tokyo2wheeler

Hello!

I recently joined here, and I've been encouraged to make myself known. I live in northwest Tokyo, where I work at a Christian missionary school, Christian Academy in Japan. I'm the graphic designer and Webmaster for the school (the latter being a new field for me), as well as teach music. I'm originally from Ohio, and moved to Tokyo from the Grand Rapids, Michigan, area.

I ride a Cannondale T-800. Great bike. I've taken a few overnight and day trips here in the Land of the Rising Sun. Most of my riding is early morning city rides to parks where, if it's warm, I'll sit for some quite time and reading before starting my day at school.

Looking forward to meeting some new folks online, drawing on the wisdom of the collective, and hopefully discovering some bicyclist friends in greater Tokyo and Saitama Ken.

Cheers,
Scott

rjtokyo

Welcome to the forums Scott!!

roadfix

Oi, Scotto! Youkoso irrash-shai mase!

Toki

From another Tokyo-ite, welcome!

Now why is it that everyone seems to live out that direction? I assuming that northwest Tokyo means somewhere out in Nerima-ku or Kita-ku as opposed to Ome-shi.

- Jeff

tokyo2wheeler

Thanks, Ralph, Fixer, and Jeff!

Jeff, I live in Higashi Kurume-shi, just outside Nerima-ku, not as far out as Ome-shi. Doko ni sunde imasuka?

Scott

Dannihilator

Welcome to the forums Scott.

pucci

Welcome to the forum!

Northwest means that much closer to Okutama and the mountains. I live in Yokohama, so my local mountains are the Tanzawa range and Hakone. Nice riding there!

tokyo2wheeler

Pucci, I'd like to bike around there sometime. Also the Izu Peninsula, though biking to and around Fuji (Yamanaka Ko, specifically) is probably next on my list.

roadfix

Hey Pucci......I lived in Yokohama for nearly 20 years. Graduated from US Armed Forces high school there....waaaay back... Yep, riding up and thru Hakone and into Gotemba is awesome!

George

pucci

The ride to Yamanaka-ko along the Doshi road from Miyagase is really nice. It follows a river valley and rises about 1000m, but the climb is spaced out over about 30km so it doesn't feel like a hill-climb until the last few km. Recommend it highly.

pucci

Yeah, that whole area is filled with great climbs. Did Hakone last Sunday from the back over Ashigara pass. Looking good for autumn!

Toki

Hey Pucci,

How do you get out there? Do you have a car, train it out, or do you actually ride all the way from home? I live near Shinjuku and have decided that I need to get out more. Any recommendations? I used to have a friend with a car and we used to ride down Mitake-san out in Okutama, but that was years ago.

Should we take this thread into a different place?

- Jeff

tokyo2wheeler

Jeff, I have connections to a camp (lodges, not tents) right on Mitake-san, across the Tamagawa from Sawai Eki, to be exact. I'm thinking that'd be a great fall color ride....

Sure, but being new here, I don't know where. Suggestions?

Scooter (Scott for short.)

pucci

Hey Jeff,

For Hakone I used to drive out to Hadano and ride from there but got sick of the traffic jams on the way back. Lately I mostly take the train to Odawara, then ride around the coast and climb from Yugawara. The back route to Hakone over Ashigara pass is easy to get to from Shin-Matsuda station.

Okutama we usually ride from home but it's a 170km trek. Yabitsu pass is closer and works out to about 100km.

BTW, How do we move a thread?

Toki

I just bought a new bike bag so I think that I am going to be riding the train out in that direction again soon.

Do you go with an organized group or just a couple other people when the whim hits?

I don't that mere mortals such as ourselves can. And cross posting is not an option. I am going to start a new thread in:

Bike Forums > Bicycle Topics > General Cycling Discussion

There is a child forum, Big Rides and Riding Partners, but I think it would get more exposure in the parent.

Let's see if anyone bites.

- Jeff

Vitamin X

Hi Tokyo2wheeler & Toki,

I was just wandering, If you was to recommend good cycling spots in & around Tokyo for a newbie, Where would you recommend cycling???... Hills aren't a problem...

Also, How far away are we talking from Tokyo Airport???..

Please Reply, Cheers...

rjtokyo

Hey Vitamin X,

Just in case Tokyo2wheeler or Toki don't reply in time, the 3 of us and a few others are riding the Arakawa Cycling Road to Shinrin Koen and back this Saturday morning (10/11). You want to come ride with us?

I am curious though, are you in Leeds, Yorkshire, or in Tokyo, or a combination of the two?

- rjtokyo

Vitamin X

At the minute I'm still couped up here in Leeds. The reason I was asking about Tokyo's cycle hotspots was because I may holiday there sometime next year. I would love to have gone riding with you, thankyou for the offer, you never know, maybe some other time.

Your quote is certainly correct, "There's no such thing as a bad day riding". Even if you did have a bad day, it certainly beats a good days working.

rjtokyo

Vitamin X-
A holiday out here sounds great! Definitely let us know; maybe we can plan a ride for the time you're here. We're in the process of forming an International Cycling Club in the greater Tokyo area. So far there's already guys (and ladies) from the U.S., U.K., Japan, Philippines, and Australia wanting to take part. You're invited to join in whenever you come. Keep in touch .
- rjotkyo