300km from Kamakura to Minami Izu and Back

Sunrise on the southeastern Izu coastline

After a trip to visit family in the USA, I was back in Tokyo and ready to ride -- to get "revenge" for my 400km DNF in the cold hard rain and dark of February 1.  The 300km Kanagawa Audax ride from Kamakura to Minami Izu and back was my chance to do so. 

I had done this ride some years earlier, in November 2021. My outbound leg then was at a blistering pace, one of the fastest of the group. I rested at the Shimoda foot bath near Sakamoto Ryoma's statue, and took the return more slowly ... but still finished in a decent time. I liked the 8PM start also -- it allowed us to complete 3/4 of the ride before there was significant traffic. And even in late November, the temperature never dipped below 10 degrees C, the sunrise was spectacular, and I finished just as the rain started.

Three years later ... was a bit of a different experience. 

First, February in Japan is a LOT colder than November, with late February/early March being the coldest and wettest part of winter. This time Strava tells me it was 3 degrees C at the start, and it surely dipped near 0 C before dawn and hovered in that range until after sunrise. And with the wind Strava tells me it "felt like" -5 degrees C even when it was 3 degrees.  Anyway, it was really cold. Cold, even with good winter gear while riding, definitely very cold while stopped. This time, unlike February 1, the rain did not come until an hour or two before the end. It was a hard, cold shower passing through, and it was already dark outside with cars racing down the coast road between Odawara and Kamakura.  But I was not about to let it deter me when I was so close to the goal.

Second, this time the ride had an 11PM start, rather than 8PM.  So I was already tired shortly after the ride started.  11PM is not as good for me as an 8PM start ... and with leaving home by train, getting to Kamakura, etc.,  it was not as if I could just sleep early and then ride.  And a 3-hour later start also meant that we had traffic on the entire return trip. 

(In June, I will try a 600km brevet that has a 2AM start. I will stay at an onsen about an hour away, sleep from 7-12 or so, then ride to the start and go. I hope that will be enough sleep. I hope I will not feel as tired then as I did on the Izu ride!)

The organizers had shifted the ride to February in order to try and time it perfectly to catch the Kawazu sakura, which usually bloom in late February, 4, 5, or 6 weeks before the "yoshino" sakura in Tokyo.  We did see plenty of early blooming sakura in southern Izu, as well as some spectacular na-no-hana (rapeseed), ... but the sakura along the river in Kawazu, the very definition of Kawazu sakura, were not out yet. 

Anyway, the ride still had lovely coastline and a memorable sunrise as well as the early flowering plants. And anywhere inland would have been even colder.

I took some photos after the sun came up, but was tuckered out by the cold. I was determined to finish, and I had decent gear to keep warm enough while riding, but I felt as if I was using a lot of energy just to keep my body moving. And did I mention that this ride has hills?  Over 3000 meters of climbing on the middle 200kms; flat the first and last 50kms.  No single climb was higher than 100m elevation gain, but the climbs seem endless.  Izu is for climbers.

All those little 50, 75, and 100 meter climbs ... add up to over 3000 meters elev gain.

On the return trip, we were riding along a line of Sunday traffic ... sitting traffic ... all the way from Ito-shi to Odawara. I felt sorry for the drivers, and the passengers.

As on the February 1st ride, I had some stomach issues while riding. I ate too much or the wrong food at a convenience store stop? Or did not wait long enough before getting back on the bike? Or the cold had me in such extreme fatigue that I could not manage to eat what I used to be able to?  I used to have stomach problems around 5-6 hours into a long, multi-day randonee, but they would be temporary and after a few hours I would feel fine ... and continue to be able to eat and ride, eat and ride, for the next several days. I'm not sure any more.

And I often have feet issues after hours in the saddle. This time they were minor, resolved by getting off the bike and resting briefly a few times.  The RAMAX performed just fine. No bike issues, no tire issues. 

All-in-all a successful outing, even if much slower than in 2021. I made it, despite the cold, despite the climbing, my stomach, my feet, and the nasty cold rain for the final hour or two. I just rolled it in and checked in with 20 minutes to spare.

At the start .. reflectives!

Sunrise soon!

Inatori -- Izu is quite built-up here, south of Itoh/Izu-Kogen!
This almost looked to me as if I were in the Mediterranean

Finally approaching Kawazu!

Nanohana in Minami Izu, a few kilometers from the turnaround.
You can see a photo stage set up to the right side.

Last time, in 2021, I had Shimoda's Ryoma-san all to myself. ... 

A line all the way up to Manazuru Station ...

Not fun to ride alongside this endless line
 ... but I felt sorry for the drivers who did not even have that choice.

A detour to the restroom at Odawara Castle-west parking lot.
This castle and its grounds and moat never disappoint.

Done and dusted.

Some Quality Time Alone with Sakamoto Ryoma

Sakamoto Ryoma contemplates the world outside Japan, looking out from Shimoda Harbor.
(Always impressed with the iphone 11Pro's night vision-like camera. This scene was near pitch dark.)

This weekend I joined an Audax Kanagawa 300km brevet, from Kamakura/Zushi to Minami Izu and back. This route, down Route 135 along the eastern coast of Izu, is known for very heavy traffic at least as far south as Atami or even Ito. There are cyclists on it, but it took me years before I dared it, and it is not fun to ride with a constant line of cars whizzing by, sometimes only inches away. 

The solution -- ride it at night while the drivers are asleep in their beds! An 8PM start meant that around 12 hours (out of a 16 hour ride) were in low (or no) traffic.  The last 45 minutes of the ride was next to a line of standing cars along the coast road from east of Enoshima all the way to Zushi -- so if you count riding through what is essentially a parking lot also as "low traffic", at least "low danger from traffic", that would make it nearly 13 out of 16 hours.

Pre-ride briefing, at the West entrance to Kamakura Station

Organizers Maya Ide and Honda-san chat with riders

It was a beautiful night, the temperature never below 10 degrees C (50 fahrenheit) along our route, a full moon visible until nearly morning, only partially obstructed by clouds from time to time. Sunday we finished just as a light rain shower started. 

Typical audax scene - at the turn around in Minami Izu. Warm enough to eat outside!
(Family Mart just across from closed michi-no-eki)

First photo of the night - heading south, at Usami just before Ito

The ride included nearly 3000 meters of elevation gain, all of it in the "middle 220kms" along Izu, none in the first or last 40km. That would be too much for the recumbent, not to mention the stress it would have added riding the Pelso through the "parking lot" of traffic the last 20kms, so I was on Sky Blue Parlee. My usual brevet rear wheel is in need of a rebuild, so I got out the Gokiso rear wheel ... the bike felt fast, maneuverable, and stable. It advanced with minimal effort. And with this setup and at my current rather heavy body weight, I descended REALLY FAST. At one point I was doing an "accordion" ride with another randonneur, Ohno-san, who had done Okayama 1200 with us in April. He would distance me on the climb, and I would catch or pass him on the descent. Repeat. Repeat again. 

This ride offered a chance to at least say hello to numerous friends.  The organizers, Maya Ide and K. Honda, are longtime Kanagawa leaders, thanks to whom I have enjoyed countless brevets. Indeed, my first brevet ever was a Kanagawa 400k back in 2009. Ryu-san, the alongtime Saitama and AJ leader, was there. He has lost weight and grumbled about the headwinds, but looks as strong as ever. Joe Wein rode this one on his Elephant National Forest Explorer. Many others. Even a third "gaijin" rider -- a strong younger first time randonneur named Benedikt, from Iceland.

One highlight was the "foot bath" in the park next to Shimoda harbor. Ohno-san had stopped there on the outbound leg, and told me the location when he caught up again at the turnaround control point. Then there was also a big "FOOT BATH ->" sign in English at the park entrance, to help distinguish the gazebo with the hot spring water from others that had only benches. Looking out at the Ryoma statute, I could lie on my back on the ground, feet in the 15~20cm of water, it removed all the stress and strain of the ride in only a few minutes, and was just enough to warm my entire body on a night like this. I could have fallen asleep and stayed there until morning. But, this is a brevet. There is not a moment to waste! At least not any more than necessary. So the total stop was only 15-20 minutes, the time lying down even less. And it was back on the road!

Ahh!

Lovely, free, 24-hour public facility -- the hot spring is barely noticeable, inside the trench.

Anyway, it was a lovely ride, except that patch of 3~4 hours of heavy traffic between Ito and Enoshima on the return. Riding at night, not to hot nor cold, a confident bicycle, smooth roads, good lighting, the calming sound of waves breaking against rocks, their white foam visible when all else is dark. 

Moon over the Kawazugawa

First light

More first light

On local route 109 between Izu Kogen and Ito - lovely road

Still south of Atami, but back on the main road

Surfers at Yugawara

Since Jerome told me that my 2015 Japan Audax vest is not as visible as it should be, I have been using my Proviz runner's vest for these events. Very light weight and breathable, and very bright. A real winner.

Reflective vest in normal light

Reflective vest with camera flash

This was my last scheduled audax event of the year. I really look forward to more "traditional" (not just "remote") brevets in 2022, riding with, or not far from, friends.

Which Bike is Faster, the Parlee or the Pelso?

On Strava, this ride on the Parlee showed an average moving speed of 22.3kph over 302 kms.
Last weekend on the Pelso, my average speed was 21.7kph according to Strava. And that was a much flatter course. So is the Pelso slower, even on a flat course? Not necessarily.

A number of adjustments are needed.
--First, recall that my GPS was turned off for probably the fastest 10km after Oume -- the descent to Hanno. That section could have boosted the average speed.
--The event on the Parlee was 100km shorter, and I rode another 25kms total to/from the start of the other event, on the Pelso. 

My speed gradually drops over most rides, so the comparison is not at all even. On the Kanagawa/Parlee ride, I was going an average of 28.7kph to the first checkpoint, nearly 50kms in. And the first 150km, including almost 1500m of climbing, took only 6 hr 49 minutes. If I had just turned around and ridden back (without any rest, foot bath, nor drop in speed) I would have finished in 13 hrs 38 minutes, rather than, the actual 16 hrs 57 minutes. Add in another 100kms at the end with a slower, tired rider, and my average speed would likely have slipped significantly.

Also, I don't think the Pelso is fully optimized yet. Nor is the Pelso rider. I am going to try a shorter crankset (165mm instead of 170mm) as many prefer on a recumbent, and try a 44t crank instead of 42t, to get a wee bit more speed on the flats and descents. Finally, I want to try 700x30 or 700x32 tire, instead of the current 700x25 tires, to see if a bit more fork "trail" makes the bike more stable and comfortable when going at low speed.

Long Slow Distance - First Brevet of 2020/21

The last time I completed a brevet was sometime in 2019. In fact, it was before PBP -- I did 2x200, 300, 400, 2x600 to get ready for PBP, including the Tasmania series. But that was a long time ago. Japan Audax cancelled all brevets between March and August ... and I did not sign up for any in the Fall (of course, even if I had, my broken collarbone would have nixed that).

So I was eager to show I could still do one, or two, and signed up for the 1/9 and 1/11 200k events sponsored by Randonneurs Tokyo.

The 1/9 ride was from Nakahara Kaido (as it crosses the Nanboku Line) to Ajiro, a town just south of Atami, and back. They have instituted a "remove brevet card" system and flexible, online, sign-in that involves snapping a photo of your convenience store receipt and uploading it. Start was possible anytime from Midnight to Noon ... but with last week's announcement of a Covid-19 emergency and soft curfew, they asked people to finish and get home by 8PM. Also, we needed to download the government's Covid tracking app, COCOA, and upload a screen shot showing two weeks of no "close contacts" with Covid positive persons.  Other than this, all was normal.

It was cold (-2C). Jerome and I met at 7AM on this side of the river and headed for the start. At the start, my 7-11 receipt showed 7:14 and I was done uploading it and on the road by 7:25AM. 

Well, emergency or no, Nakahara Kaido is still the same slog, with LOTS of traffic, and trucks on Saturday, and nasty diesel emission smell in the cold. And there is lots of up and down on this route out of town.  Chogo Kaido was little better, but at least no nasty short hills. So the first and last 40km was not pleasant. 

But the stretches out toward the countryside were not bad. Route 1 along the coast between Ninomiya and Odawara is tolerable. Izu traffic was heavy going out, much less so coming back especially as we took the lovely "high road" past Enoura. Also, the area from Atami south to Ajiro was quite nice where we road along the edge of the hillside (cliff?) rather than through tunnels. And the weather was lovely after the morning cloud -- chilly, yes, but not TOO windy, and never overheated or got cold. 

So, overall, a mixed bag. Most important -- done and dusted.

Jerome is on the road to PBP

Yesterday Jerome did the first of his PBP qualifiers -- a 200k ride to Izu and back. Well, not just to Izu and back, but over the eastern Izu mountains/ridge on one of the passes south of Atami, and then back over again. 2500m of climbing, almost all bunched into the middle 50% of the ride.  When you throw in the heavy traffic, this was I think a harder 200k than the one I did in Tasmania ... only made a bit easier because it was on familiar turf.

Elevation profile of the section from 50km to 160km - two climbs to 500m and back and some other bumps.

Climbing on Izu Peninsula

That's the Izu Skyline up there.

That's the Izu Skyline the route crosses.

Back down near the sea ... and the heavy traffic.

Next weekend, his 300k!

Exploring NW Izu -- 2018 December version!

Mt Fuji from Numazu, near the mount of the Kanogawa (Kano River)

I love cycling Nishi Izu. The road along the coast ... all the way from Numazu to Minami Izu and Shimoda ... belongs in any proper collection of "best rides" in the entire world for road cyclists.

Mt Fuji from above Osezaki

Please, friends from outside Japan, come and ride it, and tell me if you disagree:  Low traffic, spectacular views of Mt. Fuji and appropriately dramatic coastline, mikan (citrus) orchards, small, quaint towns with fishing and yacht harbors, onsen (even a public "foot bath" at Toi Onsen), special local crab at Heda harbor, and on and on.

Last December I did the ride to Shimoda. And it is a very long and hard day to go from Mishima/Numazu through to Shimoda and then return by train to Tokyo ... really it would be better done as an overnight trip, with an onsen ryokan as the reward for cycling up and down all the hills on the further stretches of the coast. In May tried a shorter version ... but a broken crankarm (I must be too strong for SRAM Rival?!) meant a long way back out from Heda to Shuzenji by taxi after a missed bus then a train home.Today I again tried a shorter version, 100kms, but without much climbing and at a relaxed pace.

My route -- barely scratches the surface.

Mt Fuji from one of many small harbors on the Suruga Bay

First embankment ride of the trip.

The mouth of the Kanogawa

Birds (geese, ducks, others) at an interspecies concrete resting place with view of Fuji

So I am still looking for ways to do this as a day trip more easily, and I found one. I did not leave Shinagawa until a 936AM Kodama shinkansen, which dropped me off at Mishima an hour later (4000 yen or about $35 each way). Even with a shopping stop to pick up some ceramics at a place that caught my eye, I was back at the station shortly after dark and in Tokyo around 6PM.

Working harbor at San-no-Ura

This boat was in my photos last year also! Cannot resist the framing of Fuji with the hills on left and right of the harbor.

After de-rinko-ing the bike at Mishima, I made my way through the crowded town and eventually to near the mouth of the Kanogawa in Numazu. I had planned to go up the Kanogawa along the path atop an embankment, then go back to the coast at Kuchino (口野) where the river's 口野放水路 cuts through the hills and allows access, but having just ridden DOWN the river embankment the last few kilometers, I decided instead to take the coast road (National Route 414) from there. I knew it was a congested, no shoulder road, but I've ridden it before and was comfortable that in a few kilometers I would be free of the traffic.

.
The joy begins at Kuchino Hou-Sui-Ro 口野放水路 intersection, where National Route 414 turns inland, and Shizuoka Route 17 continues along the coast. I stopped at the Numazu Cycle Station at the former Shizu-ura Higashi Elementary School ... but it was closed.

Still, this facility is part of Numazu's efforts to promote cycling tourism, and has the benefit of being a great place to park a car if you wanted to drive from Tokyo and ride from here. Because I was on their list from having joined a Shizuoka Audax brevet that started here last January (and headed NW/West to Fujieda and back), they sent me a map of cycle trails and proposed routes in this part of Izu. It was what gave me the idea of taking the embankment trail.

Anyway, I rode as far south/west on the coastline as the hill between Osezaki and Heda. Having climbed to several hundred meters elevation and gone through the tunnel at the top, I decided to turn around and go back down to the North, as I knew that if I went down the hill again to the South, the routes to central Izu further south all involved going over the mountains. I retraced my route as far as Uchiura Mito. (内浦三津）

From there I did a short climb over a low hill, and through a short tunnel, and could descend into the central Izu valley of the Kanogawa, emerging near the bottom of the ropeway that goes to the top of Mt. Katsuragi. From here I took a road that hugged the eastern side of the valley, until it veered left and brought me to the Kanogawa.

Looking back at Uchiura Mito ... only a bit more to the tunnel through the hill.

Crossing the river, I joined the path on the embankment, and took it South, up the gradual valley. I've taken the road up this valley before, and I can say that the path is far better. No traffic! Wide, flat, smooth, with minimal interruptions as far as it went. After about 5 kms, I switched to the road where the path seemed to end ... but on my return, I realized that the path in fact continued: it re-started and went several kms further, only a few hundred meters of interruption. At many places, I could see heavy traffic on the highways, standing in lines at each signal. I was glad to be on the bicycle, and on the path instead of the road.

After Shuzenji Station, I somehow ended up going up a tributary -- the Omi River -- and turned around after 3PM. I thought about continuing up the Kano River after doubling back, maybe a stop to say hi at Baird Beer, But I already have some beer in the fridge at home, and cannot drink on this kind of ride. And the day was getting short (actually it was cloudy and quite ominous looking weather) so I just headed to the North and toward the station at Mishima. This time, I stayed on the path along the embankment for a full 20 kilometers of beautiful, stress-free riding. In the future, the path is my way from Numazu/Mishima into central Izu.

I will be back again soon! Next time, I will push further -- through to Toi onsen, climb over the pass and come back down the Kanogawa -- adding another maybe 30 kms and some serious hills -- for an ideal training ride in winter when the mountains north and west of Kanto remain icy.

Not much daylight left!