2016年05月30日
Getting Away from Shikokuchūō
Hello, all!
It's very difficult not to blog about my bicycle rides every week, because I think they're the most interesting things I do! But I do try to take at least one longer ride each weekend, so I can see more of Shikoku, find places I'd never otherwise visit, and watch movies in strange new theaters. I was thinking about my riding history today and I realized that I've made a spider web of routes all across northern Shikoku!
Thank you, O Bicycle!
This web would look very strange if you mapped it—although the strands end in many places, they all converge on just a few routes near my hometown. This is the result of the "Shikokuchūō Problem." The Shikokuchūō region is where all the roads in the area come together, so I have very few options for leaving town. In fact, there are only 5 ways to get out of the city! There are three "seaside routes":
1. Route 11 West (for Matsuyama, the Ishizuchi area, and anywhere else further west than Saijo)
2. Route 13 West (the shortest rides, to Niihama or the bicycle shop in Saijo—I've done them so many times I have every turn of the road in the headlands and the timing of every light on 13 through Niihama completely memorized!)
3. Route 11 East (for Utazu, Ayagawa, Takamatsu, and absolutely anywhere else in Kagawa-ken)
...and two "mountain routes":
4. 192 East (for the lovely Miyoshi or Tokushima—you can also get to Kōchi this way if you want to avoid high mountain passes and take a less direct route)
5. 319 South (the only route that's not east or west! Mostly it's useful just for exploring the mountains, but destinations include Niihama via the Besshiyama Cycling Line, a number of dams, Senryū-ji, and Otoyo in Kōchi-ken via some very high yet rewarding passes)
And that's it! In flat Minnesota terrain, I could take off in pretty much any direction I felt like, but here in Shikoku I have to admit that I'm a little tired of my only choices being "left," "right," or "up." Maybe next time I should attach some floats and paddles to my bicycle so I can finally take a ride up north...
—Matthew
It's very difficult not to blog about my bicycle rides every week, because I think they're the most interesting things I do! But I do try to take at least one longer ride each weekend, so I can see more of Shikoku, find places I'd never otherwise visit, and watch movies in strange new theaters. I was thinking about my riding history today and I realized that I've made a spider web of routes all across northern Shikoku!
Thank you, O Bicycle!
This web would look very strange if you mapped it—although the strands end in many places, they all converge on just a few routes near my hometown. This is the result of the "Shikokuchūō Problem." The Shikokuchūō region is where all the roads in the area come together, so I have very few options for leaving town. In fact, there are only 5 ways to get out of the city! There are three "seaside routes":
1. Route 11 West (for Matsuyama, the Ishizuchi area, and anywhere else further west than Saijo)
2. Route 13 West (the shortest rides, to Niihama or the bicycle shop in Saijo—I've done them so many times I have every turn of the road in the headlands and the timing of every light on 13 through Niihama completely memorized!)
3. Route 11 East (for Utazu, Ayagawa, Takamatsu, and absolutely anywhere else in Kagawa-ken)
...and two "mountain routes":
4. 192 East (for the lovely Miyoshi or Tokushima—you can also get to Kōchi this way if you want to avoid high mountain passes and take a less direct route)
5. 319 South (the only route that's not east or west! Mostly it's useful just for exploring the mountains, but destinations include Niihama via the Besshiyama Cycling Line, a number of dams, Senryū-ji, and Otoyo in Kōchi-ken via some very high yet rewarding passes)
And that's it! In flat Minnesota terrain, I could take off in pretty much any direction I felt like, but here in Shikoku I have to admit that I'm a little tired of my only choices being "left," "right," or "up." Maybe next time I should attach some floats and paddles to my bicycle so I can finally take a ride up north...
—Matthew
Posted by teachers at 17:00│Comments(0)
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