Glorious "Jason Paul" Ride -- Important Nomenclature Update!

Cyclist heads up the Akigawa going for Tomin no Mori.

Last week I got an email from a student about an assignment. "Prof. David", it began. An unsolicited apology email came about 2 minutes later using my last name instead of first. After learning that Japanese almost never use first names with "san", nothing sounds less natural to me than "[first name]-san" as in "David-san". (well, I've been in Japan long enough so it sounds more natural now that it once did, but still ... only dogs, foreigners, and little girls get called "[first name]-san" in most settings.

A memorial in the Akigawa Keikoku (gorge) -- the flag reminds cyclists to obey traffic rules
And "manner up"!

A day later I needed to write a short recommendation letter for a student who wants to go on exchange from my university law school in Japan to one of our U.S. partner schools. Written in roman characters, the student's first and last names each is a common Chinese family name. And in Chinese and Japanese (and Korean) of course the common order is "family name" then "first name", no comma. I struggled a bit -- should I refer to the student as "Mr. XX", or XX-san, or just "YY" (the first name)? In the Subject line I used "XX, YY" with the comma the clue that family name came first, then in the body of the letter I first used "Mr. YY XX", then later on just used the first name XX -- more familiar and friendly -- to emphasize that I actually know the student.

On the western approach to Wada Pass.

This is a problem more widely for anyone whose first and last names are easily, perhaps intentionally, interchangeable -- family names like David, Duncan, Mason, Paul or many others (or, in recent decades countless girls' first names like Kennedy, Madigan, Monroe, Riley, Taylor ...). And don't forget the character from the book Catch 22, Major Major, who not surprisingly achieved the military rank of ... Major. And given the different ordering in Asia, the problem is far worse.

Ron Paul, the perennial libertarian party Presidential candidate, could just as well be Paul Ron. It is only due to his son, Rand Paul, becoming a Senator and then becoming even more famous by getting beaten up in a fight with his doctor neighbor over lawn mowing and other simmering neighbor feud issues, ending up with six broken ribs in the hospital, that we can remember "Paul" is the family name.

Only a hint of Mt Fuji's shoulder below the clouds looking bac on the climb to Wada Pass.

This brings to mind one of our favorite Positivo Expresso rides, the "Paul Jason", named after a mysterious visitor who joined us on one of our first attempts over this course on a sweltering day back in 2006 (or 2007). He is immortalized and given the honor of having the route named for him. The ride goes out Jinba Kaido, over Wada Pass, through the nasty short climbs of the Golf Course Hills of Uenohara (our name), then up Route 33 to the Kobu Tunnel, down the other side to the Akigawa and back toward town via Itsukaichi.

If you missed this weekend, you will need to wait until next year to see the sakura
 ... along the Tamagawa.

But we rarely ride the "Paul Jason". We enjoy far more the "Reverse Paul Jason". The East side of Wada is a miserable narrow and steep climb, plenty of 15-16%. It is terrible if you meet any traffic and must dismount. The west side is far better, if longer. Likewise, the Kobu Tunnel climb is short and manageable from the Akigawa to the North, but seems really long from the south.

So it was with these thoughts in mind that Jerome and I decided to do the ride yesterday. Why the "reverse Paul Jason", I asked? Why not just the "Jason Paul" ride? Jason could be the first and Paul the family name -- just like Ron and Rand! We took a vote and decided to implement the change immediately. Done.

Tachikawa, along the Tamagawa, still blossoms

Tachikawa. along the Tamagawa

Well, the actual ride took a bit longer before it was "done".  160km distance with 1750m of elevation gain for me.

We met at 810AM along Meguro Dori near Jerome's place, headed upriver and out to Itsukaichi. Jerome complained that his old Look bike was slow, and he was struggling. Something must have gone wrong with it after it bounced on the icy pavement repeatedly as he fell again and again while walking down upper Doshi Michi from Yamabushi Pass a few weeks ago. We raised the seat and made a few other minor changes, and it seemed better.

Random flowering hillside on the Akigawa

Where are the cars? Akigawa Keikoku

There are the cars -- stuck behind Jerome as he "owns his lane".

At the turnoff for the climb to Kobu Tunnel

More mokuren (magnolia) and nadarezakura (weeping sakura)

I felt quite strong riding out to Itsukaichi and up the hill from there. But I was weak by the time we got over the Kobu Tunnel. My stomach was bothering me (Maybe I should not have drank the full 500ml coffee/sugar drink at that Itsukaichi Family Mart?), and as the sugar wore off I was near bonking through the Golf Course Hills. Jerome gave me his "asa banana" spare supplies, and I ate my only energy bar ... enough power to get up the west side of Wada. Jerome again struggled on that climb, and at Wada I got a cup noodle dish and chatted with the only other cyclist up there while I waited.

On the descent of the Uenohara side of Kobu Tunnel

On the lower part of the Wada climb - sakura, tea plants, palms, and more!

It was all downhill from there, but with some gusty winds, sometimes headwinds, the trip was still hard. Anyway, a successful ride and good training for Jerome's attempt next week at the VCR Aoba "Super 400" brevet with its 6000m+ of climbing.

Jerome crests Wada

These nudes are holding up well -- here on Jimba Kaido since the first time I went up it in 2004.

The blue sheet and ropes are not lasting as well as the sculpture. She looks about to free her bonds. ...

Strava link is here.