Mt Hiko

    Beautiful Morning in the Hills
    8
    Takasumi Shrine on Mt Hiko - 6.26am
    Mt Hiko is the highest mountain in the area and one I've cycled up a fair number of times, but it doesn't always seem worth the effort as there's no view to speak of from the top. The road runs a hundred and fifty metres or so below the peak and you only really get brief glimpses of the surrounding countryside as the road winds through the trees that cover most of the mountain. Messing about on Google Maps, however, I realised there is a campsite with a grass meadow behind it and the possibility of a decent view half a kilometre from where I usually turn back, so with prefect weather forecast for the weekend I decided to go and have a look.
    I was out the door just after 4.30am and it was already starting to get light. Despite the early morning chill, I knew this was going to be the first two-bottle ride of the year; tool bottle off and the saddle bag back on. Also on were a new set of wheels and tyres, so the bike was looking a bit smarter than it has done for a while.
    There are a couple of routes up to Mt Hiko but I decided to go up on Route 496. I was out on the same road last week and there was a section of new road open ready for when the bottom of the valley is flooded in a year or so's time.
    From the end of the new section of road it's about eleven kilometres to the high-point of the road. The first five kilometres take you up a narrow valley of rice fields up to the Jabuchi Camp Site, and after that the road climbs up through the trees and meets up with Route 500 at the No Pass, then continues climbing until just before it meets Route 451.
    After you pass the Jabuchi camp site there are signs every three or four hundred metres telling you how far it is to the No Pass, and at a random point the bends start getting numbered. I know the top of the road is bend 46 so that was what I focused on. The road is narrow and the gradient is always changing but it's a great climb. Past the top of the climb it was a gentle descent to Takasumi Shrine.
    I usually refill my bottles and then turn round here, but today I carried on down to the Hikosan Camp Site. Google Maps had come up trumps as just behind the cabins there was an open meadow leading back up to the tree line. I left the bike at the bottom and climbed up to the top to get a few pictures; SPDs do have their advantages. A herd of deer grazing near the top watched me making my up and then fled, no doubt scared off by the blinding white of my legs.
    Safely back down the hill I made my way back along Route 500 past Takasumi Shrine to Route 451.
    Route 451 is a steep and twisty descent, and in September it plays host to the Hikosan Climbing Time Trial (going up, obviously) - a 15km / 800m closed-road race which attracts about 500+ riders (including me last year - see down below). The descent seems to go on forever and after the top 4 kilometres, the road is much straighter and it's pretty much as fast as you're brave enough to go.
    I turned onto Route 418 to go around the Aburagi Dam lake and then down through Aka before joining Route 34 at Yusubaru. Bar one small bump at Genjinomori, it was down hill all the way. As I was passing through Saigawa, they were getting ready for a festival later in the day so I stopped to have a quick look at what was going on.
    Back home in time for breakfast and all in all, a great morning out.

    As I mention up there, Soeda Town hosts a superbly organised time trial up Mt Hiko in late September. The course follows Route 451 / 418 and finishes just before the junction with Route 500. It's only about 20 kilometres from my house to the start so I decided to have a go at it last year.
    The route breaks down into four sections - a 4 kilometre climb up to about 300 metres, a 2 kilometre descent, a gentle climb for 4 kilometres, then a final 3.5 kilometres at about 9%. I knew I wasn't going to be anywhere near the top of the field but I'd ridden the course a few times so was hoping to put in a personal best. I ended up taking almost six minutes off my time from a couple of weeks before (although that was in the middle of the day when it was about 35 degrees) so I was happy enough.

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