600km Birthday Ride to Kitakata and Back - Fox, not Bear, Sighting

Since I did not quite complete the lovely 1300km ride over last month's "Silver Week" holiday, I wanted to ride the "back-up" 600km event for which I had registered. The back-up was a Randonneurs Tokyo ride from Kawasaki to Kitakata, a town north of Aizu Wakamatsu in the same large valley in NW Fukushima Prefecture, and back. The theme title was a Japanese version of "let's ride to Kitakata and back to eat some ramen," as Kitakata is famous for its style of ramen. Kitakata is one of the 3 most popular ramen styles in Japan, along with Sapporo and Hakata (Fukuoka) ramens. Kitakata is not a big city, so I guess not a lot of people visit there for reasons other than its ramen, and it leads Japan in ramen shops per capita.

Strava links:

Day one:  https://www.strava.com/activities/20528435703

Day two: https://www.strava.com/activities/20541510011

I did not choose this ride for the ramen, however (fortunately, as reported below). I chose it because this is the only weekend in October that I don't have a schedule conflict, and because it looked like another interesting trip into parts of Japan north of Tokyo, not dissimilar to last year's 600k, or this year's 1000k and 1300k attempts, all out of Yaita organized by Utsunomiya Audax. Also, October is prime riding season in Japan, at least in areas north and northwest of Tokyo.

The start of our 600km brevet and a 300km event, at Todoroki, Kawasaki-shi

One of the benefits of an R-Tokyo ride is the usual start location -- within 45 minutes' ride from my house in Todoroki area of Kawasaki, just across the Tamagawa at Marukobashi. This is just over 11kms from my house, less than half the distance to the Aoba Randonneurs start, and about the same distance as a Nihonbashi or Tamagawa start. Just about all the other Kanto-based groups -- Saitama, Kanagawa, Chiba, Utsunomiya, among others--require either a train or car trip to the start and from the goal, utsunomiya typically requiring arrival the night before the ride given the distance from Tokyo. This time, I did not want to use/bring a rinko bag with me -- if I don't have one on the bike, then I won't be tempted to return home by train, right?

Another benefit of R-Tokyo rides is the large number of offerings. This time, they were offering a 300km and a 600km on the day when I could start. 

I felt good in anticipation of the event. I would ride the RAMAX again -- it had worked perfectly on the 1300km attempt -- except I would swap out the Ryet saddle for an older, trusty Fizik Arione. I brought the same combination of creams I had used on the 1300km, and those, the dry weather, plus the Arione seat, meant I could make it through in comfort, at least as to my butt. The weather forecast was near perfect -- cool at night, warm in the day, but not too warm, not summer hot. And no major headwinds in the forecast, nor signficant risk of precipitation. 

The ride started at 6AM on Saturday of a 3-day weekend. It also happened to be my 64th birthday, and I figured it was my party so I could do what I wanted, and delay any other celebrations until the recovery phase. (My older sister called this my "will you still need me, will you still feed me" birthday after the Beatles' song "When I'm 64"). 

The 6AM start was great, especially after the 8AM start a few weeks ago in Utsunomiya. Why?  It meant the first day could finish up before 10PM, instead of extending to after midnight. It also meant an hour riding at the start before there was significant traffic.

Entering Tochigi, at 10:41AM. No photos up to here.

And oh boy was there significant traffic. The route north from Tokyo went through Tokorozawa, Saitama, near Kawagoe, and up into Gunma near Takebayashi and Sano, then over a modest climb and into the area around (just west of) Kanuma. The roads all the way through Gunma and into southern Tochigi were toward the awful end of the spectrum, in terms of heavy traffic and lack of shade or attractive features. At least they were fast and relatively direct. Then once we got over the hill and into the area around Kanuma, everything switched, 180 degrees. Now the roads were quiet, and much slower. There were even a few nasty little ramps on side roads in the forest. Maybe the course designer started out thinking "fast" and "who cares about the traffic!" then went out and had a delicious, filling lunch, and came back to continue the route plan thinking a "slow and scenic" route would be best. Anyway, I would hope the route planner would look at other Audax routes that go north out of Tokyo and toward this part of Gunma/Tochigi, and find a nicer option with less traffic.

The nicer country west of Kanuma, Tochigi

Approacbing Nikko ... camera lens needs cleaning!

The big surprise for me was the climb north of Kinugawa Onsen.  I had been through the area around Nikko many times, but never headed north up the river beyond this major onsen town. Or should I say formerly major onsen town. The place is known for having a number of larger hotels that catered to group travel back in the 1960s-1990s, but have shut down or become dilapidated. At least that is my strong impression. Stil, on a sunny Saturday afternoon of a 3-day weekend, the place was full of tourists and did not seem dead. 

Kinugawa.
Below is a video of the river further up on the climb.

The climb up Route 121 north of the main part of Kinugawa town was lovely. It was mostly not steep, and it was something like 35 kms from the Lawson convenience store checkpoint to the border with Fukushima Prefecture, a climb from around 400m to around 850km elevation. The climb had plenty of flat stretches, including a ~10km long section with a reservoir (Lake Ikari), but mostly was just a lovely wild valley. Eventually, we reached a "T" intersection and joined Route 400 -- the same road I had taken out of Yaita into Minami Aizu on the Utsunomiya 600 and 1000km brevets this and last year.  

Approaching the "T" intersection with the route from Nasushiobara to Minami Aizu
17:21 and light starting to fade.

My feet still flared up, swelling and painful in the heat of day-1 afternoon around 135kms. The same happened again on the second day.  I had zero issues in the mornings or at night, so I really do think my feet were swollen in the warm of the day, after some hours on the bike each day.  I wore Lake shoes that fit well (with thin wool socks that would not constrain my feet even if they swelled in the heat), and with a custom molded insole. I lowered the seat a bit relatively soon after pain appeared, I used topical Voltaren, I loosened the shoes at rest stops, and the pain was manageable ... and went away not long after sunset, only to return late-morning on day-2.  What is the solution? Is there one? Flat pedals and other shoes ... as I use on the recumbent? I will need to experiment further.

Jerome, who also joined the ride, broke the cable on his rear derailleur relatively shortly after we got to the nice territory west of Kanuma. This is the kind of thing I once carried spares for ... but I use an electronic shifting groupset and Jerome did not have a spare cable with him. Also, his bike has internal cable routing, so changing one is no longer as simple as it once was. We stopped for lunch at a "shokudo" in the countryside. We were the only customers and the food was uninspired ... but he could call and locate a bike shop ahead in Nikko. There was some up and down in the stretch before Nikko, and I actually saw Jerome walk up one hill -- a new experience. As we went through Nikko, we were further down the hill than we had been on the 1300k last month, but at one point crossed the course, and Jerome veered off to go to the bike shop, Kamiyama. I continued on to the check point at Kinugawa Onsen falls area, and then onto the long slow gradual and, at a cool dusk on an October day, lovely climb.  I got a report from Jerome that he was done at the bike shop and back on course. He was 1 hour and 20-30 minutes behind me at the checkpoint, having lost that much time with the repair, but still way ahead of the notional time deadlines. 

Once I got to the intersection with Route 400, I knew the top of the climb--and entry into Fukushima Prefecture--were not far. Once on the descent, my hard work for the day was essentially done. I had ridden 230kms from home, around 215km on the actual brevet course. I had another 85km to go before I would sleep, but it was only just ~6PM and the rest of the course was almost entirely downhill or flat, without headwind or rain. What a contrast to Day 1 of last month's Utsunomiya 1300k!

I got a dinner of convenience store pasta at Minami Aizu Tajima, and kept rolling. I arrived at the Kitakata checkpoint -- the "ramen shrine" -- around 9:40PM.  All the ramen shops on the main street were closed! I was extremely disappointed with R-Tokyo for planning a ride to eat ramen and not giving any suggestions about where we might find it. I had asked at the start and been told if every place was closed in Kitakata, we could get some in Aizu Wakamatsu at a chain place open 24 hours. ... of course, we did not pass THROUGH Aizu Wakamatsu, the course went around. And we would not even touch the outskirts until 3AM on the return. And who needs to go to Fukushima Prefecture to eat chain-shop ramen? 

The ramen shrine ... closed for the night

I stopped at a Lawson convenience store en route to the guesthouse I had booked. I got some of their special Tohoku miso ramen, figuring I could at least eat it before I slept. At least it was supposed to be regional -- Tohoku.  I also got my breakfast yogurt, eggs, banana, etc. for a few hours later and headed to the guest house. It was a converted house with 3 or 4 spacious tatami rooms, a kitchen, bath, toilet, lounge, etc. facilities. The proprietors looked to be two younger men, perhaps a couple? They appeared almost immediately when I texted a question. I guess they also run the coffee house, gallery, and performance space in the adjacent building. It was nice to see them making a go of it in Kitakata.  Everything in the house was so clean, I was very worried about making any kind of a mess. Sadly, by the time I got to the guesthouse, most of the ramen soup had spilled out of the bowl and into the plastic bag ... so I drained the bag into the sink without making a mess. Whew. And I ate the barely warm noodles. 

Guesthouse -- I left the door to our room cracked for Jerome.

Anyway, I sent Jerome instructions ... he had closed the gap a bit and was around an hour behind me in arriving at the accommodation.

I had planned to sleep until 2AM, but I was in and out of sleep repeatedly and my eyes open wide before 130AM. I gave up going back to sleep, got up, dressed, ate, and was on the bicycle and headed out. 

The organizers had announced that they had modified the route on this next stretch -- the climb up to Lake Inawashiro -- due to bear sightings on the original planned route. Even worse, every electronic sign board since entering Fukushima Prefecture warned that persons should watch out for bears and check the latest reported sightings before going out.  Of course, I had no time to figure out how to do this, and now I was riding alone toward a forested climb in the dead of night. Worse, I was not sure if my GPS had the original or the modified course, and I was not very enthusiastic about going up ANY deserted, forested climb in the dark in bear country given all of the warnings. 

I decided I would just head up a climb up to the west and try to get onto Route 294 at its beginning. If I could connect with Route 94, I would be on a road with actual vehicle traffic, but not heavy traffic at 3AM.  This conscious deviation from the course ... did not work.  I climbed almost 150m elevation, through an industrial park then a mix of fields and forest.  As I was traversing the fields ... I saw a pair of saucer eyes reflecting in my bicycle light from 100m up the road. Then as I got a bit closer, a small dog-like animal crossed the road and hopped across the field. Its hop was very distinctive -- bounding on all 4 legs as if it had springs -- as it went through the field of tall grasses.  It was ... a fox!  I had never seen a fox on Honshu before. They are secretive, nocturnal, carry a very dangerous (to humans) parasite, and are at the core of many Japanese folk tales -- foxes who disguise themselves as beautiful women or needy children, or one's aging long lost mother -- and who trick humans.  

Anyway, the fox bounded on its way, and I found my road intersection and continued the climb. I got to a road that I thought would take me to Route 94 ... and after maybe 500m it started to wind down the south side of the slope I had just climbed from the west, twisting and turning.  Eventually, I stopped and got out my google maps.  I had lost at least 2/3 the elevation I had just climbed, and was approaching the bottom of the hill not far from where I had started the climb. I called Jerome -- he was already ahead of me and about to start the proper climb. I gave up my plan, went back to the bottom, back on course, and did the actual climb.  Other than losing time and wasting energy, I was back on course, and still on track. 

Quite a few riders passed me on the climb toward Route 294. On the one hand, this was reassuring that I was indeed on the correct route. On the other hand, I really regretted not sleeping longer, and my earlier detour. The climb was long but not steep, even if it seemed steep in the pre-dawn dark. Finally, I was up the hill and onto Route 294 ... but the climb was not quite finished.  The next stretch of 25km or so along Route 294 was basically flat, but with enough up and down to remind me how tired my legs were. Then there was a climb up another 100m of elevation to a tunnel, then, finally, a 15km descent from 650m elev down to just over 300m.  We had another 12-13 kms to the checkpoint, and could just roll it in well ahead of the notional closing time. 

Glorious sunrise with fog in the valley below. Another spectacular dawn in Fukushima Prefecture!

6:25AM, down the big hill and now a much flatter road to Shirakawa ... except the upcoming climb(s). 

Except there was another climb -- nearly 100m of elevation gain over a few kms -- before the control point. I arrived exhausted.  But I knew we would just need to get over the Fukushima/Tochigi border and then it would be a gradual descent and lots of flat areas in Kanto to get home. 

I was a bit surprised that, after a small dip, we had a 10km grind climbing over 100m elevation to get to the Tochigi border.  We were riding now on Route 4 -- the "main road" of Tohoku before the expressways were built. I usually avoid Route 4 like the plague, but I had never ridden this stretch and had no idea whether it would have heavy traffic or cars and trucks whizzing by. Most other brevets use a route that takes local Tochigi highway 76 -- a delightful low-traffic climb and nice descent maybe 5 kms to the east of Route 4. How was the Route 4 alternative? It was consistent with other stretches of Route 4. Lots of traffic at high speed whizzing by. Not a lot of fun for a cyclist.  I guess it was slightly more direct than a detour to local route 76 ... but I have fond memories of a Chiba brevet where we descended Route 76 into Fukushima and down toward Shirakawa and ... stopped at a wonderful ramen shop that was open, served delicious and filling fare, welcoming a large group of cyclists in from the wet and cold. Route 4 held no such charms.

We finally exited Route 4 around 40kms from the Shirakawa checkpoint, in Otawara area. We took a nicer, more local road for over 20kms, then could "enjoy" another 5kms along Route 4. This time at least we were riding along an access road, not the main highway, so were not exposed to traffic. Here there were lots of election posters of a local LDP Diet member, Yana-sensei, the new Minister of agriculture. He has been in hot water over threats of cuts to the road repair budgets localities that don't support the LDP. After riding some of the roads that might not get repaired in the future, I must say that I am not a fan of Yana-sensei.

Jerome and I had been together since the Shirakawa checkpoint. As we came into Mouka, I started to look for the next PC. Jerome was ahead of me and rode right by it, thinking it was still 1-2kms ahead. Anyway, there were at least 10 other riders in the PC at the same time.  We stopped briefly, then went down the street to a Mosburger for a sit-down hamburger lunch.

Our bikes -- especially the water bottles -- were warm in the midday heat, as we had parked them in direct sunlight where we could watch them as we ate at the Mosburger. 

The next stretch was unremarkable. In fact, I don't remember very much about it - flat, boring, with traffic gradually building up.  

By the time we entered Ibaraki, at Chikusei NW of Tsukuba, the holiday traffic jams were in full swing. Chikusei, Shimotsuma, Ishige, Joso, Moriya, and finally across the Tonegawa to Kashiwa and then the checkpoint at Matsudo. At places it seemed we were riding past lines of sitting traffic several kms in length, all to get to one red light "chokepoint".  In Moriya, a group of kids on their bikes "raced us" for what must have been a kilometer, we on the road shoulder avoiding a line of cars, they on the sidewalk avoiding other sidewalk users.  Eventually, we veered off with a right turn. I guess they won the race ... but I wanted to holler out "just try doing that for 500 or 600kms!"  If you think the Straits of Hormuz are a chokepoint ... just check out Ibaraki's Joso Fureai Doro and local Route 47 over the Tonegawa on a holiday weekend!

A shoes-off rest at roadside, watched over by the jizo-bosatsu in the shed

This congested course ... I do not pin blame for on the organizers. It is unavoidable riding pretty much anywhere between Tsukuba and central Tokyo on this kind of weekend. The roads are just too narrow, and never caught up with the population when it exploded decades ago. The only routes that avoid congestion tend to be along river levees, and the rivers were flowing perpendicular to our direction, so of no use to us.

Anyway, it was 7PM by the time we made it to the Matsudo PC.  Jerome was still stronger than me, but he was slipping a bit in alertness and judgment ... missing a turn as he had missed the earlier checkpoint. He was doing 80-90% of the pulling when we were riding in tandem, but mostly we were just rolling it home within 50-100m of each other, often with decent separation. Frankly, at this point in the ride, it is safer to have a bit of separation.

Finally, we entered Tokyo Prefecture and the roads immediately widened.  We rode down wide avenues, with thinning traffic in the evening, through Edogawa-ku, Koto-ku, and finally, Chuo-ku. We went over Eitai-bashi, passed the former Tsukiji fish market site, then Shinbashi and down Route 15 through Minato-ku to Takanawa, all very familiar roads and the last within a few hundred meters of my home. From here, we had only 7 kms to go to the finish, a convenience store on Nakahara Kaido just inside Kanpachi. We rolled it in, arriving with almost 30 minutes to spare (a bit less by the time I got my receipt for proof of passage). 

After a short chat with other riders, we went across the street for Indian food and Jerome treated me to a kind of birthday dinner. I think I have never ridden more slowly into town on Nakahara Kaido than after that dinner, as I retraced the final 7kms to home. 

Birthday dinner

I was glad to complete a 600km brevet this year, one that had a reasonable amount of climbing even if it had long flat, boring, and congested sections at beginning and the end. And there was no rush to the end or sense of desperation around time management or punishment to the body to get to the goal on time -- just a long ride back into Tokyo. The RAMAX again worked perfectly; no flat tires or other mechanical issues; no chafing; ... only that annoying foot pain. Still, I know that I will need to up my game substantially if I am to complete 1200k randonees in coming years. The Silver Week 1125kms and this ride have shown me where I am, and where I need to get to.  

A Beautiful 600km ride ... Streams, Forests, Mountains, Fields, Biggest Dog Ever, Sea of Japan, Pacific Ocean ... and some Nuclear Waste along the way

Heading toward Aizu

After a 300km+ attempt at the Aoba 600, plus a lovely Amariyama ride (1600m gain) and some shorter spins, it was time for my next 600km brevet. I hoped the recent efforts had my legs ready. Only one way to find out.

This was an Utsunomiya Audax event, starting and finishing in Tochigi (Yaita/Otawara). I used to ride their events often—signups didn’t fill up in 30 seconds like Saitama or Kanagawa. But since more Tokyo-area clubs popped up around 2015–2020, the appeal faded. The logistics were also a hassle: a long drive or awkward train + rinko combo, plus one time I had to pull off the expressway and nap in a parking area before driving home safely, as I was starting to close my eyes behind the wheel. 

I hadn’t ridden with them since a gorgeous  2018 400km ride  (east to Mito/Oarai, west past Maebashi) and a rain-soaked Choshi 400km in 2016. But this year offered a reason: my wife had discovered that the onsen water at a certain inn in Nasu Shiobara did wonders for her health. The inn has little else to recommend it but the onsen is special—if I did this ride, she got three nights there, and I got my ride and a recovery soak. A win-win.

The route looked terrific. No Tokyo sprawl, a double Honshu crossing, and a chance to peer toward Fukushima Dai-Ichi. The organizers warned of 8000m of climbing, but RidewithGPS said 7100m—and my watch logged 6600m. Still a proper challenge.

Only 14 riders started at 2AM Saturday. Among them was my friend Andrei O. We hadn’t coordinated, but I was glad to see him. He crashed the Japanese Odyssey podium last year and did PBP hours faster than I ever could. We go back to Fuji Hill Climb days and were together when I broke my collarbone descending a Gunma mountain in 2020. I didn’t expect to keep pace—just say hi.

My ride long after dinner with Andrei?

I recognized a few others: Nagayama-san from the Iwaki 400km, some Chiba regulars. I introduced myself to one named Tsutsui-san, and to Sawamura-san, the only woman on the ride. At the start, Tanami-san (organizer) and Fujita-san (staff, maybe riding?) gathered us around for a briefing.

Participants unload their bikes from cars in the distance.

Fujita-san is the rider with the explosion of hair.

They did not do the bike checks until 2AM sharp. I was chomping at the bit (figuratively), as usual, and got out onto the course a few minutes later. 

I was very happy with my pace on the first 50km of the event, which took me up the foothills then Shiobara keikoku in no traffic to over 800m elevation, the high point of the entire ride. A number of riders passed me, but I felt I was in the thick of the group, and was ahead of the clock.  After the top of the second hill, we would basically descend or ride on the flat for 75kms. 

These signs are everywhere in Fukushima prefecture. 
Are there actually flights from the airport? It seems far from anywhere!

Making good time heading north to the west side of Aizu Wakamatsu.

I reached the 162km control at 9:41AM, more than 3 hours ahead of the closing time. At this second control, a strong-looking guy in his 30s or early 40s was wrestling with a speed sensor, muttering "sai-aku" (最悪 - "the worst") over and over. Apparently, tunnel GPS glitches made him overshoot the first control by 7km. I told him things could be a lot worse—we had no rain, no cold, no headwind, and no traffic. If this was the worst, he needed a broader imagination.

As I went to discard my trash, I saw him casually smoking a cigarette. Only in Japan have I seen brevet riders lighting up mid-ride. Somehow, he still finished hours ahead of me.

Mr. "Sai-aku" and Fujita-san as we seek shade next to the PC convenience store.

It got hot in the inland valleys—one roadside gauge flashed 31°C. After Aga, in the small town of Mikawa, I missed a turn off the national road onto a local one. I doubled back, scrambled down some steps, and rejoined the course. Under the overpass I’d just ridden, I sat on a bench to snack—only to meet a man walking the biggest dog I’ve ever seen. Calm and stately, the dog was part Great Dane, part Irish Wolfhound. He enjoyed the attention, but really wanted my egg salad sandwich. I apologized—no backup food and a long way to the next store. They forgave me. Next time, I’ll bring a spare sandwich for him.

My feet started to ache incredibly in my shoes, so I stopped beside the road and removed my second pair of thin cycling socks.  That seemed to do the trick ... until the heat of the next afternoon.  It got cooler once near the Sea of Japan, with a wind from the sea toward the land. I moved forward deliberately and at Murakami, 239kms, I was 3 hours 20 minutes ahead of the time limit.  I ate and rested there, almost an hour. I never again managed to get 3 hours ahead of the time limit.

Sea of Japan

Dragon in front of tourist info center at Senami Onsen

The next stretch to Yonezawa included a slow climb to 350m on Route 113. Too much traffic, too many trucks, too many tunnels. Eventually I pulled off and lay beside a nearly dry gorge, cooling off a bit before continuing.

Passing into Yamagata ... did not end the climb.

I rested here.

At kilometer 304, we finally began descending into Yonezawa—though it turned out flatter than expected. I blew past the control, looking for a Family Mart, but it was a Lawson. A kilometer later, I pulled out my cue sheet, turned back, and found the right spot. A rider had even yelled to warn me as I passed. Sure enough, he was still there when I returned.

I’d ridden 332km, been out for 18.5 hours (20 including pre-start ride), and was still 3 hours ahead of the control close. I flopped onto the concrete outside the store and took a 45-minute rest.

The next segment would include a climb over mountains and then down to Fukushima-shi.  The latter part of this segment I rode on the Fukushima SR600 in 2022. At least tonight we would NOT take Prefecture Route 232 through the woods to Toge Eki, but instead would use National Route 13.  The climb from Yonezawa was just under 400m elevation gain. It was not so steep, and if fresh it would have been easy. I was not fresh, at all.  So I was relieved to get to the tunnel at the top. I rode 2.5 km or more through a deserted, flat tunnel, then a quick descent about 100m vertical on the other side ... until a second flat tunnel of 2.5 kms, then a fast descent all the way to the edge of Fukushima-shi. 

I am headed over (or through) that mountain to Fukushima-shi

Our route crept along the hills to Iizaka Onsen Station. Jerome and I had stopped here last year when it was a control point on a Golden Week 1000km event. It was deserted this time, at midnight. I took a shorter rest and headed on, stocking up on food to snack on in the hills ahead. 

Basho was here (Basho was everywhere)

I reached the overnight control at 1:40AM—two hours and 20 minutes before closing. After a quick bite with Tanami-san and another staffer, I grabbed a bed in a four-bed room. Two beds were occupied, one vacated, and one—mine—fresh. A light eas on and the room was hot, but I was asleep in seconds, before 2am, and suddenly wide awake at 3:40. Downstairs, Andrei was getting ready to leave. Soon, Sawamura-san and another rider showed up—they’d already done 60km and 600m of climbing since midnight, as they had rested at Yonezawa. Machines.

I rolled out around 4AM, just as the control was set to close. Only 215km left. Easy, right? Well... I started strong. Andrei had vanished. I passed one rider, while Sawamura-san and the other sleepers were still behind. The route wound up and down before a 300m climb to a highland. New tunnels cut through the hills instead of roller coastering over them. The roads were pristine—Japan’s “throw-money-at-it” model results in great infrastructure, and they threw money here after the nuclear accident. If only tunnels cured population decline.

After the highland, a long descent led to the coast. I passed signs warning this was a “difficult-to-return” zone—帰還困難区域 being officialese for “wasn’t safe, still isn’t.” Side roads were blocked with steel pipes. Patrol cars cruised slowly. No humans out and about—just a troop of 60–80 monkeys darting across the road. The wildlife seemed fine. Maybe radiation’s long-term health effects are less brutal than living near human society. Or maybe they just haven’t read the research.

Later, I passed piles of irradiated soil, stacked in black bags along the roadside. Many more waited in nearby “temporary” storage sites. The contrast was stark: silence, sunlight, and all that dark plastic entropy.

Those cranes on the horizon are at Fukushima Dai-Ichi

In Namie, near the coast, the town showed signs of re-occupation: new roads, fresh buildings, and vast open spaces. I stopped at a 7-Eleven—the cleanest convenience store toilet I’ve seen this year, and I’ve seen plenty. It was so immaculate I found myself brushing and wiping the toilet surfaces before I left. The staff—maybe a father and two teenage daughters—still had a COVID-era plastic sheet at the register. Polite, professional. No trash bins outside, and just one tiny receptacle inside for store-bought wrappers. I left them a glowing Google Maps review. Most reviewers whined about the lack of garbage cans, but really—if your neighborhood was surrounded by radioactive cleanup zones, would you want to take strangers’ trash?

The route headed south along the ocean, then veered inland past the destroyed nuclear facilities. Signs for “screening areas” and “difficult-to-return zones” were everywhere. Then the climbing began again—from sea level up to the highland at 500m. I was crawling. At one rest stop above a stream, I saw two older men fly fishing. One flicked his wrist and snagged a fish with delicate precision. We were 20km SW from the reactors, but here, life looked normal.

In Kawauchi, I stopped at a combined restaurant/convenience store that I also had rested at during the final afternoon of the Fukushima SR600.  It had been hot then. It was hotter now. I climbed more to the crest of a pass at 650m elevation, and breathed a sigh of relief.  It was 200m of descent and 13 kms until the Ono control point. Ono was at 507kms -- 95 kms to the goal!  It was just past noon, so 6 hours to go, well, 5 hrs and 40 minutes by the time I left the control.  Another rider was at the control and said many had just left before I rolled in. I was within striking distance of the main group and still had time to make the 40 hour limit. 

The next section was a climb up 100m, then down 300m -- generally a descent.  Except even the descent included lots of nasty little up sections. They had not gotten any new tunnels here. The little climbs crushed my soul in the afternoon heat. My feet started to hurt.  I took rests.  On one, I lay down on a small spur that went up a hill. Along came another rider!  He told me that I could still make it, and encouraged me. I swapped into thick wool socks—oddly, it helped, even if my shoes were now tighter than ever. I think from now I will always carry a variety of socks on these really long rides!

We rolled together at 20–25kph through farmland. The hardest bit was when we turned south into a stiff headwind across open fields. Then came a gradual climb toward the Fukushima–Tochigi border.

I asked the other rider’s name. “Fujita,” he said—one of the staffers I’d met in the dark 36 hours earlier. Back then, his wild, mad-scientist hair was unmistakable. Now, and yesterday at PC2, it was hidden under a cap. So I hadn’t recognized him. We kept each other company through the final stretches.

Once we got onto the real climb to the Tochigi border, I recognized the road from several brevets in recent years.   I climbed stronger than I had the past 12-14 hours and got to the top well ahead of Fujita-san.  I had 90 minutes left to go under 30 kms, and that started with a 10+km descent at high speed, another few kms with a very modest downhill, then a long trip across largely rural Otawara-shi.  We took it easy the last 10km and still arrived with 10 minutes to spare.  Half the riders finished in over 38 hours. The fastest time was 33:59. Second fastest was 35:51. So even if I was the slowest (I was, again, just like Iwaki) the difference was not very much.

I thanked Fujita-san profusely. If he had not come along, would I have given up?  No. But would I have made it on time? I just don't know. I lacked confidence during a crucial segment between 530 kms and 570 kms. And riding with him was a great comfort.  It was not until I was on the familiar climb to the Tochigi border that I smelled victory and got another spurt of energy.

After the "goal" we rode another 7 kms to the "reception" at bicycle shop Fleche in Yaita, near the start. My wife kindly picked me up and drove us back to the onsen inn.  627kms in total on the bicycle so I appreciated the ride. 

I'm done with the full 200/300/400/600 series for 2025!  I guess I still am a randonneur. 

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.