udon, undo and ushi unko
On Wednesday's bank holiday we headed over the bridge to Awajishima - the island connecting Honshu with Shikoku. I stayed at Dan's the night before and the good bottle of wine we'd polished off didn't feel like such a good idea at 5am as we rose in darkness. We met at the bike shop in north Osaka at 6 as the sun poked it's head out into an incresingly blue sky, suggesting the weather forecast had been correct. We packed the 22 bikes onto the truck and headed off, coffee's and pastry in hand.
We passed the industrial northern coast of Osaka and soon the Riveria-like hills behind Kobe emerged before we snaked around and onto the Awaji bridge - a monstrous bit of engineering that resembles it's San Fransican cousin but decorated in Japanese grey.
Heading off in groups of five from beneath the massive concrete bridge supports and cycling clockwise, we were soon riding past small fishing villages with their seaside smells and sights and general slower pace of life. I quickly realised that this was a very good idea. After about 25kms we made our first convenience store stop and munched on an onigiri, a drink and had a fly chat. Dan lamented the slow pace but although I tended to agree, had recently pushed a 120km ride and paid for it during the last 25 - albeit alone and with a relentless headwind. I knew that by the end of the day we'd be happy to have reserves.
We soon took a right and headed inland - a tiny climb before the, still sheltered, rolling countryside which is famous for it's cows and onions. It reminded me a little of East Lothian where I spent many a weekend as a child, visiting my grandparents and building up a nasal appreciation of all things on the farm. But I wasn't fooled - East Lothian has no rice paddies, glazed roof tiles or chinese script adorning road signs. We passed a local Danjiri (portable shrine used at festivals) that looked like it was being given a trial run for an upcoming event. The locals smiled, open eyed at the strange clothes and equipment as we did the same back - shouting pleasantries into the wind as we went - we couldn't stop!
We had another cheeky stop before doing the south loop that would bring us back to the same point for our udon noodle lunch (52kms and 73kms respectively). There was a short, sharp climb before reaching our vantage point to Shikoku and so the more adventurous sped off for king of the mountians points - I chased a flyer and overtook him half way to get the polkadot jersey - soon regretting it as my windpipe and stomach burned - the red wine returning to haunt me.
Udon is the reason people come here, Many take the bus from Osaka, and much further afield, on a day trip, eating their way aorund famous spots. We gladly took on the carbs and headed out for the last 50. We were still inland and carrying the slowest man who was finding the inclines unamusing. Which proves that you can put as much dura-ace on your bike as you want, but if you're going to do the same with pies in your stomach then inclines will be tough. We stopped at the top of the gentle hills to regroup, adjusting the shocks on the girls mountain bike which also had wide, knobbly tyres - as much of a handicap as one could hope for when touring. Our leader who seemed to know the roads, did a good job of pacing but I took over as much as possible when we got through the last of the main turnings so as to give him a rest.
We then got onto the beautiful coast road to the west, increasingly bathed in yellow light from the late afternoon sun. The bridge, our goal, finally became a distant mark on the horizon and we knocked the bikes down and headed for the Onsen. We sat outside in the hot water with the cold evening air around us overlooking Honshu and it seemed a just end to the day's effort. When our dinner arrived at the tonkatsu restaurant our heads were already dropping from the lack of sleep as much as the 125kms we'd just completed. One of the best days cycling for a long time.
