Cycling Japan - The Worlds out there, Ride all over it!

Boso Blow - Tenzan Snow

2009-03-03T15:24:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I went for a ride north along the coast using a forcasted 'big blow' as inspiration.... The first day was fine and clear with a light tailwind... I road to Mira Pininsular and caught a ferry across the mouth of Tokyo Bay.

Then it started …cold light rain and 40 knots plus! A real Blow !!

Just check the flag in the shot below...I was sitting on 40 kph with little effort.

These pics are from the coast known as the Flower Line and as you can see it is a rugged coast line with flower farm after flower farm.

I just kept going….The tail wind was just too good to stop, and I wasn’t about to turn around and punch back into it..!! Eventually I turned inland and climbed into the mountainous area in the centre of Chiba to an Onsen town. I ended up staying at a fishing lodge which had a nice hot little Onsen.

After two unbelievable days of hammering along coast line I turned back. Being in the mountains the wind wasn’t an issue and by that time it was easing. In the meantime the Ferries stopped running due to the seas. Even a local coastal train was stopped due to the rough seas…!

I must have been one of the few enjoying the conditions..!

With no ferries running across Tokyo Bay I had to ride to the start of the Aqua Line ... this is a motorway that strikes out across Tokyo Bay on a bridge some 5 kilometers to a large multi story building off shore and then plunges under water into a tunnel 10 kms long and then rises up to cross two massive suspention bridges joining the man made industrial islands off shore of Yokohama. http://web-japan.org/atlas/architecture/arc06.html

From there I was a simple 60 K run back to Odawara...

After this ride I did another ride around Izu Peninsular ...again... its the third. The west coast is so beautiful to ride... My camera died so I have no photos ... But I which I had because I saw two huge buldozers driving around under water in a river. I could see just the top of the machines and wondered how someone could drive under water. Then I saw two guys sitting on stools with radio controles in there hands... Only in Japan !!

These next photo are from a new camera... I went for a 5 hr walk in the hills near here and ended up at Tenzan Onsen below...

The rest are mainly Shed pics... I hope you understand...

The hills are covered by a network of stone lanes

Green Shed Parking...

Two young Japanese riders heading up to Hakone Lake 800 meters above in the snow.

They are trying to ride to Osaka....

This road is the hard way to get to Kakone Lake. I did it once and I wont be doing it again.

Its very steep and they dont have clip shoes so will end up walking most of it.

This guy is busy ... a shedism devotee no doubt!!

Silver Skylight ...

Izu coast south of Odawara

Mavic Headquarters...
Nice ladder
Nice bamboo broom

More Sheds !

2009-02-26T17:54:00.000-08:00

Worlds smallest Shed !!!

2009-02-04T02:01:00.000-08:00

This shed is 1200 deep, has a nice over hang and moreish texture render .
It's obviously a bike shed ... a road tandem up high, two fixed wheels mid height,
a Commuter and a Shopping bike down low ... Rolladoor activated B&O lounge music ...

Natural timber prison bar sliding doors, kneeling balcony. highly worked foliage, barn like Onsen...

Multi layed roof, vine covered render, black cubism side spigot, roof vent, mandarin shielded shed

Shedism extrapolated ...!!

Vertical windows, tricky down pipes, two tone custom alloy cladding, skillion roofed urban fashion statement....

Green arrow, twin double over head pipes, window above remote operated barn door, inside .... mavic yellow 1000cc scooter and a quiver of saw dust covered fixed wheel bikes !

Stone terraced hideaway ... stay away

Mavic Yellow Shed

2009-02-03T17:41:00.001-08:00

Dream Like Timelessness emanates from this masterpiece that sits on the steep terraced slopes of Izu's Mandarin farm area of Nebukawa.

Radical down pipe

Mavic Scooter remote activated barn doors....

Smell of Mandarins...salt air and ....ply wood dust lust...

Crop Duster

2009-02-02T17:28:00.000-08:00

Check this little 'Crop Duster'
I can see it in Mavic Yellow with a bunch of Ply Wood Fixed Wheel Bikes on the back tray...

This is a Recycled Shop front...restaurant...

Details ... Mud render and wood

Bike parking

Fuji - san from the Izu ferry

Bad Crew...at Manazulu. Check the bridge, out of a tunnel across the bay and back into a tunnel...!

Ply Wood ....say no more

Manza Snow trip

2009-02-02T17:23:00.000-08:00

Fast .... Odawara Shinkansen

Time Bending, Dream like ride...

Slower ... almost believable, 80kph Bus on elevated Hwy for hundreds of kilometers...

Fuji san from 3 stories high freeway

A nest of bridges...

Slower still .... A monkey 'hot footing it' over a freezing rice field...

Almost motionless, snow shoeing....

Crystal clear reality...

Beautiful lines

How long?

Gum trees....??

White on white

Sepia colored accommodation

Up and Down mid winter magic...

2009-01-26T16:44:00.000-08:00

Condo Sensei outside his families Temple

This temple made by Condo Sensei is a scale model of a Koyto Temple. The detail is amazing inside and out. You can open the doors and see inside several Buddha statues and internal layout.

Here is another one that lives inside a unambiguous shed at Condo Sensei's factor

Brown rice / spicy food what a foil... like this building

Tooling along in a warm and comforting cockpit somewhere...

The next valley , Ashigara Pass south west to Fuji san...

Fuji san hotmix heaven

Training road...

I had a 5:30hr ride on Saturday with a group of about 10 local riders. At the turn around point, Tanzawa Lake (250m/asl) located between towering 'Numinbah like' mountains, one rider and I continued on, slipping past a boom gate restricting traffic and headed up the valley on beautifully made hotmix to about 800m/asl. A point where the road was unrideable due to ice.

It started to snow, beautiful flurries of fluffy white stuff drifting silently in swirling direction chased us down the mountain. Piling up on my arms and legs. It was beautiful to say the least.

We passed a 2000yo cedar tree...unlike the Arctic beach tree, it was Massive, Majestic and mortifying… It has its own little temple. And like many valued trees over here it had hemp like rope around its girth, some kind of tribute to its deity.
There are several hot springs in this area but we failed to stop even though I was quite cold on the decent. I managed to climb in shorts and two tops, armies, 2 headbands as neck warmers and 2 pr gloves ... but donned all the extra bits of clothing that I carry for such situations like this from my h'bar handbag... Oh I love that handbag...!

To top a ride like this, roads in places like these and there are a lot of them, carry little traffic and they always pass below 40 kph.
Why do I want to ride across the Nulla-bore....? Talk me out of it or come up with a better plan...Quick!

Yesterday I spent the sunny part of the day on my quite little training road across the valley from this unit. This road of the most perfect hotmix I have ever seen, is tucked into the side of the 1000m Izu Peninsular Ranges that quickly slip into the ocean. It curls back and forth on itself following a contour at about 200m/asl and is only 2km long.

Its still under construction so just turns to dirt while they build a massive bridge a km away.. When finished it will still just be a farmer’s road because it doesn’t link up anything in particular.

From this road you can see right along the coast towards Mira Peninsular and Yokohama. There are stone terraced mandarin farms everywhere with many steep little, gut busting, paved farm roads going mostly straight up linking the numerous little farm sheds.

These sheds are often masterpieces in themselves, mostly black, made from a 'charred' kind of Japanese cedar, perched amazingly, looking silently out over green and orange punctuated mandarins groves and ocean,. The burning process is better than paint at protecting the wood I’m led to believe.

I spent several hours sitting on a bench enjoying the view, sanding the ply bike frame to make it presentable for 'Sensei Condo'
He is a highly respected Carpenter who has built amazing large scale models of famous Koyto Temples amongst other things. If you have seen a Japanese Buddhist temple you will understand his skill. He also runs a council woodworking class which I would love to join if I was staying longer.

Its a crowd stopper ...last time I was sanding up there, I was given some mandarins, this time a bun, I think people are surprised to see a foreigner and a wooden bike... in the middle of Mandarin farms.

For a quite location going to nowhere real soon, there is a surprising mix of people wondering around.. Today I envied several farmers in their little shoe box sized Suzuki utes, a few lost 'car-bound souls' looking for the nearby 'One Night Castle', a lady walker with a stick, a Lycra clad middle aged runner ‘in the zone’ going straight up !!...a couple of walkers down from Tokyo... and three fully equipped in a 'knowing sort of way' safety orange clad, Beagle gun dog accompanied men out on a non-motorized hunt...

Only in Japan...

Tongue and Groove ....Ply Wood Bike

2009-01-21T15:27:00.000-08:00

Here is the latest ...!
Not finnished yet... need to do a bit more shaping on the inner thighs...
But I'm really pleased so far.... to say the least.

It feels solid and still lite, even though I have over built it. Most of the weight is in the bottom bracket. the stays are lite compaired to the other members...

I need to manufacture an anodized gold alloy headtube with flame like flanges on either side to bolt onto the head stock, also gold anodized alloy plate dropouts to bolt onto the dream-like stays.
A short but satisfying anodized alloy seat post tube will be inserted with tenderness as well as a BB…

Heres a two-tone shot just to make sure you'r still with me...

Front angle...with perspective!
Can't you just see that gold anodized flame embellished head tube with a Orange Chris King head set...coming at ya under the eerie glow of a solar powered street light...

Ultimately a black ‘natural carbon finished fork guiding a gifted… thanks Gman… black high flange, bladed, four spoke 26inch by 23mm Spinergy front and a Orange High Flange Velocity 700c flip flop rear…
All this proven coolness will be under constant power from a black Sugino crankset with black SPD’s at the first interface !!
In the cockpit ...Multi layer custom HollowTeck TM plywood bullhorn handle bars (yet to be built) hiding a black under-bar front suicide brake set up, wicking incense air freshener, integrated compass and copper insert grips will set of the second interface...And the final interface of man and machine...a anodised gold seat tube and binder, black natural carbon seatpost and ladies cutaway seat should send a quiver up anyones spine... Well that's at least how I see it ....

On the cultural side, the obliatory Won Bok connection...

This frame has two side like most thinks in life ...heres the smooth sophisticated side with clean no fuss flowing lines...

And this side sports a golf ball inspired Dimple-Matic TM anti wind drag vortex finish!

The BB has a swiss cheese like 11 layer layup with lots of holes.

Now delving a little deeper ... an undercover back stay tatoo...

And deeper...a little Bondage, although painfull is necessary sometimes ... check the pink and yellow cable ties and black and pink nipple clips...

The long and slender stays stand ready for sculpturing...and embelishment with some nicely worked gold anodised plate alloy dropouts.

Warning.... men at work... illusion or realisation...?

That's a gifted Maple crutch

Now even deeper .... Should this be classified ??

Now just to put all that in perspective ... check this gate house....

For your eyes only !

2008-12-25T18:31:00.000-08:00

This is a little bit of a secret project ...
With Orange being the new Green I thought that Plywood might just be the new carbon ...
Anyway regardless of what a famous theif said to me once...
'that the pioneer always gets an arrow in the back...'
I will continue with this project and hope that one day I will be able to ride this Fixed Wheel Flat Bar creation, in resin coated sepia yellows and tans, through the streets of Harajiku weaving awake of coolness in my path...

The sepia colored *blue print...

Embronic stage 1

Underbelly, thats 100mph tape at work !!

Steam bending over the rice cooker thingy ...

Some of the 50something parts being persuaded to play the game.

BB glueup

Any idea's on rim color at this stage???

The Won Bok - Bike connection again ...what's going on ??!!

Tatami framed frame...

Pressure

Cycle Tragic !!!

2008-12-25T17:15:00.000-08:00

Just can't help myself .... A Cycling High Priest with bad clothing sense or just another sage?

Cannungra Outpost Cafe 7am Sunday here I come !!!!

What do you think Cloudbase ? Are you in on this one... I can see a pillion seat and pegs on this ...they'll throw there keys away and walk home....green !!

Copper plate and Hickory, cane rims ....mmmm
Can't wait to see the patina Chip ...

Back to Japan...Shinjiku

White tyres, red lock, puke colored Fixed wheel flat bar cocktail....

No bar tape fixed wheeled coolness in ghosty silvery grey ! What Next ???

Harajiku New York styled Hipster that's what!

For the under-educated .... thats a white Aero Spoke upfront and a high profile rim anodised *blue* fixed rear with a spoke card.... Track Stand please !!!

Monster Bike outside the Fixedwheel bike shop in Harajiku ....Ironic paradox or sheer brilliance ???

White Green Red local ride in Odawara ... thank god some style has hit the joint

I'm yours...

Kerin Pro buddy overtaking me on the way up Ashigara Pass ....I stayed with him....but he was on a trak bike !!

Recent convert cutting his/her teeth, don't dispare Xmass is just around the corner

Mavic Yellow or Matillic Pink ? I cant decide ...needs a wheel rack though !!

Grey and white always go well together... who rides such a statement?

Sweet Mavic combo

Monkey territory on Shodoshima Island

Free Ferry ...

Back to more tragic stuff !!

Spoke cards high rimed colored chain masterpiece....yeh?

Seriously worked spokes highlighting a pencil thin fork line in green ...Hey I'm starting to get this fashion thing Tracy...!!!

Inland Sea - Naoshima Island

2008-12-25T16:58:00.000-08:00

Naoshima is a small island with more than its fair share of Art installations...
There is a famous Modern Art Gallery that is best seen to be belived.
Here are some pieces scattered around the island as a warm up for the gallery....

This dude is waiting out side the Gallerys Hotel which is worth a stay when the yen rate is favourable...

How did they get the sun to set right between the islands...??

Roll on Roll Off .... just the way I like it !

Art ?

Ironic sunset?

Yurt hurt .... if only the yen rate was better !!!

Bridge.... Now this is a bridge

2008-12-25T16:48:00.000-08:00

Here is a pic from a bus going over to northern Shikoku Island from Kobe...
Its a fucking big bridge!!! Thats a bulk carrier about to go under it...

Hey wake up Pete..!!!

Heres part of the elevated Hwy from Osaka to Kobe ...off the ground all the way with the odd bridge or tunnel ...

The Long and Winding road !!

2008-12-25T16:18:00.000-08:00

After the Shimanami Bridge Ride what better ride could you have than the 2,000m high run on ‘Ishizushi Mt Skyline Drive’
The photos don’t do it justice… a little too much attention was needed getting up the thing !!! But I’m pleased I did it …. And pleased that the hotel at the top was open and had a room for us.

I've seen the light ...

Where's my holiday??

Sweet roads ....

Hope you like switchbacks ??

The closest thing to heven ...

Those lower Mt ranges are probably 1000m high...

Shimanami Bridge Shuffle

2008-12-25T15:37:00.000-08:00

This is quite an amazing ride if you have time.
Its a succession of bridges linking a bunch of islands across the Japanese Inland sea between mainland Honshu and Shikoku Island…

Don’t quote me but its about 80km across and comprises 5 or so bridges. The bridge in this pic is actually 3 bridges linked together several kilometers long. You can see the massive pylons off in the distance.
It has its own cycle way and carries little traffic… the views are amazing and just check the cycleway ramps to get on and off the thing …now that infrastructure !!!

Shimanami Cycling road... linking some of the bridges

One of several bridges linking the islands.

Somewhere on the way ...

The blessed ferry ...

Somewhere else along the way...

On one bridge the cycleway is under the road deck...the lane on the right is for >125cc motorbikes

This is the cyclist Hotel at the Shikoku Island end ...well worth a stay.... it has a great onsen and you are welcome to bring your bikes into your room ...how civilized.

Another bridge

Toy Land

The 'bridge' on the right is actually the on /off ramp to one of the Shimanami bridges!!! That's amazing cycling facilities don't you think?

Another clover leaf for cyclist and walkers....

The girls at the cyclist hotel...

The worlds out there ... Ride all over it !!!

Cycle Mode Osaka 08

2008-12-25T14:55:00.000-08:00

Cycle Show time again.
This time in Osaka.

Attendance is recommended !!!

2 areas of displays and a several test ride tracks to try out the next possible addition to your stable.

This is the que for a spin on a Colnago....

This is the test area for wrong bikes....

Nice touch - Gold

The Won Bok - Bike connection....???

Couldn't help to slip this real world pic in here...

Nice unit !!

The paint job goes all the way to the rims...

Found this ... needs a bit of work on the display , but it was good to see some Aussie inspiration ...

Spinning it up in Osaka.

Flat Bars ...its a slippery slope...

Heres my support vehicle I use on all my rides...I wish !!!

Colnago supporter ??

Green !! Doest it come in Orange ??!!

Ready to roll !!!!
I'm ready ...

Road ART

2008-12-25T14:22:00.000-08:00

It's not quite Road Art but it's round and beautiful, particularly after a 1000m climb to get to the restaurant at Harkone Lake ...Izu.

Here are just a few of the many many road plates that just amaze me...
Each area has a different design which depicts something about the area.
Not only are thay beautiful, they manage to get them almost perfectly flush to the road surface.

It took me a while to stop dodging these plates, a fear reaction from years of conditioning riding in Australia where they can all too often be wheel destroyers... life endangering...or even worse.... Uninspiring !!!

Only in Japan....!!!

More Deep !!

2008-11-27T16:40:00.000-08:00

What is it that gets me about this sign?

Shimazu Port area. From here I caught a ferry across a bay to Iszu Penninsula.

2 crew, 3 wheel choks, a piece of super protective carpet, a well placed bowline and a white line...Only in Japan !!

The world game on a road plate ... only in Japan !!

Near Shimazu .... Osaka - Tokyo ride.

This Bridge comes out of a tunnel and curves around into another tunnel. What will they think of next ?

All up, 120km along the west coast of Izu and over the mountains. I think about 1500m of climb would have been the extent of it.

This section has fantastic water views of Fuji san and is quite hilly climbing in and out of small fishing villages.

Before 'the climb of the day' over Harkone Mountain there is quite a long flat section of 'city' called Numazu.

I didn't take many photos cause I was cold and tied. It was getting dark on the decent of from Harkone Mt to Odawara and my feet were frozen. So cold I went to Tenzen Onsen 5 km from home to thaw out. I could hardly walk when I took of my bike shoes my feet were so cold... It took 20minutes in the hot onsen water before I could feel my feet.

After an hour in the hot water, a couple of stouts and an artistic meal at the onsens restaurant I was feeling just beautiful. What a way to finish a ride...!

Shimazu Port

Fuji San from West coast Izu... This side of Iszu is a must ride for this view alone...

I like truth in signage !!!

Human machine interface...never felt so good!!!

Yokohama to Hakoni

2008-02-25T04:06:00.000-08:00

Waiting for blue...a Scooter, a Harley & me
Plenty of room up the inside or outside, just watch the hook.
I've hit 3 cars in 3 months, just bounced off a bit, getting used to it really ...
A sweet little way along Ashinoko - Harkoni lake

A tidy Shed

Fuji- san down Route 134 sunday morning

Everybody sits on 40...mixing it with some stink bikes

This guy running across the road has a bike shop full of his own bikes...!

Some of the crew from Tokyo Cycle Club

Mixed Bag

2008-02-25T03:58:00.000-08:00

Overhead Vents on this Black Beauty....

Under this road is a subway. I'm on a walkway which passes under the first level freeway, and there is one more freeway above that. Now which way shall I go? Earthquake anyone? Chech this Yokohama bike shop is has 3 levels, an escalator and more Euro bikes than a Grand Fondo!
There is about 2 k's of murals along an over head railway in Yokohama thatsworth a look.
This is whats left of the 'Dry Moat' around Odawara Castle.
It used to be deeper, have no trees and a bunch of nasty Samurai waiting on top...

Quite ! These cherry blossom trees are still asleep!
This is not looking good...!

Hot spring country...Ugawara

Push Rail headed for Gold Coast...

2008-02-25T03:14:00.000-08:00

Shimoda
Urban Farming...don't you just love that ! No fence...(no convicts)
Rapongi street dining... The local over pass
Details...
There are so many different road plate I have given up taking photos of them.
Someone has done a book on them already so I'm told...here are a few more.

How much for some pussy?

The morning view ... how many pairs of leg warmers do I have???
The start of 20k's uphill from Ugawara Does someone make a willy warmer...??
Ashinoko

That's an 800yo temple tree
The art of T
Here's my suggestion for the Gold Coasts light rail ....a Push Train !

How eco is that ?

See the little handles on the corners, you just grab them and push like stink!
If you push really fast it should look something like this....

That's a Freeway above Route 246. And below 246 is another local road...and a railway

Pedicab plying Yokohamas reclaimed harbour area...

That a silky...

Snow Ride...

2008-01-19T02:56:00.000-08:00

Today I rode up Hakoni Mountain, it was unusually warm and sunny. The max temp at sea level was 8C which would make it -2C at the top I managed the climb in shorts and a ride jersey, but as soon as I stopped at the summit I put every bit of clothing on I was carrying. 3 pairs of gloves, 2 arm warmers a neck warmer, an ear warmer/head band, a ride cap, 2 pair of socks, a pair of long ride pants, some toe covers, a pair of boot covers…and a jacket !!! After an hour of descending, with just a few sections of snow that I had to walk, I was back in Odawara, a little numb but pleased with my first ride in snow…. Unfortunately the battery in my camera couldn't handle the cold so I have posted these pics instead..

Here is the first ice on the road up to Hakoni....

Its a model of one of the 190something temples in Odawara area....

Shimoda Izu

2008-01-15T01:56:00.000-08:00

Shimoda has lots of little beaches and some great coastal walking.

Zoom... fucking Zoom !

This is the 'Ekiden'.
Its a famous race from Tokyo to Hakoni Mountains Lake Ashinoko....over 200something Km... Its a stage race between about 20 Japanese Universities that stops the Nation.
And it comes through Odawara. So I could watch it on TV and when they got to Itabashi I went down and took this pic...

Here is the Odawara Kerin Track

Who said I wasn't gay? (read 'bright' you bastards!)
It's a color thing...er...
Safety! The runners were a New Years Day special... I can explain everything ...

Romance Car

2008-01-15T01:45:00.000-08:00

How's this for a trip into town..!
This puppy's called the 'Romance Car'and it's smooooth...as !
The Train Driver is laying down in a little capsule in the roof....

Thats a local train on the left ...

Shimoda Ride

2008-01-15T01:09:00.000-08:00

The length of Izu in a day on inland Route 414... Shimoda to Odawara the long way... 6hrs, 120km, 2,300somethingmeters of climbing, half a dozen Gyoza with fresh chilli, a bunch of roasted sweet potatoe, 1 hell of a pizza, a couple of coffees from a machine on the side of the road and a fist full of chocolate coated almonds…
It was a great ride and just before the cold weather set in… The very next day it snowed down to 500m ...

This truck is about to be Monstered...!
That's a wasabi farm wizzing by...it grows in cold fresh water that cascades down the terraces...
This is the 'curly road' on Route 414 Its an awesome structure... You should go for a 'spin' on it...!

Along the way... Route 414

2008-01-14T15:28:00.000-08:00

I just need the Tuna...

Eat this !

2008-01-14T14:48:00.000-08:00

Front Gate

2007-12-28T05:31:00.000-08:00

Odawara castle's front gate....

Thats Fuji-san in the distance...

Odawara Stations Odakyu Line....

Training ride

2007-12-28T05:04:00.001-08:00

Stop 'friginng' around with the camera and 'pedal dam'it !!!'

I found this new road just up the hill from Odawara.
It’s not finished yet. It runs along at about 200m elevation for about 2 km and just stops! This means there is no traffic except for the occasional mandarin farmer
I’m using it as a quick training course for times that I don’t want to work out a route etc for a longer ride. About an hour doing laps of this is a nice workout.
It has plenty of tight cambered turns, some short ‘out of the saddle’ climbs, a few flats section and is a superb ride on super smooth hotmix…

The ride up to this road is a good warm up....Its steep

This is the view looking down on the training road.

Just when I thought I was on the Flat...

2007-12-24T02:52:00.000-08:00

I think I will have to stay away from the Izu Mountains now. It’s getting colder and I have no experience riding in the cold. Winter on the Gold Coast where I come from has day time averages of 20C to 25C…early morning rides you might have to deal with 5C to 10C but that doesn’t last long.
The cold temp is Ok while climbing but I get very cold on the descents… I seem to spend a lot of time taking off and putting on clothes…
Today, to avoid any altitude induced hyperthermia I managed 100km on a flat coastal road to Zushi near Kamakura and back to Odawara. On the way back I was ‘sitting on’ a truck from Enoshima to Oiso along the beach front …Apart from knocking over the km’s, it was warm close behind the truck in the ‘draft’ and I could enjoy a 45-50kph ride. The truck started to move to 70kph. I thought… gee this guy is trying to drop me…then I realized I was on a TOLL road…I wonder what the cars behind me were thinking…? I pulled over and went back to HWY 1 and 30kph….It was a good run. It felt good on the flat moving fast after all the climbing I have been doing along Izu.

The post are getting out of sink with the pic... after writing the above I went for another ride in the Izu hills for xmas...Here's Fuji-san from above lake Hakoni '900somethingmeters'
what a pretty sight!

Another spotting...
Hakoni Lake...is at '700somethingmeters' and there is a cycling road right around it. That's Mt Fuji's slopes in the background...

This sweet little place is called Manazulu...is 30minutes pedal down the coast on HWY 135 from Odawara.
Now this is the 'Flat Ride' I was talking about. This is near Enoshima.

THis is a shot from the coastal run to Manazulu...they are manderins growing on the steep slopes overlooking the osean...It's beautiful !

Well it's Christmas Eve...! This guy was going laps of Ugawara. He had little raindeer antlers on his headlight...reminds me of sitting in a certain cafe in Tumbulgum on the Tweed River and seeing Santa go past on water skis... Santa's into multisports !

Check the road...

Fantastic Food - My Love

2007-12-24T02:40:00.000-08:00

Kimchi - Your Hot Baby !!
Here are some more photos of food for you I know how much you enjoy looking at them.

Christmas Croquette - Crunchy, Creamy and Warm...I can feel it and taste it just by looking. But thats only because I had you before !

This $64 basket of Strawberries - A gift you should receive...

Sweet cakes! Its hard to wait but time will tell...

Mixed Bag

2007-12-21T04:08:00.000-08:00

Tokyo subway
Tickets please
Heres the shoe thing... slippers for the pisser...
Vegies just around the corner from Sunny Heights
Community vegi gardens are popular. You can rent a plot from the council for about $60 a year...
The beach front at Odawara. Don't think they would get away with a motorway like that along the Gold Coast...!
Sunset at Sunny Heights
Looking up the valley to Hakoni. There will be snow up there in the next few days...am I game enough to go for a ride ....?
Odawara Station
There is 'train spoting' and now there is 'road plate spoting'. These little beauties are different in each area...

One of the trains where you get to see down the tracks. Some Izu trains have seating that face sideways to see the views along the coast...
Quite run along 136 ...looks worse than it is. The traffic has good manners here!
Well... are you going to get in??? Or are you going to keep riding...?

Quick mate, grab a wheel...!
I've smoked some weird stuff in my day... but Eggs !

Here's a little elevated HWY with some vegies growing below it. Not sure about he arch, but it looks good... Don't ya just love the thrill of spotting another 'Road Plate'

Tunnells you got to learn to love'm...

Curly potatoe anyone ?

Restaurant shop front
Fe Art at Kamakura...
Shedism? well it's covered in a kind of mini-orb ..metal sheet.
The Hex bit is the surgery... plenty of natural light...I wonder if they get a crowd on theater days?
Starbucks...Kamakura

Shedism ? This is the stables of the Odawara Castle...Haven't managed to get a shot of it yet...stay tuned...
A foot bridge over the moat ...
Another shop front...
Another shop front.

Nice unit... do they come with rooftop bike racks ?

Guess whats on special at the local 'super'
Train Spotting..
More shop fronts...

Fuji-san

2007-12-17T04:45:00.001-08:00

I had a good 3+1/2hr run this morning up a mountain in the direction of Fuji-san….If I could read Japanese I could tell you the name of it. I think it was Oyama on route 78...
Its was another honest '700somethingmeter' climb over a range that spurs of Hakoni.
And at the top …Bam! Fuji-san just hits you like a shock wave….! That’s some mountain!
Mt. Fuji was just across a valley from where I was…I’m getting closer…but the snow is moving down it’s slopes…so spring will be the time to have a real go at it…The Fuji road ends at the 'Fifth Station' at about 2000m which is twice as high as I have ever climbed on a bike in one go….then there is another 1000m walk if you want to get to the top !

A flast sign showing the way to Hakoni which is a ride for another day.
I will make a loop out of that one because Hakoni is at the top of the valley that Sunny Heights peers up at...!

That's 8C at the bottom of the climb!

Ride This !

2007-12-15T18:20:00.000-08:00

Here are a few ride photos of the Izu area.
HotMix everywhere...wish you were here!

Take 135 !
High up Hakoni Mountain

The long building in the top left of this pic is Sunny Heights.

Odawara is famous for manderins amongst other things...They are every where. You can buy a tree, put your name on it, and come each year and pick the fruit...
Smooth.... Sweet...
Alpine Izu road at 900m's This is not typical of mountain roads around here ...it's stright ! Its more like one of the toll roads that skip acroos the tops of the mountains...

Fuji-san from the alpine rd.
Each year in June there is a 2000m something Fuji Mt Hill Climb which gets over a 1000 riders...
Izu coast line.

West coast Izu has 'good' views of Fuji-san
Nice little coastal village on the west coast of Izu. This is a popular kayaking spot...I wonder why?
20% but worth it..!
There is always another level. Life around here is vertical as much as horizontal...

Can't help myself....What a beast of a scooter ! We're talking seriously long and low !

This matalic pink piece of art lives at Sunny Heights. There's obviously people with good taste living here..!

Streetscapes

2007-12-15T17:10:00.000-08:00

Cycle and walking street in Sagami-ono

Bicycle Parking station, all 3 buildings !
Don't forget to buy a parking ticket!!
'Super' with many Mama - chari's out front.

Super bike parking.

Multi parking at an appartment block.
Some restaurant shop fronts

'Buy pizza not petrol'

2007-12-15T15:21:00.000-08:00

Food is everywhere in Japan.
Food culture is highly important to the Japanese.

Every night on TV there are hours and hours of documentaries on places and food…! It is truly mind boggling! If you watched the amount of stuff that’s on TV every night about food you could get a diploma.

A lot of this food is associated with accommodation and hot springs. But that's another story...

This set cost $8.50 it's a deep fried chicken and vegi dish made with a brown sugar soy sauce.
Here's some shots from Japanese bakeries and cake shops... what can I say... resistance is futile !

Supermarkets and department stores have a large variety of ‘ready to eat’ foods as well as the usual stuff you’d expect to find…
These are all crumbed croquette's! Pumpkin, Tuna, Beef, Chicken, Pork, Corn, Crab, Prawn, Sweet Potato, Etc...
Japanese don't use the decimal point so 198 is about $1.98 AUD ...

Elbow room only in the imported food shop.

Heres the pickle section, just starting to get my head around them...
These are all mushrooms. Great food and cheap...Sauted mushrooms

anyone?

This box of fruit is $66.00 !

But it will tast like no other fruit you have ever had...!

I buy apples at about $1.80 each, which is expensive by Aust standards. I have never had such apples...they have a beautiful nectar in the centre.

Eating out is common place. Some apartments don’t have kitchens cause it easer and just as cheap to eat out… The Japanese work late. It’s not unusual to find most businesses still open at 9pm…Typically a 12hr day is common. This must also have something to do with why so many people eat out…

There are many relatively cheap restaurants…A ‘hole in the wall’ type restaurant will set you back about $12 to $15 for several dishes which come as a ‘set’.
In some working class restaurants you can have a set for around $6 to $8 …!
Of course it is very possible to spend
every much more than this….
Here's a cheap restaurant with a ticket system
which makes it easy to get what you want.
You slot in some Yen and press a button and give the ticket to the cook and Bingo! Within 2-3 minutes you have a 'set'... This set cost around $5.50

This set cost $7something...and was a real life saver after my first climb in the mountains...

On the way back from Atami

2007-12-15T03:07:00.000-08:00

Odawara down below...!

The Cameras mounted on the bars so its a bit blurry at speed. Setting up for the next corner while pressing the shutter can get a bit out of hand... This it not the place to have an overrun !
It was a honest climb...
On the way back down to Atami.

The black area in the photos is my bar bag...

5hr Izu Glide

2007-12-15T00:24:00.000-08:00

Pedal like stink in the tunnels!

Looking a bit winterish in the centre of Izu.

Today I decided to head down the coast of Izu to Atami and then head inland over a 700something meter pass for a look at the Izu Cycle Sports Centre.
The 'Centre' has a velodrome but is mainly an amusement park with water slides, a roller coaster and a bunch of other things that justify a $20something entry fee. Needless to say I didn't shell out the yen and kept riding. 5 hours in all, a bunch of photos and a tail wind home.

Ginko Tree with a poodle cut...

Aussie Cycling Outpost - Sunny Heights

2007-12-14T14:50:00.000-08:00

Just a Quick note:
Being my first attempt at a Blog I couldn't get the pics 'sinked' with the text. so from here down the text associated with the pic's is at the bottom of the Post...

A local Odawara Restaurant.

Unbelivable Autumn Colour has to be seen to be believed...!

The Fuel Bowser at Sunny Heights...

The view over Hakoni-Itabashi

Sunny Heights

This is the new ‘Mansion’ and my cycling ‘base camp’ in Japan. Mansion is what you call a unit or apartment here… It’s probably a sarcastic label that stuck from the strong western influence on many things Japanese. It’s located in Hakoni-Itabashi, a suburb of Odawara.
Odawara is a castle city <1500’s> that guards the south eastern coastal edge of the Kanto Plains which is now covered by greater Tokyo. Odawara city centre and Castle sit within 2 km of the start of the Izu Peninsular which is covered in mountains of about 1000m right to the oceans edge. Hakoni-Itabashi is in those initial foothills so I have a choice to ride mountainous coastal Izu which means at least one 1000m climb or head out onto the Kanto plains which is all traffic… That being said the traffic is slow and well behaved. Mostly I travel faster than the traffic but slower than the bullet train!

Show Time !

2007-12-14T14:24:00.000-08:00

I went to the Tokyo Cycle Show, Tokyo Motor Show and the Yokohama Custom Rod and Bike Show... Unbelievable ...

The Campaign Girls were great!

The Motor show was great till I went to the Cycle Show, and the Cycle Show was fantastic till I went to the Custom Rod Show !!!

I know what I will do with my spare time when I get to old to pedal. I'll throw a leg over a fully stretched, long, low and narrow Hog !

So I’m not a cycling tragic after all…!

Fixed wheel flat bars are 'IN' all though you don't see many around Izu..!!!

Plenty of flat bar Hybreds
The Cycle Show had several ride testing tracks that were packed all the time....
This is the line up to test the Colnargo of your choice...

Another nice looking set up.

This machine should have been at Yokohama !

Sorry about the pic quatity, I was using my phone ...on a close-up setting ! Its a shame I took lots of pic and these machines were so Sweet!

A Japanese hand made sports car.
This unit has bike racks that cantilever out through the wing doors. Does it come in electric?

Tokyo Cycle Mode ...Don't touch Arie's machine !! Or Linda will get you a kidney punch !

Down Town Tokyo Fashion Statement! ...in white

Crop Duster !

2007-12-14T05:52:00.000-08:00

Here's my dream car... does it come in electric?

Looks like a crop duster without wings... its got a little tray back too!

Smooth, Twisty 40kph Glide

2007-12-14T05:25:00.001-08:00

Today’s glide was over the popular 897m Yabitsu Pass which is in the mountains behind Atsugi, southwest Tokyo.
It was a long weekend, Friday being a public holiday. So many Japanese take the opportunity to ‘get out of town’.
Generally the roads into the mountains to popular places are packed. Speeds for vehicles are lucky to be over walking speed for many kilometers if not all the way. I’ve seen bumper to bumper traffic late into the night. It’s a testimony to the patients that the Japanese people have. Maybe this is what DVD players in cars are for…..
Climbing on a bike in situations like this is fine. Even with the narrow winding roads you generally have room to sneak up the inside or around the outside…With traffic like this even motor cycles find it hard to make progress due to the narrowness of the mountain roads… I must admit, it does take the fun out of descending though…!

Yabitsu is different; it’s not busy because there is nothing at the top, no city, no lake, no temple, no cable car, just a toilet block with Hilton like polished marble floors! That’s at least in the ladies toilet. I inadvertently choose the wrong side … thought it was strange there wasn’t a shooter in the joint! Sometimes is good to have ‘gaijin’ status…

I decided to climb the eastern side so I would have some sun for company for the early part of the ride. When I started out from Sagami-ono at 7am it was 1’C with a top of 11’C forecasted. On the climb I passed several rides some going up and some descending. A few weren’t using ride shoes. They were just out having a go on their hybrid styled bikes. A similar kind of rider in Australia would be found on a beach side bike path. Not 500m up a mountain.

That’s not a criticism of the quality of entry level riders in Australia but I think more a testimony to what low vehicle speeds have on a cyclist resolve, not to mention the abundance of mountains… Posted vehicle speeds vary from 30k to 40kph on most mountain roads unless it is an elevated mountain Toll Road in which case cyclists are not invited. The tolls by the way on some of these private roads can be in the order of $20 to $40 AUD….!

The decent of Yabitsu on the western side was longer and less steep with some flats every now and then. The surface was to my amazement a little rough in the high sections. I understand a few cracks in a road surface at snow levels but there were several bumps. If you get the chance to ride this pass try the west side first and descend the eastern side.

The east side like so many mountain roads is mirror smooth hotmix with a constant grade, tight corners every 20 or 30 meters, the kind that you need to use the mirrors installed to see round the bend to make sure there is not a vehicle coming with your name on it!

Half way down the west side there is a lake, most probably a dam to supply some water to Tokyo. It was truly a beautiful sight with and almost aqua colored water fringed by high mountains covered with autumn leaves of every shade…The red steel suspension bridges and tunnels that ring the steep sides of this lake are like eye candy for someone from one of the oldest landscapes on earth…

First Ride

2007-12-14T02:15:00.000-08:00

This morning I set out for a warm-up ride. Keen to get on the bike after a week off recovering from Melbourne’s ‘Around the bay in a Night and a Day’ but that’s other story. I also have a few spare calories to burn off from the great food I have consumed since arriving in Tokyo 3 day ago…

Yesterday I went for a walk in the Sagamihara area which was mainly spent walking on back streets and a shared cycleway and path heading west. It is truly wonderful to see just about every kind of person cycling as a way to get around. Truly a BFA dreams come true. If you think it can’t happen, just come here…!! School children, Parents, Business Men, Old Folk, Office Workers cycling, all be it in a very ‘pedestrian way’ if you can excuse the pun.
I put it down to the low speed environment and closeness of the narrow streets. A product of a country that doesn’t have endless scrub to bulldoze into an oversized McMansion. It might seem strange unless you have had the experience, but having too much space can be a liability.

And it works! Everyone going everywhere, just blending and going with the flow. A testimony to this is the number of very old people cycling and walking. This system doesn’t isolate anyone like our setup back home. Cars are the exception on the back streets. On the busier streets, cars, bikes and pedestrians just blend. In shopping malls cyclist and Peds’ just blend. These malls and shopping environments, the likes of which in Australia would have an overzealous janitor type under strict instruction from the centre management, demand that you stop riding immediately and remove you cycle. Such antipodean bylaws completely miss the point of the door to door nature and beauty of the cycling for transport.

The key factor in all this is the people’s nature or education if you will. There is an inherent nature of respect for one another…it shows up in the cooperation on roads, and in the public amenity best displayed by but not limited to… A lack of graffiti, broken glass, cigarette buts or rubbish almost anywhere, public infrastructure intact etc…or the many instances one says to oneself….How come someone doesn’t just steal that item etc, cause back home it wouldn’t last a day setting there like that…In such a dense urban environment, I’m sad to say to my experience, seems unnatural to me.

I wonder what happened to this respect, the essence of a ‘fare go’ if you like, in Australia. Is it our heritage, a ‘convict mentality’ way of looking at our world, an ‘Us and Them’ attitude?

Somewhere along this walk I stumbled on an observation tower in a park somewhat akin to the palace of Vasi. From there I could see the foot hills and mountains to the south west of Tokyo. It gave me an overview of where I was and I could feel my hamstrings pining for the mountains.

Thankfully Sagamihara is on the outskirts of greater Tokyo. So today I used this local knowledge as a base to get me out of Tokyo and into the mountains.
I’m not one for route planning relying mainly on the lay of the land, intuition, tell tale signs, strokes of fait, a bit of luck and the bones of my ass…to make my way around. Just as well because I don’t read, write or speak Japanese. The only exception to that is when I get hungry…! To me, a map, although obvious is just another card in a suite of ‘navi’ skills available if you are willing to wing it in a place like this, especially when it’s written in Japanese Kanji !!

I look at riding here in Japan like a form of orienteering, but instead of being dumped in the bush on a hot day with a map, a smelly pair of runners and a slap on the back of your head, you get to RIDE you Italian road bike in the mountains and valleys on absolutely perfectly made HOTMIX roads with little mountain villages and bigger urban jungles to test your navigation skills.

It’s just a completely different world here… The traffic is mostly limited to 40kph and is used to sharing the road and is well ordered.
Today I resolved that if I get that Lotto win that IS due me, I would like to employ someone to personally send a Christmas card to every truck driver in Japan. Such is there courtesy and understanding of someone cycling, especially when just about everyone else in town is riding on the footpath. Now that’s not my normal experience with the same in Australia…And it’s not that there is plenty of room on these beautiful roads… that would only allow everyone to drive like a pack of maniacs like back home!

Speaking of which I spent the first half of the ride today dodging manhole covers, road plates and the like, in fear of the dreaded thump. But alas, no such thing here. It’s just unreal, the folk that get the roads absolutely smooth, put the manhole covers in flush. They are just a delight to ride over, all be it dry.
I want to describe the landscape which I past through today but the traffic and the road surface was just too good. All of it! Every last vehicle and manhole cover! And there was quite a bit of traffic for I was riding on mainly connecting valley roads with a bit of climbing. Dare I say, a bit of route planning or local knowledge wouldn’t have gone astray…

Back Again ! This time for an extended stay...

2007-12-05T14:51:00.000-08:00

What a country!

The drive from Narita International Airport to the western side of Tokyo where I am staying is still a mind blowing experience for me.
I just can’t compare the complexity and order to any other city I’ve been to.

We started off from Narita Airport heading in the most direct route which was SW around Tokyo Bay but the Navi on the kneeling bus told the driver that a 12 km traffic jam laid reroute so a detour was made across the middle of Tokyo Bay!

The Aqua Line FWY consists of a bridge that boldly heads out one third of the way into Tokyo Bay to a large multistory building then disappears under the water into a tunnel for what seems like an eternity then turns up at Yokohama.

If this feat of engineering doesn’t get your head shaking or camera clicking, the two super modern, twin tower suspension bridges, and the views across Yokohama Harbor, giant Farris wheel and monumental skyline architecture should do the trick…!

Engineering feats like this in Japan are many. The multistory FWY system when you get off these structures in Yokohama and many, many others like them will deify any urban experience you’re likely to have had… At one stage the FWY was 5 stories above street level with several elevated FWY’s below going in all directions! From past experiences there could be several layers of complexity going on underground also…!

Coming into Osaka I once past through a multi story building on an exit ramp off one of these elevated FWY’s. It was about the same height off the ground as this set up here in Yokohama…! Yes that’s right…the exit ramp went straight through the bloody high-rise, five floors of the ground…!!

Now I know urban density like this will sound like a nightmare to many of us but this is where the inherent order of this uncharacteristic Asian country makes every thing seem OK.

It is just one of the many amazing experiences to be had when you decide to visit Japan.