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. 

First Half of VCR Aoba 600km -- Am I Still a Randonneur?

On the climb to Torii Toge ... after the rain stopped.

Having cleared Audax rides of 200, 200, 300, and 400kms this year -- the last on a second try -- I had only a 600km ride left to complete the basic "super randonneur" series for 2025. I have done the series most years since 2010, absent injury or pandemic, and it is often an official pre-requisite for joining 1000km, 1200km or longer events. Even if it is not a pre-requisite, it makes no sense for me to try such a longer event unless I can clear the series first.

I signed up for two 600km rides, not knowing whether I would be able to join or complete either. 

The first was a May 17-18 VCR (Velo Club Randonneurs) Aoba event, out from Inagi-shi through NW Tokyo and Saitama, then via Yamabushi Pass and Chichibu into Gunma, eventually over Torii Pass into Nagano, and more hills in Nagano, Yamanashi, Shizuoka, and back to the start. The profile was daunting. I figured it would be a very difficult challenge, probably more than I could manage within the time limit in my current condition, but I would try it anyway as I liked the course, especially the opportunity to ride through Naganohara, Tsumagoi, and over Torii Pass, plus the next climbs between Ueda and Matsumoto over the broad, high shoulder of the mountains that stretch south into Yatsugatake.

The course looked very difficult -- not any one part, but the sum of the parts. The 600km showed 8800 meters of elevation gain on RidewithGPS. And unlike some courses, from what I could see the major passes did not have tunnels at the top that cut the actual elevation gain to less than what was showing on RidewithGPS. Any 600km event with over 10,000 meters elevation is in a special category of "SR600" and given a 60 hour instead of a 40 hour time limit.  A typical 600km in Japan might have 6000 meters of climbing.  This was was in between, but shading toward an SR600, without any extra time allowed. I remembered doing a similarly tough course more than a decade ago, but this one looked even tougher, and I have not gotten faster in the past 10 years -- the opposite.

Anyway, the course looked very nice to ride, so I figured I would at least try to do the first half, and see if I could somehow manage. I would ride my new "Mugikusa Pass" lightweight climbing bike, and use a battery light instead of a dynamo -- everything to shave off a few grams of weight and save a few watts of power.  I knew that once I got to Fujimi, close to the Nagano/Yamanashi border ... I would have 100km of downhill/flat riding to Kofu then along the Fujikawa to the coast, then after a few bumps,  a second long flat stretch, then after an 850m climb to Hakone Pass, downhill and then relatively flat to the finish.  So I figured, if I could just get to Fujimi in decent shape, I could press onward. I booked a business hotel in Shiojiri, leaving the climb up Shiojiri Toge, between Shiojiri and Okaya, and the very gradual climb up to Fujimi Toge, for after some sleep, however short it would prove. I have done these climbs when exhausted and lacking sleep, and it just is not very efficient and takes forever!

Staff (left/rear), riders (right)

The start was at 6AM at Inagi, around 27km from my house. There were no good options.  I could go out the night before and stay in a business hotel, losing any chance of early sleep.  Or I could get to Shinagawa Station extremely early, rinko my bike, take the first train to Kawasaki (I think), then transfer to the Nanbu Line to Minami Tama, reassemble the bike, and ride a few minutes to the start. Or I could just ride from home and get in 27kms before the actual 600kms. I chose the last option.

As the ride approached, the weather forecast looked difficult, as if there would be rain the first day.  And the forecast did not improve.  When I woke up the rain had already started, so I rode in rain more than an hour to the start. At least the rain was not cold, nor hot. The temperature, around 16-17 celsius, was good for riding.

When I got to the start at Omaru Park ... there were 4 staff, including Minoda-san who I've ridden with, or more accurately behind, on many events, and only 5 riders. The sign-in sheet was full of "DNS" markings. More than 2/3 of riders who had been foolish enough to try this one had opted out. No women joined.

Five riders and one pre-ride by a staff member. 14 DNS/no shows.

They let us go a few minutes early, and I was second to depart, behind a faster rider. Despite him being faster, I kept catching him a traffic lights over the initial 15-20kms.  Finally, I got stuck waiting at a gated train crossing for what seemed like 5 minutes, and he was gone ahead for good.  

At the holy shrine water stop.

Yamabushi Pass

Leaving Chichibu City

Another rider soon passed me, and the other two did also as I rested at the "holy shrine" water stop just before ascending Yamabushi Pass. I played "leap frog" with all but the first rider through Chichibu and even onto the climb out of Takasaki around the west side of Mt. Haruna, passing them when they took a rest stop and vice versa.

Michi no eki on the Haruna climb to Osawa Toge

There were two climbs around Mt. Haruna. The first was long and grinding, and still wet, always wet, peaking at Osawa Toge. Then there was a downhill, and a second climb that ended at the mouth of a tunnel. We descended through the tunnel and popped out the bottom along the Agatsuma River, just above the Yamba Dam and near our checkpoint, Kawarayu Onsen station.

Big station, no customers

The Yamba Dam is one of Japan's most controversial infrastructure projects. Its reservoir fills the valley and destroyed a great deal of natural environment. Local opposition slowed the project for many decades, even as preparatory work went forward. After the DPJ took control of the government in 2009, the project was stopped mid-way. When the LDP regained power in late 2012, it restarted. Now it is done. 

The reservoir west of Yamba Dam

I must say that this entire area looks far nicer now that the dam is done. They have ploughed in infrastructure and money to make it a success.  A few minutes after the PC, I saw a bus ... drive straight into the reservoir, making a big splash but floating.  I laughed -- this was a classic tourist "hippo" (kaba) bus, the kind of gimmick a bureaucrat might come up with to attract visitors. It was too far away to know for sure, but I did not see any passengers. Likewise, Kawarayu Onsen's main facility looked pretty deserted. Perhaps not surprising, given the earlier rain.

Anyway, as I emerged from the tunnel and headed for the control point, another rider was just heading out of the control. I was at least close to 2 of the 4 other riders, I was sure. And somewhere while passing the tunnel, the rain had stopped, completely. The road was already dry along the Agatsuma River. Only 10 and a half hours from home, and 185kms of cycling in the rain, and it had finally stopped.  Within 30 minutes, I even saw some blue sky. 

Climbing gradually to Tsumagoi, with a few bumps

The ride through Naganohara then climbing up through Tsumagoi and all the way to Torii Toge (elev. 1400m) was the literal and figurative high point of this ride. It was the longest climb, and Tsumagoi looked lovely, less beaten down than when I was here in 2020. Again, lots of road construction then underway is now complete. And I guess there has been some spillover investment as Karuizawa has boomed. Still, the climb is not easy, and there are some steep parts that were difficult with over 200kms and 3000m elevation gain into my legs. The sun had set by the time I got to the top and crossed the Gunma/Nagano border.  

Sunset at Torii Pass - Gunma/Nagano Border

The descent into Sanadamachi and then Ueda was very familiar from when I stayed in that area for a month in 2020, an escape from the city and the summer heat when everything was shut down. I had done the Torii Pass climb/descent probably 10 times back then. But it had been almost five years since, and it was dark now, and I was now quite tired. Also, I had an unfamiliar front light.  I wanted to keep the light on a low/intermediate setting, so it would last through as much of the night as I needed.

If that climb through Tsumagoi had been the highlight of the ride, then riding Route 18 west of Ueda was the opposite. It was a slog. I stopped for some ramen at "Ramen Daigaku" along route 18 near Sakaki. I apologized that I could only eat half of the serving, telling them it was not the taste but rather my stomach and the fact that I was in the middle of a long ride. 

We had dropped from 1400 to 400 m elevation by now.  I crossed the Chikumagawa and continued to the next climb ... a relatively steep one from 400 to 800 m. I needed two short rests to make it to the top. It was getting late, 10PM by the time I started the descent. Very dark and quiet, except the lights in a tunnel along the top. The next stretch, through hilly Nagano countryside over to Akashina, looked very familiar. I am pretty sure I did this stretch on my very first 600k ride, in 2010, but I did not save that on  Strava or RidewithGPS.

Anyway, by the time I got to Akashina and turned left heading south up the valley toward Matsumoto and Shiojiri, it was well after 11PM, and there was a brisk headwind. 

It was warm, almost hot. I finally got to the hotel at Shiojiri, after 1AM, checked in, took a bath, and ... set my alarm so I could sleep for 4 hours and then get breakfast before leaving, far behind the schedule I would need to stay on track. I needed the sleep. The front desk clerk warned me that visiting school kids would fill the breakfast room early ... so I ended up sleeping later and just grabbing breakfast before it shut at 9AM.

At Shiojiri Pass crossing into Okaya

I rode over Shiojiri Pass ... It was hot and there was plenty of direct sunlight. Somehow I felt no faster than if I had continued the night before. I stopped for some soba in Chino.  ... and went to the train. 

It was hot, I was cooked, I did not feel like riding more, even up the gradual hill to Kobuchisawa. I needed to get back to Tokyo and did so, via train. The Chino train station was not convenient ... I ended up climbing a short nasty slope, then racing to try to catch, but just missing an express. Not recommended.

I had abandoned rather than riding on. Surely a real randonneur would have kept going ... at least over Fujimi Toge and downhill to Kofu, or to the Shizuoka Coast. And with this, I had DNF'ed a second brevet in 2025. 

But in truth I was fine with my ride. I had ridden 316km before checking in at my lodging, with 4200m of elevation gain, in just over 20 hours, half of that in the rain. My hands and thighs were chafed from the rain, but I had done much better in the warm rain this time than in the cold rain on February 1. I had seen a bit of new territory and plenty that I had not visited recently. And I had gotten over the climbs, even if somewhat slowly. So I look at the ride as great training rather than as a failure.

600km RAMAX ride in Osaka, and Nara, and Kyoto, and Mie (Ise, Kumano), and Wakayama ... in Rain and Wind

Wazuka, in southern Kyoto Prefecture. Famous uji-cha fields. 800 years of tea growing,
a designated cultural artifact.

My final ride needed to qualify for PBP was a 600km brevet. I had choices of an April 15 Audax Kinki event in Kansai, around the Kii Peninsula, or an April 22 Audax Saitama one in Kanto, up to Fukushima and back. The April 22 event was a lot closer to home, and looked a bit easier. But schedule issues around the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd pushed me to commit to the earlier ride in Kansai. And that approach left me with at least some possibility of a backup, just in case I DNF'ed.

The ride looked on the difficult side. Jerome had tried a similar course once 4-5 years ago, and did not finish. He started tired and suffered in heat and headwinds along the coast. Still the course was nothing like the 600k with 8000 meters of climbing that we did once, nor did it look as tough as the Seattle "summer gravel grinder" I did back in 2016, nor as difficult as the Tasmania 600k from 2019. In fact, I realized, I have a pretty good track record at 600k brevets.

Then again, so does Jerome, and the fact that he DNF'ed a similar course previously was a caution. Last year when we did our 600km brevet to qualify for Cascade 1400, Jerome started 2 hours after me and caught up eventually so that we could ride the final 1/4 of the event together. And he has been "waiting at the top" for me on climbs when we ride together the past few years. So I signed up for the 6AM start, and Jerome did for the 7AM. I thought he would probably catch me by the first evening, and we could start together on day 2.

The weather forecast looked bad. Rain on day 1, sometimes heavy, and nasty headwinds on day 2.  But at least it would be 10 degrees C warmer than the cold and rainy 400km ride I just did in March ... so I knew even if I got wet, I would not be as cold. I could dress a bit lighter. I decided to trust my thin, more breathable cycling rain jacket, fairly tight-fitting but still comfortable.  And I used my "chaps" style Rain Legs, instead of full rain pants. A pair of standard "Sealskinz" rainy weather cycling gloves, rather than REI Goretex mitten shell I had used over the Q36.5 Amfib gloves last month. And for the headwind on day 2, I decided to try a Nalini skinsuit (one piece top and bottom) that I got last year but have not yet worn for anything longer than a 2-hour ride. If it was reasonably comfortable and would save me a few watts of drag on a long upwind slog ... why not? 

I rode the Ramax, with Raceblade front fender and my rear saddle bag to protect my backside from rain splash. The Ramax is very comfortable and a perfect choice for this ride. I continue to enjoy the bike, and love my GS Astuto wheelset and the 700x32 Schwalbe Pro One tires that I have been running tubeless over the past many months. I topped up sealant before the ride ... and had no flats, again. Fast, comfortable, stable on the wet pavement, and unlike the Pelso, I can climb OK on this bike.

In any event, we got out of Tokyo in good time Friday mid-afternoon, made it to our lodging at a minshuku in Sayama City, about 7kms from the start in Mikkaichi-cho.  The theme of the minshuku was "art" and "aesthetics" -- 美学. The woman who welcomed us gave some explanation, and it was at least novel and a comfortable place to stay. It also was the ONLY place to stay within 15kms or more of the start at Mikkaichi-cho Station.  We had a decent meal of Japanese pub food and beer and were back at our lodging and ready to sleep around 9PM. Jerome remarked repeatedly how nice it was not to be rushed getting to an event, for once. And it was.

A work of art ...

I cannot imagine this would survive intact in many big city neighborhoods around the world.

Our lodgings

It started to sprinkle rain drops as we returned from dinner, and was a serious, pretty hard rain when I awoke. Jerome also was awake and said he would go with me to the start area for my 6AM start, even though he would need to wait for an extra hour. We left the minshuku just before 5, navigated the dark and wet streets, and were at Mikkaichi-cho Station before 530AM. After a walk over to 7-11 to get some modest breakfast, the briefing was already underway when we returned. Only a few riders were there. Actually, a total of 55 signed up for the event, but only 20 rode (including the two organizers who did a pre-ride last week). Most saw the weather forecast and decided not to join. Just like last month's Chiba 400km. Two riders, Dee and Henry, had come from Hong Kong and did not speak any Japanese. I jumped in a bit to interpret for them.  Another rider, Kuramoto-san, said he worked for Shimano and had at one point earlier in his career been on assignment in Irvine, CA, but now was at the company HQ in Osaka.

Jerome ... dressed for serious bad weather, or an ocean going fishing vessel?

Mikka-ichi-cho Station

Organizers and 5 of the 7~8 who started at 6AM.

Henry and Chi-Fung (aka Dee) from Hong Kong

Bamboo thicket across from the station.

Anyway, they let us go a few minutes early and I was the first rider through the bike check. The course went up a hill for the first few kms ... and I was surprised to look back and not see anyone gaining on me. Oh well, I would just ride. And ride I did. No one caught me until I was about to head out from PC1 at 39kms, as 4-5 riders (basically the entire 6AM start group) pulled in. I chatted with Kuramoto-san and mentioned that my feet had stayed dry for 15kms. No longer. At least I had warm socks. Wet, but not cold, at least not too cold. He seemed a bit non-plussed by my comment, as he was in solid rain gear, probably not wet at all, yet.

The rain continued, a bit less steady ... but as the course turned north, the wind started to push against my progress. The route was nothing exceptional here, a mix of country and town, plenty of old, pre-Meiji (Edo or older) structures. 

And, sooner than expected, I was in Nara! The course went right by the famous Nara deer park and the main tourism sights. There was a huge Starbucks across from the park area, next to the city hall. I got off in the park to snap a photo or two, then continued. Not a moment to lose. I did not get close to the deer.

RAMAX leans at Nara

Deer Park at Nara

I soon entered southern Kyoto Prefecture and the tea growing area of Wazuka. I was on a lovely road. Finally over a small summit, and down to another control point. This time, essentially the same group of riders showed up only a few minutes after me. We were into Mie Prefecture. This is where things started to get really hard. I thought this would be an easy stretch, but the next 30kms was a killer, with the wind having strengthened and swung around to our East.  I could not even keep 20kph speed. It was a slow, slogging, energy draining, and wet struggle to get, finally, to a long (2km) tunnel and onto a long descent to the city of Tsu.  This reminded me of last month's 400km struggle. Another epic event.

At least from here we were done with the wind, for now, and also done with any heavy rain. We took the old Ise road ... as I had done on an Ise 1000km ride many years ago ... until that road merged with a newer, clogged highway. I rode along a line of cars at many intersections, and finally got to the Ise checkpoint. By now lots of riders had arrived ahead of me, including a couple from the 7AM start. Jerome seemed to still be an hour or more behind. Dee and Henry had arrived before me. Henry was shivering in the cold. I explained the idea of seeking refuge (and drying out wet socks/gloves etc.) in a coin laundry. They asked if people booked hotels or not on a 600km. I gave them my hotel info ... still 135kms further up the course. They booked rooms, and we all pressed on. 

Entrance to Ise Shrine ... but not a moment to lose!

After a brief, gradual climb out of Ise to the WSW, we followed the south bank of the Miya river for quite awhile, eventually the local highways turning into a kind of rindo (forest road). It was dusk now, and I was glad there was still some natural light as I went through the twists and turns, avoiding the occasional piles of forest debris and puddles of water. 

I got a note from Jerome announcing his arrival at the Ise PC, letting me know that he was low on phone battery and so switching it off, and asking that I re-send the coordinates for the hotel I booked. It seemed he was still more than an hour behind me. He had struggled on the same stretch after Wazuka as had I.

Shortly after the rindo returned to a normal countryside highway, the route turned left/south onto National Route 42 ... the course for nearly all of our next ~200kms around Kii Peninsula.

More tea, WSW of Ise

RAMAX leans at a deserted bus stop.

It was night now, the rain had stopped, and the road was relatively quiet and getting more quiet. At one point, we touched the seashore and I could hear the calming sound of the waves. If I had not been so tuckered out from the earlier sections, I would have really enjoyed this ... but I wanted to press on the the next PC, in Owase. I finally made it to the the town Owase and looked for a Family Mart. I pulled off at one on the left side after I entered the main part of town. There were no riders, and I got out my brevet card, which gave a different name and said the PC was out by an interchange. The second and third Family Marts also were not the PC ... no riders and no "interchange" in the name. I headed out of town and after about a kilometer, as the long climb up to 400m elevation had started, I finally reached the correct Family Mart. There were some other riders. I thought it a bit strange that Owase supports 4 Family Marts, but none, that I could see, of the other major convenience stores. Maybe they felt sorry for the delivery drivers who came through town, or decided cooperation would be easier than competition?

Me (blue rain jacket and headband) in background next to Henry and Chi-Fung

The climb that followed was difficult for me, already exhausted after nearly 300kms. I've had that experience before -- I do a miserable climb at the tail end of a long day, and don't realize that it is actually not such a big climb until I somehow get a chance to ride it with fresh legs.  (This was the way I felt about Fujimidai on the Koshu Kaido on the border between Yamanashi and Nagano -- it was really tough when riding from Tokyo ... but easy when you start your ride from Kofu or Kobuchizawa.) 

The two Hong Kong riders passed me and zipped up the hill, both much younger and lighter than I. Another rider passed. Others had passed me after Ise, so I felt I was now near the back of the pack. But I just took the climb in low gear, eventually reached the top, and descended down to the seacoast again.

The Hotel Nami was just off the road within a few hundred meters of the bottom of the climb. It was 11:40PM. The box of fresh (dry!) clothes I had sent was there. I felt sorry for the staff when I left the box full of wet stinking clothes upon my departure before 4AM, with "chakubarai" (COD) form completed for return to my house in Tokyo. I saw a note from Jerome that he had arrived at the Owase PC at 11PM, 1 hr 20 min after me ... about the same time gap as at Ise and earlier.

Anyway, the Hotel was having exterior wall maintenance done and was covered with a scaffolding -- perfect for randonneurs who arrive after dark and leave before first light, just needing a shower and a place to sleep. And they had 24 hour reception policy--did not lock the front door and turn out the lights at midnight, as do many places in the countryside.

I showered, lay out everything for the next day, and was asleep by 12:15AM.  I set my alarm for 3:30AM, but woke 10 minutes earlier and, when I felt there was no way I would get another brief nap, got up. I saw that Jerome had sent a note that he would be "arriving soon" at 12:48AM. I messaged him that I was up and would head out ... and he responded that he also was awake and getting ready. I guess he could not sleep well. I was downstairs a few minutes later, waited 10 minutes, and he did not appear. ... so I told him I would head to find a convenience store and get breakfast. I stopped at a Family Mart 3 kms away, got some food and consumed it. A 12 minute stop and still no Jerome. I headed out, telling him I was taking a banana for him.

First light near Shingu

The famous "Kumano Kodo" ... looks much tougher than Route 42

Sunday Sunrise!

I made acceptable time heading for Kushimoto at the southern tip of the peninsula. We were protected from the wind by mountains to our west in many places. A couple places where it was more exposed, and we headed west ... in Shingu to get to a bridge crossing a river ... the wind slowed me to a crawl. Some of the sea coast was very pretty, as the sun rose. The mountains also looked densely forested and a bit mysterious.

The only word from Jerome was a note 80 minutes after I left the breakfast convenience store that he needed to eat and was stopping to do so. I got to Kushimoto at 7:21, 13 minutes ahead of the notional cut-off time of 7:34AM. There were 4-5 other riders at Kushimoto, including Henry and Chi-Fung. One rider was basking in the sun at the side of the Lawson PC when I arrived. He said he also had started at 6AM Saturday, but had not slept at all. He looked very fatigued.

I had had 3 hrs and 40 minutes of "savings" when I got to the 4th Family Mart in Owase the previous night, and used up all of that and more at Hotel Nami to get decent sleep. I think I cannot do a decent 600km brevet without a sleep stop. So I was happy to be back on track at least. The Kushimoto time was only for our reference, not an enforced time limit. By the time I left Kushimoto, it was around 7:45AM, so more catching up to do by the first real time limit in Tanabe, 69 kms further on. 

As soon as I turned the corner of the peninsula, the wind hit. It was not gale force, but it was a steady headwind, and it slowed my pace from maybe 27kph to 22kph. A few places where the route bent toward the east to go around an inlet ... I found myself going 37kph for the same effort. I pushed on, and soon passed the rider who had been basking in the sun (he DNFed, it seems).  I traded places back and forth several times with a number of riders ... I guess mostly 7AM starters. I kept going with no long stops, only a few brief times pulled off the road for a toilet stop or an energy bar or onigiri that I had brought along.  The coastline was beautiful, but there was not a moment to lose. The elevation gain was a lot less than RidewithGPS has indicated, with lots of tunnels through the top of hills in at least some segments. I made it the 69kms to the Tanabe PC 25 minutes before the cutoff time. I had a message from Jerome that he was hopping a train and had DNF'ed. It was not to be helped. He had not ridden at all while on a long business trip, and it seemed he did not sleep that much Friday night, and barely at all on Saturday night at Hotel Nami. And he needed to get to Kyoto on Sunday early evening, which was not going to happen on his (or my) current trajectory. Henry and Chi-Fung were at Tanabe again. Henry asked me if I thought we would finish on time. Of course we will! Indeed, I can think of only one time I DNF'ed a brevet of 600km or less, out of approximately 70 attempts. We were done with most of the bad wind, and had only a few significant hills ahead.

There was more traffic on Route 42 as we rejoined it after leaving Tanabe, and it was now early afternoon Sunday. It was a lovely day, but we were still heading more west than north, with the wind still a significant factor. I felt confident that I would finish if I just managed my time okay and did not suffer any disastrous mechanical trouble or have problems with my body. The biggest threat of the latter was my feet, as I started to experience some significant, painful "hot foot".  I had moved my cleats back a bit at Tanabe, but that did not seem to help. I tried to spin and not grind, pull rather than push, on the pedals, ride one leg drills. It was painful, but I could continue. After Gobo we finally headed away from the coastline and nearly due North, the wind fading and no longer in front!

Before the 522km PC, there were two climbs of around 3kms each. The first one was less than 100m elevation and not so steep. The second one felt like a vertical wall. I could see a tunnel entrance up on the hill. I rode to within a couple hundred meters, then stopped for a sip of water in the afternoon heat, snapped a photo, and rested my feet just a bit. I decided to walk to the tunnel entrance. Every tunnel up to now had been the top of the climb, had been level/flat inside, and had led to a descent. But this was different. The climb continued in the tunnel! I remounted and crept up the inside of the ~600m long tunnel. At least it was cool inside. 

Not the top.

I dismounted again at the top of the tunnel, admiring the view on the other side of the hill. But my GPS told me not to go straight, down the hill, but turn right and head up another slope that looked steeper yet. The road finally leveled out and continued around the mountain, giving a view to the North that was actually a pretty good reward for the effort!

I got to the 522km PC in Arita with 25 minutes to spare. Chi-Fung was there but nobody else. I got some spaghetti, coffee, water for my bottles, and sat down to eat and to put my receipt (proof of passage) into my brevet card. The receipt was for a Family Mart ... but the brevet card said the PC was a Lawson! I immediately hailed Chi-Fung -- this is not the PC! At first he did not believe me, looking at his prep materials, but eventually he recalled that they had changed the PC after he did all his preparation, and had told us at the pre-ride briefing. 522 kms is a long way to remember something like that! I loaded my water bottles, handed the coffee back to the clerk for disposal, and balanced my heated but still sealed spaghetti container in one hand as I hopped on the bike. We rode the 1~2 kms and found the Lawson, still 10 minutes to spare for getting our receipts. Whew. My "hot foot" was still an issue, so I bought a second pair of thin white Lawson socks to go inside my thick wool socks. The slight additional "compression" worked and my feet partially recovered and felt a lot better.

We were no longer heading into the wind (which seemed to have weakened a lot in any event). But I noticed that the last 20 kms of the event would have our biggest climb of the day ... up to nearly 400m. So I needed a decent headstart. I wanted to leave the 382km PC at least 20-30 minutes ahead of the cut off.
7 or 8 kilometers out of the PC, our route turned left, then right, headed up a ridge on a small road that crossed over to the northern side where it had a nice view across a bay to Wakayama City. At one point I passed in front of a bench on which sat four elderly ladies. They smiled and cheered me on ... they must have seen most of the other riders pass over the previous hour and were enjoying the spectacle.  Eventually the route went down the north side of the ridge and headed along a river. There were plenty of short ups and downs over the next 40-50kms, the ups pretty hellish at this point, but the downhills and flat sections fast.  A few drops of rain were falling and it was getting dark. 

I made it to the final PC with nearly 30 minutes of leeway, and left after a 6-7 minute pitstop ... that included adding yet another pair of thin socks. I thought that if I just kept moving, I would be able to do the final 20kms, including the climb up to around 400m elevation, within the allotted time. The first part of the climb was painful, on a busy road. I chose the wide sidewalk rather than having cars whiz by me. The upper part of the climb was far better, on a quiet road, eventually a forest road, and not seeming as steep.  I could see one rider ahead and I gained on him. When I almost caught him, I pulled over and ate a snack, sipped water, and rested for a couple minutes. I was within 100m elevation of the pass and confident I was on schedule. I remounted and, a few minutes later, passed the rider struggling slowly. Soon he was out of my sight behind, his light around a bend in the road, then two bends back. I got to the top and let out a whoop, and started the descent.

As I descended, the road surface was wet and the descent winding. I could not go as fast as I had expected. Then my light started to slip in its bracket. I readjusted it several times after it slipped down, and ended up just holding it between fingers in my right hand.  After what seemed like a long time, the road I was on finally ended at a larger highway that was not pitch black. I switched on my backup light and stopped worrying about clasping my main dynamo hub light. Just a few more kilometers, and I was back in KawachiNagano City pulling into yet one more Lawson, a few blocks from the train station where we had started. Henry had finished already, Chi-Fung pulled in at the same time as me. My time was 39 hours at 52 minutes, out of an allowed 40 hours. 

A 39 hour and 52 minute time for a 600km brevet does not really inspire confidence about my ability to complete Paris-Brest-Paris. But then again, this brevet had 55 registrants but only 20 who started in the pouring rain, and 16 who completed. Those who rode were tougher than average randonneurs, I have no doubt. Yet out of the 16 who completed 13 rode with times of 38 to 40 hours. Only 3 were faster than 38 hours, and the fastest time was 33:07, second fastest 34:51. A typical good group of Japanese randonneurs, on a typical course, would have the fastest time well under 30 hours, and plenty of finishers in the 34-38 hour range. So this was a brevet under difficult conditions. At least my track record on completing 600km brevets is very good even if I use most of the allotted time. I like to get at least 3 hours of sleep, I like to get a shower and clean up and to take a few photos, to chat a bit with other participants. And usually I prefer not to punish my body any more than is necessary to finish. After all, it is not a race. There is no prize for being first. Some of my most memorable brevets and longer rides have been the ones where I took nearly the entire time limit. This one falls into that category. Memorable. Even, dare I say, ... epic?

I hope I get to ride the Kii Peninsula again ... ideally downwind!