![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mtbbill.com\/cpg\/albums\/Japan\/normal_J-Ogusuyama-13DEC08-02.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFriday morning it was clear enough that Mount Fuji <\/a>was visible in the distance.\u00a0 By Friday afternoon the skys hazed up enough that the mountain was hidden, but\u00a0my to-do list was complete and\u00a0I found myself with some daylight left to burn.\u00a0 A couple of phone calls revealed that all\u00a0my buds\u00a0were tied up\u00a0so this would be a solo affair.\u00a0 This was\u00a0cool as I have done this\u00a0trail system many times and I was looking\u00a0forward to some trail solitude.\u00a0I grabbed a rental hardtail and headed for the trails.\u00a0\u00a0 It is about a 3 mile street ride to the Ogsuyama trail system.\u00a0 It\u00a0is uphill most\u00a0of the way as you head away from Tokyo\u00a0Bay.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u00a0did not take long to click back in the routine of riding on the\u00a0other side of the road here.\u00a0 More importantly you\u00a0have to remember\u00a0that most of the\u00a0danger comes from the opposite direction that you are used to\u00a0glancing at.\u00a0 I did have\u00a0one exciting moment two blocks into the ride that drove the message home.\u00a0<\/p>\n The street ride was great as\u00a0it\u00a0was just as much of a cultural experience as\u00a0it was\u00a0a good warmup.\u00a0\u00a0 I was soon off of the main streets and into the back streets and the more rural communities.\u00a0 It is common to see small gardens in these areas right along the dimunitive streets.\u00a0 I always enjoy looking at them as they provide such contrast to the cities below.<\/p>\n I was soon onto singletrack and I had forgotten just how slick the clay soil can be\u00a0with just a little moisture.\u00a0Often times this clay was combined with roots and leaves.\u00a0\u00a0 Even with the tire pressures somewhat low it was often really tricky and it some spots hoofing it was the only way to get up.\u00a0\u00a0Going down was a bit easier but still it was mongo\u00a0tricky.\u00a0<\/p>\n This picture does a poor job of depicting the grade or slickness of this stuff.<\/p>\n The trails are not\u00a0all a slick rooty mess,\u00a0 sometimes it is incredibly buff with mucho flow.\u00a0\u00a0 Most of the trails I rode today have seen some debrushing work in the last year as they were much less crowded with brush than I remembered.\u00a0\u00a0 I also ran into a few hikers and they were always very polite and often they would say something to the effect of “Wow” or “I’m amazed to see you here”.\u00a0\u00a0 This trip was also good to brush up on my very rudimentry Japanese.<\/p>\n The route today involved going over the top of Ogusayama and taking an often steep singletrack down the other side of the mountain (and pennisula) to Sagami Bay.\u00a0\u00a0 I remembered a bunch of log steps but I forgot it was something like a thousand or so steps.\u00a0\u00a0 The rental hardtail was beating the crap out of me on this stuff and I had to take a breather after every 100 or so steps.<\/p>\n \u00a0 Those steps and log fencing you see in the pictures are not wood but carefully crafted concrete logs made to look pretty natural.\u00a0<\/p>\n Once I got down near Sagami Bay I popped out onto a street and rode about half a mile to pickup a service road to go back up the mountain.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It starts out as narrow pavement, then gravel then dirt.\u00a0 Many of the local riders call it the “Seven Steps to Heaven” as it is quite steep but flattens on seven occasions on the climb.\u00a0 You are pretty shaded on most of the climb so the views are limited with the exception of a few spots were you can\u00a0peek through and get a good appreciation for the general steepness of the Japanese countryside in this area.<\/p>\n After getting back on\u00a0top of the mountain, I picked up another trail that would take be down the southeast flank of the mountain and back to my side of he pennisula.\u00a0\u00a0 This trail is\u00a0one of my favorites in this system and it did not disappoint.\u00a0\u00a0 I have not been in Japan at this time of year before, so I was enjoying more autumn colors that I had not seen before.<\/p>\n This section of trail has a very Pacific Northwest feel to it<\/p>\n I soon popped back out onto surface streets and starting making my way back.\u00a0 I made a stop at local store to grab a snack.\u00a0 I forget the name for these but they are rice triangles that are stuffed with different things and then wrapped with seaweed.\u00a0 I think of them as Japanese Clif Bars.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They have all types and some of the are a highly acquired taste.\u00a0 I typically stick to the light blue ones as they are filled with tuna.\u00a0\u00a0 These\u00a0are yummy,\u00a0a great ride snack and only costs 105 yen (About\u00a0$1).<\/p>\n After the snack it was mostly of series of downhill street cruising back to where I started.<\/p>\n After returning the bike and cleaning up, I spent the evening\u00a0having dinner with friends in a tiny Mom and Pop resturant near the town of Zushi<\/a>.\u00a0 After hitting the post button, I will packing up the laptop and headed for the airport\u00a0to go home.\u00a0 Ironically, due to the the international dateline, I am technically\u00a0already home \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n