The ride in fall is dramatic.
From deep green to shallow yellowish green, yellow, brown, orange, and red, their colors and gradations vary. The sun's rays are sometimes sharp, sometimes gentle, and the air is clear, with the blue mountains clearly visible in the distance.
秋のライドはドラマチックだ。
深い緑から浅い黄緑、黄色、茶色、オレンジ、赤、その色もグラデーションもさまざまで、少し低くなった日差しはときに鋭く、ときに優しく、空気は澄んで、遠くには群青色の山並みがくっきりと見える。

Surrounded by such scenery, we proceeded onward at a brisk pace. The air is moderately cool and cools my feverish body.
Breathe deeply.
そんな景色に包まれて、ぐんぐんと進んでいく。空気は程よく冷たく、熱を帯びた体を冷ましてくれる。
深く息を吸い込む。

On a Saturday in mid-October, I went on a gravel ride in Karuizawa with a group of friends.
10月半ばの土曜日、仲間たちと軽井沢のグラベルライドに出かけた。

The gravel in Karuizawa is neither too big nor too deep, making it relatively easy to ride even for gravel beginners. In the first place, many areas around the villa area are not well paved and remain gravel roads.
軽井沢のグラベルは、砂利が大きすぎず、深すぎず、グラベル初心者でも比較的走りやすい。そもそも別荘地周辺はしっかり舗装されず、砂利道のままのところも多い。

On this day, we left Karuizawa Station a little after 10:00 a.m. and  took the gravel road from the side of "Tonbo no yu" Hot Spring. Originally, we had planned to leave earlier and go down the paved road to the north to have lunch at our favorite pizza place, but we were late due to traffic on the Kanetsu expressway, so we took a short cut. We had lunch at Mine-no-chaya along the national highway.
この日は朝10時すぎに軽井沢駅を出発し、トンボの湯の横からグラベル道に入って行った。本来はもっと早く出発して、いったん舗装路を北側に下りてお気に入りのピザ屋でランチをする予定だったが、関越高速道路の渋滞で遅くなったためショートカット。ランチは国道沿いにある、峰の茶屋でいただいた。

The shortcut gave us a little more time to make a random detour. In the middle of the sloping slope, a deep ditch dug by the rain appeared and we could not proceed, so we got off our bicycles and walked pushing those.
Looking back, we saw a rough road passing through the middle of the grass with autumn leaves, and beyond it, we could clearly see Mt. I sighed, thinking that this might be the most beautiful Mount Asama I had ever seen.
ショートカットしたぶん、時間に少し余裕ができて、行き当たりばったりの寄り道を。斜度のある坂道の真ん中に雨で掘れた深い溝が表れて進めなくなり、押し歩きして進んだ。
ふと振り返ったら、紅葉した草の真ん中を荒れた道が通り、その向こうに、麓のあたりが紅葉した浅間山が大きく、くっきりと見えた。これまで見た浅間山のなかで、いちばん美しいかもしれないと、ため息が出た。

My husband and I have taken this route many times during the spring and summer. However, the scenery and the feeling of the road were completely different.
In May, yellow-green shoots began to open on light brown branches, and light pink cherry blossoms were still glimmering. July and August were deep green, and the growing grass tickled our legs.
Half of the path was now covered with fallen leaves and so many branches had fallen that the ground seemed to make a soft popping sound.
今回のルートは、私と夫は春から夏にかけて、何度も通っている道だ。けれど、見える景色も、道の感じも、全く違う。
５月には薄茶色の枝に黄緑色の新芽が開き始め、うすいピンクの桜もまだチラチラと残っていた。７月、８月は緑が深く、伸びた草が脚をくすぐる。
今は道の半分が落ち葉に覆われ、枝もたくさん落ちていて、地面がポコポコとやわらかい音を立てるようだ。

In the second half of the ride, the rain was a little bit drizzly. But, the sky was blue and the fine raindrops stayed as grains on the surface of the merino jersey, not enough to wet the body.
The dirt and gravel were damp and a little slippery, but not as gritty as when I rode in the summer. The afternoon light reflected diffusely on the rain, making the beautiful scenery even more magical.
後半は雨がパラついた。とはいえ、空は青く、細かい雨粒はメリノ素材のジャージの表面に粒のまま留まり、体を濡らすほどではなかった。
土と砂利が湿って、少しだけ滑るけれど、夏に走ったときのような砂ボコリは立たない。午後の光が雨に乱反射して、美しい景色をさらに幻想的に魅せてくれた。

Finally, we returned along the 1,000-meter forest road and arrived at the parking lot near Karuizawa Station at 17:00. It was the time for sunset.
When we learned that the traffic jam caused by the accident on the Kan-Etsu Expressway was catastrophic, we drived to Takasaki, took a hot spring bath, and relaxed before returning home.
It was a day well spent.
最後は千メートル林道を戻り、軽井沢駅近くの駐車場に着いたのは17時。日が暮れる時間だ。
帰りの関越自動車道の事故渋滞が壊滅的と知り、高崎まで下道で行って、温泉に入ってゆっくりしてから帰った。
よく遊んだ一日だった。

※Because of the danger of getting lost and encountering animals on gravel roads, beginners and groups unfamiliar with the surrounding geography should not enter the area. Also, should not enter the area alone.
※グラベル道は道に迷ったり、動物と遭遇する危険も多いため、初心者や周辺の地理に詳しくない人だけで入ったり、単独で入るのは避けましょう。

photo by Tatsuhisa Yogi          text by Chie Ikumi