SR600 Fukushima, A Ride in the Wild, Part 2

North of Aizu Wakamatsu, mountains of Bandai Asahi National Park in the distance

I woke up in my hotel in Aizu Wakamatsu at 830AM. I jumped in the shower, dressed, and went down to get the hotel breakfast and drop off my chaku-barai box of dirty clothes (I had sent a box of clean ones ahead so it had been waiting for me when I arrived, with some energy bars, spare tire tubes etc. in case I needed to replenish supplies, and now I sent the dirty laundry home). I was on the road by 9:15AM or so.

I had planned to sleep another hour or more, but when my eyes opened, I knew it was better to just go instead of lying in bed trying to get back to sleep. I had a long day ahead.

The first part of the ride was 20kms from Aizu up to Kitakata along a valley, almost flat and a good warm-up. I stopped at a convenience store in Kitakata to stock up for what looked like another lengthy no-convenience-store stretch to come, found the checkpoint (PC) memorial stone for a photo at a shrine, then started the long morning climbs of Day 2. 

I would go through Kita Shiobara and climb up to the Ura Bandai area around Lake Hibara, only a few kilometers (as the crow flies, across the lake) from the 7-11 I had stopped at last night, then turn north along the lake for a second climb up to the top of Shirafu Pass and the border between Fukushima and Yamagata. If you counted these two climbs as one big uphill with a nice respite in between, this was the second biggest climb of the entire event, with the high point around 1400m elev. 

My plan was to just push through these climbs the first half of my day, enjoy the long descent to Yonezawa, and then just tough it out for the remaining 180 kms to Iwaki. Sure, there was one more climb out of Yonezawa, but that started higher, and finished lower, than the morning climb, and after that I would enjoy 40kms of mostly downhill back to Fukushima city, then a long stretch in the lower hills without any big climbs, and another nice 40kms of mostly downhill into Iwaki. I hoped I would not arrive later than I had in Aizu ... but resolved to sleep in before doing a half-day ride to the finish on Saturday, well within the 60 hour limit.

I struggled up the first 600m elev. warm climb to the Lake Hibara area, still tired from yesterday and the short night of sleep. I could not help but think that if the first climb of the day was this tough ... it was going to be a long day. That's rando and ultra-endurance. I stopped a few times to rest and was quickly swarmed with gnats that did not seem to bite, but seemed attracted by my dripping sweat and were quite bothersome. They mostly dissipated when I remounted and got up to "speed". 

View from the Michi-no-Eki

An early lunch.

The pun in Japanese is in "kami-sama", with "kami" meaning either paper or spirit/god depending on the character used.  It does not translate.

Michi-no-eki = "stations on the road"?
Anyway, it is an annoying habit of some Japanese to refuse to use the last bit of toilet paper rolls but rather switch to a new roll. Bizarre and wasteful. Not eco-friendly.

No other cyclists here yet. One arrived before my departure.

Anyway, I decided to get some shio ramen at the michi no eki just over the small pass before Lake Hibara. I could sit outside in a breeze with a bit of a view of the lake. They had a bike rack, but mine was the only bike there on a Friday. Others arrived by car or motorcycle. The "michi no eki" is a Japanese institution -- a rest area that includes restaurant, sale of local produce and crafts, toilets, tourist information, sometimes even an onsen. Communities seem to take pride in these way-stations and they often include nice surprises ... such as the ability to sit outside in a breeze and look at a lake while eating. Salt (shio) is a traditional product of this area, and hence the shio ramen. 

My plan had been to eat something at the other end of the lake, another 10-15kms on, just before the next climb. I rested a bit longer than the meal required, then headed on. It was easy to make progress along the lake. The road (Aizu Wakamatsu-Urabandai Line - Route 64) was mostly shaded, there were some signs of human inhabitance -- a few houses (mostly boarded up) or summer camp-type facilities. There were a couple pairs of cyclists on rental bikes (dendo?) coming the other direction and one or two roadies as well. And there were tunnels so that the road had only modest ups and downs.

A quick stop before starting the Route 2 climb to Shirafu Pass.

That ended at a "T" intersection where I turned left/north, joined Route 2 (NishiAzuma Sky Valley) and started the next climb. The climb was hot due to lack of shade and my general overheating by this point.  The gnats were back, together with a few larger insects that buzzed a lot but did not seem to bite. There was not a lot of breeze now, and that encouraged the bugs. (Note to self: get bug spray in Yonezawa! and bring some on subsequent rides in case of emergency.) Eventually I got to a section marked as a kind of "nana-magari" (七曲がり), so I knew that the switchbacks would continue as the road climbed. I discovered that at as I rounded the eastern end curves, I got some breeze, then the breeze would disappear until the next eastern end curve ... just a bit more exposed given the wind direction. The bugs would keep their distance as long as I kept moving, and scatter completely at the eastern end. But the even the breeze was not strong enough to keep them off if I stopped at the eastern curve. I don't think I would have noticed the gnats if I had been well-rested and just climbing the hill normally.

Coming out on top of the climb. No bugs here.

Entering Yamagata and starting a long downhill

Anyway, eventually I got to a flatter section along the top of the ridge, and crossed over at the PC photo sign welcoming me to Yamagata. From there it was a quick and relatively steep descent over 25 kms to the next PC, another stone memorial outside the Uesugi Shrine and museum in Yonezawa. The steep part of this descent was not so much fun ... nothing like the delightful one yesterday afternoon into Fukushima, nor even the one into Aizu Wakamatsu.

Where had the time gone? It was already 4PM in the afternoon. I had hoped to be here by 2-230PM!  I still had 160-170kms to go to Iwaki.  Another convenience store, another pasta, more coffee, a purchase of some bug spray, some brief rest, and then I headed out. The next stretch was not as long a climb as either half of the Kitakata-Shirafu Pass segment I had already done today and, once up it, I could rest on the bike while descending to Fukushima. If I could get there by early evening, I would have done over half of the day's distance and all the big climbs, plus I had that long descent into Iwaki to look forward to, so I just needed to push through!

Soon after leaving Yonezawa, I found myself on Route 232 toward the East/Southeast, a lovely road for the early part of the climb up the west side of the mountains that separate Yonezawa from Fukushima city. Within a few kilometers there was very little traffic, then there was NO traffic as the road passed through only a few dilapidated collections of houses and the forests closed in. Then the road became a real forest road. At one point I heard what must have been an animal through some dense brush on the left side of the road. I did not stop to figure out what it was. If it was a bear or inoshishi, I did not want an encounter. If deer or kamoshika, my loss. 

After another 5-10 minutes, I stopped at a stream crossing, admiring the lovely surroundings.

Then the road turned up steeply. Wada Pass-like steep.

Then the surface deteriorated to a mix of potholes, gravel, and debris-covered concrete. Even though the surface was dry, and my Open Pave tires have good traction, my rear wheel slipped a few times on the debris -- I would need to stay seated and make sure not to make any sudden pushes.

I was in no condition to climb this after the last 30 hours of riding. I got off and walked long stretches, remounting when the surface was a bit better, the slope not quite as steep. I was not expecting this. What I had thought would be much easier than the day's climbs up to that point ... turned into a kind of Bataan death march. (I later went back and read some of the pre-ride reports and I did find warnings I had missed before. One rider specifically cautioned against trying this stretch at night or in the wet. Others used some pejorative descriptors about the slope). 

Steep + crappy road surface

Dense forest on these mountains - jungle!

Finally, out on top!

The "station in a shed" at Toge Eki

Anyway, after what seemed like forever, I got to the top. It was 6:25PM and the sun was setting in the west. There was another wind power project (the turbines marked "Ichigo"). At least I was on top and could descend to Fukushima. Hurrah! Next I needed to find the PC, which was "off course" at a place called Toge-Eki (the "Station at the Pass"). Okay, I was AT the pass, so the station could not be far, I thought. 

I was wrong. I followed the route some way down the eastern side of the hill and found the turn off to Toge Eki. ... I then needed to climb some back up to the ridgetop and over and way back down the west side, descending around 150 meters. One car came out of the road (a good sign, at this point), and at least it was paved and relatively clear. At one point the road split and there was a sign for 4 kms to Namegawa Onsen up a side road (I cannot imagine many places are more rustic or remote). I got down the last steep stretch of road to Toge Eki,  There was some kind of minshuku or inn, and another house, but I did not see any people around. The "station" itself was inside a huge shed (I guess this is all snowed in during the winter). It was deserted (it is an unmanned station, of course). It did seem to still have train tracks, but the idea of the trains stopping here ... well, who would get on or off? Only few hikers. 

It was 645PM and would be dark soon, and I needed to climb back up that hill again, so I did not dawdle. At least this time I had come down the slope that I would go up, so no surprises. I slogged up the hill and then back down to the "main" road. I could see what looked like a new, modern, and fancy house across the way back in the woods. Maybe they own the wind project? I started down the eastern side. There was still a bit of light in the sky, so I could see beyond my bike's headlamp. After a few minutes I saw a large collection of closed big white buildings on the left side below me. ... They must be keeping animals inside. Chickens? Pigs? ... no, I thought as I passed below and the stench hit me -- beef! Okay, that stench could have been pigs as well, but Yonezawa is famous for its beef.  It seems it must be the 村上畜産 板谷ファーム. On Google Maps I cannot see any buildings ... so they must be quite new.  Hard to find a location for this kind of factory farm in Japan -- you cannot site it near anyone since the stench and waste are difficult to bear. The animals are sealed away inside so I could only imagine what it must be like.

Phone booth in the middle of nowhere. Well, in the middle of Itaya.
Lots of these along this ride, and needed due to poor cell coverage?

The long, empty tunnel on Route 13 toward Fukushima city.

Anyway, I continued down the hill and soon passed the post office and station at Itaya, as well as what looked like a huge facility up on the hill (the zeolite quarry and processing plant).  After a short up and down stretch, I was back on National Route 13 and at the entrance to a 2.36km tunnel that would take me through the mountain and onto the real descent to Fukushima-shi. It was dark by now. The tunnel, however, was well-lit. I made it almost all the way through before a single truck passed heading the opposite direction. And then I was on the descent to Fukushima. 

The descent was fast and uneventful, and unmemorable. After I turned off of Route 13, I passed Jurokunuma Park. There was a soccer facility with artificial turf and a roof ... that was full of young people, both boys and girls, passing and kicking. The energy was palpable. There were coaches and parents standing around outside, watching the action, and a full parking lot. I felt a wee bit of hope for the future of Fukushima city. The park had other facilities as well, though none had the kind of Friday night frenzy of the soccer ground. 

I rolled into Fukushima city down the road that stretched from Jurokunuma Park all the way to the shinkansen track crossing at Soneda, just north of Fukushima station. I had planned for a sit-down meal here, ... but I was behind schedule. More convenience store pasta. More restock. Really, I could have called it a day and checked into a business hotel, slept 6 hours and then done the last 200km+ on Saturday. But I had a reservation in Iwaki and a box of clean clothes waiting for me. And there were no more big climbs ahead, so I pushed on.

The route would pass just south and west of the nuclear disaster "exclusion zone", through rural areas and rolling hills. It was night, but the areas near Fukushima city I sensed were prosperous farm country. Nothing like the run-down sense in some areas of rural Japan. I guess they have managed okay since the nuclear disaster, no doubt thanks in part to inflows of public money but mostly because this was a prosperous rural area to begin with. I was lucky to find the PCs (one post office, one train station) in the night and take my photos, but my pace was slow, twice I stopped for cat naps, lying near roadside, with a bit of protection from passing cars (not that there WERE passing cars).  By the time I got to the second PC between Fukushima and Iwaki, at Ohno, it was getting light again. Now I was on the eagerly awaited descent to Iwaki, which followed the Natsui-gawa through a gorge.  The road was wet in place from some rain during the night.

Nearing Ohno and the descent toward Iwaki.

I could not stay awake on the bicycle. There was some oncoming traffic and I was terrified that I would drift across to the other lane. I pulled off a few times. But I almost collapsed on top of the bicycle once. I was in a tight bit of gorge without much shoulder, but I found a place with a nice few steps in rock on my side of the road. I leaned my bike against the roadside wall and sat down on the steps and closed my eyes. When I awoke it 30-40 minutes had passed. I got back on the bike and was okay now, and made it the last 10kms to my hotel. 

It was a bit odd to check in after 7AM in the morning. Unlike the last Route Inn in Aizu, they did not allow my bike in the room. And they had a 10AM checkout, rather than 11AM. I ate breakfast and, when I passed the front desk, they told me I could stay until 11AM, at least.  I bathed, slept for nearly 3 hours and was back down at the front desk to hand in my box of chakubarai clothes and my room key a couple minutes after 11AM.

On the lower part of the Route 399 climb

Fuji flowering in trees all over this part of the country.

One of the flat sections of Route 399

It was slow getting going -- I stopped at 2 convenience stores on the way out of town, before the first climb. The climb would take me from just about sea level to over 800meters elevation, and would be the bulk of the day's work. My ride was under 100kms today. 

The climb was up National Route 399. On the lower stretches, it varied with some steep bits, a lot of 8%, and some flatter sections where recovery was possible. Then I got to the end of the "new road" and Route 399 turned into a billy goat's path up the mountainside.  At a few places, you could see the construction project to extend the new road all the way and replace what i was on. There were regular signs of waiting areas for trucks ... involved in the construction. Fortunately, they were not on the road this Saturday, as it was too narrow to be fun riding with a bunch of large earth moving construction trucks. But there were a few staff at the entrances to the construction project, waiting to direct non-existent traffic (and occupied by their smartphones). 

The construction zone, new road visible but not yet open.

The "old road" still in use here. Aaargh.

Again, there were some 15%+ bits. I got off and walked a few times. No shame in walking when I'm this tired. 

Is all this construction really necessary? Iwaki has an expressway that connects it with Ohno and Tamura/Miharu/Koriyama already. And it has another expressway up the coast. How many people will actually use this stretch of Route 399 when the new road is done? Very few, I guess. I suppose it is justified in case of another tsunami or earthquake -- redundancy. And it will certainly make cycling up this hillside easier. The thought of that was almost enough to make me apply to join the Route 399 (Iwaki-Fukushima Nanyo section) Improvement and Promotion Association, though I must say that standing around in groups in business suits holding up certificates seems to be their main activity, and that is not going to get any road built!

Unused park in Kawauchi Mura

PC - Abukuma Romantic Kaido commemorative stone!

The road turns up, again!

Nice countryside

After what seemed like an eternity, the scramble up the mountain ended, I rejoined "new" road and reached a short tunnel at the high point, and descended the other side toward a plateau at maybe 450m elevation. I was low on water now, and tried a tap outside a town office. ... it was dry. I found water from a tap in a park in Kawauchi, and then a convenience store. I missed the PC (memorial to the "Abukuma Romantic Kaido") and stopped to ask someone after I had gone another 2kms. He gave me good directions back to it -- was a local who seemed on the ball. Leaving Kawauchi on Prefectural Route 112, I started the last real climb of the event. Again, I hoped for a tunnel through the top of the hill, but there was none. I say "the last real climb", but there were plenty of 25, 50, and 75 meter climbs still ahead,  some nasty, some gradual, and a lot of nice Japanese countryside with well-tended farms.

Last PC before the goal

Finally, I arrived at a spot for viewing a massive shidare-sakura on a hillside outside of Koriyama. This was the last PC before the goal. Only another 10kms or so from here. The route went into another sakura park and over a bridge across a body of water, twisted and turned, and went up several more hills, before descending past the Koriyama City Museum of Art and into town. It was quite dark now, and I was descending, but the museum looked like an interesting building. Indeed, from what I read it has a small but interesting permanent collection, and the building, cafe, and grounds are worth a visit, if I ever have a few hours to kill in Koriyama.

Finally, I reached the Abukumagawa, crossed the bridge and rode through the flat area of the town under the shinkansen tracks and back to the "goal". Then proceeded to get a receipt at the same 7-11 where I had started, 55 hrs and 45 minutes previous.

I struggled to pack up my bike into the rinko bag and get to the train platfom ... but the shinkansen had me back in Tokyo in no time. I took a local train to Shinagawa and a taxi from there ... no strength to reassemble the bike and ride it even a few minutes home in a sudden rain shower. Thank you JR! (As usual, the two boxes of cycling clothes I had sent from my hotel were delivered to my door in Tokyo by 10AM Sunday, the charge for each under $8 equivalent. Thank you, Yamato! Japanese delivery services ROCK!!)

Was this easier or harder that SR600 Fuji? I don't know. It was not easy. It felt truly wild for much of the area in the mountains west of Koriyama and Fukushima city. I did myself no favors by starting at 1110AM. It is possible to take an early shinkansen from tokyo and start at 8AM. Or stay the night before and start at 5-6AM. That would make a stop in Aizu or Kitakata far easier. But the hard climbs were definitely "front loaded" into the first half of teh course (a good thing), the climb out of Iwaki being the only long/tough climb in the last 250kms. And the 60 hour time limit meant I could ride without the stress of worrying about a DNF due to missing the time cut off. And I could not really ask for better weather. All in all, it was a great, epic ride, and excellent conditioning for Cascade 1400 next month.

I really should be doing several of these each year instead of waiting another five years before trying the next one. There is an SR600 on the Kii Peninsula that is next on my list.

SR600 Fukushima, A Ride in the Wild, Part 1

On the climb from Fukushima-shi to Jododaira

I wanted to try to get in some more multi-day rides before Cascade 1400, so had blocked off May 19-21 and one more weekend in June to try and do so. For the first of them, I thought I would try one of the many SR600 rides now available in Japan. Back when I did the SR600 Fuji in 2015, it was one of only 3 available. I tried one of the others -- Nihon Alps -- twice, but rainstorms and exhaustion defeated me both times. Now there are 18 courses within Japan. 

Why so many now? Well, about 4 or 5 years ago, the rules were changed. A standard 600km brevet has a 40 hour time limit. An SR600 is a "permanent" 600km brevet with more than 10,000 meters of elevation gain -- a very mountainous course. Until the rule change, an SR600 had a time limit of 48 hours plus an extra 30 minutes of time for each additional 500m of elevation gain over 10,000 meters. SR600 Fuji had a 52 hour time limit, if memory serves. This was complicated to administer, and the massive climbs made it very challenging for many riders to complete these courses, more so than other Audax time limits. So the Audax organization changed to a flat 60 hour limit on all SR600s. Of course, in Japan there are lots and lots of mountains, and lots of roads over them, so the SR600 course options are plentiful, and designated courses have proliferated.

I decided to ride the Fukushima course for a few reasons. First, it is easily accessible by train - shinkansen to Koriyama, less than 90 minutes from Tokyo Station. Second, it looked as if it offered a wide range of riding and scenery -- dense coastal forest, bucolic farmland, Alpine-like passes, lakes, rice farming areas, and on and on. This reflects the diversity that is Fukushima Prefecture. Third, I wanted to both "support" Fukushima prefecture in a small way, and to see how it is doing, eleven years after the tsunami and nuclear disaster. Indeed, the AR Nihonbashi organizer site said one reason they decided to make this course was to support some cyclotourism in Fukushima.

SR600 Fukushima course

SR600 Fukushima elevation profile. Highpoint of 1622m. All the big mountains are in the first half.

The ride satisfied all these expectations and many more. The vast bulk of the ride was on low or no-traffic routes, and there were long stretches in, for Japan, quite wild areas. More than usual, planning was required to identify convenience stores and other likely-to-be-open stores or restaurants along the route, to avoid running out of food or water.

I had a commitment later on Sunday, and a work call on Thursday morning from 1030-11AM, so decided to take the work call from outside Koriyama Station and then start at 11:10AM. The first hundred kilometers of the route included the longest climb and also the third longest, and it looked as if, by riding the 227kms to Aizu Wakamatsu, I would notch up around 5000 meters of elevation gain. That seemed a plenty ambitious goal for day one. I booked a business hotel. 

On day two, I would plan to start a bit earlier and ride 287kms to Iwaki, with another nearly 5000 meters of elevation gain. Again, the second longest climb of the event was in the first part of the day, there was another smaller climb out of Yonezawa, and then a long downhill to Fukushima and what looked like typical Japanese up-and-down the rest of the way to Iwaki, but no long climbs. Again, it seemed doable. I booked a business hotel in Iwaki for the second night. Then I would have less than 100kms and under 2000m of elevation gain for the last day, again with the main climb in the early part of the ride. If I could stick to my schedule, I would finish on Saturday afternoon, with 6-8 hours to spare and in time for the train home and a hot bath before bed.

The weather was spectacular on Thursday, even a bit warmer than one would like, as I left Koriyama on schedule. Heading out of the city to the west, I thought I might be in Utsunomiya, or Mito, or Kofu, or Takasaki, Maebashi, or Ashikaga, or maybe Kofu, or Kashiwa, or any of dozens of other small regional cities north of Tokyo as I passed a Cainz Home Center, an Aoki Menswear, and a gaggle of other big box and chain stores. 

But in a few kilometers the sprawl ended and I was on a rural highway heading west. Not so much farther along, I turned right onto the Bonnari Green Line and started a gradual climb that eventually stepped up to the 6-8% range.

It was a beautiful day and the heat (~27C) in Koriyama quickly dissipated once I got up onto the climb. After one stop for some fuel in the form of an energy bar, plus bathroom break, I could climb steadily to the top. There was some construction on the road, but so little traffic that I got waved through and never needed to stop and wait for opposing traffic.

From Bonari Pass

Starting the descent after Bonari Pass

Before I knew it, I was at Bonari Pass, site of a battle in 1868 between the Meiji restoration government forces and the rear-enders of the shogunate, which also served as the SR600's PC2. I could see higher mountains in the distance, with large patches of snow visible. The elevation was just under 1000m.

The soba "goes to 13"!

The road descended to the north until a T intersection with National Route 115 in an area that had some resorts, sobaya and restaurants, onsen, and basic services. My route turned right/east and started the next climb. This climb would go from around 750m to 1250m, along Route 115 then north on Prefectural Route 70 until another right turn that started an incredibly lovely descent toward Fukushima city.

At the turn off from Pref Route 70 to Pref Route 30, approx elev 1250. 
I came up the slope visible in the photo.

The descent was nearly 1000m elevation loss, much of it on a beautiful, low/no traffic route and with forests for shade. I felt blessed by the weather as the breeze of my movement cooled me. The descent had plenty of twists and turns, but also did not require me to sit on my brakes much -- ideal! There were a few places where beautiful, deserted Pref Route 30 crossed National Route 115 ... only for the last few kilometers before the SR600 route turned left did I need to ride on the main road.

Early on the Route 30 descent toward Fukushima city

Snow fields beside the road

View as I descend

It doesn't get any better than this.

I stopped at a 7-11 store for some food. This was the first convenience store since well before starting the Bonnari climb, just before the route turned left. It was now 40 minutes after 3PM, my arrival target time. Technically, I had entered Fukushima city at some point on the descent, but I was turning onto a "wide area agricultural road" and was still somewhere on the western foothills about the city. All the better, as I would need to climb back up the same mountain range for the big climb of the day. To my modest dismay, the agricultural road continued to head gradually downhill for a few kilometers until PC3, at a memorial stone of some kind just outside of Azuma Sports Park. The cue sheet and brevet card did not contain details of the memorial location, but I remembered one of the ride descriptions had said something about it being off of the road. I had already turned left beyond the park ... but went back, crossed the road, entered the park and looked around. I took a few photos to prove I had been there, hoping they would suffice if I could not find the actual desired PC photo spot. As I was leaving and returning to the road, there it was! 

PC3 memorial

The Japanese countryside is full of these types of memorials, and I could not spend the time to figure out what this memorialized, except it involved someone dying (義民終焉の地). Okay, I think I found out what it is all about -- on a list of scary places even as the location where a "righteous" man was executed by the shogunate.

Back on the bike, the road hit its low point and after a left turn onto Pref Route 70 (yes, the same road I had been on previously), started my longest climb of the event. I was well under 300m elevation and would go to 1622m. Maybe 1400m elevation gain in total, ... having already done that much so far. It was hot, and humid, and the road quickly became steep. 

I was glad that I had (for me) ultra low gearing with a 36 cog in the rear and 48-33 chainrings. But I was still grinding up the hill in a low cadence, barely faster than walking. I could tell it would be a long, long climb. 

Looking down from just above Takayu Onsen, most of which is 800-900m elevation. 

Still a long long way to go, but at least it is getting cooler here!

Reminds one of the climb up Shirane-kosan to Shibu Toge, above Kusatsu?

I tried to take the hill in 200m elevation increments ... not allowing myself to rest until I had climbed at least 200m from the last rest. I felt tightness at the back of my knee on my left leg. I worried that I might pull something and end my ride -- it has never happened to me, but there is always a first time. I now read that this was probably not my hamstring, but the sciatic nerve that goes from the lower back through the legs. That would make sense, as the bike I was using, Voyage Voyage, has a more aggressive (lower) front end and so requires more stretch of my back than the RAMAX or the Sky Blue Parlee. 

In any event, it was a long and slow ascent. I knew that once I got to the top, I would be done with the hardest climb of the entire SR600, even if not yet 20% through the distance. The road was deserted in the fading afternoon light. It was not cold, but the wind was coming up as I reached exposed areas of the upper slopes. I was very glad to have the wind, however, as I started to pass signs warning about poisonous volcanic gases. Do not park your car! Keep your windows closed!  No suggestions for what cyclists should do ... but I was not thinking about filing a complaint since the obvious Japanese bureaucratic response would be to close the road to us. At least today any poison gases would be sent soaring into the stratosphere by the gusty wind. These signs, as well as the scenery, contributed to a strong resemblance to the climb above Kusatsu!

The PC is just over that shoulder above on the right.

At Jododaira ... a flat area before the last little climb of the afternoon/early evening.

The lighted building is a restroom ... they leave the lights on I guess.
No sign of anyone around associated with the little "kei" car in the parking lot.

At the highpoint for the SR600.

As I passed 1500m elevation and finally approached the rest area at Jododaira, the light continued to fade. I had not seen a car on the road for at least 20 minutes, and then only one had passed me, going down, in the last hour. I guess no one is up here at night. It was 7:08PM at Jododaira. I had hoped to arrive by 6:00-6:30PM, so I guess I was only a bit behind schedule. But it was an important bit in terms of not getting down the first part of the descent before dark.

I quickly continued on through the flat area at Jododaira and up another short climb and through some bends in the road ... to a point clearly marked as the top of the Skyline route. As I put on some warmer clothing for the descent, one car DID pass me, a rugged looking SUV. But that was the only human I saw until after I had descend back down to the intersection of Routes 70 and 30 (completing my "loop" and even beyond.

Once the descent started, the road twisted back and forth. My light beam was not wide enough to see "around" the corners, so I took it nice and slow. A jackrabbit jumped across the road in front of me, lit bright white in my headlight. Wow, that was a FAST rabbit! I had seen three monkeys earlier. And it would not have been surprising to come across deer, bear, inoshishi, tanuki, or kamoshika, in this area. A fall off the bike from a pothole or to avoid an animal would have been disastrous, with no expectation of cellphone coverage to call for help or rescue until morning. So I took it easy.

I was running a bit low on water, but I knew that my route would take me down onto Route 115 and near the resort/onsen area I had passed this morning after Bonari Pass, so hoped I could stop there. 

I was mistaken. The SR600 route turned off National Route 115 before descending to those sobaya and other shops. Instead, it turned off onto a continuation of Pref Route 70, now called the Bandai Azuma Lake Line, and proceeded through more wild, forested, and largely deserted country. There were plenty of ups and downs, though no major climbs, until I finally arrived at the Ura Bandai resort area between Lake Onogawa and Lake Hibara. At around 139kms there was finally ... a convenience store! I had rationed my water supply and was feeling a bit weak and dehydrated. It was already almost 10PM and I had still had another 88kms to go to my hotel! I ate some pasta, drank a coffee for the caffeine, stocked up on snacks and filled my water bottles. 

Urgent news for the residents: Bear sighting nearby earlier in the month ... 

After the stop, I passed some what looked like fairly luxurious resorts, fancy cars in the parking lots, welcoming warm lights inside. Then after a few kms I turned off of Route 115 and onto prefectural route 64 for the climb over a shoulder of Mt. Bandai. This climb was not steep, and would have been easy if I had been fresh. I was not. It topped out at 1200m elevation or so, then started a long descent toward the area around Lake Inawashiro. But I still needed to watch for animals. I switched on my reserve battery powered light with its widest possible beam to get some light outside the frame of my main dynamo-powered light (which I will swap out for one with a wider beam before my next adventure on this bike!). 

At least there were no signs warning of volcanic gases or against opening car windows.  Then again, when Mt. Bandai last exploded, in 1888, it did wipe out the villages on its north side ... killing nearly 500 people and transforming hundreds of square kilometers of forest and farmland into a wasteland. So it is not exactly a safe area, over the long term. Then again, where in Japan is safe? over the long term.

But I also needed to find the next checkpoint. It was supposed to be a signboard somewhere by the road. But there were numerous parking areas, and I was descending in near pitch dark. The worst scenario I could imagine would be to miss the PC and need to climb back up this hill. I pulled into several parking areas before I finally got to the one that had the signboard I needed. It was supposed to be a viewpoint for Mt. Bandai. Yes, there was the mountain, looming above.

Mt Bandai at 11:30PM on a dark night the moon not yet visible.

I continued down the hill, then headed east around the northern side of Inawashiro-ko. I could make good time here, finally, now that I was on relatively flat ground. if I just turned right and headed downhill, I would have gotten to my hotel in Aizu Wakamatsu in less than an hour. But instead the course went East then South, around the entire Inawashiro-ko, and I was still at least 60-65kms from bed. 

A big flooded rice field south of Lake Inawashiro

After yet one more 7-11 stop at Shidahama on the eastern shore of the lake, I continued around to the southern shore, one last PC photo by a monument of some kind, then the road narrowed and became a kind of forest road, climbing through hills along the edge of the lake. The road surface was of mixed quality, almost gravel in places, and covered with leaves, sticks, or stones in others. It twisted and turned and I slowed down. At least I was now at 550m elevation instead of 1500-1600m, so even if I had gotten stuck for a few hours I would not worry about exposure, but I needed to be careful if I wanted to avoid a problem that would end my ride. The climbs were very short but sometimes steep. Rounding one corner I came face to face with a raccoon, only a few meters away and staring into my front light. It looked white in the bright beam, and terrified. It jumped to the side and raced away as I passed. I've seen raccoons (tanuki) slink away at night before, but never confronted directly nor jump like that.

It was after 3AM as I started the last, relatively short climb to a ridge top before the descent to Aizu Wakamatsu. The moon was out now and providing a bit of light -- it has appeared after midnight but been blocked by clouds until the sky cleared a few hours later. On this climb, I wished for a tunnel through the ridge, but there was none. Instead, the road made it to the top of the ridge and traveled under wind turbines before another really lovely descent -- from almost 900m to around 200m elevation. I took a PC photo or two in front of the Tsurugajo castle in Aizu, first light having appeared in the sky during my descent, and it now after 4AM. 

I went to find my hotel. I would live to fight again another day.