Routes & Details Sent
Author: tougeexpress
Today We Look Up
With eight more sleeps before the rubber meets the road for the inaugural Chubu C2C, it’s time to make earnest salutations to the Weather Gods for clear skies and dry roads.
We all have our own way with this, so you do what works for you. Bow, pray, grovel. Burn stuff, chant, howl! Hug boulders, lay exposed in a meadow, look an eagle in the eye. Lather yourself in honey and breadcrumbs and stand in the sun till crispy. Whatever works for you!
So, look up, the Weather Gods are listening and now is the time for the Twistybutts to let them hear us!
Dodging Tolls
Toll-road companies in the NEXCO groups are intensifying their efforts to deter and crack down on toll-dodgers. These measures include installing countermeasure cameras, actively encouraging reporting incidents to the police, and cooperating with investigations. They are also using press releases to announce arrests and publicize successful legal actions against violators.
(more…)Gold Licence
How long does it take to get a gold licence? 5+ years
What are the conditions for getting a gold licence? No penalties or accidents for 5 years.
Those are the basics of being rewarded with a gold banded licence card for a faultless driving record in Japan. Is it that simple?
(more…)Protected: Sunday Squirt – September 7
Sunday Squirt B’day Run
Last year, some fellow rubber rounders gathered for a ride on my birthday and we had a great run. Great enough to want to do it again so it’s on this Sunday, the 7th.
Nothing extreme or extravagant. Just a good old Sunday Squirt with plenty of stops and back early afternoon, hopefully before the stinging heat and traffic jams. But you count on a sunrise start.
If you’re interested in joining for some gratuitous rounding of rubber, send me a message and I’ll get you in the loop. Be great to see you there!
Mount Fuji’s 5th Station Roads Reopening Soon
For riders across the Kanto plain and beyond, the wait is almost over! Mark your calendars for 6pm September 10th, as the gates to Fuji’s hill climbs and some of the areas highest accessible roads will swing open once again.
(more…)252 Must Do, Reopened!
Route 252, a vital artery between Fukushima and Niigata, is a great ride. This lightly-trafficked road stretches about 120 km from Aizu to Ounuma, or vice versa. At around 60km shorter yet 20+ minutes longer than the shortest expressway route, according to google, it’s the epitome of the longer funner twistier way.
Day 1 Conquerers – Mountain Day Twistybutt ’25
The came, they saw (and didn’t run away) and they rounded rubber. Well done to the four brave souls who hit the road today in less than optimal conditions and made a twistyfest of it!
Helmets off to Neil, Mike, Arun and Devin. Legends. 👍
The weather never stood a chance. 😎
This image is for fantasy collector cards and motorcycle magazine centre folds only. *No brake fluid was harmed in the making of this image.
Still No Go for Iconic Saitama to Yamanashi Twisty Route
In short: Rt.140, a vital link between Saitama and Yamanashi isn’t yet open to bikes due to a rock fall. And what is the West Kanto Connecting Road?
If you’ve tried to ride Rt.140 from Saitama to Yamanashi since July 11, you’ll know that you can’t get through. You can get around 50km in from Yamanashi and 20km in from Chichibu. You may have also noticed that there’s a tunnel there open to cars, trucks and moped-class motorbikes that is far from finished. So what’s going on there? A fair bit more than just tunnel bypass…
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