MOB's Book is Out -- The Founding Story of Positivo Espresso (and More)!!

Michael O.B. Kraehe, the esteemed founder (or at least principal co-founder) of this blog long ago and not so far away, who was also our leading contributor until he returned to his homeland of Germany more than a decade ago, has written a book about his experience cycling in Japan. The book title translates as roughly "The Day before Yesterday in Japan: No training, no talent, and several extra kilos visible, my incredible path to become the Japanese cycling champion." 

The prestigious publisher, Covadonga Verlag, is known for German language editions of cycling-related best sellers as Jonathan Vaughters' "One-way Ticket", Tim Moore's "Vuelta Skelter" and "Gironimo", Geraint Thomas' "Radsportberge Und Wie Ich Sie Sah", Charly Wegelius' classic "Domestik", David Millar's "Auf der Strasse", the German language version of Jan Heine's "The All-Road Bike Revolution" and all of famed American coach Joe Friel's training books (essential reading for serious cyclists and triathletes)! They even have a book about 6-time RAAM winner Christoph Strasser and his world record ride of over 1000 kms in 24 hours (though I am not sure how interesting it could be to talk about someone riding around and around the same track, peeing into a bottle). Covadonga is so essential to German road cycling that they published the German language edition of "The Rules" (Die Regeln) by the Velominati. So now Covadonga will be known for books about G. Thomas, C. Strasser, and MOB Kraehe.

I don't read German, but I think it is a fair wager that MOB's tales of our Positivo Espresso team-time-trial effort at Lake Saiko (back when we were racers), and his year of attending and not getting lapped by the field in JCRC races in order to win the D class JCRC championship, are at least funnier, and offer more insights about a nation's culture (Japan), than any of these other Covadonga classics.

Congratulations to MOB! 

A few photos from the book (most of which, truth be known, have appeared previously on this blog), are below.

Saiko 2011 - Race of Destiny

I knew it had to be a race of destiny, as the hand of God seemed to part the clouds and the sun shown down upon the start area at Saiko, as I neared the race registration on Saturday afternoon.

Mt Fuji from our lodgings.

Another year, another trip to Saiko for beautiful fall weather and foliage, a weekend at the mountain and a day full of exciting races.  Gunnar, Jerome and I stayed at the same well-outfitted, comfortable Sasuga cottage in Oishi, Kawaguchi-ko as Ludwig and I had last year, and cooked a riders' dinner of pasta, as well as sampling a number of the local products.  We could not find fresh local vegetables in November, so instead we sampled the products of a number of micro breweries, mostly dunkel (dark beer) and weizen (wheat beer).  Fujizakura Kogen; Fujiyama; and one more brewer whose name I've already forgotten.  All very nice, even the forgotten one.  I was looking for Baird Beer, since I met one of the managers there recently, but did not see any on the shelf in Kawaguchiko.

As for the results, EricinIkebukuro from TCC did well in the X-class in his first JCRC event, 14th place, with an average speed over 41 kph, and he should get a decent class placement.  I think we will see him again next year on the JCRC circuit. 

Only one "bike leaning" photo this year.

... and one "bike hanging" photo for good measure.

Gunnar, making a guest appearance for Ludwig, whose back is still giving him problem, easily hung with the B-class group for 49 out of 50 km, and was positioning himself for the final sprint ... when he got hemmed in between 2 riders, with someone cutting him off from the left and forcing him into a crash.  Fortunately, no broken bones, and it looks as if with a new derailleur hanger and some wheel truing the equipment should be fine.

Far right -  Gunnar with B class, after 2 laps, Jerome's finger pointing him out.

Broken derailleur hanger, blood on elbow -- typical race stuff, as Hiroshi looks on

Hiroshi made a good showing in 60km S-Class on his beautiful Colnago ... but was blocked by a crash in front of him within 3 km of the finish and so was not able to contest for the podium.  He passed Jerome and me driving home along Doshi michi in his very, very small car, and gave us a friendly "shave and hair cut, 2 bits" honk of his horn.

It's all good!

I enjoyed my C Class race, and managed to do well enough so I should not get bounced to D at least.  I stayed on the right/outside edge of the group the entire race, so I would be in the "lee" protected from the headwind as much as possible in the far side of the lake.  This worked well for the most part, and on the first 2 laps I was able to conserve energy and yet creep up the group so I was relatively near the front (no more then 20-30% of the way back, on the far right) when we hit the turn and the short nasty uphill 2 km from the start/goal.  Even though plenty of people passed me on the short uphill, I managed to keep in contact with the group each time and recover quickly.

Best team kit

On the last lap, on the penultimate turn on the far side of the lake, about 3 km to go, I was pretty far back in the group and went into the turn again on the far right ... but there were 2 riders directly ahead of me, and the front one slowed suddenly.  I hit my brakes to avoid barreling into the rider directly in front, and my rear wheel locked and skidded left a few inches.  Fortunately, I did not lose balance, and the 5-10 riders behind me in the group were all on my left, so no one hit me either ... but I had decelerated way too much and was off the back just as the acceleration started.  I hauled ass and caught the back of the group just before the hill, but was pretty much out of gas and lost contact again ... finishing about 100 meters behind the main bunch at an average speed of approx 40.4 kph.  I was 46th out of 60 who registered and maybe 56 who started, 52 of whom finished (or 94 out of 188 in the 3 C-class heats, measured by overall time).  This kind of racing requires repeated intense bursts of energy, and I top out far below the level it takes to do really well. 

Okay, maybe I was misled by the shaft of sunlight piercing the clouds on Saturday afternoon, and it was not a race of destiny.  But it was fun.

Jerome and I rode back to Tokyo, leaving Saiko around 3:45PM, as Gunnar would need to hop the train home with his non-functioning derailleur.  It was dark within an hour, as we passed Yamanakako. 

Only 100 km more to ride.

Saiko - The Obligatory Photos, of Fuji, Fall Foliage and My Cervelo

Ludwig and I attended the JCRC final stage at Saiko, both staying Saturday night at a very nice bungalow I arranged through a colleague, adjacent to his second home, on a hillside above the village of Oishi ("Big Rock") on the less crowded, less developed North shore of Kawaguchi-ko.  Luxury accommodations, with a very tasty from the grill and filling dinner prepared on the charcoal grill, complete with ample wine (including from the local, Kawaguchi-ko, Oishi vineyards.  Motto:  "Oishi da kara Oishii").

James Machin (racing for Fuji Cyclingtime.com) was there with his family and pro/semi-pro teammates to claim the overall JCRC series championship/S class championship.  James finished in the bunch sprint, sustaining 44.51 kph over the 60 kilometers, but voiced some frustration at the tactics of Team Bridgestone Anchor, which joined by "special appearance" as an 8-person team, giving them the ability to control the race by working together as the other, mainly individual, entrants could not.  He ends the season as the JCRC overall and S-Class points champion.

Recovering from a cold, without any racing this year or preparation, forced into C class (30 km) due to early overbooking in D and E (20 km) groups, and joining with some much faster, stronger, better teammates, I was nervous about my prospects, to say the least.

We joined together for the early morning team time trial, with Kawaguchi-san, the TT champion of Fuji Cyclingtime.com subtituting for Yair, who could not attend due to injury (see the Tokyo Cycling Club bbs for details -- fortunately he is on the way to recovery, though it will take awhile).

In any event, I volunteered to "lead out" the TT team, and gave it my all for the first 1 or 1.5 kilometers, then pulled off and let James, Kawaguchi-san and Ludwig go ahead.  The cool morning air and brief tough effort had left me gasping for air, but I was happy to accomplish my 2 main goals for the event.  (1) a strong lead out -- at times going 45-50 kph (or more) on the straight away and gentle downslope, and (2) not crashing in front of James M. and bringing him down, ruining his hopes for a finish "in the points" that would assure/improve his position for the various championships.  James, Ludwig and Kawaguchi-san cruised to finish in 6th place -- just a warm-up -- as I trailed far behind and pulled off, mission already accomplished (sort of) after finishing only one of two laps.

In our main event of the day, the C-Class 30 km heat 2, Ludwig did quite well ... 6th in the heat ... a podium finish and an average speed of 41.96 kph.  Not bad for someone who swore off all racing a year ago after winning the D Class championship here a year ago.

I did less well, 43rd out of 60, but was happy nonetheless with how things played out.  The pace was blistering on the first lap -- often above 45 kph, it seemed.  I rode near the back of the pack, keeping a little distance for safety sake ... but lost the peleton at the "usual" place -- the 90 degree turn on a short uphill stretch 2 km from the finish/end of each 10 km lap, where the faster riders spring ahead and the rest of us struggle to accelerate and get over the crest.

Some others had dropped already earlier in the first lap, but I had no idea how many, and I found myself with two riders in my sights, and the main group fast disappearing up the road.  Panic set in and I tried to push back toward the group.  As I passed the two, I hollered "let's ride together" in Japanese.  One took the challenge and hopped on my wheel ... but he could not pull, or keep up, and I left him behind as I accelerated on the downslope early in the second lap.  The field was already a few hundred meters ahead.  

Next, I saw a rider in the green "Saitama Audax" 2007 Paris-Brest-Paris jersey riding about 75 meters ahead of me.  At last, a chance to get some benefit from my Brevet experience!  Any one who has ridden a few Brevets in Japan learns that this particular green jersey is something special.  Brevet riders tend to be "slow and steady".  Not Saitama.  They are FAST and steady.  They haul ass over long distances.  If I could only catch him. ...   Somehow I managed to do so, and again issued a challenge to ride together.  At first, he pulled me, but by the time we got to the back stretch of the lake, I had recovered some and we shared the work, somehow maintaining a decent pace, trading off again and again, each taking turns resting in back and then cutting inside on one of the sharp corners to take the front duty. 

We managed to keep this up for the rest of the race, and finished with an average pace of 38.66 kph.  I tried to come around him one last time at the finish ... but misjudged the line (it was about 20 meters short of the  overhead banner) and ended half a wheel behind him.  Not too bad for a 30 km effort, 22 km of which was ridden without the Peleton and with its share of headwinds.  No one passed us, we stayed ahead of the D class group that started 2 minutes later than our heat, and we caught a number of the C class riders from the prior heat.  Yamaguchi-san and I thanked each other at the finish.  ... So I may be back again next year?  Next time, I'll train for it -- intervals, sprints, etc.  Really, I will.

Now, some photos.  A few new additions from Ludwig.  

The three time trialists, plus me.

At the start.

Glasses on, engines ready.

S Class start!

James and Sebastien, smile for the fans.

Now the photos from my initial post:

At Tachikawa -- into the bike bag you go.

Registration Saturday afternoon.

Bike leaning along guardrail at Saiko.

Bike leaning along guard rail at Saiko #2.

Ludwig and the fall foliage at Kawaguchiko:

Bike leaning along hedge, at our accommodations with view of Fuji.

Bikes leaning along rust-colored hedge, at our accommodations.

More bike leaning, with Fuji:

Looking from Oishi village toward the Wakahiko tunnel entrance -- a little after-race climb up to the entrance and then a continuing modest upslope inside the tunnel for a little more than 2 km.

One last glimpse of Fuji.

On the Upper Ashigawa (see also the photo at the very top of this blog entry -- spectacular vistas here between the ridges):

At the entrance to Shin-Torizaka Tunnel, at the top of the second short climb on the way through to Fuefuki/Kofu:

And down among the fruit trees in Fuefuki, in the "fruit bowl" of Yamanashi/Kofu area:

Saiko

Yes, it is Saiko time again! The race is taking place on 14 November.

This is always a nice place to race, especially when the weather is nice, like last year.

I have particularly fond memories of last year, because this is where I came First in a race, and where I ended the JCRC and Tour du Japon series as 2009 Champion (D-class).

This is also where MOB ended the 2009 JCRC series as champion.

And where James should end as S-class champion this year. Which is reason enough to go there and celebrate him!

I have stuck to my vows and have not entered a single race this year. This one will be my exception. Who else will be joining me? I have three 5,000 Yen vouchers left towards the entry fee of 7,000 Yen per race.

More details on the day can be found on the JCRC website (link on the right) or the Tour du Japon site to which JCRC is providing a link.