Personal Journey: WCBC Executive Committe Member Marty Lessner shares his bike trip in Japan. To share your cycling stories, send your story and photo(s) to any Executive Committee Member.
Cycling Journal: Marty Lessner
“Americans have long been fascinated by Japan. I grew up watching Ultraman on UHF TV Channel 17 as he battled monsters trampolining through Tokyo’s buildings. And who doesn’t enjoy a good spread of sushi and ramen?
My wife Lisa and I, along with a couple of friends and 20 strangers from across the United States, set off to discover Japan on a seven-day organized bike tour through the hills and towns of the Izu Peninsula, Toyama Prefecture and the Kyoto region.
Because of the hilly terrain, about two-thirds of the group rode e-bikes, while the remaining third rode traditional road bikes with compact cranks. On most days, shorter and longer route options were available, with stops at shrines, overlooks, local cultural sites, and food stops along the way. For reasons involving hills, inclement weather, other non-biking activities or no reason at all beyond vacation mode, only one other cyclist and I chose to ride “every damn mile”.
The week featured plenty of multi-mile climbs and long descents. I often rode alone. One morning, I rode 30 miles solo to lunch after missing a group cultural stop at Mile 10. Other times, I found myself riding alone when some riders accepted the “boost” in the support van to bypass stretches of the route with the longer and/or steeper climbs.
Near the top of one climb, the road was blocked by barriers because of construction. There was no way I was taking a detour, which would have meant many more miles and still more climbing. Nor was I going to attempt contacting the “boost” van for a detour route. While I tried hard on our trip to observe all Japanese etiquette, on this occasion I went into full “ugly American” mode: I rode around the barriers and commenced waving and smiling at the workers operating the heavy machinery.
On several of the long climbs, I didn’t have to ride solo, as Lisa used her e-bike to pace me—usually from several hundred meters further up the road. I repaid the favor several times by waiting for her on the winding descents, since she squeezes the disc brakes even harder than I do.
For the seven days, the official Ride with GPS maps provided by the tour group showed 228.1 miles and 25,458 feet of climbing for the maximum-mileage routes. Due to some backtracking and various times of “going off course,” my Garmin watch recorded 237.1 miles and 28,047 feet of climbing. Not quite the equivalent of climbing Mt. Everest—official elevation: 29,031.7 feet—but close enough.”