reminiscent of California coastal forests in days of youth.