2023/07/18
[0&1day’s report]Going with Kenta-san! Discover Ride Tour Vol.2 Izu Oshima Island in 3 days
From May 26, 2023, “Going with Kenta-san! Discover Ride Tour Vol. 2: 3-day/2-night trip from Takeshiba to Izu Oshima by ferry” was conducted.
“Riding around Izu Oshima tour”started by ferry, not by bike.
Izu Oshima is in Tokyo, but not Tokyoish.
Its diameter is about 50km. Easy-to-ride distance, but long enough to appreciate the dynamic coastal view and the mountain greens.
On the first day, we will ride to enjoy the attractive “island road”.
The next day, we split up into teams for a shopping QUEST ride in search of good local ingredients. We completed the mission, prepared together, and enjoyed the island BBQ of the food we got.
We hope you enjoy reading the tour report colored with the fine weather and full of smiles!
Click here for the original story of this tour!
[Day 0 and Day 1]
Izu Oshima is a volcanic island full of nature located 120 km from the mainland Tokyo. The island attracts many cyclists because of its traffic-free and varied courses with ups and downs.
10 cyclists in their 30s to 60s living in the Kanto area participated the tour. They gathered at the passenger terminal in Takeshiba, Tokyo, with their own bikes, and were met by Kenta-san. They put their bikes in wheeled bags and boarded the ferry. It departed at 10 p.m.
The ferry was crowded with many groups of anglers, cyclists, and joshi-tabi traveling on the weekend, giving the cruise a travelling feeling.
We went out on deck and started with a toast with Kenta-san.
By the time we went under the Rainbow Bridge, the tension was at its max.
The second-class cabin were almost fully occupied. Everyone fell asleep while enjoying amicable chat in a friendly atmosphere.
Day 0 ended with a bump in the surf.
Next morning, Oshima was already just around the corner when we woke up.
We arrived at Okada Port on Izu Oshima at 6:00 a.m. and Day 1 started.
We disembarked and went to set up our own bikes.
Tutti damaged his derailleur on the last Oshima ride.
Lessons learned. All the participants carefully checked their bikes!
A thorough briefing before the start. Tutti explained the island course with a hand-drawn map on a special blackboard.
Before starting the ride, we replenished the snack case.
It was unexpectedly being popular. Chocolate, red bean paste, cookies, salt candy, and other types of snacks were neatly categorized and stored.
After taking a commemorative photo alongside Kenta-san, we finally started out from Okada Port. A steep slope with a gradient of more than 10% suddenly loomed ahead of us. Though our legs and hearts were not ready, we were urged to ride up the hill in one bound.
On the other hand, Kenta-san is all smiles.
Tutti is smiling, too (at this point)…
Once riding up from the harbor, the rest is a gentle up-and-down circular Oshima-round route. From here, we rode clockwise around Oshima. The road was easy to ride with little traffic, and it was hard to believe that we were in Tokyo.
We warmed up along the Sunset Palm Line by the ocean, the first stop is Akappage, a group of strange reddish-brown stones formed by solidified lava.
After riding about 10 km from 7 a.m. start, we arrived at Motomachi, downtown Oshima.
After a leisure breakfast at Shokudo Taisho, we went to the Izu Oshima Volcano Museum. We learned about the history of Mt. Mihara volcano from Mr. Yamada, a volunteer, for an hour. It changed our ways to look at volcanoes, and made the rest of the island ride much more enjoyable.
Leaving the museum behind, we rode pleasantly along the round-the-island road.
The weather was beautiful and the temperature was about 23 degrees Celsius, perfect for riding.
Then, we went to Oshima’s famous stratigraphic major fault plane. Everyone was very curious to see the mille-feuille-like strata change on the fault plane spread out before their eyes. Combined with their studies at the museum, they were able to experience the greatness of nature.
Then, heading south on the roundabout road for lunch, we went to Habu Port in the southeastern part of Oshima.
We had handmade pizza toast and coffee at the stylish Hav Cafe, which conveys the world-view of the owner who has traveled around the world, and stopped at Ukai Shoten for their specialty croquettes and menchikatsu [minced meat cutlet].
We prepared for the steep hills and deserts of the second half of the island ride.
The eastern shore of Oshima is steeply climbing. A steep slope exceeding 10% appears everywhere.
The “Moon and Desert Line (1 km),” which is from the entrance to the back desert where the volcanic field of the crater of Mt. Mihara volcano spreads out to the walking trail, was very steep all the way… With Kenta-san leading the way, everyone followed each other’s lead and all completed the climb without incident.
The reward for climbing to the top is Oshima’s most spectacular view, the Ura [back side] Desert. The black wilderness of the earth created by volcanoes and the azure Pacific Ocean are scenery that can only be seen on Oshima.
Another reward is the descent.
Before departure, we received jackets from the support car and were fully prepared for the cold.
The 15 km from the back desert to the goal at Okada Port was mostly downhill, and we headed for it at once.
Today’s lodging was Minshuku Funakichi, which is the same inn that took care of Kenta-san and Tutti on their last Oshima trip, and the whole inn was reserved for us this time. We were treated to a party with assorted local fish sashimi to celebrate our first day.
After dinner, we had the tour’s routine Discover Night. Kenta-san and Tutti looked back on the ride, looking at the photos they had taken. We had a great time reminiscing about today’s ride, which was both tough and fun.
At the end, Day 2 mission was going to be announced. The participants were asked to buddy up in pairs, and drew a shopping mission card for the things needed for the island BBQ.
Tomorrow will begin with a ride in search of foodstuffs!