Freedom

With the lifting of the corona virus state of emergency and local prefectural no-travel requests, it was time for the steed and I to chase the horizon once more.

The waxing glow on the horizon hinted at a great day of riding ahead.
Bright but Fuji’s peak isn’t glowing yet. Sunrise is still behind us.
Headed up into Hakone to give the centre of the tyres a break.
Sunrise!
eMpTy10 drinking…again.
Fuji was everywhere for the first few hours.
What kind of frozen trickery is this? I’d dressed for the predicted 25°+ Max temp. Needless to say I was feeling chilled.
Pitstopped for breakfast at Misaka Touge. Tranquil until…
The Alfa club roared out of the tunnel. Some nice cars there though.
Eased 51km out of the reserve after being left parched by two closed gas stands closed before finding one open in Karuizawa. Last time I got 50km from reserve, I had to push it the final 300m. 😂
Always a tyre torturer and grin widener.

This was the road that inspired the second wind and got me to thinking that a Coast to Coast Twistybutt had to be done. From here on there were mostly epic roads, views and the autumn colours would be even better. Besides, the 502 was ahead and I’d read a few months before that it’d be open for the start of October. If you get to the 502, it’s all downhill to the coast, right? Onward!

292 was in fine form.
Manza is getting some colour.
Top of the world and back down to 13°C again.
Great to be back! It’s been too long since running this epic road.
The sun was falling and…
… the navi was saying a sunset arrival on the beach was slipping away. But the views deserved some photos.
Then it slipped away. Quite literally, I tried to get a pic of the sun but the road was only going downhill and by the time I stopped, it was but a glow on the distant peaks.
Pulled up at this odd boarded up joint for a look down over the coastline. Great location and views.
How far away is that coast down there in Joetsu?
30 odd minutes later, C2C580 Twistybutt done!
There it is. Out n back. Coast to Coast to Coast with a C2C Twistybutt one way.

The expressway run home was a cold monotonous cruise control enabled decompress. It was the easiest and most economical leg of the ride though and traffic was surprisingly light.

This twisted fossil thoroughly enjoyed the stretch of legs and right wrist. And the MT10sp is proving a great steed for such stretches. Just wish it wouldn’t drink so much. 😉

2 Comments

  1. Great photos Craig, that sure was a long ride, I wonder how many refills on the MT-10? Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thanks Warren. The eMpTy10 typically gets somewhere in the 200-260km range to a tank. I left home with a 3/4 tank and refuelled three times on the loop. Reserve started flashing just as I got near home. I haven’t tested a pure expressway tank yet but I think it may do 280km/tank. 🤞
      I did a similar twisty ride this time last year which was a little longer. 😉
      https://www.relive.cc/view/v1OwWWYdZEO
      Hope your autumn riding is awesome. See you on the road.

      Like

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