Craft Beer and Cycling : Part 3 – Long Rides

Craft Beer and Cycling : Odawara / Hakone Beer

This is more an extension of the route to Garapago Racing Kaisei Handmade Beer really, but with some more hills along the way. It also takes you through the city of Odawara, so you can stop in at the castle to take a look around, and have a breather before carrying on with your journey along the Haya-kawa. It’s a slow grind up the banks of the river, but with the Hakone-Tozan on one side of you, and the river on the other, it does lend itself to some spectacular views along the route.

The final destination is Hakone Beer at either Cafe 107 or Elenna Gosso – both owned and operated by the brewery. The cafe is perfect for having a couple of beers outside, and getting some bottles to take home; while the restaurant is better for those wanting a larger meal instead. The train station at Kazamatsuri is less than a five minute walk away, so you can leisurely recline on the train back into Odawara.

You could also stop in at Odawara Garage Brewing, another solid choice for craft beer in the city

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Craft Beer and Cycling : Oku-tama / Vertere

Like the route to Sakamichi Brewing, you’ll be following the Tama-gawa for the majority of this route, but it’s also got a fair amount of climbing to do on it. You’ll also follow the route for the Ome Marathon that occurs in February – and having done both the ride and the run, I’ll take the ride any day of the week. You’ve got two choices for routes though I’d take the quieter left side of the river into Oku-tama as you get a much nicer view and less cars.

One thing to note, it’s a good idea to stock up on supplies at the Lawsons on the way up – there are no places to stock up around the area into Oku-tama and the last thing you need to face is the “bonk”. Once you’ve gotten into Oku-tama, you can then either go to the Vertere taproom or the bottle shop, but these are both only open at the weekends, so the area can get busy with tourists

. As such, food supplies in the area may be diminished and the last thing you need is to be hungry on the long train journey back into the Tokyo area. But you’ve got some cans of beer to go, so grab a seat at the back of the green car for a little bit extra to store your bike, rest, and drink a beer.

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Craft Beer and Cycling : Manazuru / Humans Beer

We’re starting to head towards the edges of Kanagawa for this ride, and you’ll going to need your cycling legs and confidence for this craft beer and cycling ride. While the ride into Odawara is pretty much standard along the beach and some road riding, around the peninsula, it can get a bit narrow, in spite of the blue chevrons on the ground, so take your time.

Saying that, on a good weather day, the ride itself has one of the best views you can enjoy on a bike. In fact, you might find yourself stopping along the way a few times to take pictures of across the Shonan Bay area, looking back towards Odawara and Enoshima. The final destination for this trip is Humans Beer, and no doubt you’ll be tired by the time you get here.

When you do arrive, before you grab that beer, pack up your bike if you can. We’re not going to be cycling any more, though there is a slight climb back to the station up some stairs. With a terrace that overlooks the bay, it’s very easy to sit here for more than two beers, with some food on the go as well. With takeaway beers available, you’ve got some good quality beers to drink on the train journey home.

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Craft Beer and Cycling : Ito / Joynt Brewing

Now we’re starting to get into the metric century rides – one’s that you share with everyone and anyone that you’ve done. You’ll take pics and be proud that you’ve achieved 100 km or more of riding in one session. These are rides that can take a good cyclist four hours to do, non-stop. If you’re more of a leisurely rider, that’s perfectly fine. No marks gained, or lost, for going at the pace that makes you happy. Be warned though, this ride goes along the coast and into, wait for it, Shizuoka. Yep, we’re going into a new prefecture now for this entry.

This is a ride that I’ve done a number of times now – once when Joynt Brewing was just a bar, and then a subsequent time when they’ve been brewing their own beers with the help of Humans Beer, and then when they’ve got all of their own beers on tap, It’s a wonderful ride along the coast, down from Manazuru, and you’ll be following the Pan Pacific route until you get here.

Joynt Brewing has a decent number of taps, with a variety of beers. Moreover they have, according to James from Yokohama Rides, some of the best tacos and Mexican dishes outside of Mexico. I don’t know though as I’ve never been to Mexico. More importantly, Ito station is about a ten minute walk away from the bar.

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Craft Beer and Cycling : Shuzenji / Baird Beer Shuzenji Gardens

This is a ride I’ve done about five times now, and there’s a variety of routes you can take for this – either going up through Odawara, and into Hakone, before dropping in through the valleys, or by going along the beach and then cutting across through the city of Ito. Both routes require a lot of climbing, so this is not a ride for the faint of heart.

It is one of the most beautiful rides though with plenty of sea and countryside before ending up at a bar with one of the most beautiful views around. We’ve also taken some liberties including Baird Beer Shuzenji Gardens because you will need to get a taxi back to the station. However, it seems the local taxi companies are aware of this and allow cyclists to rack their bikes on the back of the taxi.

As this is a long ride, it’s important that you have enough snacks and supplies, especially as you leave Ito as there is nothing on the way until you have crossed over the hills into Shuzenji. When you arrive at Baird Beer Shuzenji Gardens, rack your bike up, grab some beers, and sit out on the deck as you watch the sun go down over the mountain range.

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