May 24

 Kochi - Iya Valley


It didn’t take long to get out of the city, and then we started climbing.  And climbing……  I was a little worried at the start.  Mid-20s and very humid.  I was already starting to overheat.  But it never got too hot during the day.  Depending on the elevation and precipitation, the temperature was pretty much between 15C and 25C.  And – lots of cloud cover. 

The first climb was about 1000 feet.  Some downhill and then about another 2000 feet.  But – the grade was never too bad.  It was a pretty climb and hardly any traffic.  These pics are from about 500 feet up. 



These from about 900 feet up. 


The road along the way.






The tunnel at the top.


We got a little bit of drizzle on the last section of the way up, but it didn’t last long. Beautiful views from the long downhill. 



We were on narrow mossy roads most of the way until lunch. 











Lots of rice paddies along the route today.  They seem to make good use of all the little patches of flat ground. 

Lots of moss on the road.  I don’t think it sees a lot of traffic.  Thank goodness this section wasn’t very wet; it would have been very slippery!


After lunch we continued with the narrow, shaded roads for quite a while. 


More roadshide views.  The terrain was pretty flat once we got off the first big downhill.  And – it stayed that way until a final few climbs towards the end of the day. 









Stopped at a cool coffee shop at about 75K. 




Then back on the bikes to head up the last hill of the day. 

 




 Our first instance of Japanese clear-cutting. 

 


 I think this was our final tunnel of the day.  At the end of the last big climb.  Then a beautiful downhill stretched out in front of us. 



On the final push.

 


 After getting my bike put away I took a little walk over to the famous vine bridge.  Round trip was about an hour.  I didn’t take any money, so missed the chance to walk across it.











This is a beautiful hotel.  Four of us girls are sharing a large room – two beds, two futons.  Dinner in the hotel – 17 courses!!.  The owner sang us a song. 






I didn’t have time for the onsen & hot spring b before dinner, so I took a quick tour after dinner.  OMG – what a beautiful property.  Indoor onsen and outdoor hottub. 





All in all, an outstanding day.  Another big climbing day tomorrow…………..

 

Stats for the Day:

Garmin:  86.64 km.  5159 feet up.  3860 feet down. 

RWGPS:  88.9 km.  2185m up.  1784 m down.



Iya Valley

Population:  

AI Summary:  The Iya Valley, located in Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku Island, is one of Japan's most remote and scenic areas, often called the "Tibet of Japan" or one of the country's "three hidden regions".  It is known for dramatic, steep mountain gorges, historic vine bridges, and ancient thatched-roof hamlets that offered refuge to the defeated Taira clan in the 12th century.  


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction

Image
Here I go again.  After taking last year off from big bike trips, I thought this one looked interesting.  A totally new part of the world for me.  A new (to me) company, although I know a few people who have been repeat guests with them.   The company is TDA Global Cycling.  It's a Canadian company but they do epic tours all over the world.  Their flagship ride is the Tour d'Afrique.  The trip I'm doing is called "Journey to the East", and is one of their easier trips.     We cycle the length of South Korea from north to south and then fly over to Japan to cycle south to north through that country.  Big miles and lots of climbing, although a few more rest/tourist days than I've had on some tours.  I'm looking forward to being able to experience some of the culture along the way.  I'm always a bit nervous about whether I've bitten off too much, but so far I always manage.  I think I've reached the point in life wh...
Read more

May 2 & 3

Woke up to a notification that my flight was delayed until 5:30 pm.  No problem - time for a long walk, laundry, and a few last minute things. Thanks to Ursula for the ride to the airport. I was there really early, as planned, and beat any rush. The check-in agent hadn’t processed a bike before but with a bit of help I think it got through ok. As the boarding is about to begin, the AirTag shows it in close proximity to the plane. I ate my fill in the lounge and probably don’t need to eat again until sometime tomorrow. Next up - nearly 12 hours on a plane - ugh!  Last I looked, the seat beside me was empty. Fingers crossed….. Once on the flight, they were clear to announce that the flight would be 11 hours and 59 minutes.  Maybe some different regulations are required for a 12 hours flight?  In any case, it was all good.  Well, except for the screaming child directly behind me.  Couldn't listen to audiobooks/podcasts for a few hours at the start of the fligh...
Read more

May 4

Image
Seoul Seoul (according to Wikipedia):  Seoul is the capital and largest city of South Korea.  The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon, emerged as the world's sixth largest metropolitan economy in 2022, behind New York, Tokyo, LA, Paris, and London, and hosts more than half of South Korea's population.  The population of the metropolitan area is over 25 million. Seoul's history traces back to 18 BC.  In the early 20th century, Seoul was occupied by the Empire of Japan.  The city was liberated by U.S. forces at the end of WWII.  The Korean War (1950-1953) brought fierce battles, with Seoul changing hands four times and leaving the city mostly in ruins.  One estimate of the extensive damage states that after the war at least 191,000 buildings, 55,000 houses, and 1,000 factories lay in ruins.  Nevertheless, the city has since undergone significant reconstruction and rapid urbanization.  After a numb...
Read more