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| From left to right ... Jared, Me, Kaz and John |
Roughly 2 weeks before take off the list had dwindled down to 1. John from the U.S.A. was really keen. He even went out and bought new items in preparation. Another guy who used to work with us, Jared from New Zealand, was going too and was bringing his Japanese friend Kaz. Another friend of Jared's, Masa, would be joining us along the way but he didn't have a bike. He was going for the fishing. Where ever we camped, he would make his way by bus and meet us at the camping point and fish until we made contact with each other.
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| A bonus ... sunsets like this :)) |
In Japan at the beginning of May there is a holiday period for a few days called Golden Week. It's a bunch of days linked to the weekend and basically makes a week ... it's a welcome break from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo and most people flee the city to other parts of Japan and even overseas. It's really interesting why it's called Golden Week. I kid you not, everyday of the week is sunny! Only once in the time that I have been in Japan I can remember it raining.
We all met incredibly early on a Saturday morning. Catching the train down to the start point, a seaside town called Atami. It's at the top of the Izu peninsula. This is where the party begins.
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| That's the private island we sleep on in the middle of the photo ... very cool :)) |
Izu peninsula is hilly! The hills go up and up and up, and then down! Down for ages! Sometimes they just go up and up and then a little down. It's hard! But the fun factor outweighs the hard part big time. The whole journey is just so wild! :)) At the destination town of Namazu the final feeling is "YEAH!! THAT WAS WICKED!!"
I did this ride by myself the year before in 3 days and had such a blast that I really wanted to share it with some mates the next time round.
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| Break time at the car park at the top of the hill, the island is close by now. |
The first day is the biggest trek. The journey around the peninsula is about 160Ks. Doesn't sound so far but like I said, it's up and down and up and up and up! So on the first day it's good to get in 70Ks. There are 2 very good reasons for doing this. The first being, towards the bottom of the peninsula it's really nice! Golden sandy beaches, great landscapes and nature galore. The second reason is, instead of rushing the whole journey there's more time to enjoy what's around you. We were going for 3 days ... 3 days of wicked fun!! :))
At the train station it's time for stretching, bike assembly and a group photo.
We are off!!
A couple of Ks outside of town it's time for a break. The first hill is a shocker and it's then you realize you are wearing too many clothes. After the break, Kaz revs up the pace. He's waiting for us down the road a fair way. Time for another break. But Kaz is suffering a bit. The bag he has is way too big and it's also overloaded with too many things. We divide the load and move things around in the bag to have a better fit on his back, but it's easy to see how he will continue to suffer. Kaz battles on.
I had discovered a small island last year. This was to be our first night camping spot. 70Ks later we found it. At the top of the hill just before the island it's possible to see heaps of the peninsula ahead of us. There's a car park on the hill so we stopped for a break before heading to our private island.
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| Stoked to be here! Island life for a day and night :)) |
An alcohol and grocery shop is close by, we will be stopping at these first. Beer and BBQ is on the menu tonight so this is a top priority. The island is literally just off the beach and the tide was out. There was plenty of opportunity to have a scavenge around in the rock pools. I was sorting out the fire for the night when all of a sudden a screech from Kaz rang up through the trees. Up he comes carrying a plastic bag and inside is an octopus which he had just plucked from the rocks. We had fresh octopus with our BBQ that night. Some said it was a little over cooked but what is a little black when such good times are happening :))
Hammocks set up, fire roaring and the beer is flowing. The waves are crashing around the island as the tide comes in and we are isolated. It's a very cool feeling! As the embers die down we get in our sleeping bags and crash for the night. At least twice I remember being woken up by Jared. He didn't have a hammock at this stage so he had positioned his sleeping bag on a slight down slope. He'd wake up and express a few strong words ... as New Zealanders do ..., then reposition himself again :)) In the morning while packing up we couldn't help but laugh at how Jared had adopted a few strange looking insects under his mat. They were long with many legs and they certainly weren't centipedes!
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| That's my hammock at the side there, the others were scattered around the fire too. Cool place to spend the night :)) |
Time for a break at a wicked beach about 40Ks down the road from the island. Jared catches up on some much needed sleep while Kaz, John and I explore the rocky end of the beach. Later that afternoon we hit the road. The light begins to fade and we start to look for a place to sleep. Somewhere, and I mean somewhere, a road leads off down the hill. We take it, it's a left. Still to this day I have no idea why we took this road. It went down, and down and down. It was wild and windy! No cars! The whole winding road to ourselves. Down the bottom we found out why there were no cars. It was a dead end!! :)) The road went straight to a monkey park! There was no access to the beach. We walked back up the hill in 30 minutes. It was dark by now so some night riding was in order. That went down well. The up hills didn't seem to take so long and the down sections were wicked in the dark!! Pure darkness flying down a hill is highly recommended! We had just flown down a large hill in the dark when we entered a small town by the seaside. Nice beach, a shop or two open and quiet. Perfect for a beach camp!! :)) It was time to unwind and enjoy the night. The fire was raging as we had collected heaps of wood from the park close by. Beer and food had been taken care of as we entered the small village. Close by there was a group of Japanese having their own beach party, down on the sand a few meters away we were entertained with drunken sex on the beach :)) Cool beach!!
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| I hope that's not my dribble on the sand :)) |
Our final day heading up the peninsula now and the Ks are clicking by. The sign ahead reads Toda. HUH!? That's the same Kanji as the town I live in in Saitama. Strange!! I found out later that the town's name is Heda. I still can't figure out how this Kanji stuff works, how can the exact same Kanji have different names and pronunciation!?!? Anyway, just 20Ks to our destination now. We are in the town of Toda, whoops, Heda, and it starts to rain! As they say in France "Merde!!" Break time again. It rains quite heavily and we begin to make alternative plans. There's a ferry port here in Heda. The decision to catch the ferry was based on the fact of 20 more Ks of slippery hilly roads, time, and sore legs and arses from constant cycling!!
At Numazu train station we packed our bikes and bought a good supply of beer to celebrate the end of our trip.
We got smashed!! We drank in front of the station for 3 hours and had a blast!! :)) On the way around the peninsula we kept seeing a solitary Japanese guy. He was riding a bike that looked so banged up we almost took bets to see if he would make the trip. We never did the betting because it was unanimous that he'd never make it! :))
We met him at the station!! He made it all the way! Even cycled in the rain those last few Kilometers ... hats off to you fella!! :)
It was time to catch the train back to the other world we had escaped from for 3 days. The next trip to Izu is already calling us. But we have the rest of the summer to be content with first ... yeeeee haaaaa!!! :))
Sayonara!! :))
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| Jared in deep thought ... "should I have another beer?" |
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