Our ride was about 34.4 miles. 3 miles of the Gorge and then the rest around the lake. Around the lake started out with 6 miles of accent of a never ending hill. It kept teasing us with brief down slopes followed by endless switch backs. That was even fun. After the 2 hours of accent we descended in about 20 minutes! That was really fun. There was only on turn I almost didn't make. The views were amazing, the air clean and crisp on a perfect autumn morning. After the quick 8 miles descent the rest was ups and downs around the shoreline.
This little stretch was one of the nicest: a long straight decent with a slight breeze causing a few leaves to fall as we road through this beautiful forest.
Lake Towada (十和田湖 Towada-ko) is the largest crater lake in Honshū island, Japan. Located on the border between Aomori and Akita prefectures, it lies 400 meters (1,800 ft) above sea level and is 327.0m (1,073 ft) depth, and is drained by the Oirase river. With a surface area of 61.1 km², Towada is Japan's 12th largest lake, its bright blue color is due to its great depth. The lake is roughly circular, with two peninsulas extending from its southern shore approximately one-third into the center of the lake.