For some years now, the “Audax year” has started on November 1 and finished on October 31. This I guess allows riders to meet qualification requirements (i.e. successfully ride shorter events) in time to register for grand randonées (i.e. 1000km or longer) events. Most famously, PBP is held in late August, but requires completion of 200, 300, 400, and 600km brevets by sometime in early June to perfect one’s registration. This, and satisfying requirements for some earlier long events, can be a challenge for those of us who have jobs, families, and/or other hobbies, as well as for newly minted randonneurs.
Anyway, I did my first 200km ride of the new Audax year on Sunday, December 15, before my year-end Festive 500kms.
Unusually for a winter 200km brevet, the ride went out the Akigawa and over Kobu Tunnel. The climb to Kobu can be ice-covered in winter, especially on the north side of the mountain. At least the route would descend on the sunny south side where ice was unlikely. And, of course, winter did not officially start for a few more days.
This brevet, sponsored by R-Tokyo, started at the large complex of athletic/park facilities in Todoroki, on the Kawasaki side of the Tamagawa. I left home at 530AM and headed out Nakahara Kaido … so was around 5 minutes late to the start, still well within the 30-minute window, but arriving after all but one or two others were far ahead.
So, I never saw the fastest riders in the event.
Eventually, due in part to the many traffic signals on the first 15+ kms to Fuchu, I was able to catch and even pass a few groups of riders.
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| Crossing the Tamagawa early in the course. |
I saw more riders at the first checkpoint – a photo stop on the North Akigawa, just at the base of the climb to Tokisaka pass. People were stripping a layer of clothing, preparing for the climb ahead.
Now came the hard part. Sure, we had already reached 275 meters elevation and the ride up the valley was just more gradual climbing until the short (4-5kms) steeper ramp to Kobu Tunnel.
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| Left turn to Kobu Tunnel |
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| Finally on the sunny side of the hill |
But the 55kms AFTER Kobu Tunnel would include pretty constant up-down sections (I counted 9 short climbs of 25-75 meters each). Then we were in a fairly vicious headwind, riding along a line of traffic, the next 15-20kms to the coast, then a bit more headwind along the coast toward the checkpoint/turn-around. So this "middle" section of the event was by far the most difficult.
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| It was the section AFTER descending from Kobu Tunnel that was the hard part. |
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| At the Shonan coastline |
The final 65kms were easy, relatively. A bit of a tailwind along the coast, then rolling home via Yokohama. The major challenge was … Sunday late-afternoon traffic.
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| Kamakura Traffic! |
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| Fuji from Zushi |
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| Slog through southern Yokohama |
And our route went through Minato Mirai, where the crowds of pedestrians were just incredible, nearly spilling out into the street as we rode by. More red lights. Long ones. Finally, the very-familiar ride along Rte 1 north from Yokohama, then a left turn just over the Tsurumi River and parallel to a train line past Shin-Kawasaki to finish at a random convenience store located South of Musashi Kosugi.
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| More Yokohama traffic, on Route 16. |
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| Minato Mirai -- I tried hard NOT to get people in the photo. The area behind me had thousands of them. |
Sometimes a brevet “goal” does really seem like a random store, selected just because it clears the required distance but with no other redeeming qualities. This was such a case.
It was cold so I headed home, glad to finish the event without difficulty, and to ride some more in the hills than the typical winter brevet course and 225kms including the ride to/from the event.
I think it was the next time I visited Audax Japan’s home page that I saw an announcement that Audax is switching back to a calendar year from 2025. So this brevet would not count toward any 2025 achievements. In the end, I am not really riding Audax for the “medals” and my planned long event this year does not require a specific SR 2/3/4/600 series for purposes of entry, so no problem there.
