One of the places I would definitely like to visit by bicycle during the winter months is the route leaving from Shin-Matsuda Station on the Odakyu Line and going up Ashigara Pass.
冬の間に自転車で必ず訪れたいと思う場所の１つが、小田急線の新松田駅発、足柄峠を上るルートだ。

If the weather is fine, you can see Mt. Fuji clearly floating white in the blue sky as soon as you leave the station. From there, it is a treat in the cold season to ride along the Ashigara Pass and then to Gotemba, all the while admiring the clear, large Mt. This is not possible in the warm season because of the hazy sky.
天気がよければ、駅を出発してすぐに、青い空に白い富士山がくっきりと浮かぶ景色に出会える。そこから、足柄峠、御殿場と、すっきりとたたずむ大きな富士山の姿を拝みながら走るのが、寒い時期ならではのお楽しみだ。暖かい季節には空が霞んでしまい、こうはいかない。

January, a national holiday. On this day, we gathered at the station at 7:30 a.m. and set out with 12 members.
年明けの祝日。この日は朝7時半に駅に集合して、12人のメンバーで出発した。

The first half of the route is a steady climb. On the way to the old road, avoiding the traffic, the road is lined with lemon and tangerine trees and leads to a short gravel road through the woods. The view opens up to blue skies and mountain ranges.
前半はひたすら上りだ。途中、車通りを避けて古道へ進むと、レモンやみかんの木が立ち並び、短いグラベルの林道へ。視界が開けると、青い空に山並みが広がる。

The long climb up the paved road was a challenge, and the pace varied. Once we met at the place where the road splits, we proceeded at different paces until we reached the top of the pass. I, who had been slacking off recently, tried to keep a controlled pace up there so as not to make it too strenuous.
舗装路の長い上りは、ペースがバラけてくる。道が分かれる場所でいったん集合したあと、峠の頂上まではそれぞれのペースで進んだ。ここのところサボり気味だった私は、苦しくなりすぎないように、抑えめのペースで上っていくようにした。

 have climbed Ashigara Pass many times before, but my impression is that it is a difficult pass to climb if I go up hard, and even if I go up slowly and with controlled effort, the slope increases in the latter half, and eventually I run out of breath and have a hard time at the end.
これまで何度も足柄峠を上っているけれど、がんばって上ればもちろん苦しいし、ゆっくり力を抑え気味で上っても、後半で斜度が上がり、結局最後は息もきれぎれ、苦しくなる峠という印象だ。

I kept my eyes on the cycle computer attached to the handlebars, trying to stay on my toes and make it to the end of the climb.
油断せず、最後まで上りきれるようにと、ハンドルバーにつけたサイクルコンピューターをにらみつつ進んだ。

I was getting hungry. Thinking there was no one in front or behind me, I said to myself, "I'm so hungry, I want to eat." When I noticed that there was a fellow climbing quietly right behind me, and I felt embarrassed.
おなかがすいてくる。前後には誰もいないと思って、「おなかすいたなぁ。ご飯食べたいなぁ」などと独り言を言っていたら、すぐ後ろにぴったりついて静かに上っている仲間がいることに気がついてはずかしかった。

Finally, after a short descent, I managed to reach a restroom near the summit. There was a vending machine nearby, so the others who had arrived earlier went to the restroom, refueled, and relaxed. Some of them had changed their underwear to avoid getting cold from perspiration.
最後は少しだけ下って、なんとか頂上近くのトイレにたどりつく。近くに自販機もあるので、先に着いた仲間たちはここでトイレに行ったり、補給したりしてくつろいでいた。汗冷えしないようにと、インナーを着替えたという仲間もいた。

I dusted off the cream bun I had purchased that morning at the convenience store, and the sticky sweetness seemed to sink into my tired body. I thought for a moment that it would be lunch time when I got off at Gotemba, but I ate another sweet potato that I had and bought a sweet cafe au lait from a vending machine to drink it.
コンビニで朝購入したクリームパンをほおばると、ねっとりとした甘さが疲れた体に沁み入るようだ。このあと御殿場に降りたらランチタイムだからと一瞬迷ったが、もう１つ持っていたスイートポテトを食べ、自販機で甘いカフェオレを買って流し込んだ。

After everyone had assembled, we went to Ashigara Manyo Park, which offers a panoramic view from the town at the foot of Mt. After taking a commemorative photo, we slowly descended toward Gotemba. Fuji was large and beautiful as we descended.
全員が集合したあと、富士山の麓の街並みから頂上までを一望できる、足柄万葉公園へ。記念撮影をしたあと、御殿場方面にゆっくりと下った。下りながら見える富士山も、大きく、美しい。

Once down, the trail heads gently uphill toward the town of Gotemba. It is easy to let one's guard down because it is not a mountain pass, but there are many gentle ups and downs along the 10 km or so road to the restaurant, and if you don’t refuel before descending the pass, you will be hungry and unable to hold on.
いったん下りきったあとは、御殿場の街に向かい、ゆるやかに上っていく。峠ではないからつい油断してしまうけれど、食事処まで約10kmぐらいの道のりはゆるいアップダウンが続き、峠を下りる前に十分に補給をしておかないとお腹がすいてもたない。

Our destination was Toraya Kobo. Hopefully we could have the New Year's limited ozoni...⁉︎, but unfortunately, the limited 40-serving ozoni were already sold out when we arrived.
目的地は「とらや工房」。うまくいけば新年限定のお雑煮が食べられるかも…⁉︎ と期待したが、残念ながら限定40食のお雑煮は、到着したときすでに売り切れていた。

We moved to an udon shop in the city for lunch. We were planning to return to Toraya Kobo later to have oshiruko , so we tried not to eat too much...but as we looked at the menu at the udon shop, we ended up eating a lot, adding oden and fried dishes.
市内にあるうどん屋さんに移動して、ランチタイム。あとで「とらや工房」に戻ってお汁粉を食べる予定だったので、食べ過ぎないように…と思いつつ、うどん屋さんでメニューを見見ていると、ついついおでんや揚げ物を追加したりして、たくさん食べてしまう。

After lunch, we returned to Toraya Kobo for oshiruko (sweet red bean soup) and green tea. The fluffy boiled azuki beans had a refined sweetness that warmed my chilled body. The green tea was just the right temperature and thickness, and when served with it, my whole body seemed to relax.
ランチ後は「とらや工房」に戻り、お汁粉と緑茶をいただいた。ふっくらと煮た小豆は上品な甘さで、冷えた体を温めてくれる。温度も、濃さも、ぴったりにはいった緑茶とともにいただくと、全身の力がゆるんでいくようだ。

Finally, we rode a little more through Gotemba city to a spot with a great view of Mt. Fuji in a field. We took some pictures, rode a bit on gravel, and ended the ride at Gotemba Station.
最後は、御殿場市内をもう少し走り、畑の中で富士山がきれいに見える絶景スポットへ。写真を撮り、グラベルを少し走って、御殿場駅でライドはいったん終了。

We could either take the train or ride back on our own along the mostly downhill road to Shin-Matsuda Station. The four of us, including my husband and myself, rode to Shinmatsuda by bicycle. We arrived at Shin-Matsuda around 5:30 p.m. just as the sun was setting, and headed home by train.
ここから輪行して帰るもよし、新松田駅までほぼ下りの道を自走で戻るのもありということで、夫と私を含む４人は自走で新松田へ。ここも意外に車通りが少なく、気持ちのいい道で、ちょうど日が暮れた17時半ごろ到着。そこから輪行で帰路についた。