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Ride VeloViewer tiling in Japan

New Year, new Max Square! I'm up to 13x13, which will put me in the #5 spot for Japan after the next ranking update (unless someone else adds to theirs).

I picked up 11 tiles or so (*) south of my previous Max Square today after Akira's ride. We meant to head into some hills west of Takao, but it was too icy for that, so we headed down to Chigasaki and Enoshima. After a nice lunch with a beach view I first grabbed the tile for the southern half of Enoshima, then headed inland from near Zushi to knock off one tile after another between there and Kawasaki, most of them after dark. 180 km, lots of Fuji views and a Nepalese dinner. What's not to like?


(*) Correction: It was a total of 18!
 
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First tiles of 2020! Added 14 around the Ōi-Matsuda area, thanks to a wonderful holiday-day ride designed by @giant_ameba and executed together with @microcord. Expanding my territory was not the purpose of the ride, but I'd be lyin' if I said the prospect didn't boost my motivation.

Within a few minutes we stumbled upon a garage full of classic cars and bicycles. @microcord is contractually-bound to stop at anything like this and take pictures, interrogate anyone within range, and generally indulge hisself. Eventually we actually did some cycling. This featured a couple of new and peaceful rindō, taking us the sneaky back-way to a mountainside field of (nearly-blossoming) wintersweet trees, plus a charming old-ish schoolhouse. Then 10 km along a riverside psyclepath - a CX race was clearly underway on the levee. The hills of the latter half were less high but still had some steep bits.

This ride boosted my cluster westward a little along the Shōnan coast, but created some lonely tile islands that I'll deal with soon. (I have detailed plans...)

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First tiles of 2020! Added 14 around the Ōi-Matsuda area, thanks to a wonderful holiday-day ride designed by @giant_ameba and executed together with @microcord. Expanding my territory was not the purpose of the ride, but I'd be lyin' if I said the prospect didn't boost my motivation.

Within a few minutes we stumbled upon a garage full of classic cars and bicycles. @microcord is contractually-bound to stop at anything like this and take pictures, interrogate anyone within range, and generally indulge hisself. Eventually we actually did some cycling. This featured a couple of new and peaceful rindō, taking us the sneaky back-way to a mountainside field of (nearly-blossoming) wintersweet trees, plus a charming old-ish schoolhouse. Then 10 km along a riverside psyclepath - a CX race was clearly underway on the levee. The hills of the latter half were less high but still had some steep bits.

This ride boosted my cluster westward a little along the Shōnan coast, but created some lonely tile islands that I'll deal with soon. (I have detailed plans...)

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Looks lovely, Mike.
 
First tiles of 2020! Added 14 around the Ōi-Matsuda area,...

This ride boosted my cluster westward a little along the Shōnan coast, but created some lonely tile islands that I'll deal with soon. (I have detailed plans...)

View attachment 19395

Well done! Now you're down in my neck of the woods. You keep chipping away at the tiles, but the 'Golden Tiles'TM northeast of Yamakita remain! ;)

In case you do attempt those tiles, have a look at this ride/hike... https://www.strava.com/activities/2339960697 . Not sure if it is still the case, but the trail you need to score several of the tiles up there is blocked at the tunnel and we (Sean, GOK and I) couldn't find any way to scramble around it. Had to do a major hike and come at it from the other direction IOT to bag it.
 
the trail you need to score several of the tiles up there is blocked at the tunnel and we (Sean, GOK and I) couldn't find any way to scramble around it
Yes. I remember the hail report well. I'm contemplating various options...

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The consequence for you (19 km hike, with @sean-e having less than the normal complement of intact shoes) was, to me, disturbing yet disturbingly motivational.

Anyway, those elevations will remain undisturbed by me for at least the next few months.
 
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Yeah! When intel indicates this at one end...
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...and this at the other...
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...I am very curious.

As attempts to discourage entry go, these two specimens are quite impressive. The first sign also mentions something about a camera.

The second image at least gives a reason for the prohibition, 落石 (rakuseki, falling rocks).
 
Within a few minutes we stumbled upon a garage full of classic cars and bicycles. @microcord is contractually-bound to stop at anything like this and take pictures, interrogate anyone within range, and generally indulge hisself.

Always surprised, often happy, to encounter things even older than myself. (And one of them was a Packard.)

The second image at least gives a reason for the prohibition, 落石 (rakuseki, falling rocks).

Pfft, that's one of the most humdrum signs there is. And クマ isn't much better. Now, 落熊 (rakuyū, falling bears), that might impress me.
 
That's the one.
A few CX skills might be good for tiling. A lonely tile up a mountainside? Shoulder the bike and hop on up!
Definitely essential to successful tiling. I've discovered hundreds of tracks that can't be ridden up - at least not by me. But riding back down them is tons of fun. I haven't yet regretted hauling the bike. I reckon I'd enjoy cyclocross were it not for the 'race' aspect. (I love the obstacle-course part, but I know that I would do myself a mischief trying too hard to get nearer to the front.)
 
Pfft, that's one of the most humdrum signs there is. And クマ isn't much better. Now, 落熊 (rakuyū, falling bears), that might impress me.
I have to admit, "falling rocks" doesn't cut it for me. That doesn't do much to keep me out. I figure, those rocks will maybe fall after a typhoon or in winter during frost, but not the very moment I happen to pass by. So I would take that risk.

Likewise, if there is a sign by the roadside warning of bears, it's more of a reason to stop and take a picture, to show off to non-cyclists at home what bold daredevils we cyclists are (while feeling only a little uneasy about the risk of being chewed up). Those are just so the local village officials can't be accused of not having issued proper warnings after one bear was sighted there one time three years ago.

If however, I see a bear warning plastered on the face of a proper gate designed to keep out each and every cyclist, I know which side of that gate I would rather be. Let somebody else try to collect those tiles!
 
There was once mention of interest in getting jerseys for those crazies among us who do tiling. Since today was rainy and cold and I had a bit of time on my hands, I thought of this as one possibility. It is very crude since I have zero artistic skills, but just putting it out there. (The idea of the Daruma dolls on the shirt is so that once you reach a certain level of squares or cluster, you color in the second eye.) Too nerdy?
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I cleared over 20 tiles yesterday and hoped that would somewhat boost my 13x13 max square to something a little bigger. I actually had about five max squares before, i.e. the maximum size square could slide east-west a bit because on those sides everything was clear.

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Well, it did improve: Now the 13x13 can slide around about a dozen places, but it's still only a 13x13 :D
 
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On Saturday I was feeling too tired and too lazy to do my February century, despite the gorgeous sunny day. I needed to catch up on sleep and besides, those mornings are still chilly. But yesterday I couldn't postpone it any longer and did my ride. I only set the alarm for 06:00. I was in no rush to get out of the house, did some work on the computer. I was almost 9 when I left, so I knew it would be a late night by the time I got back.

The night before I couldn't decide where to go. I had considered Boso, but that would have needed a very early start to have time for the ferry. I could clear a few Veloviewer tiles in Miura that I didn't get down to last weekend, when I cleaned up north and west of Kamakura. In the end I decided to head out west to continue the VeloViewer tiling north of Atsugi where I stopped a week ago and also around Tokorozawa. I did all the foothills in daylight and left Tokorozawa for after sunset.

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You really do see a lot of places with Tiling that you wouldn't normally visit. Yesterday I wandered into two cemeteries, a concrete plant and a fenced-off road through a golf course. That road was closed for landslide repairs, but I could walk far enough to bag the tile. I wasn't supposed to be in the concrete plant either, but there was no closed gate and I didn't see anybody around on a Sunday.

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The plum blossoms are out. I can't wait for winter to be over, so we can ride in the mountains again.

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This 175 km ride (on Strava) upped my max square from 13x13 to 18x18. I could expand it a little more to the west with some hiking, but after that I think I'd have to spill out into the Kanto plane which doesn't interest me. But I'll still work on my max cluster.
 
@joewein said, "You really do see a lot of places with Tiling that you wouldn't normally visit."

Yep. It has made it hard for me to get psyched up about riding a route I've ridden 100 times before. I'm also waiting for a bit warmer weather and longer days to get back up in the mountains. I don't mind riding on city roads now and then but the payoff is having nice, quiet, traffic-free trails.

And congrats on the 18x18. You're coming up fast.
 
a little winter tiling tale! went for a bike-hike-camp on Sunday night up Gozenyama. left the house around noon, down the tama, into a nice headwind. from hinohara, followed the nokogiri south side rindo, which was in remarkably good condition after a few days of clear skies. while you can get over nokogiri with a road bike and some walking, the gravel bike at least gives less chance of flats, desirable when solo. this was the worst it got in terms of snow.
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from the Nokogiriyama trailhead, began the hike west up towards Gozenyama. Critical mistake was thinking it would be a good idea carry the bike up with me. The trailhead is at about 950m, and then Gozenyama is around 1400m. Plus the trail has quite a few up and downs. No need for bear bells, any creature with a kilo could hear me wheezing.
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What was supposed to be a quick 3km hike, with the bike and camping gear turned into quite a slog, especially with the snow&ice at the top. Finally reached the junction where there's a camping hut (no power) about 100 meters below the final peak. actually there was one guy staying in there, but i decided to head for the summit and pitch camp up there.
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Set up the bivy. As night fell, the temperature immediately started to plummet. The lowest I saw on the garmin was -10C. No wind at first, amazingly silent up there.

Well, I brought the bike up here, so here's a picture with the peak marker at sunrise. May nobody else be so dumb, and lock your bike at the trailhead instead.

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Brushed the ice from condensation off the bivy, starting hustling downhill to warm up. Still was a chilly and rocky descent back the same way down south nokogiri.
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Stopped at the best damn bakery in hinohara, 森の風, for the apple pastry. Plus the owners are really friendly!
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Ate my way back to Tokyo. Haven't been doing much camping lately so was glad to get out, but will stick to lower elevations or bring more clothes next time 🥶 Water bottle still had a piece of ice frozen in it when i got back.
 
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