We left our luxurious ryokan straight after breakfast by 8am, quite late but the weather was still crisp and frosty.  We could see our breath every time we exhaled and no wonder,  we passed a sign that recorded the temperature as -3°C!  All those hills we had cycled up the day before paid off.  For the next 40km it was pretty much straight downhill, following Highway #187.  One of the easiest and most beautiful mornings we had ever had, with spectacular riding following the rivers and smaller towns.