Quick Onekan, RAMAX Among the Hydrangeas 紫陽花

 

Cycling Cafes in western Tokyo - the Zebra as Apex Predator

Social rides should ideally include a coffee stop, if morning, or a beer stop, if afternoon. Maybe both, if all day.

The Tokyo Cranks for years ended their Sunday morning rides at the Starbucks at Seijo Gakuen Mae Station. That tradition was suspended with the pandemic, but a Starbucks in Inagi mid-ride with ample outdoor seating effectively has replaced Seijo Gakuen, for those of us who are riding as a smaller group still.  Cross Coffee, an actual "cycling cafe" at Yanokuchi, is another option, though it lacks outdoor seating.

A year or two back, I started to hear Peter W. and others talk about Zebra Coffee & Croissant on the south side of Lake Tsukui, not far from the base of Doshi Michi. It took awhile before I actually stopped there, but the good quality of generously sized baked goods and lunch dishes, plus excellent latte, made me realize why some cyclists seemed to be planning their rides so as to fit in a stop at Zebra. It is in a spacious, high-ceilinged old building, with additional porch and outdoor seating. And bike racks galore. The inside is so big that cyclists can bring their bikes in and lean them along the wall as they eat -- unheard of in Japan!

The coffee is excellent ... but that exists at plenty of other Tokyo area coffee shops. The difference here is the space, the cyclist-friendly atmosphere, AND the delicious, calorie-filled cyclist-restoring food.

Zebra stop at Lake Tsukui Spring 2021

Zebra Stop at Lake Tsukui Spring 2020

Zebra Stop late December 2020 - Festive 500 all day ride

And now, as of the past month, there is a Zebra located on the first climb up Onekansen Doro in Inagi -- only a few hundred meters from where we watched the Olympic road races pass two weeks ago. It is a large, open shop smack in the middle of Inagi Central Park, just off of Onekansen Doro. How did they get a lease there -- fantastic idea for Zebra and for the park users. And what a great location as cyclists head out of town or back, along Onekan.

Jerome and I stopped there yesterday as we wilted in the heat. We were happy to sit at the shaded outdoor tables in front until opening time, 8:30AM. 

I was inspired to look at the Zebra online site ... and discovered that in addition to Lake Tsukui and Inagi Central Park, there are also Zebra coffees in Sagamihara/Hashimoto, Shibuya Koen Dori, and Marine & Walk Yokohama (on the bay just NE of the Red Brick Warehouse area). I look forward to their further expansion. Maybe they could open in Itsukaichi, another in Oume, one along the Arakawa on the north edge of Tokyo, and why not in Gunma, say Annaka on the Nakasendo, just before the climb to Karuizawa?

My only quibble with the Inagi shop is that they really should open earlier, especially in summer months, if they want to serve the crowd of riders heading OUT of town. As it is, they will serve riders doing shorter morning rides--us yesterday--or  heading back INTO town.

(And they should team up with a craft brewery for the afternoon business ... though in Japan one must not drink and ride, so I am not holding my breath.)

Generally, we think of the zebra as prey for lions, cheeetahs, and other meat-eaters of the African savannah. But this Zebra seems more like predator than prey. Stranger things have happened in the world of cycling.

Paris Brest Paris (PBP) -- Only One More Qualifier Left for Jerome

This weekend Jerome completed the Velo Club Aoba randonneurs' "super 400" brevet.

Lots and lots of climbing

The event had around 6000 meters of elevation gain, hence the "super" designation. It started with the gradual climb to Lake Okutama then on to Yanagisawa Pass (elev. 1475m), then dipped down to Kofu, Elev. low.

The riders then climbed up to Shinshu Pass (elev. 1500m) , with some extra riding around the Crystal Line area on the Yamanashi/Nagano border, before dipping into Nagano through Kawakami-Mura, back through Nobeyama and down to Minami Alps/Kofu area again. 

Finally, there was a climb up to and through the Fuji "five lakes" area - Motosu-ko, Shoji-ko, Sai-ko, Kawaguchi-ko, and Yamanaka-ko (high point "only" elev. 1100), then a descent down Doshi Michi and back to Tokyo.

Only 25km left!

Fortunately, the riders had almost ideal riding weather. Cold in the wee hours up on Mt Fuji, but otherwise fine. None of the ice and snow that hit Jerome last month on a similar VCR Aoba 300k event.

I woke at 4AM and rode out to the Machida/Sagamihara area, past the end of Onekansendoro, to greet Jerome as he came back in. Mindful of the Audax prohibition on assistance by non-entrants, I did not let him draft and stayed away up the road as I rode back in. He was pretty thoroughly knackered, and lay down flat onto his back at the goal.

Reminds me of PBP

VCR Aoba traditional finish at the base of "hospital hill"

We stopped by Seijo Gakuen Starbucks for a quick coffee with the Tokyo Cranks on the way back into town, and I got at least 80km of riding in.

Jerome and I will both try the Okitsu Classic 600km brevet in a few weeks. I am already PBP qualified, but I need at least another 600k to keep up the endurance from Tasmania if I am to do PBP successfully. The Okitsu ride is a very nice course, one I have done twice before but not since 2015, so I look forward to it. Jerome needs this to complete his PBP qualification.

Bookends

Always the Tamagawa

The 2018 cycling year began with a Shizuoka 200km brevet that Jerome and I did out of Numazu, to Fujieda and back (with a detour up Nihondaira ... the isolated hill north of the "Strawberry Line" along the Shizuoka coast.

Mt Fuji, sponsored by Tokyu Railways, Tokyo Corporation, Tokyu Real Estate, and Rakuten

So it was only fitting that the year finished with a ride with Jerome on the last day of the year, though a much shorter spin out Onekansen Doro, along the "tank road", and back in Yaen Kaedo. Our rendezvous was along Meguro dori at Yakumo 3-chome crossing.

For once, I arrived before Jerome, and was amused to notice that the Denny's now (sometime in the past few years) has had an upscale makeover, with a "Yakumo Prestige" name attached to it. What does this mean ... other than fancy lettering and perhaps a few hundred yen extra tacked onto various menu items? Well, I guess it must be a Denny's upscale brand for fancy Tokyo neighborhoods? Having been to Denny's in Santa Cruz at 5AM last summer before 3CR, and being the only non-homeless person in the place, and also having experienced some pretty awful food AND service at a Denny's in Paso Robles, California when it was one of the only choices in town at 11PM during 3CR ... I guess anything they can do to rebrand can only help.

And the first real ride of the New Year was another spin on January 2 with Jerome over Hospital Hill ("Byoinzaka"). ... then as we turned to start the climb of nearby I-Ro-Ha Zaka, I broke a shifter cable on the Sky Blue Parlee (3 years and 9 months since I installed these cables ... and they DO break eventually with Shimano or SRAM brifters). So the first ride of the year was only just over 60kms. That cut at least 40-50 kms off the planned trip, but still felt like enough as we returned, me riding in 36-11 gearing on the path along the Tamagawa, in fading daylight.

Of course, Jerome, who is traveling most of the time for work these days, is on a crash program to get back in shape for PBP, also rode 175 kms on January 1 (over Kazahari Pass no less). He plans to ride again today (Jan 3).

I will try to focus on other things today -- bike maintenance, for one -- since I am slated for a 200km brevet on January 4, the first 100km+ ride of the year.

Happy New Year to all!

Late Afternoon Tsukui - Strange Guests at the Colombian Drug Lord's House

Jerome and I had a great midweek ride Wednesday , and I had other commitments yesterday and this morning (searching for and buying a new car takes time), so I headed out at a relaxed pace, after 130PM, and found myself pointing toward familiar routes -- Komazawa Dori past Komazawa Olympic Park, Onekansen then the Tank Road and finally around the North shore of Lake Tsukui, where I arrived just around dusk.

Komazawa Park

Komazawa Dori at Komazawa Park. Ginkgo trees.

On the short climb around the North side of Lake Tsukui

After some photos of the beautiful view from the road's high point, I headed toward the forest road. But after stopping several times to admire the view, it was nearly dark when I got to the last house -- the Spanish style place Positivo Espresso members have always referred to as the Colombian Drug Lord house (or sometimes "Casa del Pablo Escobar").
I noticed a dark figure scaling the side of the house, along a cable duct, with remarkable dexterity and power. A rival gang? An anti-narco special force?  A second, then a third figure climbed a nearby tree and JUMPED onto the edge of the roof. On a closer look, it was a roving band of monkeys!

The monkeys were not quiet, jumping and stomping around. I can only imagine what it would have felt like inside, if anyone had been home!

In any event, the sun fell, the moon rose, and I headed back for Tokyo. In all a bit over 110 kms, and leaves me with a wee bit of energy to get ready for the week ahead.

Wada in Winter ... and the Women of Jimba Kaido!

The Renovo poses at Wada Toge in the usual place

Today was a balmy late-January day. I had to get some work out of the way before heading out, and did not leave home until after 11AM. Still, I was determined to get in a decent ride as I cannot ride next weekend, and I've got the Yakushima hill climb coming up next month.

130 kms and 1700 meters of elevation gain (if you believe RidewithGPS and Strava).

I hopped on the Renovo, my most "fun to ride" bike for longer distances. The ride qualities of the wood frame, the DI2 shifting, hydraulic disk brakes, and tubeless Schwalbe 1 tires on wide rimmed Velocity Aileron rims ... makes it one sweet ride.

I headed for Hachioij, then onto Jimba Kaido toward the hills. I realized that it has been a LONG time since I have gone the main road up Wada. Too much traffic, and shorter (if steeper) than the Daigo Rindo alternative (which is plenty steep, and actually climbs 35-40 meters higher, to boot). Today, I thought there would not be much traffic, mid-winter, and I was a bit worried about debris and perhaps ice on the rindo, so I decided to go straight up Jimba Kaido. On the approach, I was not disappointed. The weather was spectacular and there was almost no traffic.

On Jimba Kaido!

As I turned left and headed the last stretch toward the base of the steep climb, a touring rider darted out of a pulloff. He was fully loaded and young. I figured he must be a college student (final exams just ended, and only students, homeless people, crazy foreigners and a few Audax riders do that kind of thing in winter.  I asked him where he was headed. "Kobe".  Impressive.  "Nairiku route?"  "Yes!" Just like Jerome, but he looked as if he were planning to spend at least a week on the ride.  I got a photo later as I took a rest at the bus stop before the climb.

College student heading for Kobe via the inland route

I realized as I headed toward the stretch to the base of the climb that I had not seen the Women of Jimba Kaido in a long time. Were they still there? Still unclothed? Did they miss me? Or had someone else taken them away. I was delighted to see that the Women were still outside, unclothed and beautiful. But there clearly had been activity.  I think a major change in the troupe--fewer massive reclining bodies and more diversity. Still plenty of headless bodies though!

Some of the Women of Jimba Kaido

One on the far side of the group was a bit demure, facing away from me.

For the first time ever, I could hear the sculptor at work, even see him through an open window along the road.

Anyway, I did the climb slowly, and needed to get off the bike twice because of traffic -- once when a cyclist coming down tried to go around me on my left/his right, and I needed to put a foot down and walk a few meters to somewhere with enough room to remount and lock in, cursing him for not passing on the left. Then there was the classic traffic jam -- Honda Odyssey going up and similar car trying to come down. They were facing off each other and the Honda was starting to back down, but there was not room for me to ride by, so I dismounted and walked around both cars. Next time I will take the rindo.

Some snow near the top, but not much!

Near the top

Mikan, Palm Trees, and Tea Bushes!

At the top it was warm enough to chat with an American named Jim who said he was in Japan in the 1990s and came back recently, is riding with Half Fast, and came up the Ura Wada climb. Eventually his riding partner Andre (riding a GS Astuto carbon frame bike) appeared.

I headed down to the west since my sweat was starting to get cold from chatting at 700 meters elevation. The west side was great, a beautiful valley as usual, no traffic, only a bit of slush and ice near the top--but always a clear path through on dry pavement.

I had forgotten that getting from the west side of Wada to Fujino does include one short climb. Then I was on Route 20. Instead of continuing over Otarumi, I headed SE and took the high forest road on the North side of Lake Tsukui.

Tsukui field -- I have photos all seasons. But this does not look quite like I remember previous winters.

On the north side of Tsukui. Just beautiful today.

Shadows getting long as I leave Tsukui behind

I took the Tank Road and Onekansen Doro. Uneventful, but at least I still felt okay, not pushing too hard. At Yanokuchi I decided I would take the Kawasaki side and stop by C Speed. A group of 7-8 sharply dressed Japanese road cyclists was heading out from the Yanokuchi Lawson as I passed. I ended up in the middle of their group. It was a "Rapha" ride. Anyway, it was nice to ride with a group for a change, stop by C Speed to see Hiroshi, and then head home, finally in the dark, but not an issue for the Renovo with its SD-8 dynamo hub and front/rear lighting!

January has been a good start to the cycling year, especially in comparison with the past two years!

New Year Week rides

Today at Shiroyama Lake/Dam. It felt like a gale force wind

This week has been typically good early January riding weather in Tokyo.  The first five days of the New Year have seen highs of at least 10 degrees C (50 F), lows above freezing at least a few degrees, sunny days and swirling, gusty winds.  The 6th and 7th should the same, and much of next week after some potential clouds and rain even late Sunday and early Monday.

Today at Shiroyama Lake/Dam

Anyway, after resting on the 2nd to recover from the brevet, I have gotten in short but gradually longer rides daily.  31 kms on the 3rd (cut short because of an equipment failure), 55 kms on the 4th, and almost 90 kms today.  If all goes well I will get in at least one more longer ride, on the 7th.  And these are actually training rides, subject to my not wanting to push too far or too long since I really need to focus on getting some work done otherwise this week.

On Tuesday, January 3.  A wintry afternoon's pastel blue sky.

Tuesday short ride

Wednesday slightly longer ride

Thursday (today) decent ride