Okinawa R&R

As I was in Okinawa, a long way from Tokyo with my bike I always wanted to extend my short trip to Miyakojima with a few days exploring the main island of Okinawa.
I flew into Naha and took the highway bus straight up to Nago city in the north. There are parts of the south which are beautiful I am told, and I missed a large number of tourist beaches, but most of the southern half is either developed or US air bases. Okinawa was still under US control until 1972, they used to drive on the righthand side of the road, had the Okinawan dollar and people from the island had to show their passports when flying to Japan! No wonder the locals want rid of the US army altogether these days.
From looking out of the bus window, it didn't seem like I was missing much.
From Nago I had to take another bus 45 mins west around the Motobu peninsula to home for the next few days, On the Beach Lue. I still dont know what it means, but it was a good base for exploring the north of the island.

The Motobu peninsula is great cycling, smooth undulating roads which were extremely low traffic. Great views over the shallow sea, most of the island here is surrounded by coral reef so ideal for diving and snorkelling. The small islands are connected by sometimes km long bridges, which have fantastic views and almost feels like you're cycling over the ocean.
Nakijin jo castle remains is definitely worth a visit if you're in the area. Built around the 13th century, the castle sits high up a mountain and commands a magnificent view over the ocean and islands below, and presumably the flatter land where the commoners lived and farmed the land.

The causeway out to Kouri island was the most impressive, but once on the island I discovered how heavy the short rain showers can be in these parts. Real torrential downpour just appearing from nowhere, but luckily this area has many cafes and restaurants. Blue seal ice cream is the number one ice cream in Okinawa, and this was a good place to try some and a coffee whilst waiting for the torrential showers to pass by.

So 85km round the peninsula on Wednesday, the target for Thursday was a longer ride up the east coast all the way up to Cape Hedo. The eastern road is again incredibly great condition, yet so little traffic possibly less than 10 vehicles along the 40km length? Thats what it felt like at least. The road is mostly inland, undulating and through the dense jungle. Massive ferns, lots of dead snakes on the road, I did manage to see one small live snake before it slithered away. These habu are venomous, and they're quite dangerous if you you get bitten by one of these.
Signs by the road warn "US army, Jungle warfare training area" Several protest signs are along this road referring to the proposed helicopter base, and a couple of activists were camped out half way along this road. From the look of their weather beaten signs, they had obviously been here many years.

Several sections have attractive coastline, and other areas the mangrove trees along the river banks create an idea of a tropical island. The northern cape itself is not so impressive, this ride really was a case of travelling being more enjoyable than the arriving. In total, 160km for the day, and after the previous days 85km it seems recovering from the Miyakojima triathlon has been very quick. But no chance of running just yet, my left calf was still making itself known at times that it was damaged.





Friday was wet, and cold! Hard to believe I needed to wear a fleece in late April, Okinawa but this spring has been very cold and wet in Japan. The other day it snowed in Tokyo, the latest time in the year in over 45 years. So this meant that finally a day of rest was forced on me, and so a great day to visit the Churaumi aquarium. The main attraction here is a HUGE tank containing whale sharks and manta rays. Worth a visit if you're on the island, and on a sunny day it would be great to sunbathe or swim on the artificial beach in the aquarium grounds. A vast reef extends out to sea, it really is quite stunning.

My final day on the island was spent in Naha. I got to the airport early, and checked in my bike case and ruck sack. Its been easy travelling with the bike case, no need to use the takyubin service on this trip as Ive been staying in single locations, not moving between hotels or campsites.

Naha has a monorail which starts at the airport and ends at Shuri, close to Shuri jo which was  successfully reconstructed in 1992, after being destroyed in the second world war. Again definitely worth a visit if you're on the island, but it won't take you long to get around.
In the city, I had heard about the Kokusai dorii, or international street which turned out to be a long road of souvenir shops. Try out the Tsuboya area which is behind the main market, its the pottery area and is where you'll find expensive Shisa lion statues if you haven't bought any of the cheap ones on the main street or anywhere else on the islands yet.

The shisa lions and the music of the sanshin instrument, together with the warmth of the people of Miyakojima will be my main memories of the Okinawan islands, its been a very successful and enjoyable time cycling around the Ryukyu kingdom.

Miyakojima Photos

The opening ceremony featured traditional Ryukyu music and dancing, we saw plenty more of this around the island on the Sunday as well. The sound is very different to other Japanese music, as the islands traded more with China than Japan for most of the kingdoms history.

Strongman cake, Strongman beeru.

 Bikes waiting to be checked in, Miyakojima Tokyu Resort. Ceepo is a Japanese bike company, specialising in triathlon bikes.

Daves bike before the start, loaded up with energy gels and bits of power bar stuck to the frame. Looks like a cats been sick on the bike, and all because its slightly tricky to unwrap a sticky power bar whilst riding the bike. 

Peter and Dave after the race. Peter finished an amazing 51st place, and has only 8 weeks to train now before Ironman Japan in Nagasaki. ワイドー

Dave was in his first long distance tri and powered past me at the aid station with 2km to go. I had no reply to this and so finished a few minutes behind.

Miyakojima Guest house Strongmen! The owner Shu san, on the left is a crazy kite surfer most of the year. He broke his legs kite surfing early last year, only to recover and do the Miyakojima 50km run and also this was his first Strongman event. Now hes in Saipan at a kite surfing competition, though he needs some rest after this event.

Miyakojima Strongman 2010

The closing ceremony, prize giving and of course Strongman limited edition beer was yesterday and wrapped up a thoroughly enjoyable and well organized event over the last 4 days.

The support around the island was fantastic with people singing and dancing and general encouragement all the way around the course.

I'll remember the sound of the sanshin, the traditional Okinawan 3 stringed, snake skin instrument after this.


The swim went well, despite the near drowning on the first straight. Mass swims are by far the most exhilarating part of triathlon as you get grabbed and kicked in the white water. I should have started further toward the fast swimmers than I did as slow swimmers were occasionally causing scary pileups in the water. This is when you just have to relax, breathe normally and keep moving forward. It's impossible to treadwater or even move left or right, just go with he flow and hope for clear water.
After he first turn we had 1100m with he current, this was great and I kept out of danger by swimming far too he left. At the 1700m point the swim turns right and heads into a strong current for the final straight. Everybody slowed up here and there was no clear water to the finish. At one point my goggles were half knocked off, that meant they started to fill with water until I had to take them off, but it's not safe to stop so I had to fight my way across to the left once more to quickly get them back on. This was one of the scarier moments, the mass swim is not something you can easily prepare for.

Once out of the water it was a breeze on the bike all the way to the most northerly point. Here the route loops around a small island then back over a long bridge and the strongest headwinds on the course. I cycled a large section of the race with a French guy called Erik - not drafting, we were just going the same pace except I always caught him upon the uphill sections. until he had some stomach cramps and had to rest that is. But long distance tris are just that, long distance, you can have a bad patch then recover to finish well which is what Erik eventually did.
The rest of the cycle was just enjoyable, nice views 24 degrees and cloudy it was great conditions to be on the bike. Best part was when our hostel owners wife handed out he strawberry Mochisweets at 100km. After power bar after power gel, these home made sweets were just soo tasty.
Long tris are great for transition, I made a complete change of clothes and headed out on the run. Nice slow pace, I was going well enjoying the party until 20km when my left calf cramped up. I wasn't tired but once the lactic acid has built up in the legs they just cannot move at any speed. I could continue walking and did so for 6 km. At this point I wasconsidering how long it would take to walk back and realized that the elimination time was not too far off. As I had energy I knew I could rest whilst walking and recover enough to speed up to
make sure I finished this event.

My official time was 11hr 18mim 26s
swim 57m 58s
cycle 5hr 16m 35s (this includes transition, The ride was sub 5hr)
run 5hr 3m 53s

Overall 407th of 1207 finishers, 194 did not finish. So I was just really pleased to finish the event, well within the time limit and not require drip feeds or resuscitation at the finish line. Far from it, the event prepares you for a long day and so you seem to be able to stretch out the energy reserves allday just by keeping aerobic the while way. Obviously my limit was reached at 20km run but the odd thing is I didn't feel tired. Maybe it was just the exhilaration of the day and the support taking away the pain.

All in all, a great day and congratulations to all who completed the distance and thanks to the people of Miyakojima.

24 degrees 72% humidity
sea temp 23 degrees
wind 5.2m south

Official results

Okinawa awaits

The Miyakojima Strongman triathlon is this coming Sunday, 18th April and tomorrow morning I should be on the 6.35 am flight from Tokyo Haneda to Naha, then transfer for Miyakojima. Hopefully my bike in its bike case will arrive with me, there have been warnings about full planes but I'm assuming the majority of competitors will send their kit earlier this week, or even last week, which is the normal way folk do sports events here. Golfers, skiers will post their equipment several days before an event or holiday usually to the hotel they'll be staying at.

Miyakojima is only 400km from Taipei in Taiwan, but is over 1800km from Tokyo, so its going to be a vastly different world when I step out of the plane on the small island.

Its going to be warm for sure. 25 degrees, 91% humidity. Its the humidity which I cannot prepare for at the moment, the last month in Tokyo has been quite cold and wet.

I've rested enough this final week, Saturday was the last cycle/run for 110km/10km, followed by the Zushi beach swim on Sunday. Just a couple of pool swims since then, saving the rest of my energy for Sunday now.

Right now, I think the 3km swim will be really nice. Apart from the odd foot or arm in the face, and assuming I don't get pushed under water by the other 1500 competitors that is, but I'll be starting at the back well out of the way of any fast swimmers.
For the cycle, the course should be stunning, with great views out to sea and 3 small islands connected by long causeways which we cycle around. Its utterly flat, which might sound good, but my training rides have all been in the mountains. This means that although I regularly cover the distance, for half the ride I'm going downhill, so you get a rest and recover in time for the next bump. This flat course will mean I have to pedal the whole 155km.
If I'm to complete the whole distance, then the cycle MUST be done at ease, I think this will be the most difficult thing to do. The whole island will be out cheering us on, so it will be very tempting to speed up and finish the ride as soon as possible, but I must remember that theres still a marathon to run after this scenic ride...

My best plan for the marathon right now is to jog between aid stations, then walk and rest at each station. There will be stations every 3km, with water, bananas etc. No doubt, the run will be tough. I expect the second half will be a world of pain.

Completion before the 13.5hr time limit is my only goal, and its not a generous time limit, so it will be a real accomplishment if I get to the end.

Gambarimashou!

Open water swim - Zushi beach

The last time I went swimming in the sea was Kona, Big island Hawaii. That was nice. Soft sand on the beach then you swim through clear water over coral, colourful fish and occasional turtle. And the water was warm, really warm.

Today, I went to Zushi beach, one stop beyond the cherry blossom obsessed Japanese visiting the temples of Kamakura at the end of the Yokosuka line. Of course noone else is swimming today, Japanese only do things "in season" and the swimming season is July and August. The other reason noone else is swimming is because its really cold, but if you compare it to Gullane (Edinburgh) in August, the water temperature is still 3 degrees warmer already at the beginning of April!

Its important to get some open water swimming practise in, mainly for psychological reasons as swimming through murky water out at sea is a world away from the safety of the heated indoor pool. Its the first test for the new Orca S2 wetsuit, I made the purchase a while back from Wiggle but have been waiting to convince some one its a good idea to go swimming in the sea at this time of year in order to test it out.

The person who didnt need to much convincing was Peter, who is also doing Miyakojima triathlon (in 2 weeks time!), and after that Ironman Japan near Nagasaki. So hes happy to test the open water, again more for the open water than for the swimming.

Of course it was cold at first, but its warmer than the air temperature so once you're swimming it really wasn't so bad. Lots of windsurfers around, and a few jet bikers so its important to stop once in a while to let them know there's 2 crazy Englishmen swimming in the sea.

The S2 westuit is great, so much bouyancy I felt like I was only half in the water. This should carry me at least half way around the course in 2 weeks, but at the same time the weight of the sleeves will be more tiring.

Gullane Triathlon, August - 13°C
Zushi beach, April 4th 16°C
Miyakojima, 18th 23°C
Olympic pool 25-28°C
Kona, Hawaii 26°C
Central Sports 25m pool 31°C

Round and Round, Up and Down (x50)

Some time ago, Jim invited me to a 150km criterium race in his prefecture, Hyogo, quite close to Himeji and now the race was upon us. 50 laps of a 3km circuit, a small climb and close racing initially sounded like a recipe for tumbles and not ideal training for the forthcoming triathlon, but the distance was perfect and for that reason plus the adrenalin rush of crit racing and also a chance to see Jims family I took the shinkansen west to Aioi (with a stopover in Osaka, to see Diegos new setup and climb Osaka skytower)

The temperature was cool, 8-10 degrees but dry. We arrived in time to do a warm up lap, and immediately I realised that the small climb was significant. A steady 7-8% climb finishing with a hairpin bend before the track descended with a sharp chicane, into another climb which started off gentle but became progressively steeper, then a long curving descent back to the start/finish line. No real flat at all, so this course would suit a climber, or at least an attack built on the ascent/descent at some point. A testing circuit, and one I wouldn't go near in the rain.

We lined up at the start of the bunch, which was around 40 riders. On the first 3 laps, I made an effort to stay with one guy who looked like he was trying to win the race from the first lap. In fact, after 3 laps, he pulled aside and let his team mate pick up the baton! Yes, anyone with a number over 100 was in a team, so I my battle to stay with him merely opened up a gap for myself and 2 other riders, #8 and #9.

This mini breakaway worked well for many laps, and I was very happy to be away from the main group, out of danger as I never got the line perfect down the chicane and was always touching the brakes until the last lap. The minibreak would have been better if #8 hadnt kept trying to ride away from us, so after 51km he fell away, as did #9 and I was left on my own, building up a steady lead on the main group. Very soon #9 was lapped, he really blew at this early stage!

Yoshimi, Jims wife, did an amazing job by waiting at the top hairpin of the climb, handing us water bottles and relaying time gaps. At one point I was up to 2mins on the group, and was starting to dream of the podium. Alas, the main group reacted around 100km, and started to knock 15s off the gap each lap until they eventually caught me. I sat up and relaxed for a few laps, but unfortunately for me once the group had finally caught me, the race really warmed up.

After a few laps at increased speed, the decisive break was made at the bottom of the long climb and the pack disintegrated at this point. From here on, I was on my own again to cycle the final 40km, not really slowing down but unable to increase my speed to get near the leaders who had been resting until now. In the end I was lapped by the winner, I remember he was amazed he had caught me up, or else he was amazed that I was still cycling fast after the long breakaway, I couldnt tell which.

In the end, I covered the 150km in 4hr 56, and felt reasonably good after this event. Even better, I finished 5th place, 2 places behind Jim! Jim of course played a much more tactical race than me, sitting quietly in the pack all the way and finishing strong and not far off second place. Later, Jims GPS showed the ascent per lap to be 54-55m, so 50 laps makes a massive 2750m of ascent for the day!

An obligatory trip to an interesting onsen on the way home, perfect after a days exertion on the bike. This onsen had many different baths, from the usual relaxing type to ones to one with a low electric current and another had an outdoor TV screen in one bath, the bath was crowded with folk watching the baseball.
Cant beat a good onsen after a day on the slopes whether its snowboarding or today on the bike, so nice one Jim for finding this interesting (and very popular) onsen.

I'll be back for Chikusa hill climb after Golden week!

Equinox Day

Equinox day was Sunday the 21st, and as this is normally a public holiday in Japan we get the Monday off instead. The fight between winter and spring has temporally subsided with the thunder and lightning early Sunday morning, and as usual the passing of a storm gives way to clear skies. About 9 degrees cooler than Saturday though, so back to the winter clothing for at least this ride.

There are 3 common entry points to the west / north western hills of Tokyo. Takao, Musashi itsukaichi and Ome. Today we start at Itsukaichi, 6 riders from Tokyo Cycling Club assemble however Sergey from Belarus is only playing a cameo role as hes off up Kazahari rindo, the steeper ascent of the same mountain we will climb. Lots of other riders starting from the same station today, even a couple Iron Ladies from the running club Namban rengo.

Tomin no mori is my favourite climb in the local area. Its a massive climb on a wide, smooth road which hairpins its way up and up to almost 1200m - the highest road in Tokyo! The descent down to Okutamako, the source of the Tamagawa is awesome as it is again a wide, fast smooth road but it has wide vistas over the lake below and distant mountains. Most of the other climbs around are within the forest and rarely have such large views as this mountain.

Only 5 degrees at the top, and the descent was cold. But the chill of the descent was just about negated by the rising temperature as we entered the valley, and neared the soba shop by the lake. Ive not been here since December, due to snow and cold temperatures and still the heater is welcome in this old shop. The lady recognises us all now and is happy to serve green tea, mountain vegetable soba and gives us all a bonus tangerine as a gift. We'll be back soon.

After the second mountain pass of the day, we head down Steves favourite rindo which is rock and debris strewn from the storms of the past days, and Keith must have hit a sharp rock at some point as his tyre explodes like a gunshot, and we have to stop to patch it up. Not a bad place to rest at all, warm and scenic.

We make it to Takao with depleted numbers due to punctures/tiredness and its 108km on the clock, 2000m of climbing so not a bad day. Bump into Peter at the Family Mart convenience store, hes been over Wada Touge starting at Hadano and now faces a long train journey home.
I still feel like I need some miles in my legs, it still feels like a holiday ride at this point so I have a hot chocolate, strange cheesey spam panini and snickers bar then power along past Hachioji and down the Tamagawa. Feels great, even after 150km!

Yabitsu Pass -> Yamanakako -> Odawara

Short sleeves and shorts for the first time this year, and so the first tan / sunburn line of the year as well. The weather is still fighting between winter and spring, sending fierce swirling winds down the roads which were at best unbalancing and in one place brought me to a halt. (But this was on an unsurfaced road, uphill and round a corner) The battle of the weather gods passed away last night, the fierce thunder, lightning and heavy rain has passed by now and today should be a good relaxing day after a great ride yesterday, another one tomorrow!

I met up with Jim at Hadano, he has been working at Tokai Daigaku the past few days so it made sense to start here. Yabitsu Touge starts here, and is a very popular climb with Japanese cyclists. A very consistent gradient around 7-8 % over 8-9km, with the steeper section at the beginning, its a very comfortable climb. In the past, I've been overtaken by single speed bikes on this climb, its a popular training ground for all types of rider.
Halfway up the climb hosts my favourite view of Kanagawa, however today the view was hazy and Mt Fuji wasn't visible from this point. On a clear day the view extends from Enoshima along the coast to Atami then the Izu peninsula, out at sea Oshima and smaller islands are clearly visible and Mount Fuji completes the vista to the right.

After riding the 413 Doshi road to Yamanakako, we met up with Tokyo Cycling club riders outside a convenience store. Funny how we spend the day cycling through great scenery, Mount Fuji and the lake and blue skies above but end up sitting in the 7-11 car park munching carbohydrates and coffee.

Its a short climb away from the lake, but then the descent down to Gotemba is so fast, so long and with the views of Mount Fuji to the right, its an amazing experience. You still get some folk in cars who assume they have the right to overtake us, even though theres traffic in front of us and we're all going along at 70kph. There is always a lot of traffic on this road, but if you're going as fast or faster then its not so noticeable.

Descending close to Hakone, sulphurous fumes fill the air as we fly by, descending after the final major climb of the day from the Hakone tunnel, its 850m and we're going down to the sea from here. Alan takes us off to the left from the main Hakone road, and carrying our bikes over the "road closure" barriers is a great feeling as we know its traffic free from here virtually to Odawara train station.