Izu West Coast Cruising

Ludwig and me arrived started our Monday trip at 9 AM at Mishima station. It was the first time to ride with Ludwig and his new Canyon bike, the weather was splendid and as usual we lost the way before finding route 17 along the coast.

First we swapped our shoes and then we swapped our bikes and I had the chance to do some kilometers riding the Canyon. I was most impressed by the Dura Ace, in particular the braking is much sharper and stronger compared to my Ultegra setup. Although it has no benefits for me any longer, I was also impressed by the headset with integrated ashtray. There is no cover cap on the fork shaft, instead there is a nice whole which leads all the way down to the tire. Apart from the further weight reduction I cannot imagine any other usage than as ashtray.A nice bike indeed. Dura Ace shifts very precisely. The carbon frame has a better damping effect over bumps than my stiff Cervelo Alu frame.Leisurely we rode along the coast road to Matsuzaki where we had lunch at our favourite Chinese restaurant. Nobody knows why we go and eat there, I guess Juliane started this tradition some time ago.

From Matsuzaki on we took the route 136 along the coast and made in to Shimoda beach by 5 PM. By now means this is an easy ride. There are many up and downs and in total we climbed more than 1.600 elevation meters.After the good bowl of teriyaki curry pasta at Gaijin Cafe, we proceed to the Kanaya Ryokan and took a dip in the onsen. After a long trip back on the train I arrived shortly before 11 PM back at home.

It was a rather slow trip with a lot of breaks, but considering that Ludwig was riding this type of distances only for the second time he was doing well. I enjoyed the splendid weather after a rather dull forecast the evening before. My feeling was that this was the last warm weather trip before the start of the colder autumn and ultimately winter season.

[For the record: 160km, including return ride from home to Shinagawa station - MvH]