joewein
Maximum Pace
- Oct 25, 2011
- 3,532
- 3,693
This is an early announcement for a scenic autumn leaves viewing ride from Seibuchichibu station in Chichibu to the Nichitsu ghost town in the mountains to the west of Chichibu, Saitama on the first November weekend. I'm doing this ride for the 3rd year in a row (2012 ride pictures here, 2013 ride report here).
Start time and arrival
The ride will be on Sunday, 2 November 2014, with a possibility of postponing it to Monday, 3 November 2014 (which will be a public holiday, Culture Day) if the weather turns out to be unsuitable on Sunday.
I'll be taking the Seibu Red Arrow at 06:50 from Ikebukuru to Seibuchichibu, arriving 08:12. We will start riding at 08:30.
The Red Arrow requires a separate Limited Express ticket, total fare: 1420 yen.
Two ride groups
There will be two groups, a slow one and a faster one, with separate ride leaders. Both will make occasional stops for taking pictures of the beautiful scenery, but the slower group will take a bit more time!
What to bring
Wear a helmet, bring a spare tube or two and a rinko bag for the train ride. Have breakfast in the morning. Carry a water bottle. Please bring some food, as there are virtually no shops on the rural 94 km loop back to Seibuchichibu station. Please also bring something warm to wear for the descent from the tunnel above the ruins at over 1200 m (minimum: wind breaker, more is better).
Ride completion
The group ride ends at Seibuchichubu station, though I will probably ride back to Tokyo afterwards. We expect to get back to Chichibu by 15:00, but if you intend to ride back towards Hanno or Oume you should bring lights (sunset at 16:45).
Route map
Here is the route (with optional Tokyo return ride). For the main loop you'll be doing 91 km with about 1200 m of climbing.
Contact
joewein at gmail dot com
Kudos
Kudos to Pete (@Yamabushi) for the route!
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