Because It’s There: a 400km Ride Around and Around Lake Biwa

In Japanese, bicycling a full loop around Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake, is called 「ビワ1」(“Biwa 1”), and depending on the
route you take, is about 180~200km (112~124mi). It's a concept and phrase well known among cyclists, and even promoted by the
Shiga Prefectural government, and that of various cities around the lake.

It's a lovely ride to do on a long summer day, with lots to see and enjoy, as I present in the story about the first
time I did it 2½ years ago, in
“Bicycle Ride Around Japan’s Largest Lake” (and its Part 2).

Part of what makes it interesting is the discovery and the newness, so it's a bit boring to do again. Still, half a year later, I did it in fast, not-sightseeing mode, in this 200km (125mi) ride.

So, having done it a couple of times and looking to up my does, my thoughts went to 「ビワ2」, two loops. During the zippy
attempt, the actual loop itself (that is, excluding to and from the lake) took 6h 10m, so I thought I
shouldn't have too much trouble doing two of them in one day. I thought I'd give it a try on my 50th birthday, but I ended up
visiting my folks in Ohio then, so it remained an unfulfilled goal.

So, I finally did it this past Wednesday, completing 408km (254 mi) in 18½ overall hours:

I set out from my house in Kyoto at 4:10am, to meet the two others I would ride with,
Ionut (seen on this post), and Hatano-san
(seen on this one).

iPhone 7 Plus front camera 2.87mm f/2.2 at an effective 32mm — 1/15 sec, f/2.2, ISO 1600 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Waiting with a Cup of Coffee

4:30am, western Kyoto, about 11°C (52°F)

Ionut's day got off to a bad start with a puncture on the way to the meeting point, so he was a bit late to arrive. We eventually got going and climbed over the short mountain between Kyoto and the city of Otsu, to a tiny traffic circle near the
lake that would be our start, middle, and end.

iPhone 7 Plus front camera 2.87mm f/2.2 at an effective 32mm — 1/15 sec, f/2.2, ISO 2000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Ready To Start the First Loop

5:10am, Port of Otsu, about 10°C (50°F)

We did a loop around the little grass-filled traffic circle seen in the background at the start and end of each loop, to “lock
in” the loop and make the full loop unambiguous. And then we were off as a paceline at a brisk pace.

A “paceline” is when you ride with others single file, taking turns at the head of the line, and other times drafting immediately behind the others, to save energy. When
you're at the front, you take group responsibility for watching for hazards, as those behind you can't see the road or side hazards
because you're in the way, and when you're behind others with your wheels separated by just inches, you pay hyper attention to the
movement and signals from the person in front, lest they swerve or slow down and you don't react appropriately.

402SH at an effective 30mm — 1/19 sec, f/1.9, ISO 500 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Half an Hour In

5:45am, 8℃ (46℉), 35 kph (22 mph)

photo by Ionut Sandu

Most everything with the paceline went smoothly, except for one adrenaline-pumping event early on when it was still pitch
dark on a middle-of-nowhere stretch of road. Hatano-san was leading the paceline, and I pulled out of it to move forward to take
my turn at the front, and in the process came across a very dark hump of roadkill in the middle of the very dark (but otherwise
pristine) road. It's the kind of road hazard that one could easily go over or avoid, so the danger was in the surprise. I bobbled,
but thankfully did not pay the price for my inattention. I did not make that kind of mistake again.

We took even turns early on, but as the day progressed, Ionut took longer and longer turns at the front. He's by far the
strongest, and wanted to train for a long endurance race he has coming up, so except for a small part of me with pride, I was happy to let him pull. All in all, he pulled for probably 80% of the day.

402SH at an effective 30mm — 1/1500 sec, f/1.9, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Gorgeous Sunrise

6:30am (1h20m into the first loop), 7℃ (45℉), 32 kph (20 mph)

photo by Ionut Sandu

Because I spent my mental energy on riding safely (and on worrying about the total distance, and about fretting at how long it
was to the next milestone, and worrying about what body part was in pain at the moment), I didn't pay much attention to the
scenery, but the sunrise was gorgeous, with deep rich oranges and blues painted with a warm, rich gradient.

I'm thankful that Ionut had the energy (both physically and electronically) to take a few photos. To allow my iPhone to record
the whole ride, I turned off all its antennas except for GPS (turned off WiFi, Bluetooth, and cellular), put it into low-power
mode, and touched it as little as possible. After 19 hours, the battery was still at 47%, so I guess I didn't need to be so
severe.

But I'm glad I had it and could record my whole ride. I brought four different devices to record the ride with,
and two had troubles. The iPhone worked perfectly, but my Garmin Edge 820 wouldn't even turn on. I've been having all
kinds of problems with it lately, but thought I had them taken care of until the morning of the ride when it seemed to
turn on but the screen didn't display anything. I brought it with me in the hopes that it'd record everything, but it
was just dead weight, and it recorded nothing all day.

Then there's the Polar M460 that I bought as a backup when the Garmin started acting up. This piece-of-shit cycling computer is
worth a whole blog post of ridicule on its own. It's horrible. I had to stop early in the ride to de-register my heart-rate sensor
because it kept popping up “HR sensor battery low” messages, sometimes multiple times per second, even though the HR sensor
battery was new and full. The message would stay there until I pressed a button, after which another one would come anywhere from
after a few minutes, to instantly. It took a while with it's ridiculous input system to clear the HR sensor from the unit, and the
resulting silence was angelic, but it seems to have decided to drop all sensor data from that point, even though it displayed it
(e.g. power data) to me during the ride. These are just a few of the many problems I encounter with this unit. I sent a note to Polar,
and they still haven't even responded.

I also had an old Garmin eTrex 20, which recorded everything fine.

402SH at an effective 30mm — 1/90 sec, f/1.9, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

taken at 36 kph (22 mph)

photo by Ionut Sandu

In even considering to attempt this ride, I questioned whether I had the strength and endurance to complete it. A year ago I
would not have given it a second thought, but this year has not been kind to my fitness, and I'm not even close to my peak. But as it turned out, I felt strong on the flats, which is most of the route.

Mentally, I didn't feel so strong, and the ride ended up being much tougher mentally than physically. Milestones along the
route were so slow to come, and it was taxing to keep wondering “When on earth will we get to the spot?”.

402SH at an effective 30mm — 1/380 sec, f/1.9, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Heading South in Makino

9:30am (4:20 min into first loop), 15℃ (59℉), 28 kph (18 mph)

photo by Ionut Sandu








iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/17 sec, f/1.8, ISO 160 —
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Aerobars

I'd borrowed some clip-on aerobars from a friend, which allow me to rest my elbows on the handlebar and relax in a fairly
aerodynamic posture, as seen in the next photo, while maintaining good power and cadence.

402SH at an effective 30mm — 1/750 sec, f/1.9, ISO 32 —
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photo by Ionut Sandu

I really liked them, feeling natural the first time I tried them the day before. These particular ones were a bit short for me,
so I did have to put some thought into a position that didn't hurt my elbows and wrists.

Perhaps six hours in, an hour before we were done with the first loop, I lamented that we wouldn't make
it to the grassy traffic circle to finish the first loop by noon. Ionut said that we'd not go all the way down there, but instead
cut off about 40km (25mi) of the bottom of the lake by cutting across the Great Biwa Bridge. This had been his plan all along in
order to help ensure we finished at a reasonable hour, but I had clearly not understood it.

I was surprised at my reaction. I'd spent the last three or four hours worried that I'd not have the fortitude to continue,
that I'd give up after the first loop, but in hearing that 40km would be cut off, I immediately told them to go ahead as they
liked, but I'd continue to finish the loop. It was meaningless to me to cut off the end of the first loop (and cut off the start
of the second loop, for that matter), as that would give us zero loops for the day, and I came into it planning to do two full
loops if possible, but at a minimum one full loop.

We talked about the timing and how late we'd likely get home, and in the end we continued as a group to finish the full loop.

402SH at an effective 30mm — 1/380 sec, f/1.9, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Almost Done with the First Loop

Noon (7h into first loop), 21℃ (70℉)

photo by Ionut Sandu









iPhone 7 Plus front camera 2.87mm f/2.2 at an effective 32mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.2, ISO 25 —
map & image data — nearby photos

One Loop Down

12:20pm

In the end, the first loop took 7:13:35, more
than an hour longer than it took me last time I'd tried alone. Because we went slower, and were working as a team, I had ample
physical energy, so it was with less dread than I expected that we started the second loop.

Hitano-san had been having increasing pain in his knee, so he decided to bow out at this point. It's lucky that we had
continued to finish the whole loop, because had we not, then by the time he felt the need to abandon, he'd have been much farther
from home.

Ionut and I continued on.

27km (16mi) into the second loop, we stopped at a cycling statue recently installed near the lakeshore.

iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/8000 sec, f/1.8, ISO 25 —
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Detour off the Cycling Path








iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/3200 sec, f/1.8, ISO 20 —
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Ballerina Bicyclist

The plaque says “Lake Biwa”, and the somewhat presumptuous “Cyclist Hallowed Ground”.

iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/450 sec, f/1.8, ISO 20 —
map & image data — nearby photos

It's a nice statue, and a nice place to pause. (It'd be nice if there were some services nearby, such as toilet or water, but I
guess the lake can serve for both