One hundred consecutive months of Century a Month complete! 172.5 km (
on Strava) in Izu peninsula some 120 km west of Tokyo and also +24T (VeloViewer tiles).
A ride in west Izu in December is almost like a personal tradition for me. As the weather turns drier in the winter there are so many nice Fuji views to be had and you can ride around the entire peninsula without climbing a single hill higher than 300 m.
Well, that's the theory. But it actually rained for the first two hours and the return route through the center of the peninsula that I took to get back to Mishima had a climb to 650 m elevation and only 7 C in the dark. I had about 1000 m of elevation gain on the way down to near Iwachi Onsen (south of Matsuzaki), but another 1200 by replacing the hilly coastal road that I had come on with Rt15 and Amagi pass/Rt414 on the way back.
We meet up at 8:00 at Mishima station on the main bullet train line from Tokyo to Osaka. It had been raining on my drive on Tomei expressway from Tokyo, but seemed to almost have stopped by the time we set off, so I left my rain gear in the small backpack I was wearing. The rain picked up again, bringing back memories of my rainy 400 km Fleche ride from Aizu to Tokyo in mid-October. Our first stop was at a 7-11 convenience store on the Izu north coast, before we headed out to the NW corner.
The Honshu coast across the bay was completely obscured by rain clouds, no views of Mt Fuji. However, gradually the sky brightened and the rain stopped. We bought some satsuma oranges from an unattended roadside stall (9 for $3 yen) which we shared at a viewpoint overlooking Ita village.
First we could make out the side of the mountain, with snow visible at the top of the visible portion, just below the clouds. In Heda village we visited the sandspit with the shrine. In clear weather you can view Mt Fuji behind the entrance to the local bay with the tori (gate) of the shrine in the woods on the sandspit from a small pier the locals use for fishing. The water there is crystal clear.
Then we climbed the biggest hill on the way to Toi, where we had a Chinese lunch (because it was quick and December daylight is short). After that Jochem headed over the mountains to the center of the peninsula to catch a train back while Colin and I continued to Matsuzaki as fast as I could.
The rain had washed off all the chain lube and it was squeaking. I had to re-lube from my little container, which fixed it.
From Matsuzaki, Colin headed inland on Rt15 to get to Shimoda while I continued towards Iwachi onsen / Kumomi onsen. On a hill overlooking the Matsuzaki coast I took pictures when three Japanese road cyclists came up. We started to chat. In the end it turned out one lived in my neighbourhood and I had met with one of the others at a Half-Fast meeting a couple of years ago! There world is such a small place
Since I was running out of daylight, I headed back north and took the same route Colin had taken. From north of Shimoda I headed towards Amagi pass. My feet were wet the whole day from the rain, even though I had bought a simple pair of socks at a convenience store to change into, because the shoes were still wet. My fleece trousers were also moist from not wearing the rain pants in the morning. So I wasn't very comfortable, despite wearing the rain jacket as an extra layer. Dry feet are crucial for comfort and I resolved I will finally do something about keeping my shoes dry in the rain.
In one place the road passes a corkscrew-like ramp. The climb is very steady, mostly 5-7 %, so not difficult but just long. The road is kind of remote, with no houses around and I could hear many deer whistling in the forest, but cars were passing quite regularly. North of the tunnel at the top of Amagi pass it was a loooong descent. Once that leveled off I could follow the river and main roads back to Mishima, with no significant climbs.
I got back home around 01:00 in the morning, showered and went to bed. It felt good to have done the big ride for the month and extended the streak into the triple digits, which was my aim for the whole year. Izu is always well worth a visit.