Today, we took an “easier” route. Right. No longer the Fastest Biker in Kochi, I was ready for another whipping when I came out this morning.
We rode 18 miles just to get to the start of the climb, and I fell behind even then. These guys can sprint! I may have been able to keep up with them for awhile, but I didn’t see any sense in burning all of my energy just to get to the foot of the mountain.
The path was next to a beautiful river carved out between two mountain ranges, and again, just breathtaking. I checked on a map later, and the slope we climbed was only 725 feet, but given the steepness, I think that qualifies as a mountain. Then again, I’m from an area that is flatter than the awful curve ball I tried to throw in high school, so anything impresses me.
I got up in reasonable time and even beat a guy who had gotten a flat tire. How pathetic that I’m stoked on that! From there, we weaved through a valley with rice fields and apple and pear orchards, all the way to a train station that gets maybe four trains a day.
I actually got to rest and eat lunch with the rest of the club today! That’s a big kicker about falling behind; not only is it tough to get to Point B, but by the time I get there, everyone’s ready to go to Point C.
There were a few ups and downs, and on one of the ups, Mrs. Bike Shop led me down a different path. I think a younger me would have been upset about that, but the fact is that I struggle to hang with the big boys and it was best that we did what we did.
Naked cherry trees dotted the long, winding road down, and Mrs. Bike Shop told me that it was the old highway and that nobody travels it anymore. That makes it a great secret spot for cherry blossom viewing in late March, and I’m going to have to write that down and remember it.
We met up with the others and followed the inner road of a peninsula before heading back to Kochi, and it rained the whole way back. A hair under 60 miles today, all told.
I like this group. We’re out doing something during the day and we don’t go out and get plastered afteward. The members of the White Lillies Volleyball Club in Koriyama said “good morning” to each other when practice began at 1 p.m. on Sundays, and the four-hour practices were little more than a warmup for the ridiculous drinking parties that followed.
Kochi Cyclist’s Touring Club is focused on something that’s fun and good for you. They’re showing me the backroads of Kochi, and there are too many to count and probably too many to take in before I move away someday. I’m experiencing them in an exciting new way, on a bike! Way different than those long drives I liked to take in California. I wish that everyone was in good enough shape to do it this way!