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Bike-friendly Roads in Boso?

Almost Tokyo

Speeding Up
Oct 28, 2009
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Does anyone have any recommendations for routes to take in the southern Boso Penninsula? Which roads have less traffic? Thanks.
 
Just avoid the coast road. It does get busy but the interior roads are fantastic twisty narrow and entertaining.
Try route 81 and Yorokeiko gorge for starters. The Boso Skyline road is nice (30 yen for bicycles) as is the Kamogawa toll road (free!).
Phil is the master of Boso so if you do a search for his "Hilly Boso" rides they should give you some ideas.
 
Thanks, AlanW, for the recommendations. By searching this site, I see that Phil is the Master of Boso! :) And thanks for answering another question that I've had in regards to bicycles and toll roads. Are most toll roads accessible for bikes or do I always need to look for signs? I've lived in Japan for almost 9 years and still feel clueless in many situations. :eek: I should have searched for this site a long time ago.
 
As Alan says, the interior roads are much better than the coast, although the very southern coastal loop (south of Tateyama on the west side and Kamogawa on the east side) is fine and scenic.

And again to repeat Alan, the 81 south of Lake Takataki is probably the best road from which to launch explorations. The 32, 465, 81 to the coast, and 177 and 178 are all fabulous. I just got back today from a loop down through Otaki, including a new-to-me stretch of road in the 173/172/171 network that was great fun. There are also countless rindos and side roads to explore. The only road I try to avoid in that area is the 297, which is fast and can be busy in certain seasons.

Heading south, I'd say the 88 is the best way to reach the southern tip, and the 89 a good way to connect the east and west coasts (there are also parallel rindos with lots of climbing that I've yet to ride...)

This doesn't include any of the roads toward the west side of the peninsula, such as the climb up to "Mother's Bokujo"...but I've only been there once or twice on brevets.

Finding a good route from Chiba City south to Lake Takataki is not as easy...usually we launch from Honda station using a combination of the 128 and back roads. On my own I've also used roads via Toke and also cutting in from the coast at Ichinomiya. If you have a car and don't want to do anything epic, you could drive to Lake Takataki, park there, and use that as a base.

Here are some of our past rides in the area. You can click on the map links in the first post for some ideas:

https://tokyocycle.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=1658

https://tokyocycle.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=1505

https://tokyocycle.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=1450

https://tokyocycle.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=1341

Happy riding!
 
Are most toll roads accessible for bikes or do I always need to look for signs?

Some are, some aren't. I look for the green sign listing prices that are usually posted before the toll gate; if there's a price for bikes (自転車, usually at the bottom of the list), then you're good to go. You can also ask the guys in the toll booth, too.
 
I really appreciate the recommendations and detailed information about the roads in Boso... it's priceless.

I've bought a new road bike and plan to be more adventurous in 2010. From my minimal experience, the hills in Boso are similar to the hills near my hometown in the US. I look forward to exploring new roads and getting away from riding loops in the flat city streets near Tokyo Bay. Thanks for sharing your knowledge of the area and saving me from getting into risky situations.
 
Hi Randy and Phil - I`m on the east side of central Tokyo and very train - mobile with my roadbike. I`m getting mighty tired of the Arakawa and would love some variety/exploration/conversation down in Bosso: If you decide to head out and want some company let me know. According to Jorudan I`m 93min. from Takataki station....

I`m in Tokyo over the wiinter holidays and looking to get out to some new places...

d
 
Davad, I'm always up for a group ride Boso way, north or south--let's do it for sure.

Unfortunately, have work in over the holidays and also the Motegi race on the weekend of the 4th, so probably won't be able to do any group rides till the new year. Planning on a few base miles kind of rides starting mid-January, though, so maybe organize something then?
 
I`m getting mighty tired of the Arakawa...
d

Davad, I've recently found out that we will be moving to Edogawa - and probably sooner rather than later. :( I have some experience with the small Hanamigawa (near Makuhari) but was hoping that riding beside a larger river would mean there are longer, less crowded, and wider paths. What are the things you don't like about riding along the Arakawa?
 
I am currently in the USA, but will fly back before New Years. As I mentioned previously, we are in the process of packing and moving so that will cut into my free time (and energy levels). First, I need to work on jet lag. :)

I don't want to waste anyone's time so... What kind of average speeds do I need to maintain while riding those hills, so that I won't slow the group down?
 
About 20 guys in my club have set up a splinter group and call themselves 'Nagara Juku'. They've ordered special uniforms to wear when they train and will be riding down the spine of the boso every Saturday and or Sundays... Nagara will be in big letters across their backs and chest... red and white flashy kit.

I don't want to fork out for a new uniform and not sure if they'll let people ride/train with them in a different uniform either.

They are super serious and have SEO Racing's best rider's as the captain. (SEO RACING is semi-pro.

As I learn more I'll post details... (I've been left out of the loop a bit on this developement....) :eek:
 
Davad, I've recently found out that we will be moving to Edogawa - and probably sooner rather than later. :( I have some experience with the small Hanamigawa (near Makuhari) but was hoping that riding beside a larger river would mean there are longer, less crowded, and wider paths. What are the things you don't like about riding along the Arakawa?

Do you know exactly where on the Edo you will be????
My front garden...is the Edo river....
 
"What are the things you don't like about riding along the Arakawa?"

No, no, no - the Arakawa and Edogowa are fantastic! What I meant is that since I live just a few hundred meters from the Arakawa, almost every ride I`ve done with my new bike is on that river and so I`m looking forward to some new experiences. I`m sure other Tokyoites will agree that those two big rivers with their auto-bahn-like cycle paths are a kind of miracle, a gift, a linear oasis of speed and distance.....I feel incredibly lucky to live so close to Arakawa and I`m sure you`ll be fond of the Edogawa, too. It really is amazing that in the center of 30 million+ people we can head out and ride for hours, at speed, and car-free!

Still, I`m dying to get into some of those twisty, hilly, green Bosso roads, so Phil, yes, let`s do a ride soon.
 
About 20 guys in my club have set up a splinter group and call themselves 'Nagara Juku'.

Saw a few roadie groups around the Nagara area on Suday on my way south, obviously on training/club rides--some might have been your guys. Cycle House Giro, a shop in Inage, has a club that does its rides in the same area, although not in the winter months.

Randy > The rides(s) I'm thinking of for the winter would be long slow distance kind of things...about 30km +change on the flats, whatever you can handle on the hills. There are a lot of uphill bits down there, but they're almost all <3km, and we always regroup at the top of the long(er) climbs.
 
"What are the things you don't like about riding along the Arakawa?"

No, no, no - the Arakawa and Edogowa are fantastic!...

Whew! That is great to hear! We are moving closer to Tokyo because it will be easier for my wife to commute. If it was up to me, I would move away from the city. Anyway, I have only seen the bike 'roads' along the Edo & Ara from the train and I am hoping to find good riding.

I can understand what you mean, I think that even people living beside the Autobahn want a change of scenery from time to time.

That will be good news for my wife as well because she was feeling guilty for moving out of the area that I know and into the unknown. I've seen rides along the rivers on MapMyRide.com and it sounds good, but as we know, a map is very limited when it comes to details.

I still hope to take a few rides in the Boso area before we move and it becomes more of a journey.
 
Randy > The rides(s) I'm thinking of for the winter would be long slow distance kind of things...about 30km +change on the flats, whatever you can handle on the hills. There are a lot of uphill bits down there, but they're almost all <3km, and we always regroup at the top of the long(er) climbs.

Okay, thanks for the information. I've been riding a cross-bike (for too long) but recently bought a road bike. By recent, I mean, I'm waiting for pedals to arrive before I take it out for a spin. (They were supposed to arrive the day I left for the USA, so I hope they are waiting for me now.) The weight difference between the bikes will help me on the climbs, but then I have my own personal weight issues at the moment that doesn't help me at all. Soon, I hope to head out that way and test my abilities.
 
https://tokyocycle.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=644

We had a little discussion on the merits of the various Tokyo river courses.

I much prefer the Edo river,but each to his/her own.

Hope to see you on the path one day.

Happy 2010!

Anywhere north of Matsudo and the Edo is pretty safe and uncrowded.
At about the 35km from Tokyo Bay point on the Chiba side you can turn right and follow the Tone Canal cycling course to the Tone river or further to Moriya and Tsukuba mountain. (I'll be doing this on the 2nd as our team do our annual new years ride to a temple; this time the temple on Mt Tsukuba).
You can also do a triangular
Edo river- Tone Canal- Tone river to Sekiyado ride which is nice too.

From Sekiyado you can head up the Tone river to the Lake at Watarase which is a cyclists heaven
http://mcentyre.com/McBlogg/2009/10/11/watarase/

As I've been riding very little lately on purpose...firing myself up to get as many miles in as possible in 2010 I'm hoping to go to Watarase within a week or so as well.

There is also another short cut from Edo river to the Tsukuba Express where you can find a little creek that has a cycling path to the lake in Abiko 'Teganuma'
This course follows that as well as another river branching off Tone to Moriya- The Kokoigawa...
http://mcentyre.com/McBlogg/2009/02/14/100km-lsd/
 
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