Wet, cold, bleh

Well, it was bound to happen. We've been flirting with serious rain for the last few days, since leaving Aomori, and today it caught up with us. But, we were prepared (we thought), with our rain gear and resignation to being very wet. Well, the latter was true. We did get very wet.

The ride from Lake Towada into Yuze is a beautiful one, full of scenic vistas as you climb up above the lake, lush green mountain forests of Aomori pine, spectacular waterfalls heading into Kazuno, and beautiful mountain valleys leading into Yuze.

Well, that's what I read anyway. What we actually saw was this:

I don't look like I'm having fun? I'm having a $^%& blast.

This is pretty much what we saw, when we could see through the wind and pouring rain.

Our "route" took us on some interesting roads, including this road through a golf course parking lot...

The Nanataki (Seven Falls) in Kosaka really were spectacular, especially with all the rain. By the time we got there, though, the winds were gusting up to 20 mph, it was 50 degrees, rain was pelting us sideways as we were speeding down the mountain, squeezing our brakes like maniacs, and Sumi's rain gear worked very well at keeping water from seeping through. Unfortunately, as water was coming in from the top of her rain shoes (broken zipper), the result was a rain shoe that was full of ice cold water. We were thoroughly soaked, freezing, and still had 25 miles to go.

At this point, we pulled into a rest stop. We parked our bikes and huddled under a roof by one of the buildings. I'm not sure how miserable we looked, but there was a tour group eating lunch in the building we were next to, and some kind women told us to come inside and stand by the heater. We we muddy and drenched and didn't want to get the room all messed up, but they shepherded us in the room, plopped us in from of the heater and gave us some very hot (and awful tasting) tea. We sat there, sipping hot (did I mention how awful it tasted?) tea and shivered in front of the heater. Sumi was in far worse shape, as her gear was leaking (not just her shoes, but her coat, too).

Warmin' my butt on the heater

We stayed there for two full hours, as the rain continued unabated. Sumi changed into some dry clothes, I stood by the heater almost continually, thawing my hands and drying off. Finally, despite the wind and rain, we had to get going again, if we wanted to reach the hotel by nightfall. So, we took a deep breath (or 5) and dove back out into the downpour.

We rode through the rain, stopping only to check our maps, until finally, as the rain began to slow, we limped into the Yuze Onsen Gorge

About 6 miles into the gorge we finally pulled into the Yuze Onsen Hotel, our destination, looking like drowned rats. They were very pleasant and accommodating, and we soon found ourselves in our rooms, showered, in dry clothes, feeling almost human again. They also had very cheap coin laundry, which we immediately took advantage of, cleaning and drying everything from the last two days.

It's a shame the weather was so miserable. The ride really looked like it could have been beautiful. But just pushing forward was such a battle, we barely had the energy to look around us.

Found in the rest stop. Pikachu and friends warn you not to use your phone to play Pokémon Go while driving