Day 38: (85 km) Matsumoto - Mozumi

(09/05/06)

Today we started with a hard, winding climb out of Matsumoto. Arriving at a tunnel, I heeded the No Bicycles sign and kept winding up the steep path to the summit. As I was nearing the top, Chay called asking if I had already gone through the tunnels. He and Mary were waiting outside the first one. Cycling back down the steep little road was a good rush, and the tunnel was great--wide shoulder, smooth road, well ventilated. Cruising through it, about two kilometers in, a service vehicle pulled up in front of me, the driver motioning me to stop.

After explaining that the tunnel was for cars only, he helped me load my bike into the back of his little service truck--no easy feat with a fully loaded cycle. After the tunnel, he dropped me off where Mary and Chay were waiting. The whole time I just hoped that I wouldn't have to go back and climb the summit yet again, even a ticket would be better than that. Lucky me, we were already past the summit and he showed us a gate that let out onto the regular road. Even better, he brought his little yapper of a dog out to play.

Back on the bikes, we zoomed into a cute little tourist town in Gunma-ken where we stopped for a mid-morning snack. On the way out we stopped at an old thatched roof onsen where Mary and I took pictures while Chay chatted up the busty attendant.

Then back up into the mountains along the Venus Line , another scenic highway leading us through the Japan Alps and into the middle of nowhere (which is exactly where the best views are). After a good ride up and over a few summits, and one of the fastest, most exhilarating downhills of the trip, we camped at a little used train station in the little used town of Mozumi, a mere forty kilometers outside of Toyama. It's a bit of a shame to head back into a city after the past few days of beautiful rural cycling. But we have an event tomorrow and Amy will be waiting for us, so into town we go.