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September . . .

Philip

Speeding Up
Feb 15, 2007
765
11
September has been a great cycling month to date. It is has also been a busy business month and therefore I have not had time to share these experiences with you. Forgive me. I will rectify that situation here.

September 2nd I participated in the Sado Island triathlon. A 3.8km open water swim is followed by a 190km circumference of Sado Island on the bike before running a 42km marathon. In August, Christoph and I completed a reconnaissance of the Sado Island bike course (thank you Christoph :) ). The course follows the rocky shoreline resulting in few flat sections - you're either going up or down. There are also two large climbs, one in the north and the other in the south. You're efforts are rewarded with spectacular views in unspoilt countryside on virtually traffic free roads with only a handful of traffic lights / intersections. Highly recommended! And after a hard day in the saddle, the Ryokan is one of the best in Japan - the food is simply outstanding. Indeed, Christoph and I have entertained the idea of riding to Sado Island from Tokyo (320km), a lap of the island (190km) and back to Tokyo. When is the next three day weekend :cool: How did I do in the triathlon? I finished 39th out of 650 athletes.

The following weekend - September 8th - Thomas, Christoph and I rode a 230km loop through Yabitsu pass (700m), along R35 towards Ootsuki (700m), across R24 (1000m) to R413 and back to Tokyo. This was just a few days after a large typhoon passed through the Tokyo region (and my garden :eek:uch: ). After a hard 11km climb to the top of Yabitsu Pass we were greeted with a large red sign stating that the road ahead was CLOSED! The reason was obvious from the blanket of mud across the road. Returning to R246 being the only other option, we decided to take our chances with the mud and the closed road. Yabitsu Pass is notorious for punctures and today's conditions would only make matters worse. We were not to be disappointed. Within 15 minutes Christoph was fixing a flat. The storm damage had some positive points. Views of a deeply swollen river were spectacular. Having survived the 20km ride through the mud slides, sitting outside a convenience store chatting we met another cyclist. With our bikes hidden from view, he assumed we were mountain bike cyclists - because all three of us were covered in mud :D



Last weekend - September 15th - Thomas and I completed another 230km ride over Tsuru pass (800m), Tomin-no-mori (1130m) and Nokogiriyama (900m) a route we call the 'Pucci Special'. We followed R20 out from Tokyo. On the descent into Sagamiko I think we passed B Winford (Freeride's friend). After breakfast at 60km the work began. Tsuru pass was steeper than we remembered. We climbed Tomin-no-mori from the Okutamako side - the roll down is exhilarating (I particularly enjoy overtaking motorcyclists :eek: ). The climb up Nokogiriyama was less challenging than I remember. It is steep however - in sections your front wheel can lift off the ground! The big surprise of the day were the landslides on the descent from Nokogiriyama - the result of the previous weeks typhoon. Rock falls, meters deep blocked the road. You had to carry you're bike whilst scrambling over the large slides. I counted 14 slides. After each one the road was covered in large stones for hundreds of meters. The stones had been carried by water that had run like a river down the road. It must have been an extremely stormy night on Nokogiriyama.



Thanks to Christoph and Thomas for a great month of cycling,

Cheers,

Philip
 
Thanks very much for this account, Philip... Sounds like you guys have some great routes out there on the west side of the capital--if rather steep and lacking in a smooth road surface at points :D

Sado island is a place I've wanted to visit for a long time now, and doing the Sado island ride is definitely on my list of must-do's while in Japan... Do you remember the name of the ryokan?

Oh, and congrats on the great finish in the triathlon!
 
Well done

Hey Phillip,

Great effort at Sado! I happened to see the results list on Sunday at the Westy bike shop. Your marathon was excellent. I have done the B race twice before, and I know how tough that run can be. What were the conditions like? This year instead of a third trip to Sado, I did a HIM at Suzu in Ishikawa-ken. It was a fun race and very low key compared to Sado.

Now that the local tri season is nearly over, what's next up for you? I am going to enter the lottery for the Stongman on Miyakojima in April. It is the most popular race in Japan, is hard to get in to, and is a touch shorter than a full IM at 3/155/42.

And I am keen to join you on some of your long rides if possible. :bike: Next weekend (Sunday and or Monday) and on Sunday the 30th will be good days for me to hit the mountains before I taper for Kona.

Cheers,

Keren
 
Hi Phil . . .

Ryokan Urashima, Sawada Beach, Ogi

I have stayed here 3 times. Each time the food and accommodation has been excellent - and I am very fussy about accommodation :)

Cheers,

Philip
 
Hi Keren . . .

Congratulations on Suzu - I have been told the bike course is a killer!

I am now preparing for the marathon season (Chikura, Niigata, Teganuma & Tsukuba). Next triathlon will be Miyakojima. It was my very first long-distance triathlon and I have fond memories :) After that I would like to do an international Ironman - Europe or America?

You must be excited about Hawaii - I hope your training is going well. I will let you know our weekend ride plans ASAP.

Cheers,

Philip
 
Ryokan Urashima, Sawada Beach, Ogi

I have stayed here 3 times. Each time the food and accommodation has been excellent - and I am very fussy about accommodation :)

Thanks for the info!
 
Pucci Extra Special

Last weekend - September 15th - Thomas and I completed another 230km ride over Tsuru pass (800m), Tomin-no-mori (1130m) and Nokogiriyama (900m) a route we call the 'Pucci Special'. We followed R20 out from Tokyo. On the descent into Sagamiko I think we passed B Winford (Freeride's friend). After breakfast at 60km the work began. Tsuru pass was steeper than we remembered. We climbed Tomin-no-mori from the Okutamako side - the roll down is exhilarating (I particularly enjoy overtaking motorcyclists :eek: ). The climb up Nokogiriyama was less challenging than I remember. It is steep however - in sections your front wheel can lift off the ground! The big surprise of the day were the landslides on the descent from Nokogiriyama - the result of the previous weeks typhoon. Rock falls, meters deep blocked the road. You had to carry you're bike whilst scrambling over the large slides. I counted 14 slides. After each one the road was covered in large stones for hundreds of meters. The stones had been carried by water that had run like a river down the road. It must have been an extremely stormy night on Nokogiriyama.

Thanks for your report, Philip. I have to agree, September has been an exciting cycling month so far!

Mud-sliding ("Are you guys mountain bikers?" :D) and rock-hopping were special adventures, certainly not the usual programme.

I don't know how long it will take to clear that road down Nokogiri-yama, but I still hope we can accomplish the "Pucci Extra Special" one day: Yabitsu Pass, Tsuru-toge, Tomin-no-mori and Nokogiri-yama.
 
Phillip,

You really are taking your running seriously, no wonder you are doing great IM times. I will end up doing three marathons this year, which is probably two too many for me.:confused:

I hope you join you at Miyakojiima, if I get a slot via the lottery. Promised my wife that I would not do any IMs next year, so the Strongman will be my "A" race.

Yeah, the Suzu bike was tough and I was glad that it was only two laps and 100km. One more lap and I would have had to get off and push my bike up hill. Did my best ever ride in a race there, but it thrashed my legs for the run. It is a good race in a scenic and very quiet part of Japan, and I recommend it to you.

Good luck for you race on the weekend, and please give me the heads up on your rides.

Keren
 
Wow! Nokogiriyama has always been in bad shape...typhoon or no typhoon. I don't why this road is kept like this...maybe because it is in nowhere's land (not belonging to any district)...here is wada touge on sept 15th, a landslide triggered by last week’s typhoon had pulled down a fence and huge rocks were all over the road. Luckily, the friendly operator of the crane lifted just enough rocks for our bikes to pass through! (msg from Mr ClimberMan:eek:)

Matsuhime+Wada069.jpg


We did about 240 km on that day
 
Thanks for quoting Climberman Terry!
 
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