Sunday Late Winter Ride

Jerome is back in town, and Stephen was visiting the Positivo Espresso Oume base this weekend, so Jerome and I rode up there and back today.  It was typical late winter weather.  Cold (but above freezing), a bit of headwind going out, and the wind had shifted by mid-day so that we had headwind again coming in.  Not a long ride -- only 105 kms -- but good exercise.

We rode over Jerome Hill to get in one modest climb.  And we saw and briefly chatted with one of the Dave's, on his Cervelo SLC-SL still looking like new, as we came back toward town.

Some major spring cleaning and re-staining of wood going on at the Oume base!

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+.

Positivo Espresso Riding Week August 3-10, Costa del Sol

Looking at the summer's cycling calendar, after the Tour de France and London-Edinburgh-London, the next major event will be Positivo Espresso's week in southern Spain.  Representatives from the London, Bremen and Tokyo branches will head to Malaga/Costa del Sol for a mixed agenda of recovery, recreation and training.  

The trip will definitely include rides in the Sierra Nevada, so remember to set your bike up with some climbing gears.

These climbs start at sea level?

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.

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.

Sunday Ride -- Yanagisawa

We will ride on Sunday and, given perfect autumn weather, try to get in some distance.

Jerome is staying with Stephen out in Oume (Ikusabata) overnight, so the main rendezvous time/place will be at 10:00AM at the Kori 7-11 convenience store (where Yoshino Kaido cross to the North side of the Tamagawa and ends, about 10 kms beyond Oume).

I will leave my house and pass the corner of Komazawa Dori and Kanpachi at 7:30AM.  It is almost 60 kms to Kori, so you might plan to show up a bit early (7:25) if you want to go out together.  No "15 minute rule" this time.  Leave at 7:30AM sharp (which means no later than 7:35AM).

Here is the planned route to Kori -- drop me an email if you want to meet us somewhere mid-way, so we will look for you.

Or you can take a train to Oume Station and, if you actually leave from there by 9:30, you should be able to get to the rendezvous point in plenty of time.

From Kori, we plan to go over Yanagisawa Pass, which seems somehow to have become Jerome's favorite climb.  Jerome might want to try Odarumi Pass for a second act, since he will have fresh legs from his Oume start ... or maybe Kamihikawa and/or Sasago.   I will take a bike bag since, given those distances, I expect to hop a train home from somewhere in the afternoon, even if I do make it over a second (or third) pass.

Positivo Espresso Wedding

Since returning to Tokyo from the P.E./Beeren Pyrenees tour and P.E. London wedding, I have fallen down on the job of maintaining the P.E. blog -- barely sufficient time to ride a bike, let along write about riding a bike.

But I am particularly remiss in not posting here about what must be the greatest event in the long history of Positivo Espresso -- the wedding of the two members of the Positivo Espresso Europe team from Transalp 2011 and 2009 -- Juliane Prechtl and David Jacob!  

It was an incredible party and and incredible weekend, with the entire P.E. team (not to mention tennis-playing spouses) being treated like family.  Actually, we were treated better than family.  And, in case there was any doubt, the photos of the bride and groom are proof that cycling keeps one fit, keeps the girls beautiful and the boys handsome!

Team members in attendance included Stephen, Jerome, M.O.B. and myself.  Jerome even played a role in the wedding processional.

Enough words.  A few photos (and then back to work).

Jerome steals the show as the couple enters the courtyard.  Our first glimpse of Juliane (aka "Queen of the Mountains") in her incredible "Greek Goddess" dress.

David turns to give us a good view of his "Bradleys" -- sideburns in honor of Mr. Wiggins.

And we were not the only ones in London who are "jitensha baka".  There have been over 16 million trips since 2010 using the rental "Boris Bikes", which seem to be visible just about everywhere, as with the rental schemes we saw in Paris (Velib) and Dijon (Velodi).  There are so many bicycle commuters passing through David and Juliane's neighborhood that a very sturdy tire pump has been installed on the curb outside the neighborhood pub.  David offered "free refills" as commuters stopped at the red light.

Even inside Heathrow Airport, there was a crazy cyclist riding a fully loaded tourer around Terminal 5, offering emergency medical care to anyone in need!

Impressive

Can somebody remember a more cycle-intense Positivo Espresso weekend, than the one which has just passed? I must say that I am mighty impresses by the achievements of Sunday.

James is hanging out in Kyushu with the guys from WSA I know only to well. It seems that they are covering kilometer after kilometer will reducing the wildlife in wild dinner courses.

David, Jerome and Ludwig made some pretty impressive rides with many kilometers and elevation meters, supporting Tom to achieve eternal stardom in the Itoigawa race. He came in sixth overall according to his blog, which is very, very, very impressive. I am also happy that he survived the madness in the tunnels between Hakuba and Itoigawa.

Tom [left] taking a sharp turn down from Otarumi.

In the meantime I finished on Sunday morning in forth place of the 2A race in the Tour of Japan Tokyo stage. Well actually not me, but my alter ego Thomas Flindt who raced instead of me and even told the organizers that he is not me. But they didn't change the name anyway. I am lucky that this race does not promote me to C class ranking.

And in the afternoon I finished even better with the TCC Team of Phil, Alan and Naomi: 10th place overall and 2nd place in the mixed category at the Bike Navi Hitachi Naka 7 hour endurance race. Wow - cool guys. At least I was the investing hand behind the team's success.

Hm, I should really do more rides on the hometrainer to fulfill future expectations. But it is just too boring. I am totally envious of what you have done, guys.

Thanks also to Ryoko and Stephen who faced a sport challenge of a different kind; attending my marketing lecture at the ICU for hours. You were too kind.

THE RIDE

Woke up in time, had prepared the bike already the night before and was ready to go out and ride based on a grand master plan. But would we be able to stick the plan? I mean, for perhaps the first time ever?

Weather was just fabulous, as David used to say, "world records are achieved under these conditions." But weather is one thing. Leaving the house at 6:45 AM another. And then dragging the bike through boring but unfortunately hilly Yokohama before finally arriving at the Tamagawa. I was too early, had splendid time to drink my coffee and waited for James, David, Graham and Jerome to arrive. They brought Jon and Craig with them who needed to do some more training before cruising Kyushu in mid May.

Up the Kan-One. Somehow I was very much in competition mood. I tried to climb up the hills as fast as possible and if there was any rider seen on the road I tried to catch up with him. That was maybe a little bit stupid in view of the long climbs we had in front of us, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. Then along the tank road and through Hashimoto for the first break.

The "Tank Road" from David Litt on Vimeo.

A break gave me ample time to explain the merits of my gravity-zero wheels to Jon and Craig. By chance they are also for sale.

Jon and Craig had to leave us - strict mongen imposed by their better halves were given as reason - but Stephen was on his way to Aihara to add to our team.

So I phoned Stephen, who, to my surprise was on his way in his car, plus 30 minutes late as he had forgotten to take his cycling shoes with him. Plus travelling from Ome to Hashimoto is never a good idea (it is anyway not a good idea to get to Hashimoto in any fashion) plus that Stephen had no idea where he was, where to go and never ridden in the area. But hey, he has an iphone and Google maps which is as much compensation as life can offer.

But anyway, I thought I would never see him.

So the rest of us rode along our favourite Tsukui lake North road (thanks, Hiroshi)

Short descent on N. side of Lake Tsukui from David Litt on Vimeo.

... and then a short stretch along Doshi Michi towards Miyagase Lake where we made the first of many serious stops.

Miyagase Lake rest area from David Litt on Vimeo.

At one of the many soba shops we had a good meal of soba, Jerome had in addition some fish which I would never have eaten while on a bike trip. David had a "Kalbi" steak-kebob (kushiyaki) -- also not mid-ride food. We waited for Stephen but we couldn't reach him on the phone any longer. I recommended him to pack his car in a car-bag and take the train, as in Japan anything can be taken on trains provided that it is properly bagged. The amount of bags you can buy at Tokyu Hands is just amazing ; Bike bags, car bags, children bags, garden bags and of course Louis Vuiton bag bags.

And off we were to Yabitsu. Ah, Yabitsu one of my favorite climbs which never makes me tired. The wind was good and I was in good moos, so I started to go up fast. Within no time I was alone and started the real climb which leads to places like "hell swamps". In my head I was humming "highway to hell" but my body was slowly running out of steam. But what was that: "A rider with a yellow Wachi shirt was forcing his way up just before the final teahouse at the river - Stephen has made it and was attacking Yabitsu obviously to surprise us at the top : "Hey guys, finally here?". He has left his car in Aihara and has taken the short road to Yabitsu while we took the more beautiful and much longer one and had a long, long soba lunch at Miyagase lake.

The valley to Yabitsu from David Litt on Vimeo.

Middle stretch on Yabitsu climb from David Litt on Vimeo.

So I talked briefly with Stephen and then I accelerated again, my motivation now on the top and the goal only some three kilometers away. There is one stretch after the tea house which is a little bit steeper and harder, but after that it is OK. Although one thinks constantly that the pass is just around the corner, but it is not.

And up I was a final sprint : 51:39 min new record and 10 minutes faster than last year at the same point in season. Cool. I felt like Lance Armstrong winning his eighth tour.

Stephen came in second, followed by James, David, Jerome and Graham. Then again, no one else was racing against a clock (or each other). We didn't spend too much time on top and only briefly surveyed suicide opportunities. This is a famous love double suicide spot, you know.

The group (Graham, Stephen, David L., James and Michael K.), stopped for the view and a photo just onto the Yabitsu S. side descent:



Our own personal team photographer, Jerome:


Then a fast downhill to Hadano where Graham left us while the rest of us, believe it or not stuck to the original plan and proceeded to Ninomiya and then long route one further to Odawara and Hakone. Now we were on familiar Ekiden turf.

At the 7-Eleven before the start of the real climb in Hakone I tried to stop David, who just went on, and then James, who signed that he would continue to ride. But with Jerome and Stephen I could convince them to take a break.

And then we started the 850 meter Hakone climb. I used to do this once, in the peak of the season and after a ride straight from my home. This was already the third time this year, including two times after Yabitsu. But nevertheless with so many km in the legs it is a hard climb. We lost Stephen already at the start and up to elev. 600 Jerome and me were going roughly at the same pace. Then I was getting faster, maybe because of the food and finally I arrived at the top. Not in a good time, but at least without a stop in one go. I hate to give up in the middle. I hate to stop. I don't care if I am slow but I want to ride up in one go.

Up on Hakone the weather was still good but very cold. I met David and James at the Hakone 7-Eleven (I knew that they were waiting there - we always rest at 7-Elevens!) and shortly afterward Jerome came as well. Where was Stephen? After a few minutes I gave him a call at he was still at elev. 700, about 20 minutes to go. David was pushing that he needed to catch a train home and it was getting also cold and dark so we told Stephen to return while we went through with the original plan and continued to Hakone Pass and then to route #20.

Oh, beautiful route #20 (not to be confused with Koshu Kaido National Route #20 or Yaen Kaido Tokyo route #20). Many true things have been written about this extremely beautiful road, mainly by myself, rarely by others. But this is really my favorite road in Japan, slightly curved like the unshaven legs of Juliane, with a nice and steady gradient moving down like the underbelly of Jerome. Perfect views to the West deep into (no comparisons any longer, I am not Raymond Chandler), Shizuoka and via Fuji and to the East to Kanagawa-ken.

The bike is running smoothly at 40 km/hr plus and one has to navigate the curved but never ever to brake. David is so fast on this road, it is almost impossible to catch him. James is also fast, but sometimes he is overtaken by crazy mini cars who threaten to take them of the road.

The driving skills of mini car drivers : Mini cars - mini brains.

So with the first 8 km or so one descents on road 20 from elv. 850 to 650, along Jukoku Toge and then to the legendary Atami Toge. Then there is this brutal stretch where it goes down from 650 to basically 0 with 5 or 6 km. The hands are on the brakes constantly and white clouds are ascending from the brake pads. The rims can be seen glowing lightly in the night as they are becoming hotter and hotter. One moves his behind further and further back and finally touches the back wheel to add braking power. Only with this advances method it is possible to navigate this road downwards. Basically it is a free fall.

So we arrived before 5:30 PM at Atami station, bought more than enough beer and took the Shinkansen home. And who happened to join as in Odawara? Stephen who has managed the long way home from the Hakone climb back.

One beer was not enough to do all the trip justice and recount all the wonderful adventures we had. Also this post cannot do it. So I am hoping that James and David will add some photos, data and videos to show the full extent of this glorious trip. [I've added some videos and photos -- though my skills as a videographer obviously need improvement. David]

I mean there are many things you need in order to fully enjoy a ride out. A good bike, strong legs, perfect weather, a nice road, not too much traffic and good company. Only when "Set" and "Setting" are right the result can be perfect [The older of you may remember that this is original a concept by Timothy Leary]. This ride was a close to perfection as it can get.


A little more video..

Wed Apr 28 Ride from Knotty on Vimeo.

Championship Reflections

Someday in December, when JCRC will send me the champion jersey for 2008 and I will be the official recognized winner of the "2008 Road serise", I will definitely invite for a party, possibly at the Positivo shop and then close by. Until then, some reflections on the 2008 JCRC racing season:
For sure I had a lot of luck. Also persistence and power, but most of all luck. Out of the 14 JCRC races I have attended this year (counting the actual races, not the events), 10 have been hill climbs or similar elevation intensive races. And I am not a fast hill climber at all. But luckily some of the strongest contenders this year have given up in the midst of the season, or where promoted to C class. Like fourteen year old Nishimura - who continues to beat me at every single race.
And I was also lucky that the JCRC rules were in my favour. 60 points for attendance of a race and arriving at the goal without getting lapped. And in addition a maximum of 30 points depending on the race result. One could virtually secure championship by just attending. At one point I was at risk to be relegated to E class. That happens if one finishes three times in a row with a time 10% slower than the 10th place rider in a race. But miraculously after finishing 10% lower in the races at Gunma and Shuzenji, the next race (hill climb at Shiobara) was exempted from this rule and the race afterwards (again Gunma) as well. Finally I made the cut in Yokkaichi. But the most luck I had with the weather and that I didn't encountered any crash or mechanical problems. Weather conditions were good at almost all races, except for Hitachi-Naka and somewhat for Yokkaichi. My competitor and later friend Ishii crashed at Hitachi-Naka almost in front of me and I had to ride over the grass in order to get out of the danger zone. At the Tokyo race (not part of the JCRC series) also in the rain, a guy riding next to me on the inner side of a curve slipped and started to slide in my direction. Instead of cornering I rode straight and straight into the guiderails, barely managing to escape the crash as well as the rails. Is Saiko, at the last race, a rider crashed 30 meters in front of me during the finish sprint and again I was lucky that he felt on the left side and I could pass on the right. At the hill climb in Shiobara, I rode over a chestnut which punctured my back wheel tire. Luckily that happened only 200 meters away from the finish, so I was able to walk to the goal.

And I was lucky that I had no injuries, no colds, nothing. If anything, the JCRC series has told me something about the meaning of luck and that a tiny mishap can ruin the hard work of a complete season. This is not a single race where one can have a good result or not and then again try next year. This was my once in a lifetime chance to achieve something extraordinary in the field of sport and if I would make only one small mistake, I would have wasted my chance and never get a new one.

And this is actually the dark flip side of riding for championship series: I was very worried all the time. Worried that I will crash, get a cold, don't know the JCRC rules or simply do not race very well and that killed a lot of the fun associated with racing. At Saiko I thought that it might be too risky to ride along with the main group, and just cruise behind them at 30 km/hr in order just to finish and not to get lapped. Because this would have been enough to clinch the title. Just because I was worried, I would have given up to enjoy the race and sprint for victory. I did not in the end, but again I was lucky that I did not crash.

It is less fun to race when one has to race, in the rain or in races where one finished in last place, just because one needs to gather the points. This has been what I have learned this year and I have now much more respect for sportsmen and women who achieve their goals over a long season, be it bicycle riders, soccer teams or figure skaters. I will not try to repeat this again, one season of worries have been enough.
From a point of performance I am a miserable champion I guess. How where my results over the season?

1. Kawagoe : 30th place out of 38 riders in the goal. Got dropped in a flat course race. Early in the season I was in miserable shape.
   
   
2. Shuzenji : 25/25 Last place, of course at Shuzenji. Couldn't even keep the pace of the pacemaking motorcycle at the start.
   
   
3. Gunma : 37/37 Last place again. Was lucky that I didn't got lapped and disqualified.
   
   
4. NATS: 15/22 That was OK, however I also got dropped by the main group in this flat course race.
   
   
5. Miyakejima : 8/9 A lot of points for me because there were only 9 riders in D class. The 9th place was Stephen who I forced into this race. So basically last place again. The solo race the next day was cancelled due to a high poisonous gas concentrations.
   
   
6. Hitachi - Naka : 32/53. A little bit unlucky. First I needed to avoid a crash and temporarily lost contact with the main field, than I choose the wrong wheel to hang on (Alain), although that wheel normally finishes strong.
   
   
7. Gunma : 28/28 Last place again. But I was getting stronger; would have been lapped with my earlier Gunma performance.
   
   
8. Shuzenji : 47/48 Second last place. First indication of performance improvement!
   
   
9. Shiobara : 32/33 on the first day hill climb, 36/37 on the second day hill climb. Apart from the result, this was one of the best races this year.
   
   
10. Gunma : Disqualified. Got lapped shortly before the end of the 8th lap, despite being pulled by Tom.
    
    
11. Yokkaichi : 15/20. Could stay with the main field one lap on this hilly course, but not a second one. Was happy not to end in last place.
    
    
12. Saiko : 14/34. Best performance this year.

In summary, out of 13 races, I finished 8 times in last or second last place or got disqualified.I am not sure how others would judge this, but I think this is not a very champion like performance. My best finish was an 8th place in Miyakejima. Counting from the front, because I left only one ride behind me. Counting from the back, I was good in Saiko (20 riders behind me) and Hitachi Naka (21).
On the other hand I felt that I became stronger and stronger through the season, thanks to a lot of racing and long training rides. In Saiko I felt at the peak and I still had much power let at the finish.

I am really happy, relieved and whatever that everything is over. I am so tired as well. So what is in for next year?

If time allows, I would like to attend some of the races which are either fun to do or where I have at least a chance to make the podium:

• JCRC / ToJ Kawagoe in March, a 15 km point race
  
• Tokyo Tomin race in Oi Futo, a 21 km solo race
• JCRC / ToJ Hitachi Naka in June, a 30 km solo race
• JCRC / ToJ Saiko in November, a 20 km solo race

Then I would like to so some of the really challenging races in terms or elevation or distance:

• Fuji Hill Climb - 1.200 meters up with 5.000 riders
  
• Itoigawa Fast Run - 290 km, if we are allowed to start.
• Tour de Okinawa - 200 km solo race
  

I also enjoyed the endurance races, such as Tsukuba, Motegi, Fuji Speedway, Yokohama and Tokyo. Preferable in a team. And finally I would like to try some track racing. I hope that a lot of PE guys will join me next year as well.Much of the fun this season and much of the next season as well depends on the good composition and mutual support within the Positivo Espresso team. I am very proud that we have built up a team with very few constraints and rules on the one hand, but a lot of support from and to all riders. I always hated clubs, because one has to go drinking with club mates after the training and there is always this "Are you a member?" feeling which distinguish the good riders (team members) from the rest (not team members). There is so much time spend on club-activities and less time on the real purpose, the sport itself.

But Positivo Espresso is different, we have of course some hard core riders, some hard core bloggers and maybe some hard core drinkers, but in general we are open and inviting to new team members and try to integrate them. Sometimes I feel that this and that could improve and some things disappoint me, but all in all this is probably the best set-up I have ever been in. We recognize that all our members have their weak points: Juliane? Always late, or not there at all. David: Starts at 210% of his performance level when riding out, finishes at 21%. Tom? Demands too much from us non-hill climbers. Me? always too competitive, cannot loose. Jerome? Sleeps too long. And so on. But again, as a group compared with other groups we are doing very well.
This year was hard in particular, because many good riders left us. david went back to England; Marek moved on, first to Southeast Asia, later to Australia. Juliane will leave in December. Alain from NFCC who was a fabulous sportsman moved back to France. James and Ian from the Irish rovers went to Hong Kong and Singapore respectively. To loose such good riders and friends was hard. On the other hand, some new guys were joining us as well. James did a good job to encourage his friends to make even smaller trips out with us together, so did David. Laurent and Stephen joined us again. Jacques was another funny addition. Ludwig succumbed to the bike bug within record time. And Tom's daughter should be ready every day after conquering Wada.

So, in a way I guess we are all champions on our own and Positivo Espresso is therefore the team of the champs. I hope that I could make myself somehow understandable without being too melodramatic. I also do not want to write funny posts all the time.

Team Time Trial Performance at Saiko

sayonarA daviD, Zaijian Marek

On Friday last week the Positivo Espresso gather under the arks of the Yurakucho Yamanote Line. Older members might remember the place as the location of the black market after the war, where we tried to trade HED 4 wheels against bags of onigiris and vice versa.

We gather there because we wanted to say Sayonara, Goodbye, Zaijian und "Zisch ab Du Arsch" to some of the venerable and esteemed riders of our renowned club who will leave us in short time to head for foreign shores. david, who is heading the black market division of one of the financial giants of yesterdays, is heading to London, whereas Marek decided to continue to travel in Asia which, if we understood that correctly, boils down to visiting his new girlfriend in Shenzhen.

I think it is not appropriate here to list up all the achievements and memorable moments both riders presented to the club, I am sure that the whole storage capacity of Google would not be sufficient to capture only a fraction of their marvelous deeds. OK, let me start anyway:

David did many impressive things and I am not getting tired to tell everybody who likes to hear it or not, how he crossed THE ONLY RED LIGHT in the whole district of Okutama in front of the assembled police force and their voluntary helpers during the high season of traffic safety week. I still believe it requires a very rare combination of courage and fine character to engage on such splendid adventures. Obviously it does also require a complete lack of understanding of Japanese culture and basic etiquette combined with the inability to speak and understand the language.

Marek join us on many fine racing events, notably Motegi, provided that he made it out of bed in time. Almost all members of our club were waiting at one point for him during the early morning hours here or there. Marek was then still in his favourite drinking hole in Shibuya, where the beers were cheap and mates easy to made. I know, because I have been there as well.

He decided to leave the capitalistic shores of Japan to head back to a country full of the political system of his new defunct motherland .

For the last gathering Juliane and david have selected an exclusive restaurant with very good food and beer. But I should stop here and let the pictures speak for themselves. Those who were there know. Those who weren't will never be able to understand.

Juliane and Jerome revisiting their transalp roots.

david, Knotty and two beers.

Everybody started to engage in signing david's shirt. Here we see Ryoko doing her part.

spontaneously some by passers wanted to join. Like this guy.

Here we can see him scribbling right-wing paroles on the brand new shirt. We let him do this to contribute to international peace.

Please also note the tight trousers.

Here we see Marek forming the "O" for Ost-Deutschland (East-Germany), while mob is showing the "W" for West-Gemany and Ryoko make the "I" for Ireland. Stephen makes a smile for smiling.
Here we changed the signs. Marek is making his "I kill that asshole" face, which he does every time somebody is overtaking him on the bike.

We will miss you guys.

Tokyo Hill Climb Nariki ALLSCRAP PHOTOS

Just checked by chance my e-mails and noticed that I got an urgent request from Tom. The IT department of his company asked him to check, if the Allscrap site (for reasons of security the name has been changed) is well protected and if it is still not possible to make screenshots from the photos posted there. Well equipped with the relevant software [Quick Screen Capture] I made a few test hacks and sadly I need to report that there is a huge security problem with this site. Virtually every information can be freely copied from the screen. It is a scandal, a disaster and a national disgrace. Of course there are lingering doubts with all of you, that my claim is not true. In order to free you with this doubts I have attached some randomly selected photos from a recent event at Nariki to proof the fact that indeed countermeasures should be taken immediately by Allscrap to prevent further leak of valuable data.

Juliane at the start. Clearly, there are no dogs nor penguins in sight.

Mob at the start.In the front Mr. Ueda [Alphahawk] experience his first climax of the day.

Tom, still going strong after approximately 26.74 meters.
Astroman during the race

Hill climbing can be even more fun when one is carrying his camping gear to the top.
Dennis during the race in normal shorts.
Juliane, first followed by the other girls, then on her own..
Mob followed by his group, including Mr. Ueda....
.

... and here he comes. Virtually.
Stephen not so much enjoying the race after very much enjoying the party the night before.

Tom strong as usual. His photos are here by pure coincidence.

In case you wanted to know:

1. That's how a winner looks like.
2. That's how an envelope with 100.000 Yen inside looks like.