thomas
The Crank Engine
- Nov 1, 2005
- 2,063
- 590
This is a short summary of our trip to Izu-ooshima. For those who didn't know: Ooshima is the largest of the seven islands comprising the Ogasawara Archipelago 120 km south of Tokyo). 
We arrived at Motomachi harbour on April 28th by hydrofoil from Takeshiba. It is recommended to transport your bicycle in a "rinko-bukuro" (bike bag), although I believe they can also stow them directly on board. We did not reserve any accomodation, it is actually quite easy to find a minshuko (bed & breakfast) through the local tourist bureau next to the port.
After having assembled our wheels we engaged right away in circling the island (52km of circumference). Here are some nice maps in English and in Japanese.
The island is quite mountainous, so don't expect a smooth and sweatless ride. The landscape however is spectacular, crossing the lava fields of Mihara-yama (a volcano last active in 1986) is unforgettable. We reached Fudejima and the town of Minato-haba in less than an hour (stopping at the empty zoo on the way). We concluded our tour with a relaxing plunge in the "sunset o-furo".
On April 29th we intended to tackle Mihara-yama. There is a beautiful, but steep round course. Quite a challenge! When we reached the peak of the road up to the volcano it had started to pour cats and dogs. Dense fog limited the visibility to less than 50m. We met a brave female Japanese cyclist up there, she decided to ascend the crater despite the bad weather.
We on the other hand decided to descend to Motomachi. The road leading down to the harbour has an impressive angle of inclination. Add the deteriorating effect of the downpour on our brakes and you will understand why we were scared as hell, curving and spiralling down with trembling fingers. Halfway downhill Maiko lost control over her bike and disappeared from view. I tried to chase after her, thinking she somehow managed to master the dangerous hairpin curves. I reached Motomachi without any trace of Maiko, turned my bike and cranked up the mountain at max speed, certain that she must have got off the road. And so she had. Unable to reduce speed Maiko had the option to either halt by bringing the bike down on the asphalt, running right into the crash barrier or by hitting the dense forest terrain on the hill side of the road. She instinctively chose the last option and somersaulted into the brushwood. She was lucky: only a few bad bruises and a slight shock. The bike had suffered as well: with the rear wheel broken the cycling holiday was over.uch: However, Maiko had "Glueck im Unglueck", as they say in German (something along the lines of "good luck in misfortune")...
Even without bicycles Ooshima is worth a trip: we hiked up Mihara-yama the next day, crossing the "lava desert" and circling the crater mound. We'll definitely be back!
Here's my data:
04/28/06 - 04/29/06 (CB)
Distance 70,76 km
Av 18,6
Mx 130,3 ( <-- what the hell ??? )
Odo 2037,2
Time 3:47'12
As usual, pictures can be found in the gallery.
We arrived at Motomachi harbour on April 28th by hydrofoil from Takeshiba. It is recommended to transport your bicycle in a "rinko-bukuro" (bike bag), although I believe they can also stow them directly on board. We did not reserve any accomodation, it is actually quite easy to find a minshuko (bed & breakfast) through the local tourist bureau next to the port.
After having assembled our wheels we engaged right away in circling the island (52km of circumference). Here are some nice maps in English and in Japanese.
The island is quite mountainous, so don't expect a smooth and sweatless ride. The landscape however is spectacular, crossing the lava fields of Mihara-yama (a volcano last active in 1986) is unforgettable. We reached Fudejima and the town of Minato-haba in less than an hour (stopping at the empty zoo on the way). We concluded our tour with a relaxing plunge in the "sunset o-furo".
On April 29th we intended to tackle Mihara-yama. There is a beautiful, but steep round course. Quite a challenge! When we reached the peak of the road up to the volcano it had started to pour cats and dogs. Dense fog limited the visibility to less than 50m. We met a brave female Japanese cyclist up there, she decided to ascend the crater despite the bad weather.
We on the other hand decided to descend to Motomachi. The road leading down to the harbour has an impressive angle of inclination. Add the deteriorating effect of the downpour on our brakes and you will understand why we were scared as hell, curving and spiralling down with trembling fingers. Halfway downhill Maiko lost control over her bike and disappeared from view. I tried to chase after her, thinking she somehow managed to master the dangerous hairpin curves. I reached Motomachi without any trace of Maiko, turned my bike and cranked up the mountain at max speed, certain that she must have got off the road. And so she had. Unable to reduce speed Maiko had the option to either halt by bringing the bike down on the asphalt, running right into the crash barrier or by hitting the dense forest terrain on the hill side of the road. She instinctively chose the last option and somersaulted into the brushwood. She was lucky: only a few bad bruises and a slight shock. The bike had suffered as well: with the rear wheel broken the cycling holiday was over.
uch: However, Maiko had "Glueck im Unglueck", as they say in German (something along the lines of "good luck in misfortune")...Even without bicycles Ooshima is worth a trip: we hiked up Mihara-yama the next day, crossing the "lava desert" and circling the crater mound. We'll definitely be back!
Here's my data:
04/28/06 - 04/29/06 (CB)
Distance 70,76 km
Av 18,6
Mx 130,3 ( <-- what the hell ??? )
Odo 2037,2
Time 3:47'12
As usual, pictures can be found in the gallery.
