Mike
Maximum Pace
- Sep 24, 2007
- 1,066
- 9
During Golden Week Alan, Naomi and myself decided to go on a 3 day cycling trip around Izu Peninsula including a climb up to Stage 5 on Mt. Fuji. The weather couldn't have been better, the scenery breathtaking and the riding fabulous. 3 days, 365km, 6500m of climbing. What a trip.
While Alan has made a blog of our trip I'm not sure if everyone reads the blogs so i thought I'd make a thread. Also I wanted to add my perspective on the trip, even if it is similar to Alan's.....
Day 1 - 125km - 2500m ascent
Atami - Shuzenji - Izu Skyline - West Izu - South Izu (Yugahara)
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/japan/-tokyo/879127250586568643
Naomi coming over our first climb, Yamabushi Toge. It looked like a small blip on the ride profile but with the last 4-5 km being around 8-10% gradient it was a real wake up call.
Once over it was flat riding past rice fields and farmland with almost no traffic which had me thinking, was this really Golden Week?
Once we arrived at Shuzenji City we hit some traffic again but thanks to Alan's well planned route we were soon on another forest pass heading for Izu Skyline where we were rewarded with some great views of Mt.Fuji. While the Japanese landmark certainly was lovely, I couldn't take my eyes off my new beauty.
After a quick break we were off again and I managed to snap some pics of Alan and Naomi in action. Note Naomi's attempt at catching some lunch on the go. Apparently it was the fly's lucky day as he got away.
We then made our way down more deserted roads to Matsuhara Koen, on the west coast and devoured some pasta at a restaurant. After refuelling we punched our way into some pretty severe headwinds along the rugged but gorgeous West Izu coastline. You can see the road on the top right of the picture. These coastal roads were pretty quiet and duck and weave making them perfect for high speed riding.
Quite a few people were making their way over the thin strip of land to Dogashima. The tide was rising so it was probably a busy night over there I guess. I hope they took their tents.
The road to Yumigahama was undulating with one long brutal climb before the final descent down to the pension where we stayed for the night. It was a relief to finally arrive at our destination. Thanks for the pic with your very fast wife Alan.
While Alan has made a blog of our trip I'm not sure if everyone reads the blogs so i thought I'd make a thread. Also I wanted to add my perspective on the trip, even if it is similar to Alan's.....
Day 1 - 125km - 2500m ascent
Atami - Shuzenji - Izu Skyline - West Izu - South Izu (Yugahara)
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/japan/-tokyo/879127250586568643
Naomi coming over our first climb, Yamabushi Toge. It looked like a small blip on the ride profile but with the last 4-5 km being around 8-10% gradient it was a real wake up call.
Once over it was flat riding past rice fields and farmland with almost no traffic which had me thinking, was this really Golden Week?
Once we arrived at Shuzenji City we hit some traffic again but thanks to Alan's well planned route we were soon on another forest pass heading for Izu Skyline where we were rewarded with some great views of Mt.Fuji. While the Japanese landmark certainly was lovely, I couldn't take my eyes off my new beauty.
After a quick break we were off again and I managed to snap some pics of Alan and Naomi in action. Note Naomi's attempt at catching some lunch on the go. Apparently it was the fly's lucky day as he got away.
We then made our way down more deserted roads to Matsuhara Koen, on the west coast and devoured some pasta at a restaurant. After refuelling we punched our way into some pretty severe headwinds along the rugged but gorgeous West Izu coastline. You can see the road on the top right of the picture. These coastal roads were pretty quiet and duck and weave making them perfect for high speed riding.
Quite a few people were making their way over the thin strip of land to Dogashima. The tide was rising so it was probably a busy night over there I guess. I hope they took their tents.
The road to Yumigahama was undulating with one long brutal climb before the final descent down to the pension where we stayed for the night. It was a relief to finally arrive at our destination. Thanks for the pic with your very fast wife Alan.