Tag Archives: Video

Route 34 Video

Since the riding was so gorgeous last week, I decided to bring the camera long for the ride home on Thursday.  So, if you are curious about what the roads are like out here in West Nowhere, and you have 34 minutes to spare, then crack a beer and check out the video below.  For the record, there is no crazy knee-dragging, stunts, or wheelies. This is just a casual ride along empty mountain roads in West Nowhere. For a more authentic experience, please cue up Moving Pictures by Rush to play in the background, as that was what I was listening to during the ride.

For the record, the bike is a 2012 Honda NC700X, so while the RPMs sound quite low at times it is perfectly normal. (Listening to the video, without my helmet of course, allowed me to hear the engine a bit more. It gave me the urge to tell the damn rider to down-shift on a few occasions, but that is just how this bike rides. I usually keep it just around 3k or so on the tach. The bike redlines at 6K and is a ‘short-shifter’ by design. It has plenty of torque and it quite nimble, so it is a pleasure to ride. I like that, as being on liter street racer would probably wake the inner idiot in me. I love my “boring” motorcycle.

Winter Seaside Ride

One of the great things about living in West Nowhere, Japan (sometimes referred to as ‘Shimane’), is that you can ride year-round. While we do get snow on occasion, it quickly melts along the coast, so the coastal routes are generally clear. I actually toured down to Fukuoka a few years back on New Year’s Day, so as long as you have the right gear riding is a full-time gig out this way.

So, taking advantage of a rather dry and sunny day, I decided to take the bike out for a nice winter seaside tour in Hamada.

As you may notice, Hamada has a bit of a small fishing town feel to it. While we do have a large commercial port, the local fishing trade came first. The coast is peppered with small fishing villages, and the rocky cliffs  and beautiful beaches make for nice views along the way.

Really, you should try a winter ride in Hamada some day…