WhiteGiant
Maximum Pace
- Nov 4, 2006
- 1,233
- 395
Monday 29th, and Tuesday 30th April, 2013.
Total distance: About 390km.
Accommodation - ¥6,000 ~ ¥8,000.
Train back from Kashiwazaki - ¥8,620.
Total cost: ¥15,000 ~ ¥17,000 (not including food & drink).
Thomas, Serguei, and I have been discussing a long-distance-touring-group-ride over Golden Week, and we decided on a tried-and-true route. With the days we have available to us limited by previous engagements, the only days we all have free are the Monday and Tuesday, stated above.
The basic course we'll be following is the same one written about in the book: "CYCLING JAPAN by Takashi Niwa: 10 of the Best Rides". Alan and Naomi did this same ride a few years ago as well (although with the TCC website updates, Alan's blog seems to be missing, unfortunately).
Here is the MAP from Alan's original ride.
A great deal of the route is done along Cycling Roads beside the various rivers, although there will also be some unavoidable sections of road (not necessarily a bad thing).
This ride is well-known as being a coast-to-coast affair, typically starting at Kasai-Rinkai Koen, at the mouth of the Arakawa. However, in order to make it easier for those living in the south & west of Tokyo, we've decided to move the official "Start" to Takeshiba Pier (near Hamamatsucho), which is technically the waterfront, in keeping with the coast to coast tradition.
DAY 1: We'll meet out the front of Takeshiba Pier at 6:00am sharp, before slowly snaking our way through Tokyo, up Rte.17 towards Arakawa. Once at the river, we'll settle into a grind - Anyone who has done these kinds of long rides before will know that "pacing oneself" is the name of the game. While it won't be "slow" per se, it will be "nice and steady". We'll probably pass through Kumagaya around 9am, and maybe have a short break before heading up to the Tonegawa. The Tonegawa CR should take us all the way to Takasaki, where we'll stop for lunch. After lunch comes "the climb" - I say "THE" climb, because it's the only one that day - taking us up to right around 1,000m of elevation, near Karuizawa. From there, it's not too far to Ueda, where we'll (hopefully, depending on room availability) spend the night. That will total about 230km.
DAY 2: With any luck, we'll have eaten well, and had a good night's sleep, and be up at 6:00, and ready to roll by 7:00. The first part of the day will be mostly downhill, even if only slightly, for the next 70km or so, to Iiyama. From there, we will have a roughly 10km climb (those who did Itoigawa last year will be familiar with it), and from there, it will be downhill all the way to the Japan Sea, somewhere around lunchtime. After lunch, we'll turn right, heading NE along the coastline for the next 30km until we get to Kashiwazaki. We'll make our way to the station, and catch the local train to Nagaoka. At Nagaoka, we'll change to the shinkansen, which will have us back in Tokyo in under 2 hours. Total riding for that day will be about 160km.
If there are any members out there who (a) have the Monday & Tuesday free (b) would like to join us for a cycling adventure, please let us know as soon as possible.
Ideally, beforeThursday, as accommodation is booking up fast - If we don't get in early, we may end up paying a lot more for a place to stay.
Look forward to hearing from you all!
Travis (with Thomas & Serguei)
Total distance: About 390km.
Accommodation - ¥6,000 ~ ¥8,000.
Train back from Kashiwazaki - ¥8,620.
Total cost: ¥15,000 ~ ¥17,000 (not including food & drink).
Thomas, Serguei, and I have been discussing a long-distance-touring-group-ride over Golden Week, and we decided on a tried-and-true route. With the days we have available to us limited by previous engagements, the only days we all have free are the Monday and Tuesday, stated above.
The basic course we'll be following is the same one written about in the book: "CYCLING JAPAN by Takashi Niwa: 10 of the Best Rides". Alan and Naomi did this same ride a few years ago as well (although with the TCC website updates, Alan's blog seems to be missing, unfortunately).
Here is the MAP from Alan's original ride.
A great deal of the route is done along Cycling Roads beside the various rivers, although there will also be some unavoidable sections of road (not necessarily a bad thing).
This ride is well-known as being a coast-to-coast affair, typically starting at Kasai-Rinkai Koen, at the mouth of the Arakawa. However, in order to make it easier for those living in the south & west of Tokyo, we've decided to move the official "Start" to Takeshiba Pier (near Hamamatsucho), which is technically the waterfront, in keeping with the coast to coast tradition.
DAY 1: We'll meet out the front of Takeshiba Pier at 6:00am sharp, before slowly snaking our way through Tokyo, up Rte.17 towards Arakawa. Once at the river, we'll settle into a grind - Anyone who has done these kinds of long rides before will know that "pacing oneself" is the name of the game. While it won't be "slow" per se, it will be "nice and steady". We'll probably pass through Kumagaya around 9am, and maybe have a short break before heading up to the Tonegawa. The Tonegawa CR should take us all the way to Takasaki, where we'll stop for lunch. After lunch comes "the climb" - I say "THE" climb, because it's the only one that day - taking us up to right around 1,000m of elevation, near Karuizawa. From there, it's not too far to Ueda, where we'll (hopefully, depending on room availability) spend the night. That will total about 230km.
DAY 2: With any luck, we'll have eaten well, and had a good night's sleep, and be up at 6:00, and ready to roll by 7:00. The first part of the day will be mostly downhill, even if only slightly, for the next 70km or so, to Iiyama. From there, we will have a roughly 10km climb (those who did Itoigawa last year will be familiar with it), and from there, it will be downhill all the way to the Japan Sea, somewhere around lunchtime. After lunch, we'll turn right, heading NE along the coastline for the next 30km until we get to Kashiwazaki. We'll make our way to the station, and catch the local train to Nagaoka. At Nagaoka, we'll change to the shinkansen, which will have us back in Tokyo in under 2 hours. Total riding for that day will be about 160km.
If there are any members out there who (a) have the Monday & Tuesday free (b) would like to join us for a cycling adventure, please let us know as soon as possible.
Ideally, beforeThursday, as accommodation is booking up fast - If we don't get in early, we may end up paying a lot more for a place to stay.
Look forward to hearing from you all!
Travis (with Thomas & Serguei)