Road 431 & Shrines NIGHT RIDE

Distance: 9.10 miles

Time in motion: 50 minutes 03 seconds

Average speed: 10.9 mph

…Is it really possible that it’s been 20 days since my last real ride? Actually, I did ride to Yoyogi Park and to Mejiro, over 11 miles, but that was just to go and hangout, not a specific ride per se. Anyway, tonight’s ride was not a hardcore one either, but I just wanted to get out and ride. The weather was great, nice, almost cool feeling temperature, no wind, and a calmness over the city. I wanted to go on a bit of a casual ride through the skyscrapers in Shinjuku, then after that I had no plan. From the skyscrapers I stumbled upon Road 431, which turned out to be a great road for cycling, only two lanes, lined with trees and small shops, very quiet, and virtually no traffic as it is paralleled on both sides a few blocks away by major roads. It was exactly the kind of road I was hoping to ride on tonight. I road at a moderate pace until it ended after about 3km.

From there I branched off, touched onto Koshu Kaido, then dove back off onto smaller streets, eventually finding myself slipping along like a shadow on tiny back streets in an old neighborhood somewhat southwest of Nakano Sukaue. Again, it was great to coast nearly silently down streets not big enough for cars curiously looking at what motion there is in such neighborhoods at a bit of a late hour (10:30pm). Most was silent, though a few people were out relocating plants, walking home from work, meeting a lover for a quick chat, and of course polluting the air with horrid cigarettes. I came upon a small shrine (pictured) lined with lanterns that probably had hosted a bon festival recently. From there I snaked my way through yet more back streets until I popped out near my own street. It was a nice E.T.-ish ride.

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