Beautiful June Day - Ride with Didi

 Didier was in town from Hong Kong this weekend, so I joined him for a "flat" ride on Saturday. We took his normal route to Hinode and back ... though we got separated a few times when he went someplace I was not expecting, and I stuck to my well-ridden roads or the path. It was a bit hot, but generally really nice weather for June. Later on, in the early evening, was incredible -- a cool breeze, dry air. Not Tokyo June! Of course, Sunday was much more sticky, and rain started after noon.

I felt lethargic, but I think that had more to do with the cold I got a week earlier than anything else. At least I got in 92kms and was not totally knackered. And good to catch up with another former Tokyoite returning to town. Seems to be a theme in recent weeks.

Still, I am not in the shape I was in 2015. I need to train!

Takao - Shiroyama Saturday Spin

On Saturday I took a short (~95km) trip with Jerome and Didier in not-too-hot but stiflingly humid weather.   We started late, amid heavy traffic, and needed to return early. At Takao, an overheating Jerome took a dip in the Asagawa.

Many passersby chuckled.  A few applauded.

Orange cosmos hide the Parlee Altum-R and Gokiso wheels.
Fun to ride a zippy road bike after lots of randonneuring the past month! 

Then we took Machida Kaido and did the climb to Shiroyama Dam, finally a route without traffic on the climb and descent.  Then back to town via the "tank road" and Onekan. As Jerome warned from a recent trip, two-thirds of the length of the "tank road" was mobbed with zombies staring at smartphones playing "pokemon go".

I pinch flatted near the bottom of the last descent on Onekan going over a big gap at the beginning of the last bridge ... Too late I realized that I had high rim wheels, short/mid-length valves on my spare tubes and no valve extender.  I patched my flat tube ... and made it another 4~5 kms.  There followed a number of attempts at a fix, none successful, and in the end I rode a few kms on the flat tube with JJ and DD to Seo Cycles north of Komae, got a valve extender, and was able to ride home.

I cannot wait for cooler, dry weather. But Sunday and Monday has been rainy, and the next week looks like more of the same.

Didier and his Hong Kong Bike

This bike looks just perfect for zipping around the busy streets of Hong Kong without getting killed by a speeding taxicab.  Maintenance is minimal, and hardly takes any storage space ... unless, that is, you live in Flatland.

Saturday Full Paul Jason

On Saturday I rode the "Paul Jason Memorial course" -- over Wada Pass, then the golf course hills of Uenohara, then over the climb to Kobu Tunnel, and back in via the Akigawa and Tamagawa.  145 kms and around 1500 meters of elevation gain.

We had some major delays on the outbound leg.  The planned 730AM start had been shifted to 8AM, then 820AM, at Jerome's request.  Then another delay. Didier's rear brake cable was stuck when he and Jerome arrived at my place.  We replaced the cable with a spare from my supply.  850AM by the time we got on the road. Then, as we headed toward Hachioji, Didier's left pedal started to wobble.  After tightening it once, it loosened again.  Finally it came entirely detached from the crankarm and he "one legged" it the last 5 kms or so into Hachioji.  I joined with one leg drills, and Jerome offered Didier regular pushes on his back or shoulder.

In Hachioji we stopped at the "You Can!" bike shop.  I have seen You Can jerseys in Japan as long as I can remember, but had never been to the shop.  In fact, it turns out, there are now 8 shops, 3 in the Kanto area and others far away.  The shop did not open until 11AM on Sunday, but someone was inside at 10:20AM and kindly took a look.  The problem was not in the pedal, but in the left crank arm. So Didier ended up with a new crankset, BB and chain.

Open from 11 ... but emergency service at 1020AM!

While we waited, we walked a few blocks to a Doutor Coffee shop for "morning set" including coffee.  Jerome and Didier, with anti-pollen masks and sun glasses, looked like bank robbers trying not to be caught on video.  They jokingly told the clerk at Doutor "this is a stick up.  Turn over the money!"  Fortunately, he got the joke.

Your coffee or your life!

The You Can repairs done quickly, professionally and at a reasonable price.  We met Kamiya-san, the founder of the small chain of shops.  I showed him my Parlee and Gokiso wheels (and Dipell bartape). We headed onward.  It was nearly Noon and we were not even to Takao.  As we entered the mountains, the pollen was so thick I could taste it on my teeth.

On the rindo climb.  Some leaves and branches under the rubber.

I made it up the forest road approach to Wada Toge in good time, Jerome and Didier following.  As I waited for them at the top, 3 young women cyclists came up the front/main road, each gasping for breath as she crested this very, very tough climb.  One offered to take a photo of me with my bike.  So when we later wanted a traditional Positivo Espresso pose of 3 riders with bikes, we asked her to take that picture.

She and her friends seemed to get the joke, and so I offered to snap their photo in a similar pose.

A new tradition is born.

The descent down Wada - Ura was great.  I REALLY like descending on the Parlee (Altum R).  It is I think the nicest bike I have ever ridden for a descent with corners and varied grades.  Nimble. Smooth.  Goes just where I point it.  Grounded.

After a quick convenience store lunch, we had more and more climbing.  Then after the descent from Kobu Tunnel, Didier and I said goodbye to Jerome as he headed for Tomin no Mori.  Didier and I headed home, arriving not too long after dark.

All in all, not the longest of training rides, nor even the most climbing, but no slouch either, and nice to enjoy the forced interlude in Hachioji and the "wait at the top" rest at Wada.

My only complaint about the day was the pollen.  For some reason, this year my loratidine seems to have failed me, and today I am a sniffling wreck. No doubt I will recover quickly, and be back in the saddle again on future weekends.

Tsuru Toge Again!

An overdue post from a ride 2 weeks ago.  Stephen C. was back in town, and Jerome visited his place in Oume, staying out there Saturday evening.  Didier and I headed out to meet them for a Sunday ride, in spectacular riding weather.

We rode fast to make the 10AM rendezvous point, at Kori between Oume and Okutama-ko.  Stephen had already headed up toward Okutama-ko, wanting a head start.  I took a quick rest and continued on toward him, while Didier and Jerome wanted a bit more time at Kori.

I waited for them at the far end of Okutama-ko, the bridge where Route 139 leaves Route 411.  There was way too much traffic on Route 411 for me to want to climb Yanagisawa Pass, again.  But Stephen was still farther up the road, already at Tabayama.  We tracked him down by mobile phone (lucky) and agreed he would come over Imagawa Pass to meet us.  We would go via Route 139/Kosuge and climb toward Imagawa Pass from the south side.

We met Stephen near the top, descended back to Kosuge ... with me getting a flat near the bottom as my rims overheated from constant braking.  Imagawa is deceptive.  It looks like a beautiful forest road -- kind of like the nicest sections of Sasago Pass.

But it is all over 10%, much of it 13-15% in grade.  I made the mistake of stopping for some photos, and needed to walk at least 50 meters up the hill to a slightly wider road area before I could remount.

We climbed from Kosuge again to the base of Matsuhime, but Didier and I decided that we would only get back to Tokyo if we instead went via Tsuru Pass, down Route 18/33 to Uenohara.  Jerome and Stephen climbed with us to the top, then headed back down to Okutama and Oume -- they would ride again the next day.

At the top, as we said farewell, I could not help noticing the power lines that blocked the view to the South.  I used to think of these as visual pollution.  Now that I am trying to develop some solar power projects, I think "6.6kV, high voltage line, appropriate for interconnection of projects up to 2MW peak output."

And when I look at the pole at the top of the pass, I think "automatic load balancer; is there any place nearby that would be a decent solar project site?"  (In this case, ... no.)

Anyway, we said our farewells and Didier and I headed for home, quickly.  It was over 180 kms for me, and about 200 for Didier, at a good pace.  I felt strong most of the way, as if I am getting some benefit from regular rides over the prior month, plus commuting more in town on bike than I was during the summer heat.

On the way from Tsuru Pass toward Uenohara.  A beautiful road!

Looking back toward Tsuru/Tawa Passes, as a nearby resident approaches.

Le Velo Avec J.J. et DiDi

DiDi and J.J. at the rest area before the last climb to Tsuru Pass

Today we enjoyed a classic Positivo Espresso Spring training and fun ride on le velo.  The trip was just over 175km from my house, with the highlight being the trip up Yamanashi Pref. Route 18 from the Uenohara area to Tsuru Pass and beyond.  This road continues to be one of my favorites -- a climb through a quiet valley with a river that runs through it, and traffic limited to some locals and a very few people who need to get to and from Kosuge village on the North side of the pass.

We left my house at 8AM (actually, a bit later, as Jerome was running late), and joined James, Dominic, Shane and Tim for the ride out to Hachioji.  They were headed up Jimba Kaido toward Bonbori Rindo, while we planned to go via Route 20 and out over Otarumi.  We did not have a clear plan after that.  In classic Positivo Espresso fashion, the ride had been agreed at the last minute, with no clear goal except to go far and climb high, or at least higher than in the winter months.

Didier passes a motorcycle at the line -- hilltop finish.

At our refueling stop in Hachioji, I was able to chat briefly with Tim, who mentioned that he had been the Tokyo-based private equity coverage investment banker at a large U.S. based brokerage, before moving to the same group's commercial banking arm.   It occurred to me a bit later in the day that I met him in such capacity back in 2005, shortly after my arrival in Tokyo. ... somehow I did not recognize him with his helmet and Oakley glasses, nearly 7 years later. Not the first time I have not put 2 + 2 together when I meet someone in cycling garb after having known them in business (or vice versa).

I gave my best Euro-cyclist imitation today -- white jersey (PBP2011!), white shoes (Scott), white arm warmers and white bicycle (Canyon).  Assos cap and formerly white Assos bib shorts ...   But black leg warmers and flourescent green  shoe covers ruin the effect.

We were blessed with near perfect cycling weather -- cool, even chilly and windy at higher elevations and on the descents -- and blue sky, dry pavement, and the scent of Spring in the air.  The plum festival was on in Oume, even though the blossoms have not quite arrived yet because of the recent cold weather.

Instead of Route 18, we took an even-more-local road, bypassing Tawa Pass -- as shown to me by Steve T.  last year.  I told Jerome and Didier about the little old lady who always is out tending her field on the steep hillside below the road ... and she appeared on cue, and even responded to a wave and greeting!

A tailwind pushed us much of the way home down the Tamagawa.

Sunday Ride - Shiroyama, Tsukui, Otarumi

Sunday was at least dry enough for us to get a group headed out of town in the morning and up the Tamagawa.

View from above Shiroyama Dam toward the mountains around Miyagase-ko and the foot of Doshi-michi

James K and two of his friends peeled off to ride Yomiuri V Dori and then head back to central Tokyo.  Dominic and Doug peeled off at end of One Kansen Doro for the Starbucks and then a return to town.

Jerome, Didier, Graham and I went on via the "tank road", then up a hill to Shiroyama Dam, around the North side of Lake Tsukui, then back over Otarumi and home down the Asagawa and Tamagawa.   

We ducked out of the rain that started as we near the top of Otarumi for ramen and gyoza at Fujiya, the little hilltop ramen shop that welcomes cyclists.  They even had a bicycle rack, and when the rain strengthened they helped move our bikes under roof cover, and lent us a towel to wipe off the seats dry.  

It was a wet descent, but the pavement had pretty much dried again by the time we made it back to the Tamagawa.

Didier enters the steep part of the climb to Shiroyama Dam.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is a national holiday ... and the forecast is for dry, if cold, weather.  An even better day for a ride!

Cervelo Farewell Rides

My new Canyon frameset left Koblenz, Germany on Friday the 16th.  It made it to Narita (via Shenzhen and United Parcel Service) on Thursday the 22nd, just before this 3-day weekend.  I hope it will actually get delivered early this coming week.

_______________________________


 
Last weekend, on Sunday the 18th, Didier and I rode in muggy weather up Wada Pass via the Rindo approach.  On the climb, my first trip to Wada since before summer, I somehow got into my head that Wada Pass had an elevation of 600 meters, 210 meters higher than Otarumi ... but eventually as the road kept headed up, was forced to acknowledge that the top is 700 meters.  Of course, the Rindo approach we took goes another 40 meters or so higher to 740 meters elevation, before you approach the Pass descending along the spine of the ridge.

We returned via the "main" road down from the Pass - Jimba Kaido - and saw many Japanese riders suffering in the heat, struggling to turn over their cranks, or resting by the roadside having abandoned part way up the climb -- five years ago that would have been me!  And at one point, a car I had been stuck behind met 3 cars coming up the road on a narrow stretch -- instant gridlock that allowed me to pass and continue the climb without any traffic. ... No photos though.  Thanks Didier for a nice ride.
_______________________________________________

Saturday September 24.  The Cervelo enjoys a well-deserved rest in dappled shade and a cool breeze, outside a courtyard restaurant on the hillside above the South shore of Sagami-ko.

Yesterday, Saturday the 24th, I rode with Fumiki, Tim, Thomas and Travis of TCC on their O-Toge time trial.  It was nice to enjoy a true Cat 1 climb and beautiful weather in the countryside on the 2007 Cervelo R3 SL.  I suspect I can count on one hand the remaining rides on this frame, which has served me so well these past 4 years.

A question for Positivistas everywhere:  if by obscure tradition some Japanese cycling clubs insist upon burying a punctured tire tube at the end of its useful life, what does one do with an older, slightly scratched up carbon frame?  Maybe touch up the scratches with paint and hang it on a wall?    Maybe sell it on Yahoo auctions ("rare XL (61cm virtual) size not sold at Japanese retailers, only crashed a few times, rarely raced, AS IS condition")?

Maybe apply the Transalp elevation profile decals again?  Add some other custom markings with my name such as:

"Paris-Brest-Fresnay sur Sarthe, 2011 Metric Millenium",
"Schwalbe TOUR Transalp Finisher, 2009 and 2011",
"Tokyo Itoigawa Fast Run, 2008 and 2011"
"Etape Acte 2, 2011, 1390th place",

or even the undeserved

"JCRC Class C Racer"?

Does it need some personalized high points to accompany the manufacturer's small "Paris Roubaix 2006, Fabian Cancellara" decal and the Positivo decal on the seat stays, or would that just clutter up an attractive design?

Etape Race Preparation - Compare and Contrast A Day with Jerome and a Day with a Tour Operator

The morning after Bastille Day, Jerome, Didier and I headed for Clermont-Ferrand and the Auvergne region, site of many small, extinct volcanoes, and also of Act II of Etape du Tour, the stage from Issoire to St. Flour.

We had today, Friday, and tomorrow, Saturday, to prepare for Act II.  I wanted to enjoy Friday with Jerome and Didier and then rest on Saturday with my tour operator's group, get two good nights' sleep and be ready for a big day on Sunday.

On the way into Clermont-Ferrand, we drove right past the exit for the hotel where my tour group was staying and instead went straight to the center of town to pick up their friend Isabel at the train station. Isabel is a longtime French resident of Japan, temporarily living with her sister in a town near Avignon, post-Fukushima.

Isabel at the start village's Michelin exhibit, where Didier got new tires and tubes.
Michelin is headquartered in Clermont-Ferrand.
We saw lots of Michelin men in the region, some much larger than this.

Next we headed to Issoire, registered, ate some sandwiches, and enjoyed the atmosphere of the start village exhibitions. Didier got a new rear cassette (adding a few extra teeth) and some Michelin tires. If Clermont-Ferrand was lacking in character, Issoire looked like a very nice, large and relaxed town in the countryside.

Registration Friday highly recommended - not crowded, and a very relaxed mood.

Produits du terroir.  We skipped the sausages, but enjoyed
sandwiches on very nice artisanal bread.

Jerome in his touring garb -- horse drawn carriage available from central Issoire
to registration.  Much classier than the buses up the hill in Valfrejus last week.

My fellow travelers told me that Auvergne is the "real" French countryside, and that I should be prepared for a big and tasty meal tonight.  The mood was very festive -- and felt much more authentic than around the start village at the ski town in Valfrejus the previous week.

KTM top of the line model in orange and black. MOB's next bike?

As usual, traveling with Jerome things happen a bit spontaneously, without all the advance planning that some might think such a trip requires.  Didier had booked a hotel room for himself and Jerome for Saturday night in the small town of Saint-Nectaire, but they had no room for Friday, and none for Isabel, who they hoped would stay both nights (and could drive the car from Issoire to St. Flour, avoiding the need to spend Saturday in a shuttle operation).  I had my hotel room waiting back in Clermont-Ferrand, about a 40-minute drive away from Issoire, further from Saint-Nectaire.  So we headed toward Saint-Nectaire to scout out the situation and see if lodgings were available for them Friday evening.

At the hotel Didier had booked for Saturday, after much back-and-forth with a clerk, who was eventually overruled by the manager, it seemed they could only get one room for Friday night and no more than their current one room for Saturday.  The other hotel in town was also fully booked.  At least we got some recommendations for restaurants in the neighboring towns, having realized that everything was a bit further apart than we had thought -- further from Issoire to Saint-Nectaire, further from Clermont-Ferrand, and further on to La Bourboule, a town up the valley where we had been told there was a great place to eat.  We would keep looking for lodgings, but in the worst case Isabel could have the one room and Jerome and Didier could crash in my room back in Clermont-Ferrand.  (I had a double bed, and the camping mat from Transalp Camp).

Saint-Nectaire as seen from in front of its Romanesque church

Murol, from the chateau above

Jerome surveys Murol from the chateau

Isabel rests as the rest of us climb to the chateau.

We strolled up to the chateau above Murol, then finally drove to Lac Chambon and our next destination, the restaurant Le Grillon (The Cicada), overlooking the lake.  It was a meal memorable for the setting, the company and the uniformly high quality food in a simple eatery.  Of course, we tried the delicious local cheese.  Jerome profusely complemented our waitress on the food and as she was heading away across the room loudly pretended to place a call to a friend "Edouard" (being Edouard Michelin, founder of the Michelin Guide) and tell him to come over straight away and be ready to assign some stars.  After dinner, we stopped by the bar/pizzeria down the street where a live music band was playing out front.  I was amused to see that after our restaurant had closed, the waitress (who must have been in her late 50s or early 60s) also had made it down the street and into the bar for the live music and drinks.  The whole town was there, music wafting out across the road and over the lake.  Of course, if you lived nearby, you were subject to all the noise, so you might as well come join the party!  It really started hopping after 11PM when a group of 20-30 college students came in from some event and each ordered a meal.

The patron of the establishment came off the dance floor and behind the bar briefly, to get himself another drink (definitely not his first of the evening), and Jerome asked him about lodgings in the town.  He said he would check and headed back outside.  We saw him 10 minutes later, dancing away.  When he finally returned, he apologized, but said the one place he was thinking of was closed for the night, and he did not have a key (as it was not his place).  He did suggest a place down the road in Murol that we might try -- the Hotel du Parc.

We made it back to Murol where, miraculously, the immigrants who ran the Hotel du Parc were still awake and accepting guests to fill up their last few rooms.  It was not the best of accommodations, but at least we had someplace, and it was pretty clear there was no way I would get back to Clermont-Ferrand that night.  Didier was my roommate.  He snored, worse than MOB, so I slept with my iPod on.

Roomies.  I thought I was done with that after MOB headed back to Germany ..

In the morning, I noticed that the only "art" in the hotel were old posters of cyclists, local heros from the great duels of the 1960s between Anquetil and Poulidor.  Anquetil won the Tour 5 times.  Poulidor defeated him in many one-day classics, and was a perennial second or third in the Tour, but never managed to wear the yellow jersey.  He was the son of a farmer and a self-taught natural talent as a cyclist, an incredible story of someone who lost his greatest battles, but (or perhaps because so) remains incredibly popular to this day.  Poulidor and Anquetil had their greatest battle on the Puy de Dôme, the 1500 meter tall volcano on the west edge of Clermont-Ferrand.  Relationships within many families suffered as people chose sides, Poulidor vs. Anquetil.  And on Sunday's stage, mixed in among the the fans' painted slogans on the roadway left over from the Tour a week earlier, as we climbed the Pas du Peyrol, among markings for "Sylvain" [Chavanel], [Thomas] "Voeckler", "Andy" [Schleck] and others, I laughed out loud when I saw someone had written "Poulidor", still cheering him on in large white painted letters, only 40 years too late.

Raymond Poulidor -- the local hero -- rode for Mercier his entire career

Anquetil = Lance Armstrong
Poulidor = Jan Ullrich, but with personality, and without the career-end disgrace

True to his word and feeling a bit guilty about not getting me back to my lodgings on Friday night, Jerome treated me to the hotel, awoke earlier Saturday than he probably would have liked, and drove me back to Clermont-Ferrand.

Jerome enjoys (?) an early Saturday breakfast.
The waitress is the same woman who checked us in late last night, back at work.

Back in Clermont-Ferrand, I could sleep some more, in a noticeably larger, cleaner bed, and had none of the distractions of the French countryside to interrupt my race preparation.  In fact, in order to maximize our chance of success on Sunday, my tour operator had thoughtfully booked our group at a faceless Hotel Kyriad (somewhere between a Motel 6 and a Days Inn), in the middle of the Zone Industrielle du Brézet, just off the highway exit and near the little-used airport.  No distractions at all as we tried to focus on our race plans.

Zone Industrielle du Brézet.  No distractions. Nothing at all of interest.
I took a short warm up ride ... actually, not so short,
to try to find the nearest supermarket.

We had really crappy food for dinner -- pasta without sauce that must have been cooked for at least an extra 45 minutes -- but that would not cause us any digestive problems.  I did not see or hear any live music or other entertainment nearby.  Great for an early night to sleep for the big race.  Not so great for a visit to France.

I must say that while the two guys from the tour operator who interacted with us -- Sébastien and Vitor --  were really nice, the tour organization left something to be desired. They need to learn to post (or email) written explanations, instead of depending upon word of mouth for passing on crucial information like what time the bus leaves, from where, and how to meet up with them after the finish, etc.  (they were supposed to meet riders at the finish of Act II ... but failed to do so for anyone I spoke with, leaving us cold and wondering where we were supposed to go for our clean clothes we had deposited in the bus and the promised showers).

But the crappy food, even if barely edible, did not make me sick.  And the breakfast was tolerable -- hard to mess that up -- and they had us to the start line well in advance, with plenty of extra time in which to get cold.  Maybe the lack of distractions, fun, culture, or interesting food is why two of our group placed so well -- 25th and 40th, out of the thousands who rode?

The contrast between Friday and Saturday was almost too much.  With Jerome, Didier and Isabel, I had seen a vibrant countryside that was authentic, with rich colors, delicious flavors, warm smiles, healthy animals, and a beautiful sky. On Saturday, I was in an industrial zone in a Motel Six-clone.

In Issoire, we had seen a rag tag local marching band as we left the registration area.  My fellow travelers did not seem impressed, but for me they will symbolize the quirky, slightly disorganized and charming side of Issoire and neighboring towns that I saw.  I could not get the tune out of my head as I lay resting on Saturday in the Zone Industrielle.  I don't think there is much risk if you watch this sketchy video of part of the song, but be careful, if you do get hooked, it could require a trip to the Auvergne.  Just let me know -- I can lend you some maps I picked up and am saving for my return.

Issoire Marching Band from David Litt on Vimeo.
As we climbed up to the Chateau Murol, we passed two women who had just finished their show with birds of prey and were walking the birds down the hill.  I thought these two might have fit right in with the band.