Day 37: (107 km) Tateshina Skyline - Ogawara Toge - Matsumoto
(09/04/06)

Cold. So, so cold. Up at three AM to make it to the summit before sunrise. Cycling on an empty road in the dark was quite fun, if a little bumpy. After getting to the top, I got to use my tripod for the second time this trip for a good pre-breakfast photo shoot. Beautiful ride down the mountain into Matsumoto where we bought more gas and looked at the route. After some hesitation, we decided to stick to the mountains at the risk of getting into Toyama late.

(Ogawara Toge)

Good choice. We're rewarded with a scenic route passing through rows of corn, fields of greens, and orchards all around. The diversity of crops is impressive. We reached the Nihon Salad Road. Really, that's the official name.

We camped that night at the Matsumoto Michi no Eki. Happy and full of lentils, we once again curled up in Mary's tent for a warmer night's sleep