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 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 gardenuch: ). 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
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 ). 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
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 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
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
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
). 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
