Road to Nowhere 1 @JapanbyBike-vc2qj

Road to Nowhere 1 @JapanbyBike-vc2qj

A recent ride on the new Toei Randonneur (see japanbyrandonneur) into the mountains behind Shibata, Niigata. (I’d done the route twice before, but not in the last 10 years- a lot has changed: former vistas blocked by trees that are taller by a decade, encroachment of brush narrowing the road, overall arrears in maintenance). The gate was closed, despite the fact that there was no real structural damage to the road (as I discovered), and it was May 20 (not winter), and 10 in the morning (not between the hours of 5 pm and 8 am, when the gates are shut). Given the stretched finances of most Japanese municipalities, the road’s isolation, and the fact that it neither offers access to nor leads anywhere, I don’t expect it to be reopened. A cyclist’s paradise, the cyclist might think, except worrisome, considering that if you came to grief, no one would come along (cell service patchy out there, as well). I have another 40 minutes of video to upload, including the mental downhill sections, so stay tuned.