Kamakura Cycling Trip!

 I made the solo trip to Nagano in October.  That was fun, but also a bit drawn out.  The weather was perfect.  Chilly enough that once I got warmed up from the exercise I wasn't too hot or too cold, and no need to carry too much bulky clothes.  

There were a few issues, though:

1. I brought too much stuff.  Because it was so far, and some places were far from civilization, I brought a lot of stuff.  

2. I had to work - which limited my the amount of to travel each day much more than my physical ability.  

3. Mechanical failure - Because of #1 & #2 above, I used Pannier bags and a top bag with strap-on racks, which had issues when I went on a brief off-rode detour.  

4. Lack of suitable roads - Given the remote location, some places were connected only by a single road, which was typically high speed and narrow.  Not the kind of place you want to cycle, let along at night.  To add insult to injury, often large tractor trailers would be traveling here, spoiling the mode no matter how scenic the route.

I decided to take stock of lessons learned, and make shorter trip this time, with only what I could carry in a medium sized backpack, to a location not quite as remote.  I decided to look at placed within a 50 to 75km radius with good access.  This gave me quite a list, including places like Okutama, Enoshima, etc.  I decided to upon Kamakura.  Bear in mind that I do have insurance, so if I break down they will send someone to pick me up.  That means I don't need to bring every possible thing to fix my bike in any possible circumstnce.  

 This level of distance meant I could potentially make the trip in a single day, but would more likely split it into two days, with a break every few hours.  

What's more, given that this is a three day weekend, I could head out Friday night and be back Saturday night, while still keeping Sunday and Monday for mundane things like cleaning and laundry.  What's more, if I decided to stay an extra day? No problem.  On the other hand, if I decided I wanted to get back home in a hurry, it would be technically possible to do it in one fell swoop.  

Planning:  As last time, I based my planning around locations I could stop to recharge (physically, and my camera batteries!).  Different from last time, my needs were entirely covered by Kaikatsu Club this time.  

I planned my route as follows:

1. Honancho to Shin-Yokohama (Major roads)

2. Shinyokohama to Ofuna (back roads)

3. Ofuna to Kamakura (Back roads, with a detour through the Yokohama park)

4. Kamakura to Kannnai (Major Roads)

5. Kannnai to Oomori (Major Roads)

6. Oomori to Honancho (Major Roads)

A bit about the Major Roads vs. Back Roads thing: Major roads means that the navigation apps will propose "Major Roads", which are usually highways.  This is often the fastest way, but the speed limit will be 50 or 60 kph.  I can't compete with that on my bike, which means that in many cases I will end up riding on the sidewalk - which is a bit inconvenient, but often still faster than that back roads option.  It's monotonous, though.  

    For the most part, a highway Tokyo looks the same in a highway Yokohama or Okinawa.  That said, if there are decent cycling lanes and not much traffic, I may still often take the highway if there are not too many red lights.  Some roads have a lot of red lights that stop traffic, but the sidewalks have no such restriction, so the sidewalk will indeed end up faster.  Bear in mind that traveling at night, safety can be a bit more of an issue, whereas I am more likely to rise on a highway than sidewalk in the day time when there are more pedestrians.  

The back roads option is not usually the fastest way to get somewhere, however it is more interesting.  You will pass lots of interesting houses, small shops and restaurants, and other things that you never would have known existed.  I chose this option in the day time between Shin-Yokohama and Kamakuta so as to see more interesting scenery while it was light hout.  

So you can thing of my trip as having three phases:

1. Get there (Major Roads)

2. Tour (Back Roads)

3. Get back (Major Roads)


Interestingly, the "Back Roads" option in Jitensha Navitime also sent me through actual woods.  This was okay since I was on a mountain bike, but with all of the fallen trees and other obstacles, it would not have been pretty for anyone riding anything less than a real mountain bike.  


Also note that I brought my Yamaha eMountain Bike this time, because I was more concerned about handling in the snow and mud, and less concerned with charging the battery.  It handles just fine without any assistance, but there were some huge hills I had to climb where I turned it on.  Still, since I could leave the power off for most of the trip, I didn't really worry about the fact that the battery isn't (easily) removable for charging.  

Since the weather is colder than last time, I brought more clothes.  Luckily, I was smart enough to bring more layers instead of a heavier coat, as I got hot very quickly once I got moving.  

I also used my Ski helmet instead of my normal bike helmet.  I did this both because it has a built in visor which keeps the cold air away from my eyes, and because it keeps my ears warm.  


I also invested in these motorcycle bar gloves (or whatever you prefer to call them).  


I stopped for a proper meal only twice. 

Once at an Italian restaurant at Lumine Wing in Ofuna.

Once at a cefe a bit north of Kamakura station.


It should be said that Kamakura has plenty of good traditional Japanese food, but I'll save that for when I am traveling with others.  

I didn't stay in Kamakura long, just visiting two temples briefly, as I didn't want to use up too much of my weekend on this travel alone.  

After the mishap with being routed into the forest, I decided to use Google Maps for my return routing from Kamakura to Omori.  You can see here that according to Google it should take approximately 3.5 hours.  I split this into three legs, so if course it took a bit longer.  Note that the traffic around Kamakura was very bad, so I have no doubt that it actually would have taken over two hours by car - though train easily beats bike in most cases over this kind of distance.  



Links to Videos and Data:
1. Tokyo to Shin-Yokohama    Video        Data
    Shin-Yokohama:    Arrived: 22:58    Departed: 9:19 (10:20 Elapsed)
2. Shin-Yokohama to Ofuna    Video        Data
    Ofuna:     Arrived: 12:37    Departed:15:39 (3:01 elapsed)
3. Ofuna to Kamakura             Video        Data
    Kamakura: Departed 17:19
4. Kamakura to Kannnai          Video        Data
    Kannai Arrived:19:31    Departed: 22:36 (3:04 elapsed)
5. Kannnai to Omori                Video        Data
    Omori: Arrived:01:05    Departed: 05:36 (5:36 elapsed)
6. Omori to Tokyo                    Video        Data

Next time perhaps I will visit Enoshima, which may have a nicer view when the weather is warmer.  

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