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Which means 'ten thousand horse & soldier mountain pass'. A trek over  
the mountains in 1192 by a famous samurai from Kamakura to Tokyo. A  
grand hunting expedition. Yuki and Ai drove me out to the water point  
at the middle of the 2nd loop this morning. We drove past farmland,  
greenhouses, dairies, and Asama yama (Mt. Asama) was towering in the  
background - a perfect sunny day, the greenery from the past rain was  
glowing. I hiked up the Manki Toge trail, looking for a good view  
point for taking photos. The forest is so dense though, there were  
just a few spots where one could peek through the forest along the  
edge of the trail and see the mountains. I got a few photos, but from  
a photographer's perspective the hike was hardly worth it. However  
from an ambler's perspective it was glorious.

This is such a rich and beautiful landscape. And so OLD... Japan is a  
very mature and civilized civilization, a culture which was isolated  
for centuries - very much steeped in tradition. One can still find  
old stone markers or cairns along the roads, temples and shrines set  
back in the dense woods, grass thatch roofs. As I walked up the trail  
I wondered how many feet and hooves and wagons had travelled the same  
tracks.  The air smelled deep and pungent from the rich black soil,  
centuries of leaves falling, of seasons passing. And the noise from  
the cicadas was overwhelming.

The ride is progressing quite well - many many people helping, very  
efficient. The first loop was led by Bob Sample and Tycker Tape with  
a 14.8 km/hr pace. Slowest pace was 9 km/hr. It's getting warm now,  
and the riders are attacking the climb on loop 3 - up some steep hill  
through the wooded resort land, and back onto the Manki Toge trail -  
quite a bit of elevation. They have to make this climb 4 times over  
the course of the ride. Stats for loop 2 (where I hiked the trail)  
show that Bob Sample is still holding a good pace - 14.2 km/hr - Will  
be interesting to see what the pace is on the 3rd loop, Chuma Shohei  
picked up the pace with Freedom Sebastion II for a 14.5 average pace.  
Hasumi san is riding just behind Bob in 3rd place, and Midori  
Yasunaga is in 2nd place for now.  Just received radio report from  
the water checkpoint - Honda Masanori is withdrawing. Long winding  
trailer ride back to camp!

Time to head back out and enjoy the sunshine -

later,

Steph

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