Tag: Beppu

Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 5: Beppu to Uchiko

Glorious sunshine greeted tour participants as they woke in Beppu, coincidentally on the morning the Wallabies, Australia’s national rugby team, would be playing a World Cup match in the same city.

After a quick breakfast the entire tour assembled and hurtled off down the hill toward the beachfront.

A ferry ride from Kyushu to Shikoku awaited, and the team rode onto the huge ship, tied up the bikes and moved upstairs for the long ride.

Repairs and adjustments were made to bikes on the boat trip, but upon alighting, cyclists immediately rode off up the river until reaching a mountain standing in the way of the path to the destination of Uchiko.

A grueling, but visually stunning ride lay ahead up a series of switchbacks with mandarin and other types of citrus trees dotting the mountainside. Views downward became increasingly spectacular as the rugged terrain of Shikoku became increasingly evident.

The ride down was exhilarating, but cautious due to the large amount of debris on the track.

It was a ride along the plains from that point, passing through Ozu, with its castle overlooking the town, and hitting the river in the very extensive set of bike tracks in the area.

There was still a lot of time left in the afternoon as the tour rolled into town, but the time could have been spent better as luggage had been delivered to the wrong places.

Once things were sorted out, Kangaeroo headed off with the tour organizer to recce a possible route for the following day.

Views of Uchiko

Heading up a mountainside offering spectacular views, hopes of a great ride were high, only to be dashed upon learning the mudslide that had closed the road some years ago remains perhaps years away from being cleared up.

It was back to Uchiko, a delightful town filled with Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-1925) era buildings. There, we ate a delightful dinner courtesy of Ze Germanz, and spent a blissful night’s sleep.

Tomorrow it’s off to the Ehime prefectural capital of Matsuyama.

Brommie in the back of a truck

Brommie didn’t have the greatest of days today. Having struggled up the slopes the past couple of days, he was relegated to the reserves bench and spent the day idling away in the back of the truck. His day will come again, though.

Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 4: Kurokawa to Beppu

Glorious weather greeted the tour today, paving the way for some amazing riding.

The group set out from the gloriously quaint hot spring resort town of Kurokawa.

Slowly but surely, the riders wound their way through forested areas, driving ever upward until reaching the Kuju ski ground, the highest point of the entire tour at 1,140 meters above sea level.

Despite reaching the tour’s literal high point, it wasn’t all downhill from there.

Travels along undulating roads followed over the next 30 or so kilometers along beautiful thoroughfares such as the Yamanami Kaido.

The group inched ever downward, though, until reaching the hot spring town of Yufuin.

Following a delicious lunch, the way out of Yufuin involved a brutally grueling climb at a back-breakingly slow pace.

Once the climb was over, it was for the most part a descent at furious pace along National Route 500.

Upon reaching the outskirts of Beppu, it was off the main track and onto a switchback for some more fun.

Brommie near Beppu

Brommie performed brilliantly in circumstances not ideal for him with so much climbing. He incurred his first problem of the tour when his chain tensioner flew off, but this was the result of Kangaeroo over-oiling him.

Once the tensioner was re-applied, it was all systems go again, but Kangaeroo is jeopardizing others’ fun, so it looks like Brommie will be packed away again for a while.