A long ride

Saturday arrived with clear skies and the warmest temperatures we have experienced thus far - mid sixties by midmorning.  Norbert (triathlon nut) and I had planned a four hour ride departing around 9:00-ish in the morning.  I had some reservations about trying to go for that long on two counts; one I had not been on a ride over two hours in about six months, and the afternoon before, a group of four of us went on a two hour ride around the nearby lake - thus sapping some energy and adding a bit of lactic acid to the legs.  I made sure to drink an extra beer to hydrate after that ride and prepare for the next day ;).

So we depart for the ride and Norbert said he had a route in mind that should be relatively flat, which when riding for distance in this area can get tricky.  We headed South toward Mt. Iwaki, with a cross / head wind of moderate resistance.  We connected with the coastal highway (101) and began skirting the coastline.

The smells changed instantly and immensely once we were on the coast.  As expected there were food stands everywhere.  Local's selling all sorts of freshly caught goods, as well as smoked stuff.  More on that later ...

The scenery was terribly distracting.  To our right was the Sea of Japan, and to the left was Mt. Iwaki and or the foothills that separate the coastal villages from the higher plains.  We took bypasses off of the main highway to proceed through the small towns and avoid the highway "overpasses": the highway would climb up, over and around the villages.

As we approached the agreed to turn around point (about 50 km), we climbed up and over a large outcropping and to the left were six waterfalls in succession on the way up and then down.  Again, terribly distracting as each was quite unique and I noted that a return trip with the high res camera would be in order.

We stopped at 48km from the outset at a small park / squid stand.  The park was a group of granite outcroppings and tide pool.  I took the opportunity to ride out into the tide pool and snap a few photos ... Norbert had ordered a fresh squid, which was prepared (grilled) on the spot, which we quickly devoured as a great protein source for the ride home.  A quick glance toward the sky and cloud patterns brought a nasty thought to mind ... the wind is shifting ...

I wanted to get a couple of photos of one of the waterfalls, from the previously mentioned climb.  I left Norbert to finish up the squid so I could get a head start (knowing the he would probably catch me before I even got to the photo spot).  Surprisingly I made it over the hill and stopped with no sign of him.  I snapped a few photos, he rolled up and explained that he also got a desert - some ice cream made on the spot as well - thus the reason I was not caught going up the climb.

As we started heading back the nasty thought I had earlier was confirmed, the cross-head wind we had on the way down now greeted us for the return trip home as the winds had shifted 180 degrees!  The sun was now well hidden with high clouds and I could see a lower level system devloping over the sea ... perhaps we would get wet on the way home.

The ride home was a bit more quiet as both of us were feeling the constant wind and we realized that we had gone outside of our current abilities.  We hit the last turn which brought the last section before getting home and Norbert asked if we would take the most direct route, as opposed to the less direct and more lumpy route, as you can imagine, I did not object.  In the last few miles we would both "stand up" every few minutes to stretch and try to muster a bit more strength.

We made it back, under grey skies and a light sprinkle, and agreed not to ride the next day.

Image link.