Z900RS Ride: Okumikawa to Minami-Shinshu 2026/07/19
It seems the rainy season hasn't actually ended yet, but this is a story about a ride from Hamamatsu, which feels like midsummer no matter how you look at it, through the usual Chausuyama area and a bit further to Iida. It was about 350km in total, with the lowlands being hot and the mountains dropping to nearly 20°C.
It was so hot in Hamamatsu that I was drenched in sweat just from getting ready at 5 AM.
For such midsummer conditions, I was fully equipped with HYOD cool innerwear (top and bottom) and a mesh jacket and pants. Once I started riding, the sweat cooled down and it felt so refreshing! I can't give this up.
However, as I rode along the San-En Nanshin Expressway, the temperature dropped to around 22°C, and it actually felt cold. I managed without wearing an inner layer today, but it cools you down that intensely. It's great.
Since I'm at it, a little promotion.
I bought bread at the FamilyMart in Toei, took the usual K80 and K10, and stopped for a break at the Roadside Station Tsugu Kogen Green Park in Shitara. The coffee stand was already open, so I nibbled on my bread while having a warm coffee. It was probably around 20°C, a comfortable temperature where I didn't want to take off my jacket.
I headed out onto the Chausuyama Highland Road toward the summit. Once you go over 1000m in altitude, it feels nice and comfortable. Even with the sun hitting me, the temperature was bearable.
I was also filming today with my Insta360 GO 3S mounted.
I've gotten quite used to how to use it, but there are many things to learn about the battery, which is more temperamental than the storage capacity.
The specification is that if you detach the camera unit and the battery dies, you have to put it back into the main unit to charge it. It's complicated because you need to leave it unused while the main unit charges it, or if you connect a mobile battery to the main unit, the main unit starts charging itself. I'll try a few more things to figure out a workaround, but my impression is that the situations where you can use the detached camera unit are limited.
After descending from Chausuyama via Nagano K46, I took R418 to Hiraya Pass. This is another favorite place of mine that I've been visiting often lately. After descending, I headed toward Iida on R153. I like this route because it's an easy-to-ride national highway that goes over passes like Jibuzaka Pass, and it's cool due to the high altitude.
Once I reached Iida, I was thinking about what to do while riding, and I remembered the Harmonic Road I rode in April, so I decided to go there.
Well, it's hot once you get to Iida. It's 30°C. K153 was even hotter due to traffic in the city... I endured it and finally reached the Harmonic Road observatory.
It's sooooo hot...
The Harmonic Road is fun to cruise along, but everywhere else was too hot, so I gave up on Iida and turned back. I took the Chuo Expressway and then the San-En Nanshin Expressway to take a short break at Tenryukyo PA. It was a lifesaver that there was a place to buy drinks and cool down...
I headed south on Prefectural Road 1 from Chiyo IC, which is just east of Tenryukyo PA. I like this road too because it's comfortable and easy to ride. There were a few cars, but it was comfortable today and I reached Anan in no time.
It was a quick ride from Anan on R151 to Roadside Station Shinshu Shinno Sengokudaira. It was hot around here too... Since it was just lunchtime, I had some soba noodles.
It was delicious so I finished it all, but I didn't need much for dinner.
From the roadside station, I went back up to Chausuyama via K46 to cool off.
There was no one at my usual spot with a good view, so I was able to relax for a while.
I love times like this.
It's the border between Nagano and Aichi, isn't it?
I headed back a bit and took K46 again, this time toward Neba Village. The road surface is a bit rough in places, but it's mostly shaded and easy to ride. From Neba Village, I took K10 back to Green Park again.
I was surprised to see so many people there during the day, with campers and vegetable stands. It was very lively (maybe because it's a three-day weekend).
Even though I was stuffed to the point of bursting earlier, I ended up doing this.
It was delicious.
I was starting to feel pretty tired, so I took a slightly longer break before heading out. I went through Tsugu on K10 and did a round trip on the 'Sasagure Momiji Kaido' for the first time in a while (lol).
I returned to Tsugu and took K80 to Toei. I got stuck behind cars quite a bit in this area.
It's become much more convenient now that I can take the San-En Nanshin Expressway from Toei.
There are a lot of tunnels, which is a nice bonus; even when it's 30°C outside, the temperature inside the tunnels can drop to around 26°C, which is very cool.
However, some tunnels have completely wet road surfaces, and thanks to them, the undercarriage of my bike gets quite muddy. I suppose it's rain from the rainy season seeping into the tunnels...
Filled up with gas and headed home.
I ended up riding 350km today, but it was just a pleasant kind of fatigue; riding a bike really is easy (lol). My fuel economy was 24.1 km/L, which is quite good for lately.
Since I got home late, I didn't have time to wash the bike and had to put it off until tomorrow, which is a bit of a regret, but other than that, it was perfect.
