Start of Spring Training - Tokisaka Pass and Nokogiri Mountain

After not much cycling in January and even less in February when at least I swam over 75 kms), Spring training started with a short Onekan ride on Thursday morning, and a somewhat longer, much harder, classic ride up the Akigawa to Tokisaka Pass, then over Nokogiri and back from Okutama-machi to Oume. 

Looking back from Nokogiri (elev ~1000m)

I met Peter J. at "the toilets" (aka Komae-Shi Nishigawara Park) at 730AM. We headed up the Tamagawa, crossing at Route 16, continuing past the Takigahara baseball fields, then up the Akigawa via Mutsumibashi Dori. After a food stop at the Family Mart on Hinohara Kaido just before Tokura, we continued to make decent time to the "T" intersection at Hinohara Village Hall (Mura Yakuba). 

Tokisaka is a lovely climb -- very low traffic (except some places where hikers were walking on the road), varied gradients, varied scenery, and a real reward at the top.  The 300m vertical gain are enough so that, even if you need to turn around and head for home, you can feel like you did some real work. 

We chatted with some hikers, cyclists, and a couple who had arrived by car. Two young women hikers took Peter and my photo, and we took their photo.  We offered the same service to an older male hiker, but he declined. 

Just after the pass, there was a bit of an obstacle course. The first part was a logging operation that stretched entirely across the road.  But the loggers did not seem to mind our marching through carrying our bikes.

Then there were more obstacles --  a big mound of gravel at the beginning of the descent, snowy/icy areas, rocks in the road of all sizes and shapes. A lot more walking was required than the last time I went down this hill. And I still hit a smaller but sharp rock and got a flat.

Eventually we were down this descent and headed back along the Kita Akigawa to the turn-off for Nokogiri. After a gentle climb for the first few kms, the route became steep and the surface very bad -- lots of gravel and other crap entirely covering the road surface. Peter continued to ride ... but I walked quite a long way. I was slower, but not THAT much slower than if I had ridden. At some points there was snow and ice.  Anyway, it was a slog. I remounted and rode a few kms, but needed to walk again high up for at least 5-10 minutes. Finally, we could see the top, then look down from it!

That visible roadway is just one short switchback from the top.

We relaxed a bit at the top -- not TOO cold. I worried that we might need to return down the south side, if the north had more snow. Peter said a motorcyclist he had spoken to informed him that the north side did NOT have snow or ice, except the first few hundred meters. That proved accurate. 

The north side - snow/ice for a few hundred meters, then relatively clear.

It was still a slow descent, sitting on the brakes way too much, trying to be sure to avoid any rocks and handle the steep, technical sections without coming off the bike (it reminded me of the Gunma descent where I DID come off the bike in September 2020 and broke my collarbone ... at least this time it was dry weather and still hours of daylight).

We ate in Okutama-machi, just across from the train station at the "Hikawa Service Station". a lunch place with soba/udon and a delicious ki-no-ko-gohan (mushroom rice).

After lunch, I never really got my engine restarted. I made decent time with Peter back to Oume, but felt the jet lag from last week's travel and waking up at extremely early hours since. I hopped the train. Including the ride from Yotsuya home, the total was around 116kms, with just under 1500m elevation gain. The average speed was very slow due to all that walking and crappy road surface. 

But it was a lovely day on the bike. If I can do a ride of this difficulty, or greater, every week for the next few months, while interspersing some longer brevets (200, 300, 400, 600, and a couple others), I hope I will be able to get ready for Cascade 1400. 

Nokogiri! Kazahari Rindo!

On Sunday morning Jerome and I headed up to the Positivo Espresso Oume base.  We met Stephen and, after a breakfast of fresh persimmon from the garden, grapefruit, bananas, yogurt and rolls (Juliane would have been proud of us), we continued up Yoshino Kaido and Route 411.  It was a beautiful morning in Oume, the air clear and crisp ... the next forecast typhoon still 3 days away.

The Oume Base

We made the left turn just a kilometer past Okutama Station and were onto the the Nokogiri climb. Stephen and I attacked, out of the saddle, for the first few hundred meters, then all 3 of us settled in for the 6.7km, 597 meter elevation gain category 2 climb.  We each climbed at our own pace, Jerome suffering from Friday night (into Saturday wee hours) entertainment with junior colleagues.  Stephen crested first, with me just 15 seconds or so behind.  Jerome followed up -- incredulous that he was 6 minutes 30 seconds back.  As he said "no spring chicken".

At the top, Stephen and I waited amidst a large group of men setting up some tents and covered areas that appeared to be a checkpoint for a 70 km. trail running event -- must have been scheduled for the next day (today as I write), Monday, Oct 13, which is a holiday and "Sports Day" in Japan, as trail runners like to go along the crest to the west of Mitake-san, passing Nokogiri-san en route.  Some of the men had "finisher" t-shirts on, while others had "staff" shirts on.  One of the "staff" was smoking a particularly harsh brand of cigarette, the smoke immediately bothering Stephen and me as our lungs tried to recover capacity from the climb (and Stephen from his Friday night red-eye flight HK to Tokyo).

My climbing bike at the top of Nokogiri, at the trailhead.

I was very glad to have my lighter-frame bike (the Canyon), outfitted with compact crank and SRAM WiFli rear cassette and Ultegra 6600 series long-cage derailleur.  I could climb the steepest parts in 34-32 front/rear gearing -- as forgiving as Jerome's triple setup.  This allowed me to stay in the saddle and spin, standing up only for a change of muscles/pace.

Warning -- Don't slip of the road on the South side descent!

Then it was down the south side of Nokogiri, a quick stop for curry at the "Hinohara Woodie House Mura", which seemed to have a good business -- fully rented cabins -- at least this one long weekend.  At the bottom of the climb, we debated whether to try Kazahari Rindo, one of the toughest climbs in Kanto ... or maybe just try the much shorter Chaya (teahouse) climb.  Of course, we opted for Kazahari Rindo!

Jerome and Stephen went ahead, much more aggressive on the approach than I.  They waited at the start of the really steep section, the sharp "V" intersection.  From there, I pulled ahead.  Stephen stayed with me for the first kilometer, as we climbed at 15% or more grade.  But he was riding a bike with, at best, 39-25 gearing.  Almost impossible for this climb, especially the fairly long 18% section up to the Hinohara Mushroom Center.  I went ahead, alternating between spinning and standing, and was up it before long.  Not surprisingly, with this gearing, he needed to dismount and walk for a bit, and Jerome did the same, if only to shift his derailleur into the lowest gear by hand.

I was pleasantly surprised that I did the climb only a few seconds slower than in late April 2011, well into my Transalp training ... and this on the second big climb of the day.  As I waited at the top, I talked with a spirited group of Japanese "ojisan" cyclists who had climbed from Okutama-ko on the main road and were suitably impressed that I had done the rindo.  They were even more impressed when I mentioned that Kazahari Rindo x2 equals the Mortirolo!

A classic Positivo Espresso ride on a beautiful day.  Over 2000m of climbing in total and 170 kms+.

Nokogiri!

Stephen was in town again this weekend from Hong Kong, and Jerome joined him Saturday evening at his place in Ikusabata, west of Oume.  The weather was spectacular -- clear and crisp, with the autumn colors near peak.

Jerome takes photos on the Nokogiri descent

I left home around 7:20AM Sunday and tried to make decent time without working too hard, getting to Stephen's a little after 9:30AM.  Jerome had gone on a major convenience store run and gathered breakfast items, which we ate on the porch in the sunlight.  It was cold even in the sun, with a breeze and perspiration on my jersey chilled after a few minutes resting.

More from the grotto/water hole on the Nokogiri South side descent

We rode up to Yoshino Kaido to Kori, then further up via Okutama Kaido to Okutama Station and, a few minutes beyond, to the left hand entrance to the climb.  It was great to finally get off the main road and away from the tourists.

At the top of Nokogiri, Stephen is ready for more. ... plenty of warm layers.

The road is in better condition than the last time I did this climb, in January 2011, 22 months ago.   And the cool weather was perfect.  I climbed without any photo stops, but also without any effort to push hard ... and still managed to shave 2 1/2 minutes off my prior best time.  Cool weather and better road conditions make a difference.  On the descent, we stopped at the small water hole just after the short tunnel ... for more photos.

Cover photo for next year's "Men of Positivo Espresso" calendar?

Warm layers ... but could use some full finger gloves.
Jerome came to the rescue and lent a pair.

This is why we ride on side roads into the mountains.

We went down the South side and together as far as Itsukaichi, where I headed for home.  140 kilometers, one big climb, and home before 3PM.