Miura Peninsula -- For Mid-Winter Riding and Sashimi

The sky was dark and the roadway a bit damp when Jerome and I started out Saturday morning.  There was something falling out of the sky -- a few small stinging frozen water droplets of sleet or, in Japanese, mizore.

No reason to head toward the mountains today, where the roads were likely to be very treacherous, so we pointed to the South and through congested Kawasaki, Yokohama to the Miura Peninsula. 

Neither Jerome nor I would choose to ride in this area under normal conditions, but it is always worth some mid-winter trips and, we realized, it actually offers some beautiful  stretches of sea coast along the East side of the Peninsula, once you get past Yokosuka, especially if you stick to the coast as you pass Kannonzaki, East Kurihama and then proceed along Pref Rte 215 around the SE corner and to Jogashima -- the island at the tip.

Mabori Kaigan Koen (Mabori Coastal Park); strong (mostly tail) winds Saturday

My Canyon faces into a stiff breeze at Kannonzaki

Jerome's winter gear -- short sleeve jersey and mesh under layer, but thick feet, hand and head coverings, and bib tights that block the wind high up onto his chest.  His new long distance set-up - Ortlieb seat and bar bags

The daikon is hung and dried for a week before pickling. Lots of daikon around Miura.

It is getting from Tokyo to Yokosuka that is painful, as this means passing through an area inhabited by millions of people, together with their trucks and cars.  At least the weather kept some folks off the streets and indoors on Saturday.  The return up the western side of the Peninsula to Zushi/Kamakura also covers an extremely heavily traveled road -- National Rte 134 most of the way, and Pref Route 207 through Hayama.

All-in-all, about 120km of relatively easy riding, which we tried to do in the spirit of "long slow distance", without getting the heart rate too high but with a good cadence.  The reward came at Jogashima, where they serve sashimi fresh off the boat from the adjacent Misakiguchi harbor.

The Reward!  Sashimi lunch (free refills of soup and rice) at Ka-ne-a on Jogashima.