Positivo Espresso Classic Hot Ride

Tokyo heat and humidity, hammering up the river with Jerome at 35-38kph.  Today's weather brought back memories of so many similar rides with good friends over the past 9 years.

Hot and humid, but not so hot as to be completely oppressive.  And with a cool breeze on the upper stretches of the climbs and, of course, a reasonably stiff headwind on the homeward leg.  Hot enough so I lost several kgs of weight during the ride, despite consuming 3.5 liters of liquids (plus a bowl of cold udon with salty broth, and at least 3-4 cups of mugicha).

Jerome and I headed out on a half-day ride.  We planned to go to Takao, over Otarumi Pass, then back over Wada Pass (the "Ura Wada" climb).  It rained a lot last week, and so we thought it best to avoid climbs that would be damp.  Both these seemed likely to be dry enough to avoid slipping on a bed of leaves, moss or still-wet pavement..

Of course, once over Otarumi, we decided to add a third hill and headed off to Bijotani (valley of the beautiful ladies).

On the flat area at the top of Bijotani ...

Sadly, there was a sign at the Bijotani Onsen to the effect that the Onsen has CLOSED for good.  The "bijo" have all moved to the city or gotten old and feeble.  We saw no cyclists on the Bijotani climb, but did pass one man descending motor scooter, chatted at the top with an 80+ year old hiker climbing Mt. Jimba, and then saw a group of about 10 men on mountain bikes as we descended the South side of the pass.  The men on mountain bikes were in their 40s or 50s. I hesitate to call them "mountain bikers" since they were all spinning ridiculously low gears on a relatively shallow part of the climb, but they were traveling in groups of 2~3 and looked as if they were having fun.

Steep drop off alongside the road at top of Bijotani

Ura Wada was relatively quiet, though we did see Alan and Naomi W. of TCC whiz by on the descent as we climbed the lower stretches.  On the descent, I got a heat puncture from sitting on my brakes ... and the wheel rim was too hot to touch as I tried to change the tire.

Fujino's local yuzu cider - lots of sugar

I rode Brunhilda Li, my German-designed, China-built Canyon carbon frame bike, with my HED Jet 6 wheels.  Brunhilda is a great frame, and the wheels are fast -- noticeably easier to hold a speed over 35 kph, and noticeably easier into the headwind.

More Golden Week(end)!

After a Saturday rest day, Jerome and I went on another Golden Week ride on Sunday.  Given anticipated heavy traffic and the spectacular weather, it was time, again, to ride the rindos (forest roads), climbing hills on asphalt behind closed gates.

First ride on the Canyon in a couple weeks.  ... It is nice to be on a carbon framed racer with deep rim wheels once in awhile!

View to NE from Iriyama Pass -- between Wada and Itsukaichi

We made good time out to Itsukaichi, and chatted at the 7-11 there with 2 riders we had passed on the last leg (primarily by being a bit more aggressive at traffic signals, not because of any real difference in speed).  Once we mentioned that we ride Brevets, they immediately volunteered that they were preparing for Tokyo-Itoigawa, one proudly mentioned that he ride with Nalshima whose Kondo-san is Japan's fastest brevet rider and toppled Andy W. last year as Tokyo-Itoigawa champion.  They each had done Toito at least 15 times.

The Koinobori on west side of Wada -- listless in the breeze on Children's Day.

We stop to admire the koinobori.

Ready to continue the descent.

We rode Bonbori Rindo over Iriyama Pass, then Daigo Rindo up Wada Pass, down the back of Wada on Jimba Kaido, then up and over Hime Valley - Bijo Valley on its closed rindo, then back over Otarumi Pass on Route 20.  The rindos were wonderful -- only one car and one motorcycle during the entire time on Bonbori Rindo and Daigo Rindo.   We did not push the pace much until the last part of the ride -- but still got in excellent exercise with our four climbs.  Bijo Valley's road was strewn with rocks on the Southern descent, and each of Jerome and I experienced one flat tube.

On the last rindo, signs to Hime-tani, Fujino Station (via Jimba hotsprings), etc.

Golden Week traffic ... on the closed roads

We stopped for lunch of ramen and gyoza at the top of Otarumi Pass ... on what must be their busiest day of the year.  It was a long wait, but well worth it.

Another spectacular ride -- 4 passes and nearly 2000 meters of climbing, mostly on closed roads, and back home by 4PM, despite delays due to the flat tires and lunch.

Riding the Rindos

It being Golden Week ("GW"), the traffic is very heavy on all roads in and out of the Tokyo area.  Sure, there are the usual 50km+ traffic jams on the expressways, but smaller and local roads also are crowded.

The solution is to ride on closed forest roads -- the "rindo".  On Tuesday, I did a loop -- heading to Itsukaichi/Togura (the last 7/11 before the climb to Tomin no Mori/Kazahari).  It looked like rain in the higher hills, and the traffic was ridiculous, so I headed for Daigo Rindo and Iriyama Pass, approaching it from the North for the first time, then went up the Wada Pass closed/forest road. 

I happened to come across Laurent D. on the way out of town, and we rode together and chatted until I headed for Itsukaichi -- Laurent said he was going on toward Oume.  But he thought better of it soon after, since I came across him again on the Daigo Rindo approach, and we did the climb together.  He is ready for his London-Paris ride -- and beat me to the top of Daigo by a minute or two ... though he declined to repeat on Wada, and instead headed for home.

Bike leaning at Wada Pass - Tuesday

Tuesday's route was very nice for avoiding traffic, ... so today I started the same route again, but descended the back of Wada toward Fujino, and climbed the Bijotani Rindo, then returned via the north side of Lake Tsukui (another "rindo" ...), then the tank road and Onekansen.  The weather was spectacular, the hills were beautiful, and the traffic was very heavy, with mobbed convenience stores, long lines at their bathrooms and full parking lots.  The rindo were ... deserted.

MOB was here -- Bijotani rindo remains "Positivo Espresso Approved"

Daigo, Wada and Bijotani are not high, but they are steep.  With Kazahari Rindo on Saturday, and 125 km yesterday and 140 km today, I feel like I got in some decent GW workouts ... but tried to leave a little something in the tank so I'll be able to do this weekend's 600km Brevet.

Today's elevation profile - Daigo, Wada, Bijotani

Snowing everywhere except Kanto

A quick check of the weather forecast for today last night -- typical Kanto January winter weather, dry, sunny and cold, lows in Hachioji and westward of -5 degrees C or lower.  But today it seems to be snowing some along much of the Japan Sea side of Honshu, in the mountains, of course, and even on the Pacific Coast -- as far south as Sendai and Iwaki approaching Kanto from the North, and as far east as Nagoya/Aichi approaching from the West.  It looks as if even Kyushu is supposed to get snow showers just about everywhere around the island at some point today.  And it is certainly cold enough in Tokyo so if there were any precipitation tonight, it would be snow.  Jerome and I hopped on our bikes for a quick morning ride, dressing against the cold and taking advantage of Kanto being the one rideable zone today.
A quick ride -- back by 2:30, no photos, minimal stops, so we went for maximum climbing (1500 meters, or 1760 if you believe Garmin Connect).  We rode up Wada via the rindo (forest road) alternative -- which takes you about 40 meters above the actual pass and has no traffic at all, then went down the rear descent, climbed the road to Bijo tani from the NW toward the SE, then returned home via the North shore of Lake Tsukui, the tank road, Onekansen-Doro, and down the Kawasaki-side of the Tamagawa, in the road with light traffic and a tail wind that made it relatively easy to go 35-40 kph along the river.
As usual, Jerome started weak and finished strong.  I pulled him out, he pulled me back.  I was first up Wada, and he was first up the second big hill.  No speed records were set, but it was a nice surprise to get in two good climbs on a very cold and blustery day. The Wada climb is approx 7.4 km distance and 488 meters elevation gain, measured from the point where the approach to the "rindo" departs from the "normal" approach up to the top.  It is pretty flat at the lower section and only gets steep after it turns into a rindo.  The "ura Bijotani" climb is 6.9 km and 431 meters elevation gain, with various steeper, less steep and almost flat sections.  Both have plenty of 12-15% grades.

They Call Him Mr. Rindo

Mr. Rindo stops for a quick refuel during the wind-assisted return trip.

Merry Christmas!  (And Happy Hanukkah too.)

Christmas morning in Tokyo ... cold (around 0 C, or 32 F degrees) but dry, a "green" and not a "white" Christmas, like on the other side of the island of Honshu.  Not a national holiday here, just a normal Saturday with most people rushing to complete their year-end business before everything shuts down for 4-5 days around the New Year, plenty of trucks on the main roads.  So with some family activities planned for late afternoon and evening, and mid-day Sunday, there was no reason not to get up early and squeeze in a ride.  Ludwig was also of a similar mind.

I don't ride often with Tom S. or Manfred/Ludwig, since they usually go at a pace that is just enough faster than me to prove uncomfortable after the first 30-60 minutes.  But they each have cyclocross bikes for winter, with heavier frames and thicker tires, and now that I've gotten a bit faster, I can usually keep up on the flats.  It helps if, as in this case, they have ridden within the past day or two (Ludwig on Thursday) and so do not have completely fresh legs, and it also helps if I well-rested, also the case yesterday.  So the ride went fine.  Of course, Ludwig waited for me at the top of the steeper hills ... but he did not wait as long as he once might have needed to.

(NOTE:  For anyone to whom the following place names are unfamiliar, please see the Garmin Connect link/map at the bottom of the post.)

We met at 7:25AM at the end of the gravel stretch of Tama Cycling path, about a kilometer north of the Odakyu Line bridge over the Tamagawa.  We planned to do the Kobu Tunnel -- repeating my ride of last week -- but then, instead of returning over Wada (the "Ura Wada" climb), to try a "reverse Bijo Tani" -- a trip over the forest road (Rindo) that departs just down the valley from the base of Ura Wada, and climbs from around 200 meters elevation to above 650 meters elevation, then back down to meet Rte 20 on the back side of Otarumi; then the shorter, much gentler climb over Otarumi and down to Takao before the last leg home .. with a 2PM target and 3PM hard deadline for me.  The amount of climbing was boosted slightly by taking a different route -- Akigawa Kaido -- to Itsukaichi.  Some of this road, out of Hachioji, was a bit narrow and heavily traveled, but it gradually cleared up and the last 5-10 km were very nice, as it climbs a gradual slope then crests at a tunnel entrance.  It passes through the wide and little used tunnel and descends into Itsukaichi, and is a nice change from the usual trip up the Tamagawa and out the main road to Itsukaichi.

The sunlight helped to keep the cold tolerable most of the way to Itsukaichi.  But as soon as we started into the Akigawa valley and hit long, uninterrupted stretches of dark shadow, still just after 9:00AM, it got fricken' (or is that "fracken" or maybe "effing"?) cold.  I wished I had a face mask, even though I was working hard and climbing gradually.  Eventually, the steeper climb up to Kobu Tunnel seemed to do the trick, and the warm sun on the Uenohara side felt glorious.

Ludwig followed me down the descent from Kobu Tunnel and was just behind me at the bottom, but I did not hear him screaming for me to take a left turn onto a small road about 100-200 meters AFTER the turn off for the golf course hills, and I continued along Rte 33.  After climbing up most of the next gradual hill, I looked back.  No Ludwig.  The last time I was certain I had seen him was about 1 km before the bottom of the descent.  Had he flatted?  Crashed?  He had said he slipped on a descent riding his cyclocross Red Bull on Thursday, and had the scratches on his cycling wear to show for it, and he noted that the "Bull" does not handle as well on turns as his Canyon.  I turned around, went to the bottom and started back up the lower part of the climb to Kobu.  My phone rang just about as I got to the last place I was sure I had seen him.  .... He was already well on the way to Uenohara proper, on the other road, and we agreed to meet at a Daily Yamazaki on Rte 33 on the way into town.  Next time I will try his alternate route -- an older, quiet road just across the river from Rte 33 -- almost no traffic, and less up and down, probably, than Rte 33, which climbs well above the other road, then descends and drops down to cross the river, and climbs briefly into the town.

At the Daily Yamazaki on Rte 33 in Uenohara -- the rare convenience store that combines a decent selection, and comes complete with a nice wooden bench, and a view of Mt. Fuji!

A turn at the signal just after the Daily Yamazaki led us away from Rte 20 and over a nasty, short and steep little hill, past the Uenohara Junior High School, then over toward the base of Ura Wada.  We miss a turn and end up taking a footbridge and cutting through a field to get to a driveway to Rte 522.

The climb to Bijo Tani from Rte 522 side is varied, with some traffic on the lower stretches -- mini postal delivery vans, onsen food/supply deliveries, a short steeper stretch at the bottom followed by some gradual, almost flat (in comparison) sections.  Eventually, you pass the last onsen and farms, and get to a stretch where the road turns directly into and up the hill.  The pavement changes from the usual smooth dark asphalt to a coarse surface of cement with embedded rocks in a lighter shade.  I've seen this road surface before -- on parts of one of the nasty, steep roads from Agano (Rte 299) up onto the Green Line and Takayama temple in Chichibu, and on the steeper parts of the climb to Nenogongen.  This is the road surface used when cars would otherwise slip and slide downhill, or maybe when asphalt would droop and slide down out of the mold before it hardened.  I associate this concrete with grades well above 10%, and this was no exception, as we gained 70 meters elevation in about a 500 meter stretch.  Ludwig waited for me at the top.  We dismounted at the gate and continued onto the closed Rindo.

At the top of he nasty little hill in Uenohara, before the climb toward Bijo Tani.

Near the top of the climb to Bijo Tani -- nice vistas to the West.

It seems like only yesterday that Knotty was asking "What's a Rindo?"  (林道 Definition: a "forest road" -- in contrast to a National or Prefectural road; sometimes behind a chain or gate to keep out unofficial traffic, totally ineffective at keeping out cyclists.  Often, as in this case, reasonably well-maintained and paved the entire way).  I'm convinced that Ludwig deserves another crown.  In 2009 he was "D" class champion, this year I declare him "Mr. Rindo 2010."

These forest routes expand the ride alternatives in our area dramatically.  They have no (or very little) traffic, offer great views, and nice training opportunities (especially steep climbs).  But just looking at a map does not really tell you whether you will find a beautiful, deserted, paved road, or a gravel road covered in rocks from a landslide.  This requires some patience and experimentation.  For a few of Mr. Rindo's posts, see here, or here, or here.

The descent down the other side to Koshu Kaido (Rte 20) is deserted, behind the gate much of the way, but lacks any of the gradual flatter stretches -- relatively steep the entire way.  Only try this if you have plenty of brake pad left.  Road construction has been completed on the steepest stretches since I rode this with MOB back in 2008, so there was only a little debris to avoid on the descent.

Compared to last weekend, almost an hour shorter "elapsed time", but 13 km more/24 minutes more on the bike -- so 1:20 less resting time, and an additional 300+ meters of climbing.  And a much zippier climb the 2.8 km up to Kobu tunnel. -- the only section where I got a directly comparable split time.