My final ride needed to qualify for PBP was a 600km brevet. I had choices of an April 15 Audax Kinki event in Kansai, around the Kii Peninsula, or an April 22 Audax Saitama one in Kanto, up to Fukushima and back. The April 22 event was a lot closer to home, and looked a bit easier. But schedule issues around the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd pushed me to commit to the earlier ride in Kansai. And that approach left me with at least some possibility of a backup, just in case I DNF'ed.
The ride looked on the difficult side. Jerome had tried a similar course once 4-5 years ago, and did not finish. He started tired and suffered in heat and headwinds along the coast. Still the course was nothing like the 600k with 8000 meters of climbing that we did once, nor did it look as tough as the Seattle "summer gravel grinder" I did back in 2016, nor as difficult as the Tasmania 600k from 2019. In fact, I realized, I have a pretty good track record at 600k brevets.
Then again, so does Jerome, and the fact that he DNF'ed a similar course previously was a caution. Last year when we did our 600km brevet to qualify for Cascade 1400, Jerome started 2 hours after me and caught up eventually so that we could ride the final 1/4 of the event together. And he has been "waiting at the top" for me on climbs when we ride together the past few years. So I signed up for the 6AM start, and Jerome did for the 7AM. I thought he would probably catch me by the first evening, and we could start together on day 2.
The weather forecast looked bad. Rain on day 1, sometimes heavy, and nasty headwinds on day 2. But at least it would be 10 degrees C warmer than the cold and rainy 400km ride I just did in March ... so I knew even if I got wet, I would not be as cold. I could dress a bit lighter. I decided to trust my thin, more breathable cycling rain jacket, fairly tight-fitting but still comfortable. And I used my "chaps" style Rain Legs, instead of full rain pants. A pair of standard "Sealskinz" rainy weather cycling gloves, rather than REI Goretex mitten shell I had used over the Q36.5 Amfib gloves last month. And for the headwind on day 2, I decided to try a Nalini skinsuit (one piece top and bottom) that I got last year but have not yet worn for anything longer than a 2-hour ride. If it was reasonably comfortable and would save me a few watts of drag on a long upwind slog ... why not?
I rode the Ramax, with Raceblade front fender and my rear saddle bag to protect my backside from rain splash. The Ramax is very comfortable and a perfect choice for this ride. I continue to enjoy the bike, and love my GS Astuto wheelset and the 700x32 Schwalbe Pro One tires that I have been running tubeless over the past many months. I topped up sealant before the ride ... and had no flats, again. Fast, comfortable, stable on the wet pavement, and unlike the Pelso, I can climb OK on this bike.
In any event, we got out of Tokyo in good time Friday mid-afternoon, made it to our lodging at a minshuku in Sayama City, about 7kms from the start in Mikkaichi-cho. The theme of the minshuku was "art" and "aesthetics" -- 美学. The woman who welcomed us gave some explanation, and it was at least novel and a comfortable place to stay. It also was the ONLY place to stay within 15kms or more of the start at Mikkaichi-cho Station. We had a decent meal of Japanese pub food and beer and were back at our lodging and ready to sleep around 9PM. Jerome remarked repeatedly how nice it was not to be rushed getting to an event, for once. And it was.
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| A work of art ... |
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| I cannot imagine this would survive intact in many big city neighborhoods around the world. |
It started to sprinkle rain drops as we returned from dinner, and was a serious, pretty hard rain when I awoke. Jerome also was awake and said he would go with me to the start area for my 6AM start, even though he would need to wait for an extra hour. We left the minshuku just before 5, navigated the dark and wet streets, and were at Mikkaichi-cho Station before 530AM. After a walk over to 7-11 to get some modest breakfast, the briefing was already underway when we returned. Only a few riders were there. Actually, a total of 55 signed up for the event, but only 20 rode (including the two organizers who did a pre-ride last week). Most saw the weather forecast and decided not to join. Just like last month's Chiba 400km. Two riders, Dee and Henry, had come from Hong Kong and did not speak any Japanese. I jumped in a bit to interpret for them. Another rider, Kuramoto-san, said he worked for Shimano and had at one point earlier in his career been on assignment in Irvine, CA, but now was at the company HQ in Osaka.
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| Jerome ... dressed for serious bad weather, or an ocean going fishing vessel? |
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| Mikka-ichi-cho Station |
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| Organizers and 5 of the 7~8 who started at 6AM. |
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| Henry and Chi-Fung (aka Dee) from Hong Kong |
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| Bamboo thicket across from the station. |
Anyway, they let us go a few minutes early and I was the first rider through the bike check. The course went up a hill for the first few kms ... and I was surprised to look back and not see anyone gaining on me. Oh well, I would just ride. And ride I did. No one caught me until I was about to head out from PC1 at 39kms, as 4-5 riders (basically the entire 6AM start group) pulled in. I chatted with Kuramoto-san and mentioned that my feet had stayed dry for 15kms. No longer. At least I had warm socks. Wet, but not cold, at least not too cold. He seemed a bit non-plussed by my comment, as he was in solid rain gear, probably not wet at all, yet.
The rain continued, a bit less steady ... but as the course turned north, the wind started to push against my progress. The route was nothing exceptional here, a mix of country and town, plenty of old, pre-Meiji (Edo or older) structures.
And, sooner than expected, I was in Nara! The course went right by the famous Nara deer park and the main tourism sights. There was a huge Starbucks across from the park area, next to the city hall. I got off in the park to snap a photo or two, then continued. Not a moment to lose. I did not get close to the deer.
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| RAMAX leans at Nara |
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| Deer Park at Nara |
I soon entered southern Kyoto Prefecture and the tea growing area of Wazuka. I was on a lovely road. Finally over a small summit, and down to another control point. This time, essentially the same group of riders showed up only a few minutes after me. We were into Mie Prefecture. This is where things started to get really hard. I thought this would be an easy stretch, but the next 30kms was a killer, with the wind having strengthened and swung around to our East. I could not even keep 20kph speed. It was a slow, slogging, energy draining, and wet struggle to get, finally, to a long (2km) tunnel and onto a long descent to the city of Tsu. This reminded me of last month's 400km struggle. Another epic event.
At least from here we were done with the wind, for now, and also done with any heavy rain. We took the old Ise road ... as I had done on an Ise 1000km ride many years ago ... until that road merged with a newer, clogged highway. I rode along a line of cars at many intersections, and finally got to the Ise checkpoint. By now lots of riders had arrived ahead of me, including a couple from the 7AM start. Jerome seemed to still be an hour or more behind. Dee and Henry had arrived before me. Henry was shivering in the cold. I explained the idea of seeking refuge (and drying out wet socks/gloves etc.) in a coin laundry. They asked if people booked hotels or not on a 600km. I gave them my hotel info ... still 135kms further up the course. They booked rooms, and we all pressed on.
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| Entrance to Ise Shrine ... but not a moment to lose! |
After a brief, gradual climb out of Ise to the WSW, we followed the south bank of the Miya river for quite awhile, eventually the local highways turning into a kind of rindo (forest road). It was dusk now, and I was glad there was still some natural light as I went through the twists and turns, avoiding the occasional piles of forest debris and puddles of water.
I got a note from Jerome announcing his arrival at the Ise PC, letting me know that he was low on phone battery and so switching it off, and asking that I re-send the coordinates for the hotel I booked. It seemed he was still more than an hour behind me. He had struggled on the same stretch after Wazuka as had I.
Shortly after the rindo returned to a normal countryside highway, the route turned left/south onto National Route 42 ... the course for nearly all of our next ~200kms around Kii Peninsula.
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| More tea, WSW of Ise |
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| RAMAX leans at a deserted bus stop. |
It was night now, the rain had stopped, and the road was relatively quiet and getting more quiet. At one point, we touched the seashore and I could hear the calming sound of the waves. If I had not been so tuckered out from the earlier sections, I would have really enjoyed this ... but I wanted to press on the the next PC, in Owase. I finally made it to the the town Owase and looked for a Family Mart. I pulled off at one on the left side after I entered the main part of town. There were no riders, and I got out my brevet card, which gave a different name and said the PC was out by an interchange. The second and third Family Marts also were not the PC ... no riders and no "interchange" in the name. I headed out of town and after about a kilometer, as the long climb up to 400m elevation had started, I finally reached the correct Family Mart. There were some other riders. I thought it a bit strange that Owase supports 4 Family Marts, but none, that I could see, of the other major convenience stores. Maybe they felt sorry for the delivery drivers who came through town, or decided cooperation would be easier than competition?
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| Me (blue rain jacket and headband) in background next to Henry and Chi-Fung |
The climb that followed was difficult for me, already exhausted after nearly 300kms. I've had that experience before -- I do a miserable climb at the tail end of a long day, and don't realize that it is actually not such a big climb until I somehow get a chance to ride it with fresh legs. (This was the way I felt about Fujimidai on the Koshu Kaido on the border between Yamanashi and Nagano -- it was really tough when riding from Tokyo ... but easy when you start your ride from Kofu or Kobuchizawa.)
The two Hong Kong riders passed me and zipped up the hill, both much younger and lighter than I. Another rider passed. Others had passed me after Ise, so I felt I was now near the back of the pack. But I just took the climb in low gear, eventually reached the top, and descended down to the seacoast again.
The Hotel Nami was just off the road within a few hundred meters of the bottom of the climb. It was 11:40PM. The box of fresh (dry!) clothes I had sent was there. I felt sorry for the staff when I left the box full of wet stinking clothes upon my departure before 4AM, with "chakubarai" (COD) form completed for return to my house in Tokyo. I saw a note from Jerome that he had arrived at the Owase PC at 11PM, 1 hr 20 min after me ... about the same time gap as at Ise and earlier.
Anyway, the Hotel was having exterior wall maintenance done and was covered with a scaffolding -- perfect for randonneurs who arrive after dark and leave before first light, just needing a shower and a place to sleep. And they had 24 hour reception policy--did not lock the front door and turn out the lights at midnight, as do many places in the countryside.
I showered, lay out everything for the next day, and was asleep by 12:15AM. I set my alarm for 3:30AM, but woke 10 minutes earlier and, when I felt there was no way I would get another brief nap, got up. I saw that Jerome had sent a note that he would be "arriving soon" at 12:48AM. I messaged him that I was up and would head out ... and he responded that he also was awake and getting ready. I guess he could not sleep well. I was downstairs a few minutes later, waited 10 minutes, and he did not appear. ... so I told him I would head to find a convenience store and get breakfast. I stopped at a Family Mart 3 kms away, got some food and consumed it. A 12 minute stop and still no Jerome. I headed out, telling him I was taking a banana for him.
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| First light near Shingu |
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| The famous "Kumano Kodo" ... looks much tougher than Route 42 |
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| Sunday Sunrise! |
I made acceptable time heading for Kushimoto at the southern tip of the peninsula. We were protected from the wind by mountains to our west in many places. A couple places where it was more exposed, and we headed west ... in Shingu to get to a bridge crossing a river ... the wind slowed me to a crawl. Some of the sea coast was very pretty, as the sun rose. The mountains also looked densely forested and a bit mysterious.
The only word from Jerome was a note 80 minutes after I left the breakfast convenience store that he needed to eat and was stopping to do so. I got to Kushimoto at 7:21, 13 minutes ahead of the notional cut-off time of 7:34AM. There were 4-5 other riders at Kushimoto, including Henry and Chi-Fung. One rider was basking in the sun at the side of the Lawson PC when I arrived. He said he also had started at 6AM Saturday, but had not slept at all. He looked very fatigued.
I had had 3 hrs and 40 minutes of "savings" when I got to the 4th Family Mart in Owase the previous night, and used up all of that and more at Hotel Nami to get decent sleep. I think I cannot do a decent 600km brevet without a sleep stop. So I was happy to be back on track at least. The Kushimoto time was only for our reference, not an enforced time limit. By the time I left Kushimoto, it was around 7:45AM, so more catching up to do by the first real time limit in Tanabe, 69 kms further on.
As soon as I turned the corner of the peninsula, the wind hit. It was not gale force, but it was a steady headwind, and it slowed my pace from maybe 27kph to 22kph. A few places where the route bent toward the east to go around an inlet ... I found myself going 37kph for the same effort. I pushed on, and soon passed the rider who had been basking in the sun (he DNFed, it seems). I traded places back and forth several times with a number of riders ... I guess mostly 7AM starters. I kept going with no long stops, only a few brief times pulled off the road for a toilet stop or an energy bar or onigiri that I had brought along. The coastline was beautiful, but there was not a moment to lose. The elevation gain was a lot less than RidewithGPS has indicated, with lots of tunnels through the top of hills in at least some segments. I made it the 69kms to the Tanabe PC 25 minutes before the cutoff time. I had a message from Jerome that he was hopping a train and had DNF'ed. It was not to be helped. He had not ridden at all while on a long business trip, and it seemed he did not sleep that much Friday night, and barely at all on Saturday night at Hotel Nami. And he needed to get to Kyoto on Sunday early evening, which was not going to happen on his (or my) current trajectory. Henry and Chi-Fung were at Tanabe again. Henry asked me if I thought we would finish on time. Of course we will! Indeed, I can think of only one time I DNF'ed a brevet of 600km or less, out of approximately 70 attempts. We were done with most of the bad wind, and had only a few significant hills ahead.
There was more traffic on Route 42 as we rejoined it after leaving Tanabe, and it was now early afternoon Sunday. It was a lovely day, but we were still heading more west than north, with the wind still a significant factor. I felt confident that I would finish if I just managed my time okay and did not suffer any disastrous mechanical trouble or have problems with my body. The biggest threat of the latter was my feet, as I started to experience some significant, painful "hot foot". I had moved my cleats back a bit at Tanabe, but that did not seem to help. I tried to spin and not grind, pull rather than push, on the pedals, ride one leg drills. It was painful, but I could continue. After Gobo we finally headed away from the coastline and nearly due North, the wind fading and no longer in front!
Before the 522km PC, there were two climbs of around 3kms each. The first one was less than 100m elevation and not so steep. The second one felt like a vertical wall. I could see a tunnel entrance up on the hill. I rode to within a couple hundred meters, then stopped for a sip of water in the afternoon heat, snapped a photo, and rested my feet just a bit. I decided to walk to the tunnel entrance. Every tunnel up to now had been the top of the climb, had been level/flat inside, and had led to a descent. But this was different. The climb continued in the tunnel! I remounted and crept up the inside of the ~600m long tunnel. At least it was cool inside.
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| Not the top. |
I dismounted again at the top of the tunnel, admiring the view on the other side of the hill. But my GPS told me not to go straight, down the hill, but turn right and head up another slope that looked steeper yet. The road finally leveled out and continued around the mountain, giving a view to the North that was actually a pretty good reward for the effort!
I got to the 522km PC in Arita with 25 minutes to spare. Chi-Fung was there but nobody else. I got some spaghetti, coffee, water for my bottles, and sat down to eat and to put my receipt (proof of passage) into my brevet card. The receipt was for a Family Mart ... but the brevet card said the PC was a Lawson! I immediately hailed Chi-Fung -- this is not the PC! At first he did not believe me, looking at his prep materials, but eventually he recalled that they had changed the PC after he did all his preparation, and had told us at the pre-ride briefing. 522 kms is a long way to remember something like that! I loaded my water bottles, handed the coffee back to the clerk for disposal, and balanced my heated but still sealed spaghetti container in one hand as I hopped on the bike. We rode the 1~2 kms and found the Lawson, still 10 minutes to spare for getting our receipts. Whew. My "hot foot" was still an issue, so I bought a second pair of thin white Lawson socks to go inside my thick wool socks. The slight additional "compression" worked and my feet partially recovered and felt a lot better.
We were no longer heading into the wind (which seemed to have weakened a lot in any event). But I noticed that the last 20 kms of the event would have our biggest climb of the day ... up to nearly 400m. So I needed a decent headstart. I wanted to leave the 382km PC at least 20-30 minutes ahead of the cut off.
7 or 8 kilometers out of the PC, our route turned left, then right, headed up a ridge on a small road that crossed over to the northern side where it had a nice view across a bay to Wakayama City. At one point I passed in front of a bench on which sat four elderly ladies. They smiled and cheered me on ... they must have seen most of the other riders pass over the previous hour and were enjoying the spectacle. Eventually the route went down the north side of the ridge and headed along a river. There were plenty of short ups and downs over the next 40-50kms, the ups pretty hellish at this point, but the downhills and flat sections fast. A few drops of rain were falling and it was getting dark.
I made it to the final PC with nearly 30 minutes of leeway, and left after a 6-7 minute pitstop ... that included adding yet another pair of thin socks. I thought that if I just kept moving, I would be able to do the final 20kms, including the climb up to around 400m elevation, within the allotted time. The first part of the climb was painful, on a busy road. I chose the wide sidewalk rather than having cars whiz by me. The upper part of the climb was far better, on a quiet road, eventually a forest road, and not seeming as steep. I could see one rider ahead and I gained on him. When I almost caught him, I pulled over and ate a snack, sipped water, and rested for a couple minutes. I was within 100m elevation of the pass and confident I was on schedule. I remounted and, a few minutes later, passed the rider struggling slowly. Soon he was out of my sight behind, his light around a bend in the road, then two bends back. I got to the top and let out a whoop, and started the descent.
As I descended, the road surface was wet and the descent winding. I could not go as fast as I had expected. Then my light started to slip in its bracket. I readjusted it several times after it slipped down, and ended up just holding it between fingers in my right hand. After what seemed like a long time, the road I was on finally ended at a larger highway that was not pitch black. I switched on my backup light and stopped worrying about clasping my main dynamo hub light. Just a few more kilometers, and I was back in KawachiNagano City pulling into yet one more Lawson, a few blocks from the train station where we had started. Henry had finished already, Chi-Fung pulled in at the same time as me. My time was 39 hours at 52 minutes, out of an allowed 40 hours.
A 39 hour and 52 minute time for a 600km brevet does not really inspire confidence about my ability to complete Paris-Brest-Paris. But then again, this brevet had 55 registrants but only 20 who started in the pouring rain, and 16 who completed. Those who rode were tougher than average randonneurs, I have no doubt. Yet out of the 16 who completed 13 rode with times of 38 to 40 hours. Only 3 were faster than 38 hours, and the fastest time was 33:07, second fastest 34:51. A typical good group of Japanese randonneurs, on a typical course, would have the fastest time well under 30 hours, and plenty of finishers in the 34-38 hour range. So this was a brevet under difficult conditions. At least my track record on completing 600km brevets is very good even if I use most of the allotted time. I like to get at least 3 hours of sleep, I like to get a shower and clean up and to take a few photos, to chat a bit with other participants. And usually I prefer not to punish my body any more than is necessary to finish. After all, it is not a race. There is no prize for being first. Some of my most memorable brevets and longer rides have been the ones where I took nearly the entire time limit. This one falls into that category. Memorable. Even, dare I say, ... epic?
I hope I get to ride the Kii Peninsula again ... ideally downwind!
Our lodgings
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