TALES: A prodigal returns & a wish comes trueTom came to Okinawa the first time with the U.S. Army (and his mountain bike) in the early '90s. When he departed, he left behind roughly 20 miles of singletrack that he and a small group of American and Okinawa riders cut by hand through the uncharted center of this jungle-like island -- an area hallmarked by hundreds of sporadic, unmapped farm roads and paths.
For the past year and a half, I've stared at the rough map (in Kanji) posted long ago on the Okinawa Mountain Bike Association's website that chronicled the group's work, wishing I could pinpoint exactly where to find these foliage-engulfed paths that still beckoned the touch of rubber knobbies. Most frustrating was that the trail system seemed only a mile or two from my house. Making it particularly tough is the fact that there are few-to-no English-speaking "old timers" around to ask because of the military's three-year move cycle. And then it happened, quite by chance.When I returned from Iraq recently, my daughter says, "Hey dad, you've got to meet my new friend, who's really nice, she used live here and just moved back this summer. Oh, you have to meet her dad too because he really likes mountain biking."
Long story short, Tom was her dad, and had already started some maintenance on these trails with help from his son before injuring his ankle a few months
ago. Even before the injury, he'd been having a hard time getting help from fellow riders to resurrect these beauties. Garry (a 24-hour epic lover who arrived here last summer from California) and I gladly bartered our services in exchange for a tour of the entry and exit points for “Spiders & Pipes,” “Mad Hatter,” “The Hole” and “Cinderella” -- trails that, before Monday, seemed as reachable to me as El Dorado.As I suspected, these gold mines were hiding right under our noses near places I’d passed a dozen times. Tom hobbled as far as he could to point out places that needed our help, after which Garry and I hit Spiders and Pipes with machetes and saws in hand. (Since this course skirts a fence, which Okinawa's famed Banana Spiders love to anchor their webs across the trail to, it is sure to be the source of many great summer “hitch hiker” stories).
Thanks for coming back Tom!
posted by Spider Rider at 8:58 PM
4 Comments:
Awesome story! Now you just need to give us directions on how to get to the entrances!
Thanks for your response. As you can tell by reading my last post, these trails continue to be an adventure, but my goal is to get them all mapped so all may enjoy!
The map continues to challenge my computer skills, though progress is being made. Try this written version to get you started on the Eastern Trails. We’ll try to get some more pictures up as well.
Directions
From Kadena Gate 3, go straight across the intersection and take the first left past the fire station (Chibana Golf sign). Enter the golf course parking lot and park. Bathrooms and groovy canned coffee machines are here.
Chibana Segment
Get on your bike and head back out of the lot, turning left immediately out the gate. From here, just keep the fence to your left, and the road will turn into double track (the paved road turns hard right down a hill). Little dirt roads will sprout off the main double track, but just stay on the main until you run into a fork that offers a chain across the road in front of you or a hard right -- ride around the chain keeping the fence on your left. This will quickly turn into singletrack with the fence too close for comfort at times on the left, and a steep drop into vegetation on your right.
The singletrack will open briefly to an open (but dead end) area on the right and go back to singletrack. The second opening on the right will be a double track farm road – take it. Landmark: if you keep going straight at this point, you’ll be forced to ride down a concrete drainage ditch (it eventually dead ends).
On the double track, there are a few more off-shoots to the right, but stay on the main until you crest a hill and face a big stack of timber. Follow the road right at this point, and be on the look out for the hidden, singletrack entrance to Spiders & Pipes on your left through the vegetation.
Spiders & Pipes
We’ll try to get some marking for this entrance up this week, because it’s truly a bear to find. After turning right at the stack of timber (see above), you’ll be looking for an opening through the trees on the left. Once you can see a chain link fence come into view up ahead on the left, you know you’re in the right area. This fence goes around a cement factory. If you are adjacent to the fence, you’ve gone too far. If you continue on the double track, hit pavement and are looking at the cement factory entrance, you’ve gone way too far.
When you do find the entrance (It's right of Tom as you look at the picture in the referenced post), enjoy the quick but tight downhill to the bottom. There will be a chain link gate on your left, and a nicely groomed, wide path leading to a pond on the right. Keep going straight and you’ll climb some singletrack that includes two mini bridges, before opening up to double track.
After passing a dirt quarry-looking area on the right, continue straight until the double-track forks with a paved road going downhill to your right and into the cement factories rear gate. Stay left and stop where you are staring at a very inviting three-tiered downhill run. I encourage you to take this little intermission, but know two things: (1) you’ll have to walk it back up unless you’ve got Lance’s legs, and (2) you’ll have to walk it back up because S&P continues from the top of the run – not the bottom.
As your looking down, turn right and follow the single track for a relatively short distance until you hit a concrete drainage ditch (careful, the growth sometime hides it – not a fun surprise). Turn right and stay on the near side of the ditch until open back into singletrack on the far side. From here, the singletrack twists and turns, up and down, through woods for quite a while.
The trail will eventually come to a “T” intersection with a double track road. If you look across the road, you’ll see a white hardhat with an orange spider logo nailed to a tree across from you. Turn left and the singletrack resumes. The trail quickly turns right and you’ll have a chain link fence to your left. Follow the trail until you come out at pavement (careful of the last whoop-dee-doo since there’s a hidden drainage ditch with a very small bridge to hit just before the pavement. You’re now on a Kurashiki Dam access road.
Mad Hatter
This one’s dicey, since I haven’t actually been on the trail. Hopefully, I can get out for a closer look in the coming weeks, but I’ll describe how to reach the entrance and show you a picture of the exit.
From the S&P exit, go right down the paved road until you hit an intersection. Turn right and this will lead you to the Kurashiki Dam parking lot. There’s a paved access road that forks off to the right as you first enter the lot that typically has a chain across it. Go around the chain and follow the pavement as the road turn right up a hill. The trail head is “somewhere” on the right, and it’s pretty much a straight shot to the well-marked exit (big, yellow sign) at a paved road.
The Hole
The Hole has basically been overgrown, but its entrance is immediately across the road from the Mad Hatter exit. Both the Hatter exit and the Hole entrance are parked with orange spiders on vehicle guard rails. More on these and Cinderalla as we continue to explore.
I hope this helps get you started and, please let folks know via OMBA if you plan to ride -- there's usually someone who'd love to join you!
Eric,
Thanks for the write up. I am in the Army by the way (no worries). I have alot more trail that only a few people actually know about that I plan to get to when I recover.
A normal Spider Loop is ride from Gate #3 through the East trails (Chibana/S&P/Mad hatter)then through MudRock to La Luge, up Heartbreak Ridge through either the Mother or Hawk East and then down Spider Alley and out and around back to gate #3. Approximately 3-4 hours depending on abilities/conditioning and breaks.
Now a Grand Loop would be what was mentioned and then turn around and go back.
Tom
Thanks for the note, and sorry about the Air Force thing Tom -- I put you back in the Army. I'm ready for the 4-hour trek when you are -- I figure you'll show us all a thing or two.
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