Got out for a leisurely 320km through Izu to see out the year.
What a strange year. The plague, society and business grinding to a halt…
But the MT10SP become a worthy Touge Express steed!
Left home late and it’d warmed up to 5° which wasn’t bad. The temp followed altitude and sun between 2° and 15° through the day. Scottoiler(blue screen) showing 5°CAfter following the coast and snaking up the Tsubaki Line then wriggling down the 20 and into central Izu, got to the Pizza Bus just before 12 but they said the oven wasn’t ready, come back in an hour. Nishi Izu Skyline is only a few kilometres away so away we went. Dry, overcast and a little windy but the road was clean views were great. A Porsche club and a train of MX5 were up there stretching their legs. Sounded great! Fuji was a beacon to the north. The tighter section up there was still in the shade, is all day this time of the year, and slick in spots. All the bikes were tiptoeing through there. This spot never gets old, even after 15 years.Back for lunch and wasn’t the only biker there. Lunch! Plenty of social distancing and the howling beagle to welcome you. The sausage, bacon and tomato pan pizza were good too! Pit stopped at Takachiyama on the Izu Skyline on the way back for a view over Atami to Sagami Bay and where I was headed. Looking out over Numazu to Suruga Bay and the setting sun, the haze making what lies beyond unclear, I thought ‘Yeah whatever 2020…’ Lit the wick on the MT10 and revved a crossplane tune over Hakone Touge and down across the Kanto plain.
It’s been a lonely year on the road. Looking forward to seeing off this plague and catching up with the Twistybutts in May!
Touge Express 