As the colors of autumn were deepening, we set foot in one of the more difficult regions to access in Japan.
This is the Shikoku region, the host for this RIDEALIVE.
My hometown of Kochi, in particular, is a place that is quite challenging to reach by land.
I’d love to say, "Of course, by bicycle," for the journey from Nagoya to Shikoku, but since the ride in Shikoku was the main dish this time, I took an FDA (Fuji Dream Airlines) flight from Komaki to fly directly into Kochi.
The RIDEALIVE I wanted to express is a journey that connects land to land.
To ride long distances of over 100km a day and enjoy the changes in terrain and scenery.
Amidst the sensation of being stripped down and becoming solid the more I pedaled, I wanted to feel my own breath and heartbeat, the sound of the chain meshing, the friction between the tires and the ground, the wind and temperature, the presence of living creatures, and the sound of the steadily flowing river.
Here is the route we completed over these two days.
We started at SHIOKAZE STORE in Tokushima City and followed the "Yoshino River," a first-class river with a mouth over 2km wide, all the way to Kochi.
It’s a grueling route that crosses the peaks of the famous "Mount Tsurugi" and "Kyobashira Pass," which served as a checkpoint for the Japanese Odyssey, one of Japan's premier ultra-distance races, before heading to the foot of Kochi Castle.
I will provide a thorough report of this trip across the Shikoku Mountains, so please stay with me for a while.
The meeting time was 8:30 AM.
Having arrived in Tokushima the night before, I headed to the meeting point, Shiokaze Store, while still feeling full from the fried rice I had for dinner with my travel companions.
The fried rice was from a shop recommended by Gori-san of Shiokaze Store, who is acting as our ambassador this time. I learned the hard way that you shouldn't casually order both ramen and fried rice. It was delicious, though.
While my energy levels were fine, to be honest, I was terrified of this route because it involved constant climbing, something I haven't done in a long time. I started out with a sense of anxiety about whether I would really be able to make it to the end.
The companions who joined me also seemed to have slightly anxious expressions.
But there was no turning back. Our 200km RIDEALIVE had begun.
First, local rider Gori-san expertly guided us through Tokushima City.
I think most people dislike riding through city centers, but I have a feeling that the riders you can trust most are those who can ride gracefully through a city—perhaps because my own roots in cycling are in the city.
Let me introduce our ambassador for this trip.
Yuki Matsumoto, a.k.a. Gori-san
I first met Gori-san at a bike shop when I was a high school student in Kochi.
I wonder if Gori-san was about my age back then.
When I went to a local shop to buy a bike for the first time on my own, Gori-san just happened to be there (he wasn't staff). He said, "Why not this one?" and that settled what my first bike would be.
At that time, he was riding a fixie and playing freely in the city, but now his scope has widened, and he continues to enjoy many roads on a wide variety of bikes, including road bikes, MTBs, and CX bikes.
After riding through some fairly large roads, we enjoyed a pleasant ride up the riverbed, following the gentle flow of the Yoshino River upstream.
There was no wind that day, and we spent the first 40km so peacefully that it was as if the anxiety I felt at the start had never existed.
It was a bit early, but we had udon for lunch just after 11 AM.
You choose your favorite udon and add tempura or rice balls.
When you enter an udon shop in Shikoku, it’s usually this "self-service" style.
There was a reason we had lunch early.
From here on, there are absolutely no places to eat, let alone buy supplies.
The next place we can purchase anything is at the summit of Mt. Tsurugi, our goal for the day.
Having started by riding along the gentle riverbed and eating lunch, our guard was down, and the anxiety of "Is it all climbing from here to the finish?" began to creep back in.
We all gulped down some Seven-Eleven coffee to wash away that unease.
This climb begins by following the Anabuki River, which has its source on Mt. Tsurugi.
The Anabuki River is considered a first-class river as a tributary of the Yoshino River.
We were climbing gradually, but contrary to our earlier anxiety, we found ourselves chatting as we rode up the mild incline. With the pleasant afternoon sunshine, we kept pedaling at a comfortable tempo.
The view before us was a valley created by the Shikoku Mountains and the Anabuki River.
A river so beautiful it was almost too clear flowed alongside us.
The deeply carved valley is quite impressive, as expected from a tributary of the Yoshino River, which has the nickname "Shikoku Saburo" for being a wild, raging river.
After climbing calmly for three hours, we reached the final 20km mark just as the sun started to dip.
I was spinning the wheels thinking we might manage to arrive before dark, but what I was concerned about was the fact that we hadn't hit any really intense, punchy climbs yet.
Mt. Tsurugi is the second-highest mountain in Shikoku, with an altitude near 2,000m.
Even though the entrance to the trail below is at about 1,400m altitude, the climbs so far had been too gentle.
That’s right—our current altitude was 400m, and we had to climb 1,000m all at once in the remaining 20km.
I knew it, but I felt a touch of despair.
This is where the group split up for the first time during the final climb.
There was a group supporting those who aren't great at climbing, and a group that had no such luxury and was just desperately pedaling away.
I was in the latter group, pedaling desperately while trusting that our companions catching up from behind would make it—all while driven by the urge to reach the goal before sunset.
Since the sun was setting behind Mt. Tsurugi, the sunset felt early.
One member, excited by the situation, zoomed ahead. I pedaled desperately to follow him as he quickly disappeared from view.
Personally, I really dislike climbing and even feel aversion to it, but knowing there were people far ahead, people slightly ahead, and companions desperately climbing up from behind, I didn't feel like I was riding alone, and it was fun.
There were moments when I was completely alone with no one in sight, but when I looked up, the twilight mountains were spread out before me, and even in the middle of a painful climb, I found myself thinking, "I want to stay in this space longer."
This sensation is undoubtedly one of the charms of cycling.
As I was thinking about that, the companion who should have been way ahead stopped to wait for me, and when we rejoined and started riding, I heard the voices of our friends from the switchbacks below.
Then, we all aimed for the summit together.
Cycling really is interesting.
5km to the summit.
This last 5km was also a challenging climb. The guy who had been riding way ahead collapsed. Both his legs cramped, and he fell to the ground.
He was amazing for managing to get back up and finish the ride without injury.
We arrived almost exactly as the sun went down, devoured our meal, finished our beers, and went to sleep in preparation for the next day.
Feeling a bit of yesterday's fatigue, I got up early, hoping to see the sunrise from Mt. Tsurugi.
Along with the sunrise, I imagined the road we must have traveled yesterday.
Seeing the overlapping silhouettes of the mountains made me realize again just how much we had climbed.
Mt. Tsurugi is a habitat for the Japanese serow, and we were able to encounter several of them while climbing. I could hear many birds singing in the sunrise, which showed just how full of life this mountain is.
Perhaps because bicycles are so quiet and slow compared to cars, a pheasant suddenly appeared around a curve. Being able to meet so many creatures might be another charm of cycling.
The second day, unlike the first, was generally a descent.
Although the distance was longer than the first day, the travel time was expected to be shorter since it was a downhill-based route.
This time, we used National Route 439 as our main route, then switched to another national highway that leads to Kochi City midway through.
This "Koku-do" (a play on words for "punishing road") known as Route 439 seems to be a very symbolic route for motorcyclists. The narrow, winding route continues from Mt. Tsurugi to the Shimanto River.
Along the way, we stopped at the Kazurabashi bridge made of vine plants and shivered at the creaking of the vines, and were surprised by the surreal nature of the scarecrow village, enjoying the Iya region.
This region is also called the "Heike Village," as it is believed that the defeated Heike warriors from the Battle of Dan-no-ura arrived here carrying the Emperor Antoku.
If you have an interest in history, this is a must-visit hidden gem in Tokushima Prefecture.
After leaving Iya, we headed to Kyobashira Pass, the peak of our second day.
Because of numerous rains and typhoons, we couldn't even reach this mountain pass during our test runs without taking a detour, but fortunately, the repairs were finished, and we were able to take the official road.
Being a center for the forestry industry, we were able to ride through a majestic Japanese cedar forest lining both sides of the road.
True to its reputation as a "punishing road," it was quite a hill climb, but perhaps thanks to the experience from the previous day, we all climbed together, making it a highly enjoyable route.
In the final half of the climb, we were able to ride on very clean pavement because the collapsed road had been repaired.
There's no mistaking the feeling of "Wait, is this really a punishing road?"
When you finish winding up the mountain road, you emerge at the very scenic Kyobashira Pass.
Looking toward Tokushima, you can see the road you've traveled, and looking toward Kochi, you can see the road ahead. There was a bit of haze, but it was still incredibly open and pleasant.
Since Kyobashira Pass is the highest point of National Route 439, there are many visitors.
It seems there was an udon shop here until a few years ago, and even now, only the foundation remains. As we were eating our boxed lunches, many people were climbing up by bike or car because it was a long weekend.
Now, from here on, it’s all downhill! We just had to cascade down into Kochi City.
Unlike the climb, the descent lovers zoomed ahead.
I took a photo, and they were already gone. It took everything I had to catch up.
Before I knew it, we had descended the pass and reached Nankoku City.
When car and train traffic increases, you start to feel the end of the trip.
This journey, which covered about half of Shikoku, mainly took us through the Shikoku Mountains, with about 3,500m of total climbing and a total distance of 200km. Looking back at previous RIDEALIVEs, this was a fairly difficult itinerary.
Along the way, there were "Salt Roads" and legends of the fallen Heike warriors, and many place names reflected the harshness of the terrain. It’s mind-boggling to think that people used to traverse those mountain areas on foot or with horses and cows, but by traversing them with my own body, I could realize it more strongly.
Thinking about such things, we headed into Kochi City, passing through roads I used to take to visit friends' houses.
We headed toward Kochi Castle while riding alongside the streetcar.
When we entered Otesuji, the main street that passes in front of Kochi Castle and serves as a main stage for the Yosakoi Festival, the Sunday Market held every week was in progress.
This market is a street market held on Otesuji with over 300 years of tradition. Unfortunately, as they were closing up shop, it wasn't bustling, but we were able to enjoy the mood.
Watching the Sunday market, we arrived on foot at Kochi Castle, our goal.
Time for a commemorative goal photo.
After that, we each left our bags at our lodgings and gathered to eat some of Kochi's delicious food.
First, we headed to Donko, an izakaya famous for its *tataki* (seared bonito).
Since our group was small, being able to get into this popular little izakaya was a delicious stroke of luck. Every dish was incredibly good, and it was more than enough to funnily conclude the road we had just traveled.
The taste of beer sliding down a dry throat...
Tough rides are painful, but if you have companions, you can share what you saw, what you felt, the same time, and the same space. The groove born from riding with friends was pleasant, and both our chopsticks and glasses were kept moving.
The most brutal RIDEALIVE, grand finale!
It was around July this year that I got a call about this project from Yuya, a Circles staff member and a junior I've known since his fixie days. "I want to ride from Tokushima to Kochi. It's a trip back home." He mentioned something tough so casually, and I felt anxious about whether he was really okay.
After the route was decided in September, we didn't have much time until the event, so I spent my days off doing test runs, spending all day at a time, to check the route up to Kyobashira Pass on the border of Tokushima and Kochi, looking for road closures or dangerous spots. I wanted an objective judgment from someone other than myself on whether this route was truly okay and if there were any points to watch out for, so I had customers and Yusuke join me on test runs. (To the customers and Yusuke, thank you for your cooperation.)
This ride was different from the RAL I know. I intended to prepare as much as possible so that all participants could finish without trouble or retiring, but Shikoku is a place with a character that is inherently tough—just going around the Shikoku 88 temples is an ascetic practice in itself—and unlike previous RIDEALIVEs, this was a route that was simply tough just by riding it. I was worried there might even be our first-ever retirement. When we reached the goal of Kochi Castle on the final day, I felt relieved from the bottom of my heart. I'm really glad we were able to finish this RAL safely without any major trouble.
Looking back on that day now, I think it was tough but fun. That's all. There are many ways to enjoy cycling, but we at Shiokaze Store believe that one of them is experiencing the other side of something difficult, and this RAL was a ride event where the content and our mindset aligned. I'm very happy to have been able to help with the RAL Yuya planned, to have shaped it, and to have shared it with everyone who participated. I'm looking forward to everyone coming to visit Tokushima again.
Please make sure to read the Shiokaze Store's blog as well!!
There is a perfect saying for this RIDEALIVE Shikoku.
It's a phrase you see all over Kochi, meaning "Be strong and firm!"
The 200km we rode for this RIDEALIVE was by no means easy.
However, the sense of accomplishment you feel after crossing many painful climbs is exceptional.
Even if a ride seems a bit tough, I hope you will challenge yourself. Even if you end up turning back midway, it's important that you stepped out to ride.
With those thoughts, the words that appeared when I arrived in Kochi were these:
Tassui ga wa ikan!
YUYA【CIRCLES】
| Frame | All-City | Macho King “15 |
| HeadSet | ChrisKing | Inset 7 |
| Wheel | Chris King x Velocity | R45D x Aileron |
| Tire | TERAVAIL | Rampart 700 x 38c |
| Stem | SimWorks by NITTO | Rhonda |
| Main Group | Shimano | Ultegra 6800 |
| Handle Bag | Outer Shell | Drawcord Handlebar Bag |
| Seat Bag | Outer Shell | Expedition Seatbag |
| Helmet | Smith | Forefront |
| Shoes | Quoc Pham | Grantourer |
TEXT by Yuya ／ PHOTO by Yuya,Takenouchi