I'm in the newspaper! Again!

For what is I think is the fourth time in 6 years, I'm in the newspaper. Click the photo for a newspaper article you probably can't read! I'll translate later, if requested, but it's about the Japanese folk music performance a couple of weekends ago that I participated in with my teacher and another one of his students. (Click the photo for the link)

Autumn colors

Just a couple of photos from the park right behind school. As you can see, it's definitely autumn. Which is normal. It is, after all, late October. We dipped down to around 3 degrees a couple nights ago. That's of course celcius. That's in the upper 30s for my American readers.



So now I've seen three seasons here in Eniwa. I saw the very tail end of winter when I was in the process of getting oriented and meeting all the people at the top here at school. That was back in March, so not winter proper. Just the tail end, with a little snow left on the ground. I hear it gets rather cold and snowy. Can't be any worse that the Twin Cities or Appleton.

He'll be comin' round the mountain...

Here are a few photos from the MTB ride this past week. 100 miles around Mt. Chokai, half on road, half off. Half in the rain. Half not.



One of the check points. Tamasudare Falls, right before an 11-mile climb to the highest point.



And here it is, the highest point on the ride, 860 meters (a little over 2800 feet). It was at the end of 11 miles off road. Extremely grueling, but somehow rewarding.




Here is the scenery at the highest point. It's called Oshimizu. It's about 40 percent up Chokai.



One of the moments of sunshine, looking down from a bridge into a small valley somewhere in Yashima.



And at the second highest point, after a 6 mile on-road climb, a rainbow. Nice.

MTB

It's about a week until the big ride.

It's been 4 years since I was last able to participate, but I'm heading back to Akita next weekend to go for a long bike ride. 100 miles long. Around a big mountain (Chokai), about half off road, half on. I haven't been able to do as much mountain trail training as I would have liked, because the hills around here are either full of country clubs or self defense force training grounds, neither of which I'm allowed on. I did do 80km (approximately 50 miles) last weekend to Sapporo and back via a mountain road in good time, and felt ready for it again the next day, which I took as a pretty good sign that my legs are ready for it. I'm excited, and hopefully I'll be able to take some photos of the ride.

Here's the course, in case anyone cares.

 

The times are when the particular gates close, so it you aren't through that gate by then, it's the van back to the start line.

And here's a link to the elevation profile. Three climbs worth mentioning really. One that will be kind of a killer, but that's the challenge. Make that one, and you're most of the way there. Lots of downhill after that.

The ride is next Sunday, the 10th, which happens to be the anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Olympics, which was turned into a national holiday, Sports and Health Day. So, I'll go be sporty and healthy.