600km Birthday Ride to Kitakata and Back - Fox, not Bear, Sighting

Since I did not quite complete the lovely 1300km ride over last month's "Silver Week" holiday, I wanted to ride the "back-up" 600km event for which I had registered. The back-up was a Randonneurs Tokyo ride from Kawasaki to Kitakata, a town north of Aizu Wakamatsu in the same large valley in NW Fukushima Prefecture, and back. The theme title was a Japanese version of "let's ride to Kitakata and back to eat some ramen," as Kitakata is famous for its style of ramen. Kitakata is one of the 3 most popular ramen styles in Japan, along with Sapporo and Hakata (Fukuoka) ramens. Kitakata is not a big city, so I guess not a lot of people visit there for reasons other than its ramen, and it leads Japan in ramen shops per capita.

Strava links:

Day one:  https://www.strava.com/activities/20528435703

Day two: https://www.strava.com/activities/20541510011

I did not choose this ride for the ramen, however (fortunately, as reported below). I chose it because this is the only weekend in October that I don't have a schedule conflict, and because it looked like another interesting trip into parts of Japan north of Tokyo, not dissimilar to last year's 600k, or this year's 1000k and 1300k attempts, all out of Yaita organized by Utsunomiya Audax. Also, October is prime riding season in Japan, at least in areas north and northwest of Tokyo.

The start of our 600km brevet and a 300km event, at Todoroki, Kawasaki-shi

One of the benefits of an R-Tokyo ride is the usual start location -- within 45 minutes' ride from my house in Todoroki area of Kawasaki, just across the Tamagawa at Marukobashi. This is just over 11kms from my house, less than half the distance to the Aoba Randonneurs start, and about the same distance as a Nihonbashi or Tamagawa start. Just about all the other Kanto-based groups -- Saitama, Kanagawa, Chiba, Utsunomiya, among others--require either a train or car trip to the start and from the goal, utsunomiya typically requiring arrival the night before the ride given the distance from Tokyo. This time, I did not want to use/bring a rinko bag with me -- if I don't have one on the bike, then I won't be tempted to return home by train, right?

Another benefit of R-Tokyo rides is the large number of offerings. This time, they were offering a 300km and a 600km on the day when I could start. 

I felt good in anticipation of the event. I would ride the RAMAX again -- it had worked perfectly on the 1300km attempt -- except I would swap out the Ryet saddle for an older, trusty Fizik Arione. I brought the same combination of creams I had used on the 1300km, and those, the dry weather, plus the Arione seat, meant I could make it through in comfort, at least as to my butt. The weather forecast was near perfect -- cool at night, warm in the day, but not too warm, not summer hot. And no major headwinds in the forecast, nor signficant risk of precipitation. 

The ride started at 6AM on Saturday of a 3-day weekend. It also happened to be my 64th birthday, and I figured it was my party so I could do what I wanted, and delay any other celebrations until the recovery phase. (My older sister called this my "will you still need me, will you still feed me" birthday after the Beatles' song "When I'm 64"). 

The 6AM start was great, especially after the 8AM start a few weeks ago in Utsunomiya. Why?  It meant the first day could finish up before 10PM, instead of extending to after midnight. It also meant an hour riding at the start before there was significant traffic.

Entering Tochigi, at 10:41AM. No photos up to here.

And oh boy was there significant traffic. The route north from Tokyo went through Tokorozawa, Saitama, near Kawagoe, and up into Gunma near Takebayashi and Sano, then over a modest climb and into the area around (just west of) Kanuma. The roads all the way through Gunma and into southern Tochigi were toward the awful end of the spectrum, in terms of heavy traffic and lack of shade or attractive features. At least they were fast and relatively direct. Then once we got over the hill and into the area around Kanuma, everything switched, 180 degrees. Now the roads were quiet, and much slower. There were even a few nasty little ramps on side roads in the forest. Maybe the course designer started out thinking "fast" and "who cares about the traffic!" then went out and had a delicious, filling lunch, and came back to continue the route plan thinking a "slow and scenic" route would be best. Anyway, I would hope the route planner would look at other Audax routes that go north out of Tokyo and toward this part of Gunma/Tochigi, and find a nicer option with less traffic.

The nicer country west of Kanuma, Tochigi

Approacbing Nikko ... camera lens needs cleaning!

The big surprise for me was the climb north of Kinugawa Onsen.  I had been through the area around Nikko many times, but never headed north up the river beyond this major onsen town. Or should I say formerly major onsen town. The place is known for having a number of larger hotels that catered to group travel back in the 1960s-1990s, but have shut down or become dilapidated. At least that is my strong impression. Stil, on a sunny Saturday afternoon of a 3-day weekend, the place was full of tourists and did not seem dead. 

Kinugawa.
Below is a video of the river further up on the climb.

The climb up Route 121 north of the main part of Kinugawa town was lovely. It was mostly not steep, and it was something like 35 kms from the Lawson convenience store checkpoint to the border with Fukushima Prefecture, a climb from around 400m to around 850km elevation. The climb had plenty of flat stretches, including a ~10km long section with a reservoir (Lake Ikari), but mostly was just a lovely wild valley. Eventually, we reached a "T" intersection and joined Route 400 -- the same road I had taken out of Yaita into Minami Aizu on the Utsunomiya 600 and 1000km brevets this and last year.  

Approaching the "T" intersection with the route from Nasushiobara to Minami Aizu
17:21 and light starting to fade.

My feet still flared up, swelling and painful in the heat of day-1 afternoon around 135kms. The same happened again on the second day.  I had zero issues in the mornings or at night, so I really do think my feet were swollen in the warm of the day, after some hours on the bike each day.  I wore Lake shoes that fit well (with thin wool socks that would not constrain my feet even if they swelled in the heat), and with a custom molded insole. I lowered the seat a bit relatively soon after pain appeared, I used topical Voltaren, I loosened the shoes at rest stops, and the pain was manageable ... and went away not long after sunset, only to return late-morning on day-2.  What is the solution? Is there one? Flat pedals and other shoes ... as I use on the recumbent? I will need to experiment further.

Jerome, who also joined the ride, broke the cable on his rear derailleur relatively shortly after we got to the nice territory west of Kanuma. This is the kind of thing I once carried spares for ... but I use an electronic shifting groupset and Jerome did not have a spare cable with him. Also, his bike has internal cable routing, so changing one is no longer as simple as it once was. We stopped for lunch at a "shokudo" in the countryside. We were the only customers and the food was uninspired ... but he could call and locate a bike shop ahead in Nikko. There was some up and down in the stretch before Nikko, and I actually saw Jerome walk up one hill -- a new experience. As we went through Nikko, we were further down the hill than we had been on the 1300k last month, but at one point crossed the course, and Jerome veered off to go to the bike shop, Kamiyama. I continued on to the check point at Kinugawa Onsen falls area, and then onto the long slow gradual and, at a cool dusk on an October day, lovely climb.  I got a report from Jerome that he was done at the bike shop and back on course. He was 1 hour and 20-30 minutes behind me at the checkpoint, having lost that much time with the repair, but still way ahead of the notional time deadlines. 

Once I got to the intersection with Route 400, I knew the top of the climb--and entry into Fukushima Prefecture--were not far. Once on the descent, my hard work for the day was essentially done. I had ridden 230kms from home, around 215km on the actual brevet course. I had another 85km to go before I would sleep, but it was only just ~6PM and the rest of the course was almost entirely downhill or flat, without headwind or rain. What a contrast to Day 1 of last month's Utsunomiya 1300k!

I got a dinner of convenience store pasta at Minami Aizu Tajima, and kept rolling. I arrived at the Kitakata checkpoint -- the "ramen shrine" -- around 9:40PM.  All the ramen shops on the main street were closed! I was extremely disappointed with R-Tokyo for planning a ride to eat ramen and not giving any suggestions about where we might find it. I had asked at the start and been told if every place was closed in Kitakata, we could get some in Aizu Wakamatsu at a chain place open 24 hours. ... of course, we did not pass THROUGH Aizu Wakamatsu, the course went around. And we would not even touch the outskirts until 3AM on the return. And who needs to go to Fukushima Prefecture to eat chain-shop ramen? 

The ramen shrine ... closed for the night

I stopped at a Lawson convenience store en route to the guesthouse I had booked. I got some of their special Tohoku miso ramen, figuring I could at least eat it before I slept. At least it was supposed to be regional -- Tohoku.  I also got my breakfast yogurt, eggs, banana, etc. for a few hours later and headed to the guest house. It was a converted house with 3 or 4 spacious tatami rooms, a kitchen, bath, toilet, lounge, etc. facilities. The proprietors looked to be two younger men, perhaps a couple? They appeared almost immediately when I texted a question. I guess they also run the coffee house, gallery, and performance space in the adjacent building. It was nice to see them making a go of it in Kitakata.  Everything in the house was so clean, I was very worried about making any kind of a mess. Sadly, by the time I got to the guesthouse, most of the ramen soup had spilled out of the bowl and into the plastic bag ... so I drained the bag into the sink without making a mess. Whew. And I ate the barely warm noodles. 

Guesthouse -- I left the door to our room cracked for Jerome.

Anyway, I sent Jerome instructions ... he had closed the gap a bit and was around an hour behind me in arriving at the accommodation.

I had planned to sleep until 2AM, but I was in and out of sleep repeatedly and my eyes open wide before 130AM. I gave up going back to sleep, got up, dressed, ate, and was on the bicycle and headed out. 

The organizers had announced that they had modified the route on this next stretch -- the climb up to Lake Inawashiro -- due to bear sightings on the original planned route. Even worse, every electronic sign board since entering Fukushima Prefecture warned that persons should watch out for bears and check the latest reported sightings before going out.  Of course, I had no time to figure out how to do this, and now I was riding alone toward a forested climb in the dead of night. Worse, I was not sure if my GPS had the original or the modified course, and I was not very enthusiastic about going up ANY deserted, forested climb in the dark in bear country given all of the warnings. 

I decided I would just head up a climb up to the west and try to get onto Route 294 at its beginning. If I could connect with Route 94, I would be on a road with actual vehicle traffic, but not heavy traffic at 3AM.  This conscious deviation from the course ... did not work.  I climbed almost 150m elevation, through an industrial park then a mix of fields and forest.  As I was traversing the fields ... I saw a pair of saucer eyes reflecting in my bicycle light from 100m up the road. Then as I got a bit closer, a small dog-like animal crossed the road and hopped across the field. Its hop was very distinctive -- bounding on all 4 legs as if it had springs -- as it went through the field of tall grasses.  It was ... a fox!  I had never seen a fox on Honshu before. They are secretive, nocturnal, carry a very dangerous (to humans) parasite, and are at the core of many Japanese folk tales -- foxes who disguise themselves as beautiful women or needy children, or one's aging long lost mother -- and who trick humans.  

Anyway, the fox bounded on its way, and I found my road intersection and continued the climb. I got to a road that I thought would take me to Route 94 ... and after maybe 500m it started to wind down the south side of the slope I had just climbed from the west, twisting and turning.  Eventually, I stopped and got out my google maps.  I had lost at least 2/3 the elevation I had just climbed, and was approaching the bottom of the hill not far from where I had started the climb. I called Jerome -- he was already ahead of me and about to start the proper climb. I gave up my plan, went back to the bottom, back on course, and did the actual climb.  Other than losing time and wasting energy, I was back on course, and still on track. 

Quite a few riders passed me on the climb toward Route 294. On the one hand, this was reassuring that I was indeed on the correct route. On the other hand, I really regretted not sleeping longer, and my earlier detour. The climb was long but not steep, even if it seemed steep in the pre-dawn dark. Finally, I was up the hill and onto Route 294 ... but the climb was not quite finished.  The next stretch of 25km or so along Route 294 was basically flat, but with enough up and down to remind me how tired my legs were. Then there was a climb up another 100m of elevation to a tunnel, then, finally, a 15km descent from 650m elev down to just over 300m.  We had another 12-13 kms to the checkpoint, and could just roll it in well ahead of the notional closing time. 

Glorious sunrise with fog in the valley below. Another spectacular dawn in Fukushima Prefecture!

6:25AM, down the big hill and now a much flatter road to Shirakawa ... except the upcoming climb(s). 

Except there was another climb -- nearly 100m of elevation gain over a few kms -- before the control point. I arrived exhausted.  But I knew we would just need to get over the Fukushima/Tochigi border and then it would be a gradual descent and lots of flat areas in Kanto to get home. 

I was a bit surprised that, after a small dip, we had a 10km grind climbing over 100m elevation to get to the Tochigi border.  We were riding now on Route 4 -- the "main road" of Tohoku before the expressways were built. I usually avoid Route 4 like the plague, but I had never ridden this stretch and had no idea whether it would have heavy traffic or cars and trucks whizzing by. Most other brevets use a route that takes local Tochigi highway 76 -- a delightful low-traffic climb and nice descent maybe 5 kms to the east of Route 4. How was the Route 4 alternative? It was consistent with other stretches of Route 4. Lots of traffic at high speed whizzing by. Not a lot of fun for a cyclist.  I guess it was slightly more direct than a detour to local route 76 ... but I have fond memories of a Chiba brevet where we descended Route 76 into Fukushima and down toward Shirakawa and ... stopped at a wonderful ramen shop that was open, served delicious and filling fare, welcoming a large group of cyclists in from the wet and cold. Route 4 held no such charms.

We finally exited Route 4 around 40kms from the Shirakawa checkpoint, in Otawara area. We took a nicer, more local road for over 20kms, then could "enjoy" another 5kms along Route 4. This time at least we were riding along an access road, not the main highway, so were not exposed to traffic. Here there were lots of election posters of a local LDP Diet member, Yana-sensei, the new Minister of agriculture. He has been in hot water over threats of cuts to the road repair budgets localities that don't support the LDP. After riding some of the roads that might not get repaired in the future, I must say that I am not a fan of Yana-sensei.

Jerome and I had been together since the Shirakawa checkpoint. As we came into Mouka, I started to look for the next PC. Jerome was ahead of me and rode right by it, thinking it was still 1-2kms ahead. Anyway, there were at least 10 other riders in the PC at the same time.  We stopped briefly, then went down the street to a Mosburger for a sit-down hamburger lunch.

Our bikes -- especially the water bottles -- were warm in the midday heat, as we had parked them in direct sunlight where we could watch them as we ate at the Mosburger. 

The next stretch was unremarkable. In fact, I don't remember very much about it - flat, boring, with traffic gradually building up.  

By the time we entered Ibaraki, at Chikusei NW of Tsukuba, the holiday traffic jams were in full swing. Chikusei, Shimotsuma, Ishige, Joso, Moriya, and finally across the Tonegawa to Kashiwa and then the checkpoint at Matsudo. At places it seemed we were riding past lines of sitting traffic several kms in length, all to get to one red light "chokepoint".  In Moriya, a group of kids on their bikes "raced us" for what must have been a kilometer, we on the road shoulder avoiding a line of cars, they on the sidewalk avoiding other sidewalk users.  Eventually, we veered off with a right turn. I guess they won the race ... but I wanted to holler out "just try doing that for 500 or 600kms!"  If you think the Straits of Hormuz are a chokepoint ... just check out Ibaraki's Joso Fureai Doro and local Route 47 over the Tonegawa on a holiday weekend!

A shoes-off rest at roadside, watched over by the jizo-bosatsu in the shed

This congested course ... I do not pin blame for on the organizers. It is unavoidable riding pretty much anywhere between Tsukuba and central Tokyo on this kind of weekend. The roads are just too narrow, and never caught up with the population when it exploded decades ago. The only routes that avoid congestion tend to be along river levees, and the rivers were flowing perpendicular to our direction, so of no use to us.

Anyway, it was 7PM by the time we made it to the Matsudo PC.  Jerome was still stronger than me, but he was slipping a bit in alertness and judgment ... missing a turn as he had missed the earlier checkpoint. He was doing 80-90% of the pulling when we were riding in tandem, but mostly we were just rolling it home within 50-100m of each other, often with decent separation. Frankly, at this point in the ride, it is safer to have a bit of separation.

Finally, we entered Tokyo Prefecture and the roads immediately widened.  We rode down wide avenues, with thinning traffic in the evening, through Edogawa-ku, Koto-ku, and finally, Chuo-ku. We went over Eitai-bashi, passed the former Tsukiji fish market site, then Shinbashi and down Route 15 through Minato-ku to Takanawa, all very familiar roads and the last within a few hundred meters of my home. From here, we had only 7 kms to go to the finish, a convenience store on Nakahara Kaido just inside Kanpachi. We rolled it in, arriving with almost 30 minutes to spare (a bit less by the time I got my receipt for proof of passage). 

After a short chat with other riders, we went across the street for Indian food and Jerome treated me to a kind of birthday dinner. I think I have never ridden more slowly into town on Nakahara Kaido than after that dinner, as I retraced the final 7kms to home. 

Birthday dinner

I was glad to complete a 600km brevet this year, one that had a reasonable amount of climbing even if it had long flat, boring, and congested sections at beginning and the end. And there was no rush to the end or sense of desperation around time management or punishment to the body to get to the goal on time -- just a long ride back into Tokyo. The RAMAX again worked perfectly; no flat tires or other mechanical issues; no chafing; ... only that annoying foot pain. Still, I know that I will need to up my game substantially if I am to complete 1200k randonees in coming years. The Silver Week 1125kms and this ride have shown me where I am, and where I need to get to.  

Another brevet on the Brevet -- riding in cross and headwinds, and then searching for the rear derailleur limit screws

On Saturday I joined the AR Nihonbashi 300km "around the world" brevet. Why "around the world"? Because the checkpoints were evidence of foreign culture and/or foreign enclaves in Japan -- a Dutch windmill, Thai temple, Sri Lankan temple, Brazilian grocery store, and a Mosque ... not to mention a Japanese shrine thrown in just to remind us of the host culture.

Winter brevets limit choices for the organizers. And early March can be decidedly wintry in Japan. This brevet would not have happened if it had been a day earlier, when there was snowfall in much of north Kanto, though sun and above freezing temperatures ensured it was all gone a day later. A ride in the mountains at night, on a 300km or 400km course, can be problematic. So courses tend to stick to the plain. Indeed, on the January Chiba brevet that I joined, one key goal was to get over the highest point before the "thunder snow" hit.

The difficulty with flat courses in Japan near Tokyo is that they tend to go through densely populated areas with plenty of traffic. And Saturday traffic tends to be worse than Sunday, with many more trucks out on the road. A 300km brevet usually must be held on Saturday, unless on a 3-day holiday weekend, since the finish reception for 7AM starters, for example, remains open until past 3AM the following morning. That does not work for riders or volunteers who have Monday to Friday jobs. So a winter flat brevet means a brevet with heavy traffic. Indeed, I did a winter AR Nihonbashi brevet back in 2015, and the congested traffic of that event was enough to keep me away from similar events for quite awhile. The only other option is a night-time Saturday start. That is actually my favorite if I can show up well-rested, as we are assured near zero traffic on the outbound leg and far fewer trucks on the return during the day Sunday.

On the other hand, a flat course is what I want--what I need--for the recumbent. I have done 2 previous 400 km brevets on the Pelso recumbent, plus the 1667 km ride across Honshu last Spring. But the Pelso has been gathering dust in recent months. Signing up for yesterday's event was strong motivation for me to get the bike out and put it into riding condition -- fine tune the 12-speed SRAM Eagle GX drivetrain I had got and installed last year, go back to the J-bars (I did not really like the steering tiller I experimented with briefly), and otherwise get it ready to use regularly. I managed 5 rides, each of 40-60kms, on the Pelso in the past few weeks.  Was that enough preparation to use it on a 300km brevet? I was about to find out!

The other reason I selected this brevet was its start and finish near my home. Well, the start was at Odaiba, which, as the crow flies, cannot be more than 3kms from home. Even going across the Rainbow Bridge, it is more like 5kms.  And the finish in Shinbashi/Shiodome is even closer. 

Of course, the Pelso is not easily rinko-able, so a train to the start was out of the question. And with a 630AM start it is not allowed even to walk a bike across the Rainbow Bridge (pedestrian access is from 9AM in summer, 10AM in winter). So I rode via Kachidoki/Toyosu, 11.5 kms to the start, just as far as, say, an AR Tamagawa or Randonneur Tokyo event starting near the Tamagawa. Oh well, not such a great advantage to join a Nihonbashi event when it starts in Odaiba!

Jerome also signed up for the event. I knew he would not like the flat winter course and heavy traffic, but was glad that he would do it -- some extra motivation for me to show up even if the weather was bad, to finish if the chips were down. But he registered for a 6AM start, 30 minutes before me. I got to the start location after he had left and never caught up ... but at least could communicate via text during the ride.

The forecast was for typical early March weather. A low of just around freezing and high of around 11-12 degrees C (50-55 F). But the weather forecast on Friday night warned of a "winter style" weather pattern, with stiff winds from the NW.  An online forecast showed that the winds would be strongest during the day from maybe 9AM until 4PM then gradually die down. Looking at the route, I realized the strong wind would almost exactly coincide with the time we would be riding ... to the NW. So a nasty headwind stretch of 120kms or more! The forecast proved remarkably accurate.

I left home by 540AM and was at the start area, next to a smaller replica Statue-of-Liberty in Odaiba, by 6:10. The ride to the start was lovely -- dawn rides often are near the waterfront.

After the bike check and lots of other riders admiring the Pelso (the only recumbent there, as is usually the case for events in Japan), one of the organizers said that the 630AM riders could start. No one else looked as if they wanted to lead, so I headed out. I managed to get around a corner, through a couple traffic lights, and onto the main road north past the Tokyo Big Sight convention center, and was sure any of those who started right after me must have been held up by one or more red lights.  I did not see any other participants until 23kms into the ride.

Onto the course, alone.

But I did have plenty of company. After 7AM on Saturday morning, the city was coming to life in this industrial/harbor-adjacent area. There were lots of trucks.

The route turned toward the East at around 20kms in. For the next two hours or so, I would be riding almost directly into the glare of the morning sun. This makes a huge difference riding a recumben, face upward. At night, I could see the constellation of Orion above me as I rode ... but in the morning, it was the brutal glare of the sun.

The route turns East here.

I wish we could have headed up the Arakawa.

As the route crossed the Arakawa, there was a steep ramp up to the bridge with no shoulder. I was waiting at a light with numerous trucks and did not like the idea of riding next to them up that ramp. So I went down a side road and walked my bike up the levee to the pedestrian/bike crossing on the North side of the bridge. This was fine, except I lost time, and even more time at the far end of the bridge, where cyclists and pedestrians needed to descend a looping, slow pathway. As I reached the bottom and returned to the main road, ... a group of at least 5-6 riders, a healthy share of the 630AM starters, had passed me.

I caught them at the next traffic light and trailed them for around 10kms ... until I noticed that my front tire was noticably soft. A slow leak, or open valve that got bumped from time to time? I pulled over at the next opportunity and pumped up the tire. Perhaps it would hold?  By now, we had left Tokyo Prefecture behind and were passing through Ichikawa and Narashino, Chiba. Here we were on smaller roads -- one lane in each direction, and the traffic had become heavy -- long lines of cars waiting for red lights, in some places without room to pass and pull up to the front of the line even.  This was shaping up to be a long brevet. 

Heavy traffic ... in many places without this much shoulder nor any sidewalk, and wide trucks,
 so impossible even to pass by the cars on the left.

The tire was soft again. I pulled off at a 7-11 parking lot, flipped the Pelso over, removed the front wheel, and changed the tube. The first tube I tried to insert was around 10cm too long. Very poor quality control. The second tube worked, at least, but it seemed like the change had taken 3-4 times as long as it should have. My knees were starting to hurt -- riding the Pelso does put a lot of presure on them, something I never experience with a normal upright bike -- and I had some pain in my left rib cage going back to a minor accident on the Pelso on March 1, that I think I stressed it somehow when I did some manual labor around home on Thursday, or perhaps even when slept on it Friday night. My rib injury was causing more trouble today than it had in the past week, so I was moving slowly off the bike. On the bike, reclined on the Pelso, it was not a serious problem.

New tube inserted, I was back on the road and into the congestion. This continued most of the way to PC1. Finally, we had left the city behind and were in the countryside. The PC was at a park that included a lovely, functioning windmill.

At PC1

By now, there was what felt like a gale force wind from the NNW.  We were still heading ENE, so it was a cross wind. About 500 meters beyond the PC, my Wahoo beeped at me that I was off course. I had followed 3 other riders who were continuing ahead, when the course turned left. I hollered and the nearest 2 riders (a couple), turned around. The furthest of the 3 continued along, at least for the time being. I looped around 270 degrees and then entered the side road, which went up a steep hill, 9, then 10, then 11 and 12 degrees.  I got off and walked, the couple passed me. Anyway, it was a short steep bit so I was back on the bike in under a minute. 

Wind coming at us across a lake, just past PC1

Finally, some low traffic stretches ... but the crosswind gusts were deadly.

The next part of the trip involved less traffic and even some quiet country roads, but vicious winds mostly from our left side. At points, I felt pushed across the road, even though I leaned over to the left side of the Pelso seat. It was like riding a sailboat port tacking close to the wind ... except a bicycle lacks a keel. The vicious wind continued.  I saw a couple riders headed the other direction. ... They DNFed and were headed back to town or a train station. I took some ibuprofen for my ribs and knees, which seemed to do the trick.

A few times I needed to get off the bike, the wind was so strong.  Eventually, far into the 30km stretch between the windmill PC and PC2 (at a Thai temple), the couple who had passed me on the hill ... came heading back down the road. DNF, they said. They made a good choice, I think.

At PC2, Wat Pakna, near Narita

After the second PC, we turned to the WNW. Our route would be pretty much straight into the wind from here (82kms) to the third PC at Oizumi (198kms). It was slow going, especially the first couple hours. I was creeping along at between 15-18kph, but was still passing more riders than passed me. At least the lower position of the recumbent makes it a good choice on a flat course into headwinds.

Somewhere early in this stretch, before Tsukuba, we went through an area with some short ups and downs and I downshifted, taking advantage of the wide gearing on my 1x12 drivetrain. The chain ... rode up over the innermost gear and jammed in between spokes and cassette. It jammed hard. 

Unjamming my chain. ... first of many times.

I spent at least 20 minutes trying to get it unjammed, finally succeeding after removing the wheel (a huge pain with the Pelso!) and a lot of elbow grease. My hands got sliced a bit on the teeth of the cassette. Bloody. Why did the chain slip inside when it had not had any problem since I had tweaked the "b limit" adjustment screw a week earlier to solve some other shifting issues?  This 1x12 setup is new and really only had gotten use on the rides over the 2 weeks before the event, but all had been dialed in and going smoothly the past week. Smooth shifting into all gears. Why did it need to develop a problem now, on this slight upslope in Ibaraki near Inashiki?

I looked for any upper/lower limit adjustment screws, on the top, bottom and rear of the rear derailleur. There did not appear to be any -- nothing visible even with the bike upside down and wheel off.  Odd. Maybe the Eagle GX did not have them? Oh well, I thought, I will just need to be careful as I shift to the lower gears.

It did not work. I think over the rest of the ride I counted 7 times where the chain jammed. Sometimes I could quickly pull it out and reset it. Other times it took 15+ minutes and I needed to remove the rear wheel.  I tried to avoid the innermost gear of the cassette ... but somehow the chain jumped over and into the spokes even when I thought that I still had at least one cog left. I tried to ease the chain up a gear as gently as possible ... which usually worked ... but sometimes did not. This killed a LOT of time and set me way back over the final 200kms.

At least the tires held after the first tube change. ... except, except, the tire had not fully sat onto the rim, in some places still not all the way expanded to the "hooked" intersection with the bead, and so there was a perceptible "bump" as the front tire turned. I never fixed this (which would have required much higher tire inflation, then deflation back to a good level). I was on rough enough roads so it did not really make a big difference, but it was a minor annoyance for 250kms. 

After passing through Ushiku, the route took us SW of Tsukuba along a 4-lane road that had some trees and other landscaping. There were still plenty of trucks, and lots of "otaku" engineer types driving "car-guy" models of cars. (Audis, BMWs, the new Prius PHEV, etc.) on weekend outings -- maybe a quick trip to the pachinko parlor, or the golf driving range.  But at least with 2 lanes in each direction there was plenty of room for them to pass. Tsukuba has a different feel to it, because it was developed as a kind of science and technology city. Lots of research institutes and corporate R&D facilities, I think, as well as the pre-existing "inaka" (countryside) stuff.

PC3 Sri Lankan temple

Combini pasta stop just before PC3. Already almost 3PM -- behind pace!
Does my recumbent rear bag carry as much magic as Doraemon's bag?
Well, today it was missing a few things.

We had a nice stretch on some local roads, and a couple long stretches on national route 354, in traffic. I stopped a few times, and chatted with other riders.  By now, I was mostly in the vicinity of riders who had started at 7:30AM, an hour after me. I had made slow going of it, and I think most riders slower than me had given up already.  At every PC I was at or just slightly behind the time limit ... but the organizer was not enforcing intermediate time limits, as the PCs were designated "tsu-ka check" (just need proof of passage -- the photos -- not proof of time).  I figured I would catch up on the return into Tokyo, once there was no more headwind.

I texted with Jerome from time to time. Over the first stretch he had gone WAY faster than me. ... but then on the headwind he noted it was "tough going", even for him. He was still perhaps 80-90 minutes ahead of me, though he had started only 30 ahead. But the gap had stopped increasing. 

As I took my Wahoo off the bike at a convenience store to recharge it a bit while I stopped, one of the ziptips broke through the base that held the unit on. After a few more kms, the material I had used to bind it tightly to the handlebars (a rubbery base -- but might as well have been a cut piece of an old inner tube) fell off somewhere, leaving the Wahoo rattling around and slipping off. I held it in my hand for awhile, then eventually used some electrical tape to secure it. I had forgotten to bring my stash of zipties. 

Crossing the Watarase-gawa west of Koga, Mt Fuji in the distance. 545PM!

As the sun went down, I passed from Ibaraki into Gunma Prefecture. My dynamo light was pointed too far down so I tried to adjust it ... and it came loose in my hand. I had not secured it properly to its base -- amazing that it had not fallen off over the past couple weeks, and today's first 150km+.  I also had forgotten to bring the correct size of Torx star-shaped allen key wrench to fit it into the base. So I just used my back-up light for awhile. 

Eventually I made a pitstop for a hamburger at a McDonalds, a few kms before the Oizumi PC. I had a message from Jerome that he had stopped not long before at a burger place AT the PC -- a Brazilian supermercado. The headwind had died down to a fraction of its former self after sundown ... just before we turned, finally, in a different direction. 

The supermercado PC

I realized that my backup light would probably run out before I reached the finish. I could have recharged it if that happened, but it would have taken too long for me to have any hope of meeting the cut off. And the beam was not nearly as good as on my "Supernova" dynamo light, properly aimed.  So I used the rest of my electrical tape and managed to secure the dynamo light. It pointed slightly to the right, into the middle of the road (and oncoming traffic), but was low enough so as not to bother the drivers and it held to the finish.

Electrical tape -- one essential I remembered to bring along.

The missing torx wrench, Sunday morning at home.

After passing SW through Fukaya, Saitama, the road eventually turned south and the SSE through Ogose, Moroyama, and Hidaka. This is a very familar route. I remembered it has having more up and down than it did. The recumbent was just fine to climb on going over these "rollers" ... except when the chain slipped off and jammed into the spokes again. 

I was at my wit's end, crouched beside the bike in the dark and cold, trying to get the chain back on, when another rider (730AM starter) came by. He pulled off to ask if I was okay, and I expressed my frustration. Another 10-15 minutes wasted, by now several hours in total. Why wasn't there an upper and lower limit screw on this derailleur? He took a look and shrugged his shoulders. By now I had started to cough occasionally, and the cough seemed to be originating in the area of my ribs/lungs that had been bothering me earlier. That was not a good sign, but at least the coughs were seldom, not frequent.

Anyway, the chain dug out and reset, I made it up the hill, through Moroyama -- a very familiar location -- and took the turn off to go to Hidaka Jinja, another PC. I don't think I had ever taken this short detour, but it the shrine was very impressive and worth the deviation. I'll stop by again sometime when it is actually open.

At Hidaka Shrine

It was now 1140PM. I was 30 minutes behind schedule to make the 2:30AM cutoff at the finish.  One more chain-caught-in-spoke incident on the climb out of Iruma. I sent Jerome a text telling him about the cough, that I would not make the cutoff, and could meet him somewhere between the goal/finish and our respective homes for a bite to eat if someplace was open. But I did push on. 

The climb out of Iruma was much shorter than I expected ... the route turned left to the SE rather than going South over the ridges to the tea-fields of Sayama/Oume. I was expecting several more hills but instead we traveled on a long, long stretch of mostly flat to 1% downhill. I was making up some time, actually a fair bit of time and moving at a good clip. I passed several riders. With no more headwind and no more traffic, only the red lights held me back.  I tried my best to time them, and to use the ones that I hit for a short rest, a sip of water, a check of the route and time.

I got a message from Jerome that he finished just before 1AM.  A few minutes later I sent a note that I would "go for it". I was within 30kms, and still had 80 minutes left. 

Then I hit red light after red light.  On Oume Kaido, I rolled up to a red light watching the cross-light turn yellow, then red, and started through just as it turned green.  I had not noticed a police car on the far side of the 6 lane road. He barked at me with his loudspeaker and I gestured up at the green light as I accelerated on.  The car did not turn or follow. But the lights got more frequent as I got into town, around the Ogikubo area, then down Kan-nana.  I was riding near other brevet riders now, though none whom I recognized, and no 630AM starters I am pretty sure.  At red lights I pulled to the front and said "excuse me, I'm a 630AM starter, I'm out of time and need to hurry."  At a red light were we turned onto Inokashira Dori, I just inched around the corner and continued on -- a technical violation but a harmless one at 2:10AM. I snapped my last PC photo, the mosque at Yoyogi Uehara, at 2:11AM. There was a note from Jerome that he felt ill to his stomach and was heading home. 

The Mosque at Yoyogi Uehara, 2:11AM

Now I was on familiar roads ... taking a route I have often ridden from Uehara through Omotesando and to Nishi Azabu. In fact, I had ridden it on the Pelso within the past few weeks.  But I could not do anything about the red lights -- at Yamate Dori, then before Yoyogi Park, then at Meiji Dori, and again at Aoyama Dori. Each light killed a minute or two that I did not have. And in the city there was still cross-traffic, even in the wee hours taxis racing back and fro.

I got to Nishi Azabu Crossing at 2:28AM. 300kms into the brevet course, but still 3.7 kms from the goal in Shiodome, and no more time.

So I rode home, picked up some food at a convenience store, bought milk for my morning coffee, left a voice message for the organizers announcing my DNF, ate, bathed and slept. 

The next day, in the morning light after sleeping in, without the panic of trying to reset a chain ... I searched online and found the youtube video on how to set the limit screws for a SRAM 12 speed Eagle GX derailleur.  I got out my Torx star allen wrenches and reset the front dynamo light properly and securely.  And I will reset the Wahoo base securely.

Wahoo secured with tape after the base broke.

No limit screw visible from the bottom (nor from the top)

Two small limit screws, tucked way in underneath. Argghh!!!

I think that with a bit more thoughtful and careful bike preparation, I would have completed this event within the time limit.  And the Pelso actually handled the short rolling hills of this course better than I remember from last year's events. It is still not a good bike for longer or >10% climbs, and not great for riding in heavy traffic with narrow tolerances. But it is great for looking at the stars, and it is easy on the back, neck, arms/wrists, and butt. If I rode it a bit more and actually trained on it, it should be faster than a regular bike on a course like this, especially with the nasty headwind stretch. I worry a bit about it putting too much stress on my knees, but I think I can manage that by spinning a higher cadence/lower gear and moving my position.

I did not get "credit" for homogulating a 300km event, but I did ride 313km in difficult conditions. So not a bad training outing. And a good learning experience with the Pelso.

300km in the Land of a Thousand Convenience Stores

Moon rises over Ibaraki

On Saturday, December 10, I joined the Saitama Audax 300km "Attack Nakagawa" brevet.

I need to do a full SR series (200/300/400/600km official brevets) to qualify for Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP) next summer. I signed up for this event during my US trip last month, but was actually planning to skip it and instead do a 300km Randonneur Tokyo event in January, as it turned out that I had a bonenkai scheduled for yesterday.

 ... But the Randonneur Tokyo event filled up within an hour or two of registration opening and I missed my chance to sign up. Also, the weather forecast for Saturday looked ideal for an early winter ride. And I really felt the need for a decent endurance ride after several months of travel and abstinence from long-distance cycling. Strava tells me that my conditioning has dropped dramatically due to lack of activity over the past six weeks. My body does not dispute that. I've gained weight and lost muscle. So I went ahead with the ride, skipping the bonenkai.

Worked hard to boost fitness in September / early October ... all lost.

Like many Saitama Audax events, it started from Toyomizu Bridge at the Iruma River, where it is easy to park a car for a day or two, and the organizers can set up shop under the bridge to sign-in riders and manage the "goal" without need for a tent or fear of rain. The route headed generally north and east, to Nakagawa (那珂川) in NE Tochigi Prefecture, then back again.

No trolls under the bridge at Toyomizubashi in Iruma.

The forecast suggested weather would be in between roughly 3 and 14 degrees celsius during the ride. It would be coldest at the start and again toward the finish after dark. But there were no mountain passes and would be no frost nor ice.  I made do with a short sleeve jersey and bib shorts, Craft windblock inner layer, arm and leg warmers, double socks (thin inner and wool outer), and my Q36.5 Amfib gloves. I brought a second pair of gloves for the warmer part of the day (which, in a pinch, I could slide on top of the Amfibs if I needed more warmth in the coldest hour -- I did not). And I packed a lightweight helmet-lining balaclava, shoe covers, and a thin/light rain shell just in case. I find the arm and leg warmers are unbeatable for this type of conditions ... winter bib shorts or a long-sleeved fleece lined jersey will feel great the first hour of cold, but will have you dripping sweat as you ride in the mid-day sun. 

The route to "Attack Nakagawa"

I was very pleased with the rest of the weather forecast. No worries about precipitation. And no strong winds. I can remember struggling on plenty of previous brevets north of Tokyo in vicious headwinds ... at their worst in Spring.

I have really been enjoying the RAMAX, with the wide hookless rim wheels from GS Astuto and my Schwalbe Pro One 700x32 tubeless tires, and was eager to ride it to see how fast it was on this type of course. 

RAMAX rests at PC1

Anyway, I was at the start in time for the 630AM briefing and to head out a few minutes before 7AM. Within a few hundred meters of departure, I was following two other riders who were going at a relaxed pace. Within a kilometer, someone zoomed by, riding in a massive gear. I did not try to follow. But we caught him soon at a red light. This ride had lots of red lights. I think the organizers tried to avoid lights where they could ... but it is hopeless. There were more red lights on this route than convenience stores. By the time we got to this red light, we had passed at least two Seven Elevens and one Family Mart that I recall, and doubtless others. And this was our third red light. All in just over a kilometer.

When we left the red light, I passed the relaxed riders and stayed with Mr. Massive Gear.  I got a nice pull for awhile, and within another kilometer or two we caught (and were joined by) another rider, probably my age or a few years older, riding a Trek Domane. Both these riders were going hard enough that I could not really pull much, but was just along for the ride. I managed to hang with them, occasionally dropping back but catching up at a red light. We were joined by two other riders. Eventually the Trek rider dropped back, and the two others started to lead ... until they missed a left turn. I was riding 4th of 4 and yelled (and stopped) as soon as we passed the turn.   It took them another 50+ meters to stop. Meanwhile, the rider on the Trek Domane had made the turn, ... and I was back and around the corner. 

So the ordering of our group was reversed, strongest riders at the back, probably one traffic signal behind. Eventually I caught the Trek rider, and we were passed by Mr. Massive Gear. They went ahead, and the two buddies who had missed the turn caught me.  I would see the Trek Domane rider again at some PCs ... but not Mr Massive Gear, who presumably finished well ahead. I slotted in behind the two who had missed the earlier turn. We stopped at another red light, where the course turned left. I made a lame joke about making sure to catch the turns. At one point I asked how far it was to PC1. I remembered there was only a single PC while traveling in each direction, plus the turn-around, but not the location.  Somehow I thought it was a 72kms in. ... they told me it was at 89kms. I would need another quick convenience store break to make it there.

Typical rest stop view ... dining in front of a Seven Eleven

So I took a quick bathroom break and bought a snack at ... a Seven Eleven, then found myself back on the road in a train of around 5 riders. One had "Sugiura" on the back of his reflective vest. Actually nice to have a name prominently placed like that. Anyway, two of the riders dropped off, more joined, and I was able to hang with them for another long stretch. 

The point of recounting all this detail is to convey that I could ride with others, mostly drafting and occasionally pulling, all the way to PC1 at 89kms. The PC was a "quiz point" about the statute/memorial at a park entrance, but many riders had gathered and were resting across the road ... at a Seven Eleven. I pushed on to 120kms, where I stopped, at a Seven Eleven, for a first lunch break, of convenience store spaghetti napolitano. The sauce was orange, very close to the color of my jersey. I could not help but think that the stain might not be visible if I spilled sauce on the jersey as I ate, sitting on the ground outside the store.

PC1 - the tent is not for Audax. Most riders rested across the way at a Seven Eleven.

PC1 quiz involved this object

Up to now, I had not taken out my camera once as we rode. The scenery ... typical Japanese sprawl, just did not seem to offer any photo that I have not already taken before, many times. The red lights were a nuisance, but offered a chance to rest at regular intervals. But I did notice the truck exhaust in places. I could see that a layer of smog hung over the northern Kanto plains, and I began to regret the lack of much wind. There were plenty of trucks on Saturday morning, and I could notice the diesel exhaust in places. I felt as if I could taste the particulate and feel a bit of grit forming on my teeth even. Later in the afternoon, I felt a bit of a sore throad, I am pretty sure from the same pollution. And as dusk appeared, I could see a bit of dust and particles in the beam of my headlight. Overall, not great air quality on the first leg of the ride, or going over the same segment late afternoon. 

The environment seemed to improve markedly after we entered Tochigi and swung to the East of Utsunomiya through Moka, Haga, and Nasukarasuyama. The area felt less like suburban sprawl and more like nice countryside.  There was even a hilly section.  And the air quality felt better -- the wind had picked up a bit, though it was still not strong, and was usually not directly ahead or behind us.

Crossing the Nakagawa just south of Nakagawa

At the turn around PC, I rested but did not eat much. An onigiri and yogurt drink. I headed out and ... felt good. In fact, I felt great. My body had adjusted to the riding position, my digestion was working well, and fatigue had not set in. I was with some other riders on the hilly section, but pushed ahead after most of the climing was done.  I tried to alternate between riding on the bar hoods and in the drops. The more aero position of the drops would boost my speed noticeably. And the RAMAX has a somewhat higher front end than a racing bike, so even when I am in the drops, the position is not that aggressive, and I can hold it for some time without stressing my back. 

Scenery at the turn around PC

We were on plenty of roads that had rough surfaces, especially along the outer edge where we needed to ride. I really appreciated riding 700x32 tires with around 60-65psi air pressure. This gear selection limited the wear and tear on my body. I found that my hands would stay comfortable on the bumpier sections in 3 out of the 4 hand positions that I used regularly. So I would avoid the 4th position on rougher roads. 

At 200 kms I stopped for omu-rice (omelet rice) dish at a Family Mart. I could eat inside, sitting at the Famima Cafe. I had ridden the first 200km at 9hrs and 31 mins (including rests). That is fast for me, for a brevet. On a normal Japan Audax course, usually I will do a 200km brevet in 10-11 hours. The super-hilly Nishi Izu brevet in March took me 12 hours. My fastest 200km brevet was 8hrs and 20 mins (officially 8hrs 40mins as I arrived late to the start) ... That was also a winter event in flat northern Kanto, back in 2014.

Omu-rice

After 200km, I still felt ... really good. Nothing hurt, no serious fatigue, and I could modulate my speed well by changing positions. I rode with a few other riders ... but mostly I rode past others. 

I continued to make good time to another stop, at the 251 kms PC, a Seven Eleven. I got a lasagna with meat sauce dish. Here I also could sit inside at a counter with chairs. It was now well after dark. The temperature had dropped, and the cold air felt ... really good. Bracing. It kept me alert. My only adjustments had been to pull up my arm warmers so that my arms were full covered, and to switch back from my thin midday gloves to my much warmer Amfib ones.

Lasagna with meat sauce

As I continued, I caught a rider and drafted for awhile ... until I passed him and gradually pulled away. Once I was in the drops, my speed would creep up and ... he could not hold on. Eventually, a rider did pass me, on a Cannondale, and I jumped on behind him. We were relatively evenly matched and took turns pulling. .... until he pulled off to rest at the bottom of an incline to a bridge over a river, motioning me to continue on.  The last 15 kms to the finish, I was entirely alone, everyone either well ahead or behind me. I finally started to feel some fatigue and my pace slowed, but I knew I just had to keep rolling. I rolled in to the goal at 9:57PM, for a time of 14 hrs and 57 mins. 

At the goal.

Epic? Not really. But a good ride.

Actually, my fastest previous Audax 300km was back in 2014, at 14 hrs and 59mins. It was another flat winter route, with even more traffic signals and heavier traffic, as I recall. This one was better. And I was very pleased to complete within 15 hours, despite plenty of rest stops.

At the goal, I checked in, chatted with Sugata-san, the organizer (if I have his name right), then Tak Kawano emerged from the shadows, already changed out of cycling gear. He had done the 6AM start, I learned. (they don't post entry lists anymore, so I did not know he was doing the event).

The cold hit me within a few minutes after I stopped exercising. In the end, I put on the balaclava, and sat near a kerosene stove, but was shivering nonetheless. So I heated up the inside of my car, planning to rest for a bit and warm up before heading home. After ten minutes, I was a bit warmer, and still alert and wide awake, so I made the one hour drive home, took a hot bath, and enjoyed a deep, post-brevet sleep.