AlanW
Maximum Pace
- Jan 30, 2007
- 1,215
- 440
Hi all,
Hope you're enjoying Golden Week and getting some riding done.
While Travis and Thomas have been burning up the roads in Northern Japan, I've been checking out some routes over in Chiba prefecture, and found some real gems.
Naomi-san and I rode 3 different routes from Saturday to Monday. First we headed into the back roads just north of Shirohama. The route twisted and turned through the hills, and although the hills are not that high, the roads are great fun as they snake around. The width seems more suited to a bicycle than a car! We crossed a small pass near Sakumadamo then headed back down to the rice fields. Turning east we made for Chikura on the coastline, and popped out on the coast road. Then we headed back into the hills. I was aiming for a narrow alley that would take us back to Shirohama. But the road got smaller and smaller and eventually dead-ended at a farmhouse. We had to retrace our steps and work our way back over the hills - fortunately we found a way that did not take us too far off course.
Day 2 (Sunday) was the real highlight for me. We drove to Kamogawa, and parked a few km west of the town. Turns out that was a good decision, because we were soon rolling by hundreds of cars queueing to get into Kamogawa Seaworld. East of Kamogawa we took Route 81 north. Wow, what a road. It was almost deserted, with a brand-new surface that's sooooo smooth! Rolling by palm trees, wearing my summer gear of shorts/short sleeves, I felt like I was riding on the Riviera! Route 81 climbs to 320 m from sea level, and at the top (Kiyosuminoosugi) is an amazing Thai-style temple, with a tree reckoned to be 1,000 years old!
We rolled north, back downhill, ending up at Yorokeikoku. We had time for a quick look at an all-wooden bridge, then we had to head back south. We found route 187, parallel to route 81. Naomi-san started to struggle against the wind, but after eating an energy bar, her speed was restored, and when we reached the coast, she really put the hammer down :hammer: to get back to the car! Good thing too as it was starting to feel a bit chilly.
On Monday we took the coast road from Shirohama to Nokogiriyama (not the one near Okutama-ko, a different one!) Once again the sun shone, and the warm southern wind blew. We zoomed up the coast, the wind at our backs. The road was busy but our speed was close to that of the cars, so we weren't passed that much. Arriving at Nokogiriyama, we were told by a very rude gentleman that bikes are not allowed to ride up the road to the top (although cars can go up......?) He threatened to call the police :cop: if we rode up the hill! Anyway, just around the corner was a cablecar, so we locked up our bikes and took it up to the temple at the top. Here we found a huge (33m tall) carving done directly into the mountain itself. Truly amazing. But scrambling around rocky paths in road cycling shoes is not to be recommended! The cable car took us back down the hill and we turned back to the south. The coast road was even busier, but we were able to turn onto Route 89 and then Route 88, once again, fantastic lightly trafficed roads. After an ice-cream stop to boost our flagging energy levels, we hit Tateyama then headed around the peninsula to the west. Arriving back at Shirohama, it was just before sunset, and just short of 100km. So, we rolled just down the coast to Nojimazaki light-house (the most southerly point in Chiba) to take some photos. Just a couple of km finished the ride, which was Naomi-san's first 100km ride! :run01:
Hope you're enjoying Golden Week and getting some riding done.
While Travis and Thomas have been burning up the roads in Northern Japan, I've been checking out some routes over in Chiba prefecture, and found some real gems.
Naomi-san and I rode 3 different routes from Saturday to Monday. First we headed into the back roads just north of Shirohama. The route twisted and turned through the hills, and although the hills are not that high, the roads are great fun as they snake around. The width seems more suited to a bicycle than a car! We crossed a small pass near Sakumadamo then headed back down to the rice fields. Turning east we made for Chikura on the coastline, and popped out on the coast road. Then we headed back into the hills. I was aiming for a narrow alley that would take us back to Shirohama. But the road got smaller and smaller and eventually dead-ended at a farmhouse. We had to retrace our steps and work our way back over the hills - fortunately we found a way that did not take us too far off course.
Day 2 (Sunday) was the real highlight for me. We drove to Kamogawa, and parked a few km west of the town. Turns out that was a good decision, because we were soon rolling by hundreds of cars queueing to get into Kamogawa Seaworld. East of Kamogawa we took Route 81 north. Wow, what a road. It was almost deserted, with a brand-new surface that's sooooo smooth! Rolling by palm trees, wearing my summer gear of shorts/short sleeves, I felt like I was riding on the Riviera! Route 81 climbs to 320 m from sea level, and at the top (Kiyosuminoosugi) is an amazing Thai-style temple, with a tree reckoned to be 1,000 years old!
We rolled north, back downhill, ending up at Yorokeikoku. We had time for a quick look at an all-wooden bridge, then we had to head back south. We found route 187, parallel to route 81. Naomi-san started to struggle against the wind, but after eating an energy bar, her speed was restored, and when we reached the coast, she really put the hammer down :hammer: to get back to the car! Good thing too as it was starting to feel a bit chilly.
On Monday we took the coast road from Shirohama to Nokogiriyama (not the one near Okutama-ko, a different one!) Once again the sun shone, and the warm southern wind blew. We zoomed up the coast, the wind at our backs. The road was busy but our speed was close to that of the cars, so we weren't passed that much. Arriving at Nokogiriyama, we were told by a very rude gentleman that bikes are not allowed to ride up the road to the top (although cars can go up......?) He threatened to call the police :cop: if we rode up the hill! Anyway, just around the corner was a cablecar, so we locked up our bikes and took it up to the temple at the top. Here we found a huge (33m tall) carving done directly into the mountain itself. Truly amazing. But scrambling around rocky paths in road cycling shoes is not to be recommended! The cable car took us back down the hill and we turned back to the south. The coast road was even busier, but we were able to turn onto Route 89 and then Route 88, once again, fantastic lightly trafficed roads. After an ice-cream stop to boost our flagging energy levels, we hit Tateyama then headed around the peninsula to the west. Arriving back at Shirohama, it was just before sunset, and just short of 100km. So, we rolled just down the coast to Nojimazaki light-house (the most southerly point in Chiba) to take some photos. Just a couple of km finished the ride, which was Naomi-san's first 100km ride! :run01: