January 2 Ekiden Ride Report

After lunch at the Hakone Touge Michi No Eki -- nearly all the hard work done for today

The Positivo Espresso/TCC Ekiden Ride went off without a hitch yesterday, as no one got lost, and nearly all the riders reached the top of the climb and the finish along Ashi-no-ko 30 minutes ahead of the runners -- enjoying a welcome from cheering crowds (even cheerleaders), marching bands and everyone making noise to try and stay warm.  We were blessed with glorious, clear weather, dry roads and not-too-strong winds (that were at our backs on much of the ride along the Sagami Bay).

We received plenty of encouragement on the climb, with "gambatte" calls from some pairs of attractive, younger women (waiting for their real heroes) -- inspiring us to even greater than our usual efforts -- and the occasional "Fai-toh!" (fight!) from an oddly dressed Japanese guy.  The muscle-suited cyclist who had dismounted near the top of the climb took the prize.

The group suffered a serious schism in cycling doctrine at the Hakone Pass Michi No Eki.

One group, led by Ludwig, insisted that it would show disrespect to MOB Kraehe if we were to take Route 20 toward Atami Toge (MOB's "favorite road in Japan") in his absence.  They argued that Route 20 must never be ridden by P.E. in his absence, and opted to explore Route 75, the "Tsubaki Line".  Another group, referred to by some as "the renegades" (and by Ludwig as "the re-negates"), led by Dave and Dave, argued that we must ride Route 20, out of respect for MOB -- that he would have "wanted it that way" and would not want to deny us the pleasure of this spectacular stretch along the spine of the mountains of Izu, just because he is stuck in North Germany working on an antique road bike in the dark of winter.  No one thought it was worth calling MOB at 5AM local time to figure it out. Just about the only thing that anyone could agree upon was that the descent into Atami from Route 20 was "a b****", could cause excessive wear on brake pads, and was to be avoided if practical.

So we split into two.  Ludwig's group went back down the bumper-to-bumper, extremely tedious (their words, not mine) road the short way back to Ashi-no-ko, then onto the Tsubaki-Line.  They report that Tsubaki Line was worth this minor inconvenience, is a GREAT cycling road, and some of the photos bear this out.  The TCC reports and links can all be found here.

I joined the renegades, who I had been riding with most of the way since I was slow getting my gloves on and cleat covers off while leaving the Family Mart at Fujisawa, missed a red light and did not see the lead group again until Odawara.  The four of us headed up to the pass, then cruised down Route 20 -- spectacular views as always.  After the traditional brief stop at the entrance to the Izu Skyline, we headed West down Route 11.  This was a really, really, really nice descent -- lots of curves, not too steep, emerging from forest to see a spectacular vista to the West or a valley to our side, and only a couple of cars coming up the hill for the first 5 km or so.  We realized that anyone going from Atami to Numazu takes the OTHER Route 11, which skips Atami Touge, goes through a tunnel and only rejoins our deserted road near the bottom of the hill.  Hard to imagine that any other route could have equaled this one!

Then we enjoyed our own short slog through traffic jams on the flat area, up to Mishima Station, where we acquired the necessary provisions (beer, unagi-flavored "Pretz") to enjoy a quick shinkansen trip back to Tokyo.  My Garmin data/map is here.  Some photos, mostly from Ludwig, a few from me (click on them to see in full size):

The start -- Otemachi/Marunouchi Area of Tokyo early

Too many traffic lights early on.

The Fujisawa Stop -- where I fumbled my cleats and gloves and lost the lead group.

Lots and lots of Japanese cyclists this year ... mostly slower than us, and apparently a huge group that rides slowly AFTER the runners.  I got the pleasure of driving several to complete exhaustion who tried to hang with me on the flat.

Beautiful weather, as usual!

The road turns gradually up.

Andy W, Travis, James M and Mike (photo by Ludwig), waiting for the rest of us at the finish.

Mysterious broadcast-related equipment at the Michi no Eki.  Might have something to do with all those live TV shots from trucks and motorcycles during the Ekiden.

Dave & Dave at lunch -- are those potato chips?

Mr. Rindo and others who did not grab one of the chairs at the table, and so whose legs were maybe a bit numb by the end of lunch.  I thank you for your sacrifice.

Andy and Shane (a/k/a "new Dave").

A motley crew.

The view from our lunch spot.

The traditional stop at Atami Touge.  "We have conquered Izu!  Already 1/20 of the way down the peninsula."

Looking back from Atami Touge.

On the climb of the Tsubaki Line.

I think they went up there -- ahead.

Yes, definitely climbed another hill for a better view, and proof that James M. (a/k/a "MacGyver") topped 1000 meters.

The usual heavy traffic on East Izu roads ...

Leaning against...

Didn't realize I have been into this "leaning against" act for so long until Dominic rekindled my fetish...here's right against the drug lord's arches. Next time, I will use the cacti as a support.

"It is an ill plan that cannot be changed" - Latin proverb

In true Positivo style, there was no plan other than to meet to plan at Starbucks at any time on Sunday morning so long as we were ready to roll at 7:30am. Shane, James and I left promptly at 7:43 without a plan but with a plan to plan the route along the way. There had been vague talk of Yamanaka, Saiko, Odawara, Yabitsu. As a precaution we had bike bags which, contrary to plan, were not used. The plan was finally hatched at the bridge near the 7-11 & Y's Road on the Tamagawa. In the interests of full disclosure, although we had stopped for several minutes while I fiddled with my cadence sensor, the plan was not actually finalised until we rode across the bridge very gently as the plan was coming together slowly. Up Route 20, passed Drug Dealer House (pictured at top), around Tsukui-ko and then turning off by Paddington Bear Land which is also known as Picnic Land, turning right at the house with the huge red chili on the roof and along this beautiful road to Route 20 again right by the road that leads to the backside of Wada.I had never ridden Wada Toge from this 'easier' side. It is certainly longer than the front side, beautiful, but steep nevertheless. The gradient is regularly at 10% and in several parts it kicks up to 12%. Not knowing the finishing elevation (my usual way for gauging climbs for planning my attacks) I asked a kindly elderly couple who had stopped to enjoy the wonderful views how much further to the top. "20 or 30 minutes" they said. Arrgghhh! That was disappointing news indeed, but thankfully was incorrect, A few minutes later we rounded a corner to see the top and the Witch House. I have never seen the witch so wasn't sure if the person inside with a broomstick, pointy hat and a wart on her nose was her, but judging by the number of people milling around but not actually sitting on the benches in front I suspect it was.From the top of Wada we made brisk progress to the river to return home. As we were joining the river we saw Tyler and some of his friends ride by. As we turned confidently to the right onto the river we wondered why they were riding in the other direction. Doubt soon crept in to our minds. Was the plan wrong? As I was looking at the sun to get my East-West bearings Shane pointed out that we were riding against the flow of the river and that could not be correct. Good Boy Scouts work that. While Shane and I were playing native American Indians and Boy Scouts, unbeknown to us, James devoured a chocolate bar* which must have had something in it. He put the hammer down and we had to work very hard just to hold his wheel for the next 20 minutes. The man was out of control, reminding me of the story Shane had told a couple of hours earlier about how his dog went flying around after the vet administered a rectal thermometer. It took the dog a week to calm down, but rather less time for James. We made very short work of the Asakawa and were soon at 7-11 on the Tamagawa for the final refueling.It is said that after a long ride one should take the last few kms gently as a warm down. It makes perfect sense. While stopped at a red light (yes) two little girls in the back seat of their parents car were waving and smiling. Why I decided to ride right behind the car at 45km/h while they continued to wave and giggle I have no idea.** And then closer to home, I decided for no good reason other than to hunt down James to sprint up Elvis Hill. That finished me for the day. I arrived home just as my family were returning from a weekend up in the mountains. Humphrey (the dog) was excited but no comparison to Shane's dog after the encounter with the vet I would think.
After a long drive back from the mountains my wife announced she wasn't cooking so I went shopping to buy ingredients. On the way back from the supermarket I stopped in the pub for a recovery pint of Guinness. I was after all, Guinless. Guinness has vitamin B and iron and used to given to patients recovering from operations in the UK. I'd rather have a Guinness than a vitamin B12 shot that pro cyclists have after a hard ride. Did you know that a pint of Guinness only contains 200 calories? That is less than orange juice or skimmed milk. In the pub I met a woman who had just had a blazing row with her husband and was having a few drinks to calm down. Back at home, inspired by Tom's blog of last week, I cooked the ultimate recovery dinner (bangers & mash) while listening to Thelonius Monk.
To help recover from long rides I recently purchased a pair of Skins compression tights (y'know, black with yellow stitching). I wore them last night in bed. I wonder if my wife realised she was sharing a bed with SpiderMan***?

150km and almost 1600m of climbing. I'm still hungry.

*Cadbury's Boost. Actually consumed at the bottom of Wada waiting for my compatriots to navigate beyond the bus stop. Highly recommended, provided enough oomph to overtake buses, and still get us back to the Tama at a decent clip. As my friends used their Boy Scout skills, I used mine and checked Google Maps on the iPhone.

**Neither did two bemused and thoroughly tired riders left behind. This was all rather odd. Our writer neglects to mention the yumminess of the yummy mummy driving perhaps. There can be no other reason?

***Such a black costume rather than the original red one would indicate that our intrepid writer has been taken over by a Symbiote as seen in Spiderman 3. This may explain the extra accelerative powers witnessed yesterday on Komazawa Dori. You have been warned.

Celebrating Emperor Meiji's birthday non-Euro style

Wednesday was a national holiday originally to celebrate the Emperor Meiji's birthday but is now known as Culture Day. On Culture Day one traditionally promotes culture, the arts and academic endeavour. Rather than promote academic endeavour it was a day for James and I to get a proper ride in. While waiting at Ebisu station I was debating whether I was going to have to implement the 3 minute rule and leave without him. 200km alone could be a little tedious. I then checked my vmail to find my riding companion was actually holed up in Starbucks about 50m down the road. Why hadn't we thought of starting winter rides there before?? Kinda Euro but a quick glance at the Eurocyclist Rules shows I failed on many fronts: I was wearing black bib-shorts, my shoes were not at least 80% white, my saddle was not white, I had a seat bag, my bar tape was not white, I wasn't riding tubulars, my legs were not shaved, I was not wearing cologne, I had some Shimano equipment and I don't drink coffee. I couldn't decide which photo is of the ultimate Eurocyclist so I offer two (the same person):
Remember: "Image and style shall be your primary concerns."
Contrast and compare.

Getting a little tired of the usual routes we headed towards Takao via Rte 160 off Rte 20. This is a longish, steady incline a little like Hospital Hill. Along the way I chatted briefly with a guy on a nice carbon finished Kuota. I wouldn't mind one of those.... At Takao we stopped for refreshments and broke the rules by visiting FamilyMart directly across the road from 7-11 only because it was in the sun. Here we met Fixie Tim and a new recruit with a beautiful Wilier (I need one of them) who he was about to take up Wada. Reading the TCC blog it seems they changed their plan and went up Odarumi and around the lake instead. From here we rode on towards Tomin no Mori and stopped at the last 7-11 for water. It was a pleasant surprise to bump into Pro-Dave (a.k.a. James M) who was training with a group of local lungs-on-sticks. We quietly let them go ahead.....


The weather was beautifully clear but perhaps a little colder than anticipated. However it was ideal for taking the required mountain photos and photos of leaves changing colour. To complete the set I took a photo of my bike leaning against a fence because all Positivo bloggers seem to do this. We had agreed to climb the 750m vertical up to Tomin no Mori at a sensible pace. Not going into the red line on a long climb was a new thing for me. I experimented by going up all the way in my 24 which was comfortable. On the way up I caught up with and chatted to a guy on a 2010 Pinarello FP3. Nice looking bike but I'll wait for Santa to bring my a Dogma.
At the top of Tomin we were passed by an ambulance and I assumed a lunatic motorcyclist must have overcooked a corner. However, it turned out that a little yellow car had overturned. I'm still not quite sure how the driver managed to do this. Not being a paramedic I was unable to help out. It seemed the driver had merely hurt his wrist and had a bruised ego. The descent was cold so we headed straight for the Shangri La of Watanabe & Watanabe's where we devoured katsu-don and hot tea. We were served by a friendly woman but I cannot be sure whether she is the great, great, grand-daughter or great, great grand-daughter-in-law of Taro Watanabe or even his brother Jiro.
Fueled up by katsu-don we hammered it towards Ome. The road was uncomfortably busy and the tunnels unpleasant with traffic and water cascading from the ceilings. Both of us started to suffer stomach cramps so we took a short break in Ome and tipped our helmets to the Aurore Bakery. Once back towards the river the return trip is rather anti-climactic but we did encounter this interesting vehicle. Note the dog in the bag.
I returned home having ridden 199km and climbed close to 2000m. While stretching, or trying to, I was mauled by Humphrey (pictured here with a chain-ring tattoo on his muzzle) who was not only excited to see me home but wanted to make sure I knew it was time for him to be fed. I ate a huge dinner and was still eating loads to next day.

"My first race in France"

I found this amusing write-up on Joe Papp's very good blog-site, Papillon (http://joepapp.blogspot.com). For those who do not know this site it is well worth reading. As a former pro cyclist who was caught doping and who came clean, he has some interesting insights to what is going on in the sport nowadays.
This is not quite Tim Krabbe's book The Rider but is a good read.


"Ok, the first rule of racing in France: Never ever, ever, ever believe a Frenchman when he says the course is "almost completely flat". To an Englishman flat is flat, with possibly a bit of a downhill finish. To a Frenchman, flat is at best "rolling" with a "small" climb of maybe 8% and, I swear I am not making this up, a finishing stretch of maybe 500m into the village along cobbles at 22%!!!! It also comes of the corner at the end of the circuit's climb, just to really spice things up.

Le Grand Prix de [small French town]. Thankfully, I rode the circuit first, and thankfully they wouldn't let me race Elite 1,2 and 3! Because I had only just registered with their association they made me ride 4 and 5. Police outriders at a local amateur race, a beautiful course, 10 laps making just fewer than 50k. Cat 4 and 5. Sounded do-able.

How did it go?

How can I put it?

Basically, I got raped. By 40 angry Frenchman. For an hour. Over and over again, whilst a new friend (the French cyclist who invited me to the race after giving me directions to go training earlier that week) laughed at my suffering. He said he hadn't been that entertained all year.

On the rolling section the peloton averaged 50kmph. From kilometer 0. Seriously.

Some wad attacked on the first lap, got about 20 meters on the peloton, and then we groveled for a lap, trying to rein him in. And as soon as we had, someone else goes (actually it was mostly the original wad attacking again and getting others to do the same), we rein them in, then someone else, and so-on and so-forth. By about lap 4 (I really had forgone the ability to count by now) I felt the inevitable happening. I was slipping back through the peloton. Losing wheels each time every f*cker and his dog stepped on the gas at the top of the climb. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't the first to get dropped. Surely someone else couldn't take this punishment for much longer too?

So as soon as I see the old boy next to me start to shake his head, I am onto him like a flash. My new best friend. Please Granddad, give it up. I'll keep you company. It'll be our own little grupetto. We can share our horror stories, tell each other about the injuries that have held us back today. Now I did say he was old, maybe mid 50s if I am being generous to myself, but f*ck he was stubborn. Every time I saw a gap ahead of him, I thought, "great we can relax now, and I can shake my head disapprovingly, point and blame you for being dropped". But no, he would summon up something from his leathery, ox like thighs and back on we would get. More pain, more racing heart, more burning lungs, more f*cking lunacy. Why am I doing this? I am on holiday!

And then finally, it happens. He looks down at his gears (the eternal fail safe excuse for an impending crack), mutters something in French, shakes his head some more, and he's gone. I am not going to come last! Well, not if I can beat him up those cobbles at the end, or knock him off at least. I then have a bit of a second wind, inspired by my "victory" over a retired Frenchman, I manage to find a few more wheels for half a lap, a few more dropped, and then I am done. I wait for a nice stretch of road with no spectators, and I gratefully sit up and wait for the stragglers, and hope they haven't got too much fight left in them.

But of course they do. And actually there are quite a few I hadn't seen. About 12 of us. So I spend the rest of the race trying not to get dropped by some other losers, and suffering the indignity of the final police outrider laughing at my pain, and then finally we hear the bell. Should I go early? Hope to give myself a head start for the monster at the end? I give it a go. I fail. I give it another go. I fail again. F*ck it guys, we are racing for last! I am a tourist. Give me a break! So I sit in, try to save myself. And I needed to. Then end was brilliant. One of the funniest and craziest things I have seen in a bike race. Guys just stopping dead halfway up the finish. Guys walking. Guys running. Guys falling. Shouts of "putain" and "merde" filled the pretty little street on the lord's day, accompanied by the childlike, joyful laughter of the spectators. There were still remnants of the main peloton struggling up it when i got there. I was in the 27", took it easy and I thought to myself, If I don't have to get off, I won't come last.

And I didn't.

As I coughed up what felt like the remnants of a lung, I flopped over the finish line, into the village square, received a kiss on both cheeks from a beautiful French girl as she put my finisher's garland round my neck, and then found a nice corner to throw up in. It was f*cking brilliant. Insane but brilliant. I can never return to racing in the UK with any real enthusiasm now. I had forgotten how well the French do all this. Every weekend! I had spent too long away from it. Too long. When i got home, after a two hour "nap", I began persuading my fiancée that we would be spending three months every year back in France so I could race "properly" again. Thankfully she had found the whole experience so funny, she was easily persuaded."

-contributed by a Pappillon reader

Riding With The Russian

The title for this blog came to me while cooking tonight (a delicious ragout with fusilli which was very good even though I say so myself). I was listening to the B.B. King & Eric Clapton album called 'Riding With The King'. Now I am not suggesting my riding partner Laurent is regal in anyway other than perhaps being The King of The (Quick) Drink After Work. We met by the river at 7:15am and headed off while discussing the day's route. In contrast to the official Positivo style where a route is planned and then ignored, we didn't start with a plan. Both of us set out from our homes feeling tired and expecting a shortish ride but then The Russian mentioned a drive up to some caves he did with his son earlier in the summer and we started to think bigger. Along the way we met Pro Dave (James M) who was waiting for Mossad's man in Hachioji, Yair. They were to do the last ride before Pro Dave headed off to ride the Tour of Cameroon with his team. We rode for a few km before our paths split and sent Po Dave off with our best wishes and the warning of non-male-borne diseases in Africa for which we do not even have names.
Nowadays we ride along the road by the river rather than on the cycling/jogging/dog-walking path and this was definitely a good thing on this day as there was the 30km and 50km marathon walk going on. There were many hundreds, if not a couple of thousands walkers on the path. The variety of dress was interesting: some in T-shirts & shorts, others in jeans and collared shirts while others were decked out in full hiking gear with boots, gaiters, two cross-country style walking sticks, ruck-sacks, compression tights and GPS watches. And don't forget those bells to warn bears of your presence! I saw it all except for ropes and crampons. We arrived at Ome and paid our respects to the Aurora Bakery by buying a Royal Milk Bread each which we devoured sitting outside. it was on our last visit here that Laurent was cleverly unmasked as a Russian by an American agent pretending to be a stoned, mid-30s, shoplifting loser. Great disguise which had us all fooled.
We rode on to Okutama and then turned up Nippari Kaido, a new road for me. It climbs gently up to a shrine and some of Japan's longest caves. Much of this road is even prettier than the wonderful Yabitsu Toge. On the way up we met Steve ' Montezuma' Tallon who I had not seen since the Tokyo-Itoigawa ride. He was looking to blow off the cobwebs of jet lag with a warm-up climb up Nippari Kaido and then Nokogiri and Kazahari. On the descent we tried to explore roads leading off the main road but they went nowhere far before turning into rough tracks. Having briefly rejoined Ome Kaido we turned off up Nokogiri, another first for me. This climbs up 650m to 1,000m at the top. Almost all the way my Garmin reported a gradient of 9-10% with stretches at 13%. It is interesting to see how much stronger I felt now the temperature and humidity had dropped compared with August. I was surprised by how good I felt on the climbs considering not having had a good night's sleep for a few days. We were actually chatting on the way up unlike the near death experiences The Russian and I endured only a few weeks ago going up places like Shiozawa Toge. The descent however was rough and much time was spent on the brakes. Parts are already slippery with moss and wet fallen leaves are just beginning to accumulate. A fast run from Honjuku to Itsukaichi was interrupted by an ice cream stop at a tofu store. Tofu flavoured soft cream is definitely recommended.

Just as I was preparing myself for the uninspiring ride from Itsukaichi back towards Tokyo The Russian, no doubt utilising his orientation skills learned in an elite but secretive academy back in Moscow, led me on a great road through villages, paddy fields in which old men were hanging out the rice hay to dry, shrines and under highway underpasses until we popped out at Fussa. From here we made our way back to the Tamagawa road and raced with a powerfully built man in an ugly jersey who was up on the cycling path. After we pulled ahead of him I felt we had made our point and so did not bother when we got held up at a traffic light, but The Russian kicked hard to pass me saying that we cannot let this guy go. Therefore, after riding 160km already we found ourselves riding into a slight headwind at 40km just to overtake someone we did not know to prove a point - what point though I am not sure.

At the outset of the ride I think we were both a little tired and perhaps were hoping the other would suggest an easy ride but in the end we had a great ride in wonderful weather and had a lot of laughs. 190km, 8 hours and 1,900m of climbing.

Attention Wealthy Weight-Weenies: 6lb (sub 3kg) bike.

A $45,000, six pound carbon road bike assembled by Fairwheel Bikes

Nope, there’s no “teen” missing from that “six” in the headline. You read “six pound carbon road bike” and that’s exactly what the wizards at Fairwheel Bikes in Tucson assembled about a week ago for the Interbike trade show.

The six-pound bike.
Six pounds barely qualifies as a healthy weight for a newborn baby, let alone a complete, rideable bicycle. And you might well argue that this baby was born a little prematurely. According to a Fairwheel representative, the nearly 100-percent carbon machine was quickly assembled. He mentioned that the build was hasty and they’re planning to revise some of the spec.

To get the scoop, I talked to Rico de Wert, builder of the bike’s aluminum cranks. He said that most of the parts are available from small, boutique manufacturers, but some key pieces are fully custom and might never again be built. But de Wert himself plans to bring his crankset and a new stem he’s working on to market sometime in 2011.

The SPIN Custom frame was built by Marc Siebert. As far as we know, it’s the same one built for Günter Mai and profiled by VeloNews in March 2008. But according to de Wert, it was purchased by “some American,” and now wears a few new parts to further drop its weight. De Wert says the frame itself is completely rideable and has already logged nearly 20,000 miles under its former owner.


To view photos:
http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/09/interbike/interbike-2010-tech-gallery-%E2%80%93-a-45000-six-pound-carbon-road-bike-assembled-by-fairwheel-bikes_142776/attachment/ib_fairwheel10

Spec highlights include:
Customized AX Lightness brakes (we didn’t nail down if they’re the AX3000 or Orion model)
A 281-gram (with bearings) machined aluminum crankset built by Rico de Wert
Hubs by Dash Cycles of Boulder, Colorado
Custom 24mm carbon rims by AX Lightness laced with Pillar titanium spokes
AeroLite Lite Pedals, custom drilled to shave a little extra weight
NoRa CfK carbon stem, built by Oliver Grest of Germany and his Grest & Hanke GbR company
Schmolke custom TLO road bar by Stefan Schmolke
Carbon downtube shift levers by BTP
Custom one piece Tune Speedneedle saddle integrated with a Schmolke post
A heavily modified SRAM Red rear derailleur

To give you a sense of how insanely light the parts of this bike have to be in order for the machine to make weight, De Wert said the wheels alone weigh just 585 grams. That’s both wheels together.
Sure, it’s totally ridiculous. But it’s the kind of bike porn we all live for, so enjoy.
And even if you have an extra forty-five grand burning a hole in your pocket, don’t hold your breath. We’re sorry to report that it’s not for sale.

Source: Velonews

Why I need a second bike

With Christmas 'only' three months away my children have started drawing up lists to tell Santa Claus what they would like to receive. The lists are now stuck all around the apartment, including at eye level for both positions a gentleman assumes in the lavatory. So I thought perhaps I should send a letter to Santa explaining that I 'need' another bike and, as he is likely to be convinced by my reasoning, perhaps he could see to it that it is a Pinarello Dogma frame size 56.

So why do I need a second bike? This weekend the family and I headed up to our place in Tateshina in Nagano Prefecture. I had been there last weekend as well, driving around to map out future rides. Now was the time to try out some of these rides. Once the luggage, bike, wife and dog were in the car there would be no room for the children. Even leaving the wife behind would not have freed up enough space for both children so we had to take 2 cars. No question of leaving Humphrey (the dog) behind as he loves the long walks and swimming up there. So I reason, I need a bike to leave up there so that we do not have to exaggerate the family carbon footprint. By the way, there is something very satisfying about getting off the Chuo Expressway at 12:05am on a Saturday morning and seeing the toll is only Y1,000.

On Saturday, I left the house down a treacherous hill to join the Venus Line at Tateshinako. From here I rode up a few kms and then branched off on a road linking to the Marchen Kaido (Rte 299). The ride was an extremely pleasant 20km climb up to Mugikusa-Toge (2127m).

This is a very nice climb with only light traffic. The gradient varies between 6-8% and then becomes easier nearer the top. All the motorbikes were those of sensible middle-aged men out for a ride, rather than lunatics on hotted-up racing bikes (I would meet these the following day on the Venus Line). At the top I pulled up along side a Harley Davidson whose owner was photographing the sign to signal the top of the pass. He seemed non-plussed by a lycra-clad gaijin (why should he be?) but when I identified his bike as a Fat-Boy he was impressed and decided that despite my attire I was worth a quick chat. He explained that the newer model Harleys are much quieter and thus less interesting to him. When I then explained that I have a 1978 Ducati 900ss he became wildly excited as these bikes are well known for a great sound. We parted as buddies: he made his way back to Nagoya while I did a U-turn home to get home for lunch as promised. For some reason, on the way up the long climb I started to dream of a curry. Great descent but for the last 1-2km climb back up that treacherous hill to the house. As I pulled up to the house I was met by my fan club. Later I had that curry.


The following day (Sunday), I took the soft option and drove the 17km along the Venus Line to Shirakabako and parked. I then rode up Rte 152 and on to Rte 155. Instead of climbing up Rte 67, a steep climb up to the Venus Line, I chose a new route (Rte 142) which took me up "The Other Wada Toge". This is a beautiful climb. About 550m elevation gain at a steady 6-7% gradient. I stopped counting the curves but a sign near the top was for Curve No. 70 - I think I started around Curb No. 20). Some beautiful views and a nice old open fronted thatched building for what purpose I do not know other than to offer shelter to cyclists and hikers.
This is no witch house!
From here I rejoined the Venus Line, turned left and rode to Kirigamine Highlands and on down to Shirakabako again. Being a holiday weekend the Venus Line was busy up here. Young bikers riding like lunatics and overtaking across yellow lines and various car clubs (a convoy of Mazda Miatas etc) took away some of the pleasure but the views were breathtaking.
When in a car one doesn't always notice the gradient but in arts where I thought I would be riding along on a flat road I was in fact riding up a 6% slope and into a headwind. Had I had the time I would have turned right instead and gone on to Utsukushigahara Kogen. I drove this road last weekend. There is an 8km Alp d'Huez style series of steep switch-backs which look to be an interesting challenge.
These rides were for discovery purposes. Next time I will ride from the house to in a loop taking in Alp d'Huez v2.0 to Utsukushigahara Kogen and back along the Venus Line. About 110km with 3,000mm of climbing.

As I write this I strikes me that I have 2 motorbikes, neither of which I ride now, but only one road bicycle. Will Santa rectify the situation I wonder.