Perfect weather today, and great riding along the Venus Line sightseeing road in Nagano. The leaves had begun to change color, and following the twisty path as it wrapped around mountains and through gorges was awe-inspiring. (I'll get some photos up here later.)
Plus, the day got off to a good start when I bumped into (not literally) Big Ben and the Stinger with their group of Harley riders at the Dangozaka service area. Ben says he's busy at his new job, which is why he hasn't been posting on his blog or commenting here lately. But he's not too busy to go touring on the weekends, which is what counts.
At around 5:00, we arrived at our hotel. It was one of those uniquely Japanese set-ups that tries to create a relaxed, homey atmosphere and then tries to destroy it by any means necessary. Example: The outdoor onsen is a beautiful stone-and-wood enclosure filled with piping hot water that washes away all your stress... and then the announcements blaring over the PA system bring it right back.
They have a sauna, too. And of course, when you're zoning out in a hot sauna, you really need a TV in there. So they have one, stationed behind plexiglass. I didn't stay in long enough to see what show it was tuned to; all I saw were about five commercials in a row. One commercial (I don't know what it was for) showed a busty Japanese starlet bouncing around and leaning toward the camera, giving a bunch of salarymen a good view of her abundant cleavage. This is not a commercial you want to watch in a room full of naked old men.
Of course, if the hotel didn't have all these modern features, it probably wouldn't have the free broadband connection I'm using right now. You have to take the bad with the good, I guess.
FOLLOW-UP:
I'm home now. Here's a photo (click to embiggen):
Plus, the day got off to a good start when I bumped into (not literally) Big Ben and the Stinger with their group of Harley riders at the Dangozaka service area. Ben says he's busy at his new job, which is why he hasn't been posting on his blog or commenting here lately. But he's not too busy to go touring on the weekends, which is what counts.
At around 5:00, we arrived at our hotel. It was one of those uniquely Japanese set-ups that tries to create a relaxed, homey atmosphere and then tries to destroy it by any means necessary. Example: The outdoor onsen is a beautiful stone-and-wood enclosure filled with piping hot water that washes away all your stress... and then the announcements blaring over the PA system bring it right back.
They have a sauna, too. And of course, when you're zoning out in a hot sauna, you really need a TV in there. So they have one, stationed behind plexiglass. I didn't stay in long enough to see what show it was tuned to; all I saw were about five commercials in a row. One commercial (I don't know what it was for) showed a busty Japanese starlet bouncing around and leaning toward the camera, giving a bunch of salarymen a good view of her abundant cleavage. This is not a commercial you want to watch in a room full of naked old men.
Of course, if the hotel didn't have all these modern features, it probably wouldn't have the free broadband connection I'm using right now. You have to take the bad with the good, I guess.
FOLLOW-UP:
I'm home now. Here's a photo (click to embiggen):
It looks like your route covers a lot of the same roads as the trip I took last month, although it may be even more spectacular now with the fall colors. The Venus Line is always amazing.
We had a spectacular run this weekend too. I should have a post up with pics from our touring sometime this week, but I have so little time to blog now that my new job's server blocks blogs that it may take a few days.
If only I had had some sort of device with me that covered my entire head in an opaque protective shell...
Granted, the food isn't quite as good, but it also isn't quite as guaranteed to reduce your lifespan...
When she saw our group of 23 heavily customized X-4's, she was like, "Sugoi!" and we talked with her for a while about our bikes. I don't think her boyfriend liked having 23 guys chatting up his girl. :-)
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