Fujikawa At Dawn

I continued preparation for London-Edinburgh-London by joining the Kanagawa Audax's 400 km brevet this weekend. This view of the Fujikawa at dawn is one of the things I would like to remember about the ride.

Looking back up the Fujikawa from the hill south of Minobu. The river is full from yesterday/last night's rain.

The route went from Okitsu on the Shizuoka coastline to Hotaka in Nagano (north of Matsumoto) and back again, via the Fujikawa, then Route 52/Route 12 around the western edge of the Kofu metropolitcan area, Route 20 past Hokuto, Fujimi, Chino, Suwa, Shiojiri, then skirting around the west of Matsumoto through the countryside, to Hotaka in Azumino City ... and back.

All in all it was not so difficult a route for a Japanese 400km Brevet, with the highest passes Fujimi and Shiojiri, over 100kms from the start in order to rise from sea-level up to 1020 meters elevation.  ... but it rained, heavily at times, the first 14 hours.  It was a relatively warm rain, so not a big problem in terms of exposure.  I looked at the bright side and considered it part of the training -- a chance to try out my rain gear and bike setup.

The Ti travel bike and fenders I recently added worked just fine, the fenders significantly reducing the road grime and gunk on my bicycle and myself when riding through standing water.  And the Continental Grand Prix All Season tires also worked well -- nice grip, and made it through 400 kms without a flat.  A combination including rain pants, gore tex shoe liners and plastic bags kept my feet dry ... for the first hour or so.  A loose lockring on my rear cassette caused me all kinds of difficulties shifting the rear derailleur.  At first I thought it was just road grime, and did my best to clean the chain and derailleur pulleys then added some lube.  But the shifting continued to deteriorate until I needed to pull over and spend enough time to actually figure it out.  I could tighten the lockring just enough with my fingers to regain a bit of function and make it to the finish, 6th in out of 29 riders.

Lower Fujikawa, on Saturday.

With this ride, I have now more distance logged in the first 12 days of May -- 950 kms -- than I managed in all of April.

2012 TOITO -- On the Most Beautiful Day of the Year

We are now well into 2012's peak bicycle racing season.


Saturday saw the 14th stage of this year's Giro d'Italia -- the first high mountain stage into the Alps, near Aosta.  There are some incredible days ahead next week in the Dolomites and Sud Tirol, including the 20th stage that goes over Passo del Tonale, then the Mortirolo and the Stelvio (Bormio side climb).


In this week's Tour of California, Rabobank's Robert Gesink capped his recovery from last year's broken femur with a victory on Mt. Baldy that also put him 45 seconds ahead in the overall leader's jersey, with only Sunday's Stage 8 Los Angeles circuit remaining.


And Japan also witnesses two major events this weekend -- the start of the 15th annual Tour of Japan, in Sakai on Sunday (today), and Saturday (yesterday)'s running of the 41st annual Tokyo-Itoigawa Fastrun Classic ("TOITO").


Of course, it is typical Positivo Espresso braggadocio to compare TOITO with these other events.  Admittedly, TOITO is not quite in the same league, even if it has been around longer than the Tour of California or the Tour de Japon.  And just as important, it is not really a race.


It is more like a timed 308 kilometer one-day ride -- a "fast run" on open roads, some with heavy traffic and street lights.  The term "fast run" is a pretty good description of what it is getting at.  Unlike a Brevet, where the goal is to finish within a specified time limit, the goal for TOITO is to finish within a specified time limit, and to do so as quickly as you can.  There is no lunch break -- just the food at the rest areas and, in my case, a few minutes to vacuum down some microwaved spaghetti at a 7-11 en route.  There is not a lot of time to stop for photos -- a shame on what must have been the most beautiful day of the year, on a route that traveled by snow capped peaks, green valleys and roaring rivers much of the way.  TOITO is a kind of right of passage.  Any serious road cyclist in Japan needs to complete it once, just to show that it can be done.  Only a few are foolish enough to repeat the experience.


This year the organizers made a major change of the route, and as a result the length increased from 291 to 308 kms.  The start moved from Takao in Tokyo, to Manriki Park in Yamanashi-shi (Yamanashi City), in the middle of Yamanashi Prefecture.


It would be more accurately named the "1st annual Yamanashi-shi-Itoigawa Fastrun Classic".  But anywhere except in Japanese English usage the term "classic" would be dubious if it were really the first run of an event.   And Yamanashi-shi is not really significant to the event, and the word is difficult placed in mid-title, with its double "shi".  Maybe they should just call this event the "41st Annual Itoigawa Fastrun Classic", since it at least does go to Itoigawa?


Some key consequences of the route change:

• The start area seemed to have more room for team cars, overnight camping, etc.  There are cheaper business hotels and then are only 7 kms away, instead of 8 or 9 kms.  And now there is no way to do the event from Tokyo without leaving home the night before -- forcing one to actually try to get some sleep the night before the ride.
• There is no traffic whatsoever as one takes National Route 20 through Kofu around 5AM, in contrast to 9AM or later when going on the old route.  At 5AM, it hardly matters whether one takes the surface streets or overpasses on Route 20 through Kofu, and Kofu becomes a much more pleasant experience.  Also, traffic was lighter than in prior years through Shiojiri/Matsumoto, at 9AM instead of 1PM-ish.  And it was really nice to ease into the event over a stretch that gradually descends about 75 meters over 10 kilometers from the start, instead of launching into the Otarumi Pass climb right out of the gate at Takao.
• The new route avoids the harrowing tunnels on the descent from Hakuba to Itoigawa, and instead swings far to the East, through Nagano-shi, then over a climb to Shinano-machi, past Lake Nejiri, and then swiftly descends to the coast at Joetsu, before taking the coast road the final 50 kms to Itoigawa.  Parts of the descent to Joetsu were in heavy traffic, with plenty of big rigs, even log trucks and tanker trucks, but at least there was a good shoulder on the road almost the entire way.

As in past years, some people did their own creative routing -- taking a steep shortcut on the climb to Shiojiri Pass to shave off about 1 km, even though it is NOT the official route this year as construction is long past complete on the "usual" route; some go the wrong (longer) way around the East side of Lake Suwa; intentionally or not, some took a Route 19 bypass to go around the center of Nagano City and miss some of its many traffic lights; and some riders were seen taking a major short-cut near Joetsu to join the coastal road a few kilometers to the west of where Route 18 does.  I stuck to the "official" route the entire way.


Looking at a random selection of riders, the change in route and additional 17 kilometers distance seemed to increase average times 30-50 minutes from last year.  This year, the temperatures were ideal.  Even at mid-day, I did not see any roadside thermometer showing more than 24 degrees celsius, and after a morning chill -- helpful on the first long climb, it was 15-20 degrees celsius for almost the entire remainder.  The wind was an obstacle, but no worse than in past years, and it actually in our favor the last 35 kilometers.





On Friday afternoon, I rode out almost 120 kms from my home to Yamanashi with Pete W.  Pete is a very strong rider, who said he often logs 400-500 kms a week, except when he is coaching seasonal sports at one of the international schools where his wife Glenda (who he said also rides) is an administrator.   Pete is the type of rider who can and has placed top 10 or 20 at the annual Norikura hill climb.  Did I mention that he is Australian, is handy enough to have built a house for their family in Australia, and likes beer -- with preference for microbrews, or maybe Asahi or Ebisu?  Kirin is accepted only in the absence of any other available choice, such as at the Itoigawa finish area.  He also had some good advice for me regarding my riding position and persuaded me that it is past time to get a longer stem for my Canyon bike so I can move the seat forward from its current extreme set-back.

The Fuefuki River in Yamanashi, runs through the heart of Takeda Shingen's former domain.  "Fue" is a Japanese type of wooden flute, and "Fuefuki" roughly means "playing the flute".

In front of  the Hotel Sun Plaza along the Fuefuki River.  Single rooms were 3150 yen as advertised on the sign.  And there was even a Daily Yamazaki store on the premises.

Pete enjoys post-ride refreshment (Asahi Super Dry 350mm) in front of the hotel's former Italian restaurant, now closed, as we wait for Douglas and Steve to check in.

Douglas (who made it to the podium in the 75kg+ class at Yatsugatake hill climb in April) and Steve T. (who will always be known to me as the man who rode his bike from England to Japan) came out later in the afternoon by train.  I probably should have taken the train myself, since the Friday afternoon ride made clear to me that my legs had not yet returned to "fresh" condition after the Tohoku 1700 rides over Golden Week, and also that my overall cycling training this year has been very scattershot, especially compared with last year when I was focused on TOITO as part of my methodical preparation for Transalp.


Michael R. rode his Neil Pryde bike out from Tokyo after the rain showers had passed and made it in time to join us during dinner.  Gunnar, harried at work this week, ended up catching a train that got him to Yamanashi and Manriki Park well after 11PM.  He set up his camping hammock there, and tells me that it was quite cold outside over night.


The Sun Plaza hotel, where I had reserved rooms for all of us but Gunnar, offered spacious single rooms for 3150 yen each, and a large onsen style bath as well.  It had a Daily Yamazaki convenience store on the 1st floor which served cold beer by the can.  We quenched our thirst and watched the mountains visible from the front of the hotel, and then headed for a stroll through the Isawa Onsen area of Fuefuki City, looking for an appropriate restaurant and eventually finding a place that served large cast iron bowls of "houtou" -- a Yamanashi delicacy of thick flat noodles in miso soup with "the works" on top -- all kinds of vegetables and, for me, prawns, scallops and other seafood.  Perfect pre-race food.


I was relieved that the hotel worked out okay this year, after all the ribbing I took from MOB for the tiny, cubicles they called rooms at the R and B Hotel in Hachioji back in 2008 during our first Positivo Expresso appearance at TOITO.  Of course, the Sun Plaza does not seem to be part of a chain, and it is a bit worn around the edges.  They even let us bring our bikes to our rooms, without taking the wheels off -- a battle fought and won by a group of Japanese TOITO competitors who checked in at the same time as Pete and me.


If we had any major complaint, it had to do with the wake-up calls.  The four of us with 4:25/4:35AM starts asked for 3:15 automated wake-up calls.  Mine (and the others) came at 2:57AM.  Michael R., whose start was not until 6:20AM, asked for a later call.  His call did not come; or if it did, it came late.  Or maybe (doubtful) it came on time, and he dozed off again.  In any event, Michael did not get to the start on time and lost precious minutes because of it.  He was riding entirely alone for the early stretches, because of his late start time.

4:15AM, assembled at the start, after an early wake up call.

__________________

As for the ride itself, I liked the new course somewhat better than the old, and was quite happy in that at least I felt that I got, if anything, stronger as the ride went on, and did not suffer too much from my unsystematic training in the year's first quarter (January to March).

Douglas and Pete en route

Douglas, Pete and Steve started 10 minutes after me, and passed me about 40 kilometers into the event.  I could not hold onto the back of their train, and ended up pulling off the road within 10 minutes after they passed in order to use the public facilities in a rest area, after which my digestive system largely ceased its complaints.  Steve T. dropped off their back not too much further than I up the climb to Fujimi. Pete and Douglas rode together the entire ride, and finished in a great time, an excellent performance slowed only by one flat tire/change (and then a slow leak in Pete's replacement tube as they approached the finish).  Gunnar passed me when I was resting at a 7-11 in Nagano-shi, and seemed to be riding solo the entire way.  Tom S. passed me just as I was slowly getting up to speed a few minutes later on ... and I missed the next traffic signal and did not see him again until the finish, where he was already looking relaxed and cleaned up, post-onsen.


I rode mostly alone, after escaping off the front of the group I started with.  On the climb through Nirasaki, however, I joined the rear of a group of about 8 Japanese riders from two teams, all sucking the wheel of the guy in front.  After about 5-10 minutes of this, the strong rider in the front started to slow, tiring in the headwinds.  No one stepped up, so I rode up the line, loudly chastising them for not rotating and sharing the work, and urging every one to take a pull, however short.  I took my turn and did about 1 km on the front, then drifted off back ... and we had a real pace line for a few kilometers, until one of the two teams dropped out, leaving me with 2 other riders (one of whom had a nice bike with beautiful Enve carbon wheels, aero bars, etc., an awful clicking noise coming from a loose rear spoke).  We did cooperate for awhile and the 3 of us were still together when Douglas, Pete and Steve passed me.


There were some other stretches of the ride when I pulled for others, especially into the headwinds while we traveled north from Nagano on route 18.  On the shallow, early stages of the climb, I pulled a Jyunnobi (Niigata-based team) rider who was a couple years older than me and said he weighted 56 kgs (to my 95).  He was very appreciative of having someone big to block the headwind.  I did not mind, but finally waved him ahead when the climb got steeper.  And I rode with a "Charirin RC" club member taking turns at the front on the stretch ahead of checkpoint 2.


As I pulled into the third and final checkpoint, a small lady in a black polo shirt was directing me and other riders not to pull into the 7-11 parking lot, but to go to an adjacent lot where there was a blue banner waving in the breeze.  Only I must have not understood, as I got quite close up (and into a stand-off with a little farmer's truck that was turning in nearby me) before I figured out what was going on.  Who was the staffer?  It was Midori Shiroki, Chair of Japan Audax.  I had last seen her as we suffered up the long hill at Tappi Misaki a few weeks back in Tsugaru Peninsula, Aomori.  There were a number of other Saitama Audax PBP 2007 and 2011 jerseys in the field, including the #8 finisher.  And I saw Maya Ide just before and at the first checkpoint.  Maya, who rode PBP last year, and joined a number of the Tohoku 1700 rides, will also do the Cascade 1200 in late June.  Another Tohoku rider had told me to watch for him -- and shown me what his team jersey looked like -- but either I did not pass him or I completely missed him.


I did get to serve as "domestique" for Michael R. on the long descent from Nejiri-ko to the coast at Joetsu.  Mikey rolled into the 3rd and last checkpoint (213 kms) just as I was about to leave.  He caught me and zoomed by at around 223 kms.  But I was just getting a second (or eighth?) wind, and descending into a stiff headwind I started to really enjoy the benefits of my aerodynamic HED Jet 6 wheels, my Vision mini-TT aero bars, and my sturdy 95 kg frame.  I caught Mikey at kilometer 229 and suggested I would try to give him a pull.  I did so, as fast as I could, for the next 15 kms or more.  When I started to flag a bit as the descent neared its end, he handed me one of his spare gels, which I quickly downed and gave me enough apricot flavored sugar to continue a bit more.  This was fun.


It was also fun riding along the long semi-downhill stretch between Shiojiri Pass and Nagano-shi.  This stretch of 90 kilometers went from a high of over 1000 meters elevation to a low of 330 meters, with no climb of more than 50 meters anywhere in between.  Even riding solo, I could make excellent time with my aero tuck.  Likewise, the 40-plus kilometers along the coast road from Joetsu to Itoigawa was also fun.  The sea was beautiful, and the headwind that had dogged us from Nagano-shi shifted around and became a mild tail wind, helping to push us home.  I also was able to ride a good bit of the last 20 kms with some Japanese riders, including reappearances by the guy with the noisy, clicking spoke and the "Charirin RC" member.  As we neared Itoigawa, we stopped at a red light.  As is often the case, Japanese road racers accelerate faster than I do ... though I often top out at a higher speed once I do get going.  They took off after the light and I found myself off the back, and decided I would just finish alone, going into my aero tuck again and eventually losing a few hundred meters.  But as the course turned off the coast for the short ride inland to the finish, I saw them again, just starting up at a light that turned green.  I put on "full gas" and did my best Fabian Cancellara imitation, and passed them at about 45kph just as they approached their normal cruising speed.  When I looked back a minute or two later just before the finish, no one had followed, or was even visible around the last curve in the road.


My 20 km time splits, visible at the "metrics" tab on RidewithGPS, show that I had long stretches spread evenly throughout the day with an average moving speed comfortably over 30kph.

That said, my average total speed, including rest times and checkpoints, was no better than last year.


My main complaint as the day wore on was the soles my feet.  From a short ride a week ago, I knew that my cleats on my shoes had slipped and the placement was problematic.  So I had remounted and realigned the cleats to make sure they were well centered under the balls of my feet.  One of the cleat bolts had been stripped by the hex wrench, so I replaced it Thursday and checked them again.  The shoes were comfortable on the trip out from Tokyo to Yamanashi ... but by the time I was 150 kms into TOITO, I was getting intermittent numbing in the right foot, with the kind of tingling and searing pain you might get from going ice skating and tying the skates too tightly, as the blood flow cuts off and returns to the foot.  I tried to compensate by pulling up more on the pedals instead of pushing, and then by pushing more with the left foot than right ... which, of course, also caused the left foot to also become a bit numb and start to hurt.  I took a couple of extra 5 or 10 minute rests in between the checkpoints to let my feet recover, losing precious time (but also eating and/or lying down and closing my eyes, to get the most from the break).  I got out the bike multi-tool and tried to adjust the right cleat, ... but the tool's hex wrench promptly stripped the new bolt.  The bolt would not loosen without a large screwdriver, which I did not have.  And even if I could have loosened it, the cleat placement looked okay to my eye, so I am not sure what I would have done.  In any event, according to my Garmin my riding time this year was 11:08, but my total time was 12:51, so almost as long off the bike as when we did TOITO back in 2008, and much longer than last year.


Once I had pulled Michael R. down the long descent after Nejiri-ko and realized that I was not going to make it to the finish under 12 hours, I took a nice, relaxed break outside a 7-11 just south of Joetsu.  There was shade around the side of the store, which was set well back from the highway, by a little flowing canal, and I could eat, rest, and look up at a tree moving in the breeze and completely blue sky.  It looked like this:

I felt that this must be what Prince Andrei saw when he lay wounded at the Battle of Austerlitz, in War and Peace, and realized that all his former ambitions were pointless.  Of course, the 7-11 roof overhang should be cropped out of the picture.


I was a bit surprised, after resting for a few minutes and even closing my eyes, to come around the front of the store and see at least 7-8 road bikes on the front of the store, riders collapsed outside, and in lines at the rest room and register.  Maybe I had closed my eyes for longer than I thought?  I remounted my bike and did not stop again until the finish.


TCC finishing times were:


Michael R. in 10:20:56.  Good enough for 13th place overall.  


Pete W. and Douglas E., 10:35:54. Tied for 19th.


Gunnar H. at 11:06:56. 28th place.


Steve T. 11:52:55. 45th place.


David L. 12:51:45. 97th place ... my first "top 100" finish, despite the rests.


Riding for the Jyunnobi team, Andy W. is listed at 9:34:21, in 7th place.

And Tom S. came in at 10:30:37 for 17th place and 2nd in his age group.  


Kondo-san of Nalshima Frend, a perennial top-5 finisher and former champion, won the event in 9:22:11.  He is the fastest Brevet rider in Japan, and this is in line with his prior efforts.  Respect.

Looking at the incredible efforts by the other TCC members, I would fear that I might lose my starting position in next year's team, except that, as usual, just about everyone participating in our group has declared they will NOT DO IT AGAIN next year.  We shall see.


Andy W's trip report (English and 日本語) can be found HERE.


The GS Astuto report can be found HERE.

Tokyo-Hiroshima Day One -- Norikura in November

Jerome waits for me at the top of Norikura Rindo (2700m elev in the Japan Alps), wearing his new Rabobank helmet and all the warm clothes that he brought on this trip -- the only time I've ever seen him bundled up like this.

Over the past week, Jerome and I made plans for the previously announced trip from Tokyo to Sanda/Kobe, taking advantage of the Culture Day" holiday Thursday and a day off work Friday.

First, Jerome contacted Yazaki-san, a longstanding Beeren member who lives in Kofu at least part of the time, and who also has a small farm plot and house where he grew up in the country just west of the City, off of Prefectural Route 12 between Minami Alps and Nirasaki.  Yazaki-san seemed happy to give us a place to stay Wednesday night, and mentioned that a few friends were already coming over in advance of a volunteer event on Thursday.

Next, the destination was changed to Hiroshima, as Jerome had business meetings there scheduled for Monday.  We debated the details -- would we go through the Kiso Valley along Nakasendo, or over Norikura (2700 meters elev), or compromise with Nomugi Pass (1675 meters elev); would we stop in Takayama after 200 km and 3300 meters climbing, or press on so there was hope to get all the way to Hiroshima?  In the end, we agreed only that we would need to stay flexible, adjusting our plan based on weather and progress.

Finally, I stayed up late Monday night waiting for sign-offs or comments on a document from client teams in NY and Tokyo, and awoke Tuesday with a sore throat.  I took the train in to work, and it seemed like half the people in the train car were coughing or sneezing -- cold season is here, even though the weather outside feels more like September than November.  I felt marginally better on Wednesday, and hoped that if I just did not get worse, I would be able to ride on Thursday.  I needed to at least try.  The weather forecast promised 3 days of mostly dry, warm weather for all of our route -- the last best chance to ride in higher mountains this year -- and I could not let Jerome down lightly.

Yazaki-san (on the right) and one of his Sophia cycling buddies.

The Yazaki collection.

A late night "snack" of tempura, persimmons from the garden, eggplant from the garden, and a range of other foods and drinks.

Yazaki-san picked us up at Nirasaki Station before 9:30.  He and his friends seemed like a great group -- all of them cycled together at Sophia University 40+ years ago, they are now between 65 and 68 in age, and still ride together at times, even those who spent decades off the bike.  When we arrived, just before 10PM, the table was laid for us with lots of dishes prepared from Yazaki-san's garden, including a large plate of delicious sliced up persimmons, and several tasty eggplant dishes.  (Thursday's volunteer event consisted of a potato digging/harvesting experience at the farm for a group of handicapped persons from Tokyo -- some of the same members who had done the running leg of a triathlon, with Yazaki-san and his friends taking bike and swim segments, in Akita Prefecture last summer).  They were enjoying a night of eating and drinking going strong when I awoke briefly at 1:30AM, two hours after I had gone to bed to try to get enough sleep so that I could ride early on Thursday. 

Jerome and I woke early and left as quietly as possible, grabbed breakfast at the Lawson down the road, and were on the road in earnest by 5:45AM.  I felt a bit weak and achy despite a decent night's sleep, and decided to try to ride well within myself and just not "blow a gasket" that would take me out of the trip before I managed to complete at least a day.

Route 12 is a very nice, quiet road for cyclists running North-South around the western edge of the Kofu metropolis, especially at 6AM on a holiday.  I remembered taking it the other direction at 11PM on a Saturday night, on the first Brevet I rode in 2009, when it was equally quiet and smooth -- the experience that made me decide that riding at night in Japan was something I might enjoy a lot, though I had always avoided it before.  We made good time over the first 12-13 km to the North, where Route 12 ends at National Route 20 -- exactly at the Nirasaki checkpoint for the Tokyo-Itoigawa Fast Run Classic.

The first two climbs of the trip, from Nirasaki up to Fujimi, and then from Suwa/Okaya up to Shiojiri Pass, seemed very easy and gradual, despite my cold.  I realized that every time I had done these before, it was after coming from Tokyo.  I had never done them "fresh".

We left the main road after the descent into Shiojiri from the pass, and wound our way up an down through the farmland, eventually joining the "Japan Alps Salad Line."  I had ridden the "Fruit Line" on the hillside between Enzan and Katsunuma in Yamanashi, but never the "Salad Line" in Nagano!  True to name, there were lots of stands selling fresh vegetables, and persimmons ... all too heavy to carry onward.

We met Route 158 and headed west up the valley along the Nagawa, past several dams and across the big one at the top of the valley, then through several kilometers of tunnels and toward Kamikochi, our third climb up to the 1000 m elevation range.

This trip offered a mix of massive Japanese infrastructure, huge gashes across the landscape, massive eyesores, and spectacular natural beauty.  The climb up the valley was no exception, with beautiful fall colors on the slopes and a free running river full of rocky rapids, but the most impressive sight by far the incredible concrete monstrosity at the top.

The tastefully designed "water and electricity" exhibition hall at the tunnel entrance.

 We made it onto the Norikura climb by 11:30, pretty much on schedule, and left tunnels and dams behind.  We rested around 1400m elev, where there were some restaurants and shops, near many resort homes in the woods.

Our next rest was at 1800m, where a "rest house" was closed and a gate blocked any further progress by automobile.  A few older couples wandered around the parking lot snapping photos before hopping back in their cars and turning around.

Looking back down the valley -- too late for fall colors at this elevation.

From a bit higher up.

I climbed the last 900m elevation as slowly as I have in years, no power at all when I tried to push too hard, but not giving up.  It was not particularly steep, or hard, just long, and I had no power at all today. More rests and photo stops at various points along the route, then gradually adding clothes -- leg warmers, shoe liners, arm warmers, full fingered gloves, a skullcap that covered the ears.  

A long and winding climb.

The Canyon stops for a look at the view, in its Brevet incarnation today - Topeak Dynapack seat bag, wheels with the wide Velocity A23 rims/White Industry hubs/Vittoria Open Pave 24mm tires, and, most important, 36 rear spokes.  Also, double front and double rear lights (plus a third front and rear light on my helmet).

Jerome climbed ahead and waited for me at the top.  I had warned him he might want to wait a little below, so he could warm up when he started to ride again ... but he found a place in the lee of the wind only a fwe meters from the top.  The temperature was just slightly above freezing, and a howling wind hit after we rounded the corner and started down the other side.

The top of the mountain and everything down a few hundred meters below the pass was in the clouds. It looked nothing like the beautiful summer scenery I remembered from Half-fast Mike's video of the same descent on a warm sunny day in July.

Other than Jerome, I saw only one hiker -- heading downhill within a kilometer of the first gate -- for almost 30 kilometers of riding.  Great not to worry about tourist buses when rounding the corners on the descent ... but a little bit scary if we had somehow gotten stuck.  The huts we passed were all boarded up tightly for the winter -- not easy to pry open, even for shelter from a storm. Jerome kept well behind me on the downhill -- the worst case I could think of was that I would crash, he would ride into me and go down, and then we would both be lying wounded on the mountain as dark and cold set in.

Before we knew it, we were down the hill and onto a long, fast stretch down a beautiful river valley to Hida Takayama.  We coasted around the town, enjoying the scenery and noticed it seemed bustling with tourists, including plenty of foreigners.  After almost giving up on finding any restaurant appropriate for two sweaty cyclists' early dinner, we finally saw a yakiniku (barbeque) place, Rokubei.  We picked the "all you can eat - 90 minute Gifu beef" course, and consulted the cook about our route.  I was ready to stop and get some sleep, check into a business hotel and try to recover for a stronger second day.  But the yakiniku master said we would be very, very lucky to find any rooms free in Takayama, where the holiday overlapped with a festival (not the main autumn "Takayama Matsuri", a few weeks earlier, but something more obscure yet still sufficient to pack the hotels).

Rokubei's master

We left town and continued west on National Route 158, hoping to get a further 80 km to Shirotori ("White Bird"), which looked large enough so it might have accommodations -- as confirmed by the yakiniku cook.  The map showed we would need to climb 3-400 meters up and over Odori ("Little Bird") Pass, 1002m elev, then down and up over a Matsunoki  ("Pine Tree") Pass, 1086m elev, down again and up a third (1150m elev) pass, on the first half of this ride.

There was a 4-km tunnel under the first hill, but it was marked "closed to bicycles" and on the map it looked as if it poured right into the expressway at the other end, so we did not chance it and instead headed up and over the climb.  Again, we found ourselves on a perfectly good road with almost no traffic.  I plodded along.  Jerome waited at the top of each little climb. 

Mounting up in the dark after
finishing dinner.

The temperature dropped down to 7 or 8 degrees C.  Finally, we got a lucky break, as on the third climb we reached our own tunnel entrance, at least 30-35 meters below what we had expected would be the last pass, then headed onto a descent.  In the dark along much of this route, we could see the shady outline of an expressway, high in the sky, emerging from one side of a hill, crossing open space, and disappearing into another tunnel.   The Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway -- it must have been a very expensive road to build.

After the descent from the third after-dinner climb, we pulled into a "michi no eki" (rest area) at Shokawa, near an entrance to the expressway.  The rest area was cold and dark, only a few camper vans in the parking lot with people sleeping overnight, and the restrooms and vending machines functional 24/7.  After getting hot "banana au lait" drinks from the vending machine, and using the facilities (heated toilet seat!), I noticed a darkened board with a list of hotels and ryokan (Japanese inns).  It was 9:45PM.  After almost 250 km and 3500+ meters of climbing, I needed to stop.  If we kept on to Shirotori, we might be too late to check in anywhere.  Even now, in the countryside, the odds were against us.  Jerome called at least half the 20 places on the board.  They were closed for the season, or full, or "already preparing for tomorrow", or asleep and not answering the phone.

Eventually, he found a kindly innkeeper, the lady who runs the Sakaeya Ryokan (栄屋旅館, tel 05769 2 2016), together with her husband.  She took pity on us and agreed to take us in, for "su domari" (just a place to sleep, no meals -- she did not have extra supplies for breakfast).  We enjoyed rice crackers and tea (or, in Jerome's case, beer), a hot bath, a place to rinse and hang our clothes, brush teeth and shave, all the comforts of life, even a nice futon and a TV (sorry, no cable), and most important, a full night's sleep, so we could continue the next day.

Tokyo - Itoigawa 2011

I awoke in a dark, cramped hotel room in Hachioji and stumbled to turn off my alarm. I felt terrible, only 2 1/2 hours' sleep, still dehydrated from too much beer and not enough food despite some glasses of water before sleeping, still tired from way too late a train ride out to Hachioji -- on the 11:45PM train from Shinjuku, arriving around 12:30AM, then wandering in the dark through a "gauntlet" of questionable entertainment joints to find my business hotel. Guys in suits standing in the street wearing sun glasses at midnight, pairs of girls in the shadows.

Anyway, at 3:40AM I needed to scramble, try to consume and keep down some convenience store sandwiches, two small yogurts, plus a cold Seattle's Best Double Espresso I had bought on the way into the hotel a few hours earlier, dress, shave, pack my bags, assemble my bike in the hallway (not enough room in the room!) and hit the road. It took longer than it should have, and was after 4:10AM by the time I left the hotel, 10+ minutes behind schedule and not a moment to lose. Our start was 4:40AM, and I first needed to get to Takaosan-guchi, check-in, deliver my rucksack and drop-bag, find my teammates, and get ready to actually, well, race a bicycle.

About 15 minutes later, passing the Positivo Espresso recommended 7-11 on Rte 20 in front of Takao station, after riding much too hard for a warm up, I heard a woman's voice say "Litt-san!" It was the-nice-woman-whose-name-I-did-not-get from the staff at the May 7 Saitama Brevet. She was riding with a man in "Pedal Far" bib shorts (her husband, perhaps?) up toward the start. She asked "do you remember me, from the Saitama Brevet?" "Yes of course," I said. "What time is your start." She responded "I did not ride I was on the staff." My Japanese must have been as garbled as my mind. "I said, "no, not the Brevet, your start today". She said "I'm not riding, I'm "o-en-dan" (support for a participant -- support, fan club or cheerleader, maybe). I just mumbled "excuse me, I'm late, I've got a 4:40AM start" and pushed ahead. So I still did not get her name, or learn any more about her (or the man riding with her, who looked like a strong rider). I guess if I keep up these endurance rides, I'll probably see them again.

I arrived at the start area at 4:33AM, just as Travis was trying to call my mobile phone and he, Gunnar, Steve and Yair were talking about a revised 4-man team race strategy. I checked in, dropped off my bags, tried (not very successfully) to catch my breath, and had the foresight to pull out my camera and ask someone to take our team photo.

Yair, David, Gunnar, Steve and Travis -- P.E. 2011 TOITO team, in TCC jerseys (except for Yair "Sufferfest" Bauer)

Unfortunately, I did not have the foresight to clean the fog off of the lens, or to hand the camera to someone with a steady hand -- so the photo gives a remarkably accurate idea of how I was perceiving the world at this time.

And then we were off! We started with 4 of the riders from Team Cuore -- a Japanese group of very enthusiastic riders based around a shop in Taito-ku, Tokyo -- and several others.

As feared, I lost the back of our group on the first climb, to Otarumi, and cleared the pass in just over 16 minutes -- 90-100 seconds slower than a week earlier despite my best efforts to stay with the team. Was it really a smart idea for me to ride (race) with these guys, whose average age is 12 years' younger?

But on the descent, I passed several of the Cuore riders and Yair (who really needs to add some weight if he wants to "drop like a rock" on the descents. He is looking slimmer than Alberto Contador and with just as spindly arms). I caught the rest of the team just as they were starting up at the traffic light in front of Sagami-ko station. I felt semi-human again.

On the 60-70 meter elevation climb up to Uenohara, I again lost the back, but on the next downhill, I timed (luck) the light at the bottom perfectly and, going 60 kph, passed my 4 teammates plus another 5-6 riders onto the next climb, then rode generally with (or within hailing distance of) the team to Otsuki. I lagged again on the climb to Sasago, but passed various groups of other riders and arrived only 5 minutes back of the team, with an average speed of 26.74 kph for the leg. Not that bad a start after all -- 75th fastest time on that leg out of 359 finishers (and also an unstated number of "DNFs" -- we saw some riders struggling and other resting who surely did not make it all the way by the cut off time).

Anyway, a 292 km ride is too long for a "blow by blow" account, ... and I've got some work and then want to catch a bit of the Giro, so let me give a few highlights.

First the results:

1. Andy Wood won for the Nth straight year, with a time of 8:44:43. He passed me near Chino and shouted out a greeting, recognizing my TCC jersey. I was about to say something back ... but he was gone. I think I did see TT bar extensions, but I did not get a chance to measure whether they exceeded the permitted limits under the TOITO rules.

2. Tom S. put in another very strong performance, with a time of 9:43:09 for 11th place overall, 5th in the 40-49 age group. Chapeau!

3. In 3rd place at 9:12:43 was Kondo-san, the fabled Brevet rider (see my 600 km May 7 Brevet report), riding for Nalshima.

4. Our team had some excellent results.

Travis finished 52nd in 10:57:45. Double Chapeau!

Gunnar outsprinted Steve to the line for 71st place, in 11:19:18. Steve took 72nd in 11:19:21. They rode very well together as a pair -- really ought to aim for Transalp at some point.

Yair, still recovering from an injury this winter and only 2 months back on the (beautiful new) bike, suffered through the middle/late segments but still managed to equal last year's P.E. group time, at 12:28:59, for 165th. With this ride under his belt, Yair is back.

5. The wind shifted throughout the day -- we had a headwind coming down into Kofu, tailwind between Shiojiri and Matsumoto, and then a cross wind, then a headwind from just before the lakes South of Hakuba until the finish. The last was at times a very stiff headwind, offsetting the speed of the descent. We all suffered in the heat during the 78 km stage between Shiojiri and Hakuba ... many of us taking an unscheduled convenience store break early in the long climb, and me deciding I was in danger of serious consequences if I pushed too hard, and so taking it easy for awhile.

When it came, the headwind was cool and, thus, a real relief. I kept repeating to myself, "the wind is keeping me cool, be thankful for the breeze, ... and tuck low enough so it runs over along your back, inside and down your jersey". Overheated, I was happy to sacrifice a bit of speed for the longer term relief from the cooling effect. As I emerged from the last of the tunnels on Route 148, into a noticeably cooler area, I welcomed the cloud cover, threatening skies and wind, the heat a distant memory.

6. I did not ride any of the "no bicycles allowed" overpasses in Kofu. I went with the Japanese riders along the side street, and waited, and waited, and waited, at the lights. At one of these, there were about 15 riders and a truck and few cars ahead of me. The light finally turned green, the truck, cars and maybe 3 riders went through before it turned red again, 10 riders ahead and so no chance to sprint the light on yellow-changing-to-red ... another 4-5 minutes wait, it seemed, during which all the lights I could see at the intersection were red, cars just sitting and nothing moving in any direction. Aaaaargh! Also, this time, I did much less running of red signals than in 2008 with Juliane, DJ and MOB. Hard to argue that I don't know better this time. ... but I did get alone for a good part of the Shiojiri-Matsumoto stretch, and was able to time the lights very well, move to the front of waiting traffic, pass through when no cars were approaching and the light had changed to a "right turn only" arrow -- the usual tricks, without doing anything dangerous or attention-getting. How much of the difference among the top riders is really just a question of how many rules they break?

Later, I was able to persuade a Japanese rider to join me in going through some "T" intersections (along the top side of the "T"), and to make a left turn on red (remember, this is Japan - riding on the left, slinking around the corner, and continuing along the left), against some useless red lights. He eventually went ahead of me and I could see him, at the next "T" intersection, go up onto the sidewalk, around the intersection, and back into the street again, avoiding the red light -- all perfectly safe. He learned quickly.

I had very bad luck with road construction on the Hakuba-Itoigawa stretch, with several lengthy waits for one-way traffic the other way.

7. Travis, Gunnar and Steve did try at least one Kofu overpass, but one of the other riders yelled at them from the side street, causing Steve to look over to see who was yelling, and why, ... and he ran straight onto the dividers/chevrons between the overpass and side road, flatting both front and rear tires, with some rim damage and a big jolt and big scare ... but not enough of a scare to keep him from continuing on. I was a few minutes back and missed the excitement, and just passed a smiling Steve who was walking his bike back ... I thought looking for something he had dropped. Anyway, Travis and Gunnar went back to help, I went on slowly, and we regrouped at Nirasaki ... only for them to go on ahead of me up the hill.

8. The route was noticeably better than I had remembered. No big trucks coming down the tunnels this Saturday afternoon ... though I did see a few going the other way. And there was an improved road surface and wider shoulder, I think for a good part of the stretch around Matsumoto. And reverted from a 2008 detour to the "usual" route again North of Matsumoto. Also, the checkpoints were far better stocked with bananas, rice balls and drinks -- water, mugi-cha and pokari sweat -- when riding with a 4:40 AM start than with our 2008 6:25 AM start.

And we saw many more team cars and supporters on the side of the road, cheering us on up the climb after Nirasaki and again later on. There were two young, attractive ladies dressed up in "maid" costumes, standing by their car on several of the climbs cheering us on, jumping up and down.

I blew them a kiss as I passed the second time, but meanwhile I could only think ... of this past week's news of Arnold the Governator and his child by a former housekeeper leading to his separation from Maria Shriver, that news from California following just a few days after Dominique Strauss-Kahn's arrest for his alleged brutal attack on a chambermaid at the Hotel Sofitel in Manhattan ... what is it with these guys and the maid costumes?

9. With my long explanation of the Kofu red lights, the road construction, miserable afternoon heat and the headwinds, I've just about run out of excuses.

Anyway, my time was 12:06:42, which placed me 137 out of 359 finishers. This was 20 minutes better than in 2008, though I was really hoping to get somewhere comfortably under 12 hours. Still, not bad, all things considered.

And when I reached the hotel driveway entrance, I was surprised -- done so soon? I thought I still had a few more kilometers to go. Why did I leave so much in the tank at the end? Sunday morning, but for the rain and the press of work, I would definitely have headed up the coast on my bike. The only aches or pains during the ride were some numbness in my feet -- I need to check my right cleat alignment. So even if my time was not so much better than 2008, the Brevets have definitely helped my endurance. Now, over the next 3 weeks, I just need to try to do more climbing practice, then I'll be ready for Transalp.

By the time I finished, Travis was gone, headed to the station then back to Tokyo. Tom was waiting and offered his congratulations before heading into Itoigawa with his Vlaams teammates. We unwound, soaked in the onsen, enjoyed our bento boxes out front of the hotel, with some extras (tonjiru udon, cucumbers w/ salt, beer), added 2 pizzas later -- ordered and delivered to our hotel room -- chatted with Saito-san, a neighbor from the Cuore team in the room next door, who offered me a taste of a nice Burgundy Pinot Noir. We all slept early and very soundly.

After breakfast, we braved the pounding rain on Sunday morning to the station and hopped the train back to Tokyo.

Another successful event. Will we go back next year? Too soon to say.

Our team at the start -- second try at a photo, after cleaning the camera lens.
Look at those faces-- is that a unified expression of determination to ride to victory, or what?

Gunnar models the hotel yukata -- and seems to be having some trouble straightening his back and unclasping his hands after the new experience of riding 300 km in a day. One of the older, male riders complimented Gunnar on his yukata ("ni-aimasu") and no one reproached him for wearing the hotel slippers outside. ... the guy who yelled at Steve in Kofu must have been DNF, or maybe still on the road at this point.

Tom S. prepares to ride into Itoigawa to his lodgings.

The Sea of Japan and wet roads, from our train.

Travis' report: http://www.tokyocycle.com/bbs/blog.php?b=91

Tom's report: http://vlaamsewielrenner.blogspot.com/2011/05/40th-classic-300km-endurance-race.html

Andy's report: http://www.jyonnobitime.com/time/2011/05/tokyo-itoigawa-2011-race-repor.html