Road Construction Ahead!

In my tenth consecutive year as a Tokyo resident road cyclist, Spring in Japan brings many familiar scenes.  Of course, the fur tree pollen arrives in February, causing misery for many hay fever suffers.  The amount of pollen varies widely from year to year.  But even for those of us who are not particularly susceptible, a ride in March often ends with one's face caked in a film of pollen dust.

On the positive side, March and April bring great riding weather and spectacular flowering trees, first the plum trees we pass near Oume, and transitioning to the cherry (sakura) trees along many rivers, then finally mountain sakura and sakura in northeast Japan that peak up to a month or more later.  Indeed, this weekend the sakura have started to come out in many places -- the coming week will see them reach their peak in and near Tokyo.

Mt. Fuji still white, from Otarumi Pass

Another ritual relates to the March 31 fiscal year end of most Japanese companies and all governmental bodies.  Budgets are set by fiscal year and most funds are on a "use it or lose it" basis.  This leads to an annual acceleration of spending the last 6 weeks or so of the fiscal year, most obvious in local road construction projects.  Since much construction takes place on nights and weekends, this is when we see road crews out, lane closures and the inevitable traffic jams that result.

This year, the fur tree pollen seems no worse than average.  The road construction, on the other hand, and resulting traffic snarls, seem epic.  At least they did on the ride Jerome and I took yesterday, Saturday March 29.  Why were they so much worse than usual?  First, Saturday was a beautiful day, while rain and wind was forecast for Sunday.  Second, the March 31 FY end pump priming seems to have reverted to the level of the "good old days" with the return of LDP-led governments.  Third, this year March 31 has added significance, as Japanese consumption tax will rise from 5% to 8% on April 1.  The consumption tax increase means that just about every Japanese consumer is out this weekend stocking up provisions, accelerating any anticipated purchases, filling up the gas tank, etc.  And just about every dump truck in the Kanto region seemed to be on the move Saturday.  The government's macro experts are worried about the impact of this activity -- pulling forward purchases from Q2 into Q1, with a resulting swing way up then way down for GDP and other figures.  This is what happened when the consumption tax was last increased over a decade ago, from 3% to 5%.  No doubt construction work done in late March will be paid for in April, and the resulting paychecks will be spent soon thereafter, helping a bit to offset any downturn.

After seeing reports of the rides that Tom and Laurent ("the Russian") took last week, Jerome and I decided to head out toward Matsuhime Pass, go over it from the South side and then come back into town via Okutama and Oume or, perhaps, Kazahari Pass.  But we were overwhelmed by the road construction and seemingly endless lines of cars and dump trucks on National Route 20 around Sagamiko and Uenohara.  After a stop at the rebuilt 7-11 in Uenohara, we decided to change our plan and instead to head for Tsuru Pass and approach Matsuhime from the North.  This was a brilliant choice as we quickly found ourselves on near-deserted roads.

We took Manfred's preferred alternative to Pref. Route 33, along the east side of the river that runs NW/SE to Uenohara.  We then started up Pref. Route 18, then took Steve T.'s route around Tawa pass. No traffic at all.

On Steve T's route around Tawa Pass, the old lady is nowhere to be seen ... but the steep field has been planted!

After Tsuru Pass we rested at the base of Matsuhime -- briefly joining a well-traveled dump truck route for construction of the "new" route 139 around/through instead of over Matsuhime Pass.  As we headed up the climb, through 950 meters elevation, who should we meet but the Russian!  He was doing a repeat of last weekend's ride, this time solo.  He was on his Neil Pryde bike painted in Soc Gen colors, of course with Lightweight wheels.  Very nice!

Still snowbanks near the N entrance to the Matsuhime climb (and on the way up), but too warm for any badass cred.

After a brief chat, we climbed the last 300 meters elevation to the top.  Then it was down the North side again (away from Route 20 and its congestion), and back to Okutama-ko.  We were able to stop for a late lunch at Yakyu-tei, the P.E.-approved restaurant at the west end of the lake.  Mrs. Watanabe looked well.  She told us they had had 120 cms of snow accumulation in the big February storm, roads closed completely for 10 days, and food delivered via Japan Self Defense Force helicopters!  Five or six weeks later, all that was left were snowbanks along the north side of hills.  And some twisted pieces of steel showing where the weight of snow had pushed over a barrier fence along the roadside.

Jerome, who now has 3 consulting gigs and more coming down the pike, attends to business from the Pass.

We slogged home in a swirling wind, which fortunately pushed us the last few kilometers.  In the end, a ride of 194 kms and 2100 meters elevation gain.  My longest ride, with most climbing, since the New Year.  Jerome must have ridden an even 200 kms -- a full Brevet -- with the added distance to and from my house.

The view from Matsuhime Pass, on the signboard.

The view from Matsuhime Pass, behind the signboard.

A few more rides like this, plus the Fleche and 300km Brevet in April, and I should be back into riding shape!

Gando Toge! 厳道峠

Jerome and I headed out around 8:15AM on a beautiful early November morning, without any set route plan.  When we got to Tamagawahara bashi, the light was red and so I suggested we head across the bridge and continue out Onekansen Doro, the first time in quite awhile.  We saw lots of cyclists, especially on this stretch.

After a quick trip out Onekan and then along the Tank Road and Machida Kaido, we were just about to turn onto Route 413 when we saw a familiar face and bicycle.  The bicycle was a Cervelo R3 SL with Lightweight wheels, impeccably maintained and clean as usual.  

The rider was Laurent, on a last training ride before next week's 210km Tour de Okinawa.  

The river along Doshimichi at Ryogoku Bashi

We rode together around the north side of Lake Tsukui, and decided to head up Doshi Michi.  At a rest stop at the 7-11 before the first real climb of Doshimichi, Laurent suggested that Jerome and I might want to try Gando Toge -- a new route for both Jerome and me -- though Laurent could not join as he needed to head back into town more quickly via the Route 76 loop.  

Too many cars and motorcycles on Doshi, as we try to turn into the rindo entrance

We found the entrance to the rindo (forest road) and were glad to leave Doshimichi with its heavy holiday car and motorbike traffic.

Rindo entrance for Gando Pass -- within a kilometer of the fountain where people fill water bottles

I remember Laurent once telling me that his favorite climb is Nokogiri, a relatively steep grade with plenty of rocks and debris on the road surface.  The south side of Gando also started relatively steep and with plenty of rocks and leaves on the road surface.  Within a kilometer of the entrance, I rode over some sharp gravel and heard a hissing sound.  A flat tube, and worse a nice slice on the sidewall of my tire. I fitted a folded 1000 yen note inside the tire at the tear and managed to inflate a replacement tube without it protruding through the slice.  A few meters further, the road became much clearer, and stayed that way all the way up.

The climb took us from 500 meters elevation at the entrance up to 800 meters elevation at the pass, with the grade usually in the 9-10% range.  So much easier than Nokogiri or Wada.

At Gando Pass

Then it was a nice descent to the north, ending up at Akigawa Onsen. 

We headed back in along Pref Routes 35 and 517, then 76, to Fujino.  We made one wrong turn and ended up at Fujino Onsen, a day hot spring that seemed teeming with visitors on this Sunday in the middle of a 3-day weekend.  The hot spring building looked nice, and we stopped to eat a snack on the benches in front. 

Fujino Onsen

Unfortunately, the views of nearby mountains and river were largely blocked by the huge hospital/nursing home facility just down the hill.

Then it was out onto Route 20, over Otarumi (with a stop for ramen at the pass), down past Takao and on the roads through Hachioji and home!

A classic Positivo Espresso ride, over 140 kms and a few good climbs, as well as a new route, discovered by Laurent and passed along to us.  Thank you, Laurent!

Hakone Ekiden 2013

January 2nd's weather forecast promised sun with a high of 13 degrees celsius.  A classic warm, dry Tokyo winter day, perfect for riding bicycles along the closed roads of the Hakone Ekiden, as in past years:  2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 and P.B. ("pre-blog") 2007.

Nittaidai (Nippon Sports Science Univ.), our neighbors  on Komazawa Dori in Setagaya, win the relay!

James K. and Shane P. rode out via my house, then we met Laurent D. along the Tamagawa and headed toward Yokohama.  We joined the Ekiden route a little north of Yokohama Station and were immediately welcomed by a large group of cheering fans, as in past years.

As with last year, we were directed onto the "old road" near Totsuka Station, rather than the no-bikes-permitted bypass that we used to take with the runners.

This year we faced very stiff headwinds much of the way, and where we were not protected on the sides -- crossing some bridges near Oiso and closer to Odawara -- swirling gusts threatened to push us sideways, off our bikes and into the guardrail or, worse, into the passing traffic.  At one point,  I unclipped my left pedal and put a foot down.  Laurent, with his deep rim Lightweight wheels, held on for dear life.

We saw a TCC group as we passed them at a rest/gathering spot near Route 16 ... and they passed us back at the Odawara 7-11 that serves as an informal staging area pre-ascent, where James and Shane said farewelll and headed for Odawara Station, as Laurent and I started the last section up the hill to the finish at Hakone Ashinoko.

As we got to Hakone Yumoto, still near the bottom of the climb and far ahead of the lead runners (who were at least 10~12 kms back, not yet in Odawara), a policeman directed us off of the main road and onto the "old Tokaido".  The old road does go up the hill to Ashinoko ... but would take us away from the cheering Ekiden crowds.  After a rest stop, some attempts to find a way around the barriers and rejoin the route further up (we did, but not far enough up, and were quickly pointed down the hill), Laurent and I descended 1-2 kms and stopped at a convenience store for pasta. 15 minutes or so later, the runners came by, in remarkably close succession after 85+ kms.

Laurent and I headed back toward Tokyo, together along the coast as far as Chigasaki.  He continued to Kamakura and took the train home, while I headed inland to take a look at the Keio Univ. Shonan Fujisawa Campus and then continued the rest of the way home through the Kanagawa sprawl via bicycle.  A bit more than 160 kms in all -- an even 100 miles.

It was great to see James, Shane and Laurent after quite awhile, and to get in such a good ride on January 2 to start the year.  Then again, I think with the added police measures to keep us off of the climb, even with a good "cushion" ahead of the runners, the Ekiden tradition may have run its course.

Ekiden ride as far as Hakone Yumoto, then back to Chigasaki and inland to Shonandai/Fujisawa:

From Shonandai/Fujisawa back home:

Etape Acte II -- from Issoire to St. Flour -- "Made to Measure for a Strong Man"

Having returned to Tokyo this morning, I can at least use my jet lag induced wakefulness to give a brief report on Acte II of this year's Etape.  I will follow up later with the more interesting bits of my trip to France and some good stories of my happy time with the family Bouhet, as well as photos before and after race day ... but not enough time tonight.

Acte II was to follow Stage 9 of the Tour de France, 208km and 3600+ meters of climbing from Issoire to St. Flour via a loop through the mountains of the Massif Centrale and some beautiful countryside.  Even though the stage did not include any Galibier or Stelvio, no Mortirolo or Alpe d'Huez, it did include at least six Cat 2 and Cat 3 climbs, the highest being the 1589m elevation Pas de Peyrol, as well as lots of other nasty shorter sections of climbing.  So we knew it would be a hard course.  One analyst declared it "made to measure for a strong man. ... Except for the first 50 km, it's just climbs and descents all of the way. It’s a real leg-breaker."  Cyclingnews quotes another as saying "People associate the Alps and Pyrenees with the brutality of the Tour, but days like this are generally much, much harder. They will be full gas for 150km, and lots of strong guys will be targeting it."

When the pros had ridden it the week before, it had been a scene of some memorable crashes, including one that knocked Dave Zabriskie, Alexandre Vinokourov and several other top contenders out of the 2011 Tour, and another crash where a France TV4 publicity car hit Juan Antonio Flecha and Johnny Hoogerland and sent them flying, Hoogerland directly into a barbed wire fence.  One of the younger British riders with my tour operator had told his parents, who never watch cycling, to be sure to watch Stage 9 so they could see where he would be riding the following week.  He deeply regretted this as the carnage revealed itself and his parents began to question his sanity.  People called it a crazy stage.

Another potential issue was the weather.  From Friday onward, the forecast for Sunday had predicted at least some rain.  Some of the forecasts were for "heavy rain", while other suggested there would just be showers off and on throughout the day.  No one mentioned particular cold.

When I awoke a 4AM I stepped outside briefly -- warm and a bit humid, but still dry.  So I planned for rain gear but nothing extraordinary -- my usual summer sweatband and half length gloves, normal jersey, bib shorts and socks, and my goretex shell for any rain and to keep a bit warmer on the descents.  I did put on some thin arm warmers, in the thought that I might be cold standing around at the start, but otherwise typical gear for a summer ride with some risk of rain.

The rain started as we were still en route to Issoire and had really picked up by the time I got out of the bus and found start area #6.  Fortunately, I was able to wait standing under a shop awning, and to duck into a restaurant for a large hot cafe au lait -- still dry, I felt ready to go, with the prospect of conditions that would maximize my comparative advantages (strength and a little extra meat on the bones, plus training that did involve riding 200km in the rain and cold every once in awhile).  I stepped back into the rain just as the gun went off and the front group started, and after 15 minutes of inching forward, we too were off.

Conditions were wet but tolerable for the first 40 km.  My rear tire flatted at that point, just at the bottom of the first climb, and I changed it and moved on without incident.  Many people were suffering flats and other mechanical issues in the wet -- the small gravel and gunk that gets onto the road in the rain always seems to cause these. Later I heard many complaints of riders whose hands were too cold to change a tire or even to open a presta tire tube valve after they flatted.

After the first categorized climb, I settled into an incredibly long, hard slog, as the route went almost due west on a higher plain with a general uphill tilt, into an accelerating headwind and a real downpour ... over the next 40 km.  The wind was brutally strong and cold.  Very quickly the pace slowed, groups of 10, 20 or 30 riders making forward progress at 18-20 kph.  A rider from my tour operator, who ended up placing #40 overall out of the thousands of participants, told me that on this stretch even the front group was managing only a little better than 20 kph.

I started to see riders heading back down the road toward me, 1 or 2 at a time.  After 10 or 20 had passed, I realized what was up -- they had given up and were going downwind/downhill to seek shelter.  Then as I passed a village I saw a group of maybe 30 road bikes stacked by the side of the road, no sign of the riders, who were probably in one of the nearby houses.  Anyway, I pushed ahead, trying to move forward from group to group, whenever possible doing so together with another rider or two who would share the work. Sure, it was cold and wet, but not as cold, and not nearly as wet, as Kiyosato and Nobeyama in the driving rain at midnight in April. 

Anyway, I had one minor incident (another broken spoke -- this time on my front wheel, which remained rideable, barely) and so did two of the descents at significantly reduced speed until, 20 km or so up the road I did manage to get a spare wheel from the Mavic team to use for the last 50+ km, and slogged through to the finish, pulling a few groups on the downhills.

My time was 10 hrs and 5 minutes.  I was finisher number 1390, out of around 6000 who registered, 4000 who started, and 1982 who recorded official times -- a significant improvement on Acte I.  (The results, searchable by name or Dossard number, can be found here.  I was Dossard number 3113).   Only four riders managed to break 7 hours.  Jerome came through in 10 hrs and 53 minutes.  Didier had a major mechanical issue (broken derailleur hanger sends rear derailleur flying into gears) and was forced to abandon after 75 km.

Laurent had the most frustrating day.  He was in start area 9 and so further back in the stream of thousands than I.  When he entered Allanche, after a significant portion of the downpour/headwind/uphill section, it was "a war zone".  He was cold but otherwise okay, and made the mistake of listening to the organizers on-site who were telling people there was fog (true) and snow (false) on the Pas de Peyrol, and advising that they give up and head toward St. Flour by a lower road.  The police did apparently close Pas de Peyrol at one point and redirect riders by a different route, but that let them continue the rest of the course.  Laurent was really angry with the organizers, and with himself for having listened to them.  One expects he will have had plenty of chance to recover his spirit by riding the courses of Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Fleche Wallone this week.

I talked with another strong rider at the Lyon Airport, who had come from Canada to serve as "domestique" for a top competitor.  His leader had ended up abandoning with hypothermia on this stretch.  Our tour operator's group included about 15 Brazilians.  Not used to riding in the cold, only 3 completed the event.

The townspeople were great.  They lined the road in every city, town, village and hamlet, and they offered shelter and, apparently, hot liquids, to those who got in real trouble.  I was grateful for the constant cheers of "allez, allez, courage", willing us along.  This is the real French countryside, a part of France where epic cycling duels have been fought ... but that will need to wait for another post.

As the ASO website site notes, this 2011 second act deserves "a place on the podium" of the most difficult editions of Etape du Tour.

Elevation profile:

Day 3 : Newhaven - London (142 kms) - Rain, Sun, Rain, Sun, Rain... and Climbing in more rain.

Laurent has sent me the final installmentof his amazing charity ride from Paris to London for CARE and an effort to raisemoney and awareness for the victims of the March 11th Earthquake and Tsunami that devasted the North East of Japan.

"The weather was on everyone's mind as we got up today: after yesterday's heavy rains, were we going to get more water or would we be allowed to ride in dry conditions? "Scattered showers and local storms in the South-East" was what the weatherman predicted on TV. Oh no...! Well, we don't have a choice anyway.

After a full English breakfast with fried eggs, cooked tomatoes, sausages, bacon, beans in tomato sauce, mushrooms, toast and crumpets with Marmite spread and a yogurt, we watched the other teams depart in the "scattered showers" mentioned earlier: repeated sessions of heavy rain followed by a break or even a sunny spell, before a new deluge. Repeat in a loop, ad nauseam, and add very strong winds and you have an idea of the whole day. I never ever cycled in that much rain! We just hoped it wouldn't be raining when our starting time arrived so we could warm up first...but of course that was just wishful thinking.

Today's stage was going to be 110 kms long with a bit more climbing than the previous two days as we'd go up and down the Southdowns and the Northdowns before reaching London but our team wanted to make a total 400 kms for the ride and we decided to add both distance and climbing to the programme, to skip the first stop and go directly to the lunch meeting point. The weather and the lack of technical support in case of trouble (a new puncture fest?) were potential issues but we decided to try anyway. "

For the full story head on over to my blog here.

It's not too late to donate and you can donate directly to Laurent here:

http://2011.paristolondonbikeride.com/laurentdepus2011

Rememberthe bike will be auctioned off at the end of the ride to raise more money for this amazing cause.

For more information on the bike head here.

Day 2 - Beauvais - Dieppe: Rain, Cold and a Festival of Punctures.

Laurent has sent me an update of his epic ride from Paris to London for CARE.

As always, our team left after all the others had gone, and we had plans to cycle fast and furious, catch up with and overtake every other team and add a loop to the expected 110kms once we arrived in Dieppe. Right off the start, cycling was much easier than yesterday and we all felt strong with the help of the tailwind. From Beauvais we moved up north towards the sea until the first rest-stop 40 kms away where we made only a brief pause to fill our bottles, get a cup of English tea and get back on the road. Much better teamwork than yesterday helped us keep a steady and fast pace, though slower than yesterday's dishevelled, furious, individualistic race-like mode.

For the full story head on over to my blog here.

It's not too late to donate and you can donate directly to Laurent here:

http://2011.paristolondonbikeride.com/laurentdepus2011

Rememberthe bike will be auctioned off at the end of the ride to raise more money for this amazing cause.

For more information on the bike head here.

Laurent Depus at "Paris to London Bike Ride" Day 1

Laurent has updated me on his first day in the saddle on the Paris to London on bike ride.

"Day 1 - Paris to Beauvais (110kms)

As we got ready to start the Paris-to-London bikeride, the sky in Paris looked very, very dark and the weather forecast called for rain. Last year, we had managed to race the first stage and arrive only minutes before an incredibly fierce storm flooded roads (and houses), but this year it looked like we wouldn't be so lucky.

After the opening ceremony, introductory speeches and photo sessions with the nearly 250 riders, twelve teams + the group of one-day riders who would only do the Paris-Beauvais stage left in separate waves.

During the speeches, our collection got a special mention: we have raised over 55,000 euros so far out of a total 280,000 euros for the approximately 230 participants who raised funds. I was asked to say a few words and pointed out that we're still far from over: there are still donations on their way and there will also be the auction of the much-admired, beautiful NeilPryde Alize bike dressed in SG and Japan colours. "

For the full story head on over to my blog here.

It's not too late to donate and you can donate directly to Laurent here:

http://2011.paristolondonbikeride.com/laurentdepus2011

Rememberthe bike will be auctioned off at the end of the ride to raise more money for this amazing cause. For more information on the bike head here.

NeilPryde sponsor Laurent Depus at "Paris to London Bike Ride"

After the Earthquake and Tsunami that devastated the North East of the country back on March 11th, 2011, like many people I felt frustrated and helpless after the event and really wanted to do something that would make a difference. I got involved with JEARS (Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support) and adopted a 3 year old beagle, I got involved with the group Second Harvest but still I wanted to do more.

When I found out that my friend Laurent was raising money and awareness for the victims of the Earthquake by riding the Paris – London Bike Ride I decided I would do what I could to help, having lost my job recently monetary donations were out of the question, I had basically become a victim myself as the company I worked for collapsed due to the loss of revenue.

So I decided I would do the next best thing.... use my network in the cycling industry to see if they could help.

I sent out individual mails and literally within 5 minutes Mike Pryde of NeilPryde bikes came back asking what he could do to help and support Laurent.

So I’m very proud to announce the NeilPryde sponsorship of Laurent Depus at the "Paris to London Bike Ride" charity event, which is a sporting and charity challenge organized by Société Générale, Laurent will be sponsored with an Alize frameset.

The event will take place from 16 June to 18 June in 3 stages:
16 June: La Défense - Beauvais (88km / 55 miles)
17 June: Beauvais - Dieppe (108km / 68 miles), Dieppe - Newhaven in ferry - Night in Newhaven
18 June: Newhaven - London (109km / 68 miles)

With 305 km to ride, the Paris to London is a sporting challenge, but also a solidarity event: each participant agrees to raise at least 750 € of online donations to help fund the CARE programs for access to education in Bangladesh and, in Laurent's case, for the victims of the terrible earthquake in Japan.

Please follow the link to read Mike Pryde’s very touching response as to why he is sponsoring Laurent and the people of Japan, here.



The frame will be auctioned off atthe end of the ride!



CARE

Some people may have noticed that I’ve not been blogging so much since the earthquake and I’ve received countless of emails asking what’s going and if I’m ok.

Well I’m alive and well but unfortunately was made unemployed from my job that basically provided me with the means to race with Fuji-Cyclingtime.com. However, I’ve been very busy working on lots of little projects one of which I really would like to share with you all.

My friend Laurent an amateur cyclist often takes parts in charity rides in Europe to raise monies for charities and this year is no different. He will be taking part in the CARE; London to Paris Cycle Challenge on June 30th 2011.

Laurent’s fund raising efforts will be directed to the CARE project here in Japan in one of the worst hit areas of the Great Kanto-Tohoku Earthquake and donations are desperately needed.

Over the next few days and weeks I will be writing a series of blog entries covering Laurent’s amazing efforts to not only raise awareness but also donations for CARE.

Please support Laurent anyway you can and follow the link HERE to pledge a donation!

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

Joint PE Father-son / Father-daughter event ?

The thought just occured to me after another beautiful ride with my daughter this morning...how about organizing an all-PE father-kid and/or an all-PE family (with spouse) ride sometime this autumn? David? Laurent? Jerome? anybody else?

Tour of the Dam(ned)

Since a few weeks Laurent and me wanted to ride out together and although the original plan was to ride to Horst's EX BAR in Roppongi. After having a substantial misunderstanding at my barber (I meant centimeters not milimeters, damned!) and not being able to go out in public without a helmet any longer, we finally settled on a more demanding trip in Chichibu.

I am not an early riser, but as the trains from Yokohama to Hachioji are very crowded in the morning hours I left the house at 6 AM to meet Laurent at 8 in front of the Ome station. I was very tired and not fully awake when I dressed up in full ETXEONDO gladiator cycling dressing which so favourably emphasize my body contour in hues of bronze. And when I was sitting in the train I wondered what happened to the ETXEONDO logo on the shorts, where has it gone? Then and finally I found out to my absolute dismay, that I had dressed in inside-out bib shorts and was running around like a complete idiot.

A short visit to the McD at Ome station could rectify the problem before Laurent saw me who came appropriately clad in new Positivo Espresso wear.
Immediately we were riding out in direction Chichibu. The weather was "ma ma", to state it positively. It had rained on the train ride to Ome ()luckily not inside the train I mean) and the streets were still damp. It seems only a matter of time when it would be raining again and we were not confident at all that we could make a long ride.

On the way on route Ken 53 we took a left turn in direction Naguri dam, where I have heard that there is a road leading over Arima Toge to road 140 close to Chichibu city. This is a beautiful rockfill dam and should be the first of three spectacular wonders of civil hydraulic engineering we were going to see on this day. We stayed on the North side of the lake until we came to a Y fork and decided to take a right turn and stay at the river.

We always take right turns if we don't know what to do, where we are and where to go.

This was the beginning of a long, long climb on a wet and slippery road which used to be in not too good of conditions. With the road being wet after the rain and many metal drain cover it proved to be a special challenge to ride up while chatting erratically about general life in Japan.

And going up into the clouds when we passed the 1.000 m elevation, the mist became even foggier and I was really worried about rain going to start any minute. It also became cold, the day has started with a miserable 25 degrees Celsius temperature when I left the house - hey, I thought we have August in Japan! And out there the temperature dropped to 16 degrees, like the average summer day in Germany, but we had less rain luckily.

And then suddenly before we reached the top, Laurent crossed a drain precisely at the location where the two drain covers should have met but didn't; his front wheel fell into the hole and he had a flat (tubular) tire glued to his Lightweight wheel. From all the locations we could possibly have problems, this was the one where help was the far most away. But together we managed to remove the tire and glue a new one on, which all went rather quickly. After we had said our prayers and buried the tire on the slopes, we went on and reached rather quickly the top.
At first the view from the top was somehow obscured by the mist, but then suddenly, like a miracle, the clouds opened and we had a fantastic view on the Japanese mountain called "Shiroyama" which by chance resembles so much a French moutain of the same name.
This miracle was followed by the miracle of a fast decent in which Laurent was almost killed when sudenly a huge truck came up the road around a corner. This and the car behind where the only one we met riding down and it is still a mystery to us what the truck was doing there.

Laurent has properly trained for the ride by scaling Odarumi the day before, so he was in the best of all possible shapes when we reached the second dam of the tour, the Urayama dam.

And so we decided to continue on road 140 in direction Chichibu lake. The road was nice and curvy, leading as gently upwards, the sun was coming out occasionally and we rode at a good pace to the lake, finally stopping at the tunnel before the dam.

This is very special tunnel. It is not as scary as Sasago tunnel or the one on Otoge, and by far not as dangerous and long as the new Sasago tunnel, but it is very small in diameter so that a traffic light in front controls the one-way traffic flow; plus it has a Y fork inside where one can take a turn to the left to come out just on top of the main arc dam.And from there onwards we started to climb up to the Mitsumine shrine. This again is a long but very steady climb on a big road with almost no traffic. Laurent and me could ride next to each other and chat about this and that and before we noticed we had done again more than 600 meters of climbing up.

This was my second time up there, the first time was with Ludwig in autumn, in miserable cold climate and running out of daylight. So I showed Laurent around and we went to the platform to have a better look at the mountains of Chichibu.

There was already one guy there with his girlfriend and I asked him to take a photo of us. I told him that he just needed to push the bottom, but he was not satisfied with taking a simple photo. He varied the positions constantly, was complaining about the natural light and did this and that with the result that he took three beautiful works of art of Laurent and me which I can not possibly withhold from the public.Stunning beauty indeed. Another family of four came up the platform and he was in his artistic mood he asked them if he could take their picture as well. I guess in their case you will see four shadows instead of two, otherwise everything identical.

After that both of us where of the opinion that we did our fair share of work for the day and we went on a fast downhill to the dam and then further on to Chichibu city.

We had just missed the express train to Ikebukuro, so we hurried up and packed so that just in time we could also miss the local train to Hanno. Checking the train schedules, we decided to part, I took the train over Hanno to Hachioji, while Laurent went to Ikebukuro and we were all home after dark.

Conclusions:

There is a nice road over Arima Toge which is rideable.
There are many dams in Chichibu.
Miracles happen.

C A R E

Laurent has started a charity project for the benefit of CARE and asked me for our support and to spread the word:

"I am trying to raise as much money as possible for specific projects run by CARE International. CARE is a humanitarian organization fighting global poverty through education and training to encourage self-help, social inclusion and economic opportunity. CARE also delivers relief in emergencies.
Some of you receiving this mail know that Societe Generale is partnering with CARE on 3 concrete projects in Peru, Mali and Bangladesh.

I have decided to actively raise funds for these projects by entering a fund-raising bike ride from Paris to London organized by SG in June (NB: We'll get on a boat to cross the Channel between France and the UK. I'm not planning to cycle under water, and the guy who used to part the seas isn't around anymore!). I think I will be the only participant from Asia and I am counting on a lot of support from friends in the region and elsewhere.I would also like to start an SG Asia team for future years!

You can help me by contributing financially either directly to me, or via my website  http://www.aiderdonner.com/laurentdepus You can also help by promoting this around yourself, to your friends, colleagues and family. Please help me reach as many people as possible.

It takes only a few minutes and every contribution counts.The integrality of your donation will be delivered to CARE. I and SG will cover all the expenses of the event itself.

I started yesterday with a 1000 EUR target but from the wonderful and immediate response of many people, I will be able to increase this target very soon. The sky's the limit.

Thank you in advance for your support!"

http://www.care.org/

Championship Reflections

Someday in December, when JCRC will send me the champion jersey for 2008 and I will be the official recognized winner of the "2008 Road serise", I will definitely invite for a party, possibly at the Positivo shop and then close by. Until then, some reflections on the 2008 JCRC racing season:
For sure I had a lot of luck. Also persistence and power, but most of all luck. Out of the 14 JCRC races I have attended this year (counting the actual races, not the events), 10 have been hill climbs or similar elevation intensive races. And I am not a fast hill climber at all. But luckily some of the strongest contenders this year have given up in the midst of the season, or where promoted to C class. Like fourteen year old Nishimura - who continues to beat me at every single race.
And I was also lucky that the JCRC rules were in my favour. 60 points for attendance of a race and arriving at the goal without getting lapped. And in addition a maximum of 30 points depending on the race result. One could virtually secure championship by just attending. At one point I was at risk to be relegated to E class. That happens if one finishes three times in a row with a time 10% slower than the 10th place rider in a race. But miraculously after finishing 10% lower in the races at Gunma and Shuzenji, the next race (hill climb at Shiobara) was exempted from this rule and the race afterwards (again Gunma) as well. Finally I made the cut in Yokkaichi. But the most luck I had with the weather and that I didn't encountered any crash or mechanical problems. Weather conditions were good at almost all races, except for Hitachi-Naka and somewhat for Yokkaichi. My competitor and later friend Ishii crashed at Hitachi-Naka almost in front of me and I had to ride over the grass in order to get out of the danger zone. At the Tokyo race (not part of the JCRC series) also in the rain, a guy riding next to me on the inner side of a curve slipped and started to slide in my direction. Instead of cornering I rode straight and straight into the guiderails, barely managing to escape the crash as well as the rails. Is Saiko, at the last race, a rider crashed 30 meters in front of me during the finish sprint and again I was lucky that he felt on the left side and I could pass on the right. At the hill climb in Shiobara, I rode over a chestnut which punctured my back wheel tire. Luckily that happened only 200 meters away from the finish, so I was able to walk to the goal.

And I was lucky that I had no injuries, no colds, nothing. If anything, the JCRC series has told me something about the meaning of luck and that a tiny mishap can ruin the hard work of a complete season. This is not a single race where one can have a good result or not and then again try next year. This was my once in a lifetime chance to achieve something extraordinary in the field of sport and if I would make only one small mistake, I would have wasted my chance and never get a new one.

And this is actually the dark flip side of riding for championship series: I was very worried all the time. Worried that I will crash, get a cold, don't know the JCRC rules or simply do not race very well and that killed a lot of the fun associated with racing. At Saiko I thought that it might be too risky to ride along with the main group, and just cruise behind them at 30 km/hr in order just to finish and not to get lapped. Because this would have been enough to clinch the title. Just because I was worried, I would have given up to enjoy the race and sprint for victory. I did not in the end, but again I was lucky that I did not crash.

It is less fun to race when one has to race, in the rain or in races where one finished in last place, just because one needs to gather the points. This has been what I have learned this year and I have now much more respect for sportsmen and women who achieve their goals over a long season, be it bicycle riders, soccer teams or figure skaters. I will not try to repeat this again, one season of worries have been enough.
From a point of performance I am a miserable champion I guess. How where my results over the season?

1. Kawagoe : 30th place out of 38 riders in the goal. Got dropped in a flat course race. Early in the season I was in miserable shape.
   
   
2. Shuzenji : 25/25 Last place, of course at Shuzenji. Couldn't even keep the pace of the pacemaking motorcycle at the start.
   
   
3. Gunma : 37/37 Last place again. Was lucky that I didn't got lapped and disqualified.
   
   
4. NATS: 15/22 That was OK, however I also got dropped by the main group in this flat course race.
   
   
5. Miyakejima : 8/9 A lot of points for me because there were only 9 riders in D class. The 9th place was Stephen who I forced into this race. So basically last place again. The solo race the next day was cancelled due to a high poisonous gas concentrations.
   
   
6. Hitachi - Naka : 32/53. A little bit unlucky. First I needed to avoid a crash and temporarily lost contact with the main field, than I choose the wrong wheel to hang on (Alain), although that wheel normally finishes strong.
   
   
7. Gunma : 28/28 Last place again. But I was getting stronger; would have been lapped with my earlier Gunma performance.
   
   
8. Shuzenji : 47/48 Second last place. First indication of performance improvement!
   
   
9. Shiobara : 32/33 on the first day hill climb, 36/37 on the second day hill climb. Apart from the result, this was one of the best races this year.
   
   
10. Gunma : Disqualified. Got lapped shortly before the end of the 8th lap, despite being pulled by Tom.
    
    
11. Yokkaichi : 15/20. Could stay with the main field one lap on this hilly course, but not a second one. Was happy not to end in last place.
    
    
12. Saiko : 14/34. Best performance this year.

In summary, out of 13 races, I finished 8 times in last or second last place or got disqualified.I am not sure how others would judge this, but I think this is not a very champion like performance. My best finish was an 8th place in Miyakejima. Counting from the front, because I left only one ride behind me. Counting from the back, I was good in Saiko (20 riders behind me) and Hitachi Naka (21).
On the other hand I felt that I became stronger and stronger through the season, thanks to a lot of racing and long training rides. In Saiko I felt at the peak and I still had much power let at the finish.

I am really happy, relieved and whatever that everything is over. I am so tired as well. So what is in for next year?

If time allows, I would like to attend some of the races which are either fun to do or where I have at least a chance to make the podium:

• JCRC / ToJ Kawagoe in March, a 15 km point race
  
• Tokyo Tomin race in Oi Futo, a 21 km solo race
• JCRC / ToJ Hitachi Naka in June, a 30 km solo race
• JCRC / ToJ Saiko in November, a 20 km solo race

Then I would like to so some of the really challenging races in terms or elevation or distance:

• Fuji Hill Climb - 1.200 meters up with 5.000 riders
  
• Itoigawa Fast Run - 290 km, if we are allowed to start.
• Tour de Okinawa - 200 km solo race
  

I also enjoyed the endurance races, such as Tsukuba, Motegi, Fuji Speedway, Yokohama and Tokyo. Preferable in a team. And finally I would like to try some track racing. I hope that a lot of PE guys will join me next year as well.Much of the fun this season and much of the next season as well depends on the good composition and mutual support within the Positivo Espresso team. I am very proud that we have built up a team with very few constraints and rules on the one hand, but a lot of support from and to all riders. I always hated clubs, because one has to go drinking with club mates after the training and there is always this "Are you a member?" feeling which distinguish the good riders (team members) from the rest (not team members). There is so much time spend on club-activities and less time on the real purpose, the sport itself.

But Positivo Espresso is different, we have of course some hard core riders, some hard core bloggers and maybe some hard core drinkers, but in general we are open and inviting to new team members and try to integrate them. Sometimes I feel that this and that could improve and some things disappoint me, but all in all this is probably the best set-up I have ever been in. We recognize that all our members have their weak points: Juliane? Always late, or not there at all. David: Starts at 210% of his performance level when riding out, finishes at 21%. Tom? Demands too much from us non-hill climbers. Me? always too competitive, cannot loose. Jerome? Sleeps too long. And so on. But again, as a group compared with other groups we are doing very well.
This year was hard in particular, because many good riders left us. david went back to England; Marek moved on, first to Southeast Asia, later to Australia. Juliane will leave in December. Alain from NFCC who was a fabulous sportsman moved back to France. James and Ian from the Irish rovers went to Hong Kong and Singapore respectively. To loose such good riders and friends was hard. On the other hand, some new guys were joining us as well. James did a good job to encourage his friends to make even smaller trips out with us together, so did David. Laurent and Stephen joined us again. Jacques was another funny addition. Ludwig succumbed to the bike bug within record time. And Tom's daughter should be ready every day after conquering Wada.

So, in a way I guess we are all champions on our own and Positivo Espresso is therefore the team of the champs. I hope that I could make myself somehow understandable without being too melodramatic. I also do not want to write funny posts all the time.

Team Time Trial Performance at Saiko

Revenge on Yanagizawa

Some weeks ago Positivo Espresso was planning a tour climbing Odarumi from Enzan. On the day before we rode over Wada, Tawa, Tsuru, Imagawa and Yanagizawa to Enzan, however I had to give up before Yanagizawa -just too much climbing during too hot climate. Unpaid bills need to be paid, criminals return to the place of their crimes, so finally on Thursday I found the time to complete the trip and conquer Yanagizawa Toge. I left the house rather late and cruised at a leisurely pace in direction Ome. On the way I met Laurent who was riding aimlessly along the Tamagawa. Funny enough, he had the same idea as me: On the Positivo trip he continued to Enzan, however he dropped out the next day before the climb to Odarumi. Haunted by the memory of this missed chance, he took off one week for biking, drove by car to Enzan and climbed up Odarumi. Well done, Laurent.

We split and I took the first break at Ome Station. I just cannot pass by without dropping in at the Aurora bakery and buy some "Royal Milk Bread", the most delicious massive piece of fatty bread I have ever eaten.

I the continued to ride to Okutama Station. It was just before noon and it became really hot. I didn't felt that I was in too great a shape. So when I arrived at Okutama station I felt tired and it was just the ride time for a short nap on a bench. And this is what I did. I woke up, don't know why and immediately it started to rain. Real, heavy rain. The dices, the hearts of the women and the weather in the mountains are unpredictable. This says an old Japanese proverb which I just made up. I took cover at the station and after 20 minutes or so the rain stopped and I could finally start the approach on Yanagizawa. I rode about 200 meters and then I noticed something very strange: Only this distance away, he road was completely dry, that means I hadn't rained at all there! This must have been a special rainfall limited to a very small patch of land. But the sky was cloudy and I could hear thunder and seethe lighting. The rain front was moving in, but luckily I managed to escape somehow.

Okutama Station is at elevation 320 m app. and Yanagizawa at 1.460 m, so I had a long climb in front of me. I have done this only one time before with David, david and Juliane in April, when there was still some snow left on the top. It took me almost three hours then. The climb to Okutama Lake at elv. 520 m is nothing special. 5 years ago that would have been a major feat for me, but now it is really nothing special any more, even in the heat. The next part is then cruising along the shores of the Okutama for quite a while which is almost flat. Then the first part of the climbing starts, but that's also more an up and down portion which finally leads to the village of Tabayama at elv. 650m. I arrived there in much better shape then some weeks ago. The weather was also OK and not as hot as down in the city, so I really lost all excuses not to do the Yanagizawa pass. So I continued to climb at a pace of 10 - 15 km/hr and it took a lot of effort but I continuously moved up the hills.

In summer the landscape there is also much more beautiful and green compared to the scenario I saw in April. There is not too much traffic and luckily not too much public works (except for that complete unnecessary and stupid tunnel construction which will result in shortening the approach by estimated 200 meters). I climbed about 10m/min and when I was at elevation 1.000 m I was pretty sure that I would make the climb in one go. In was now much cooler, more in the range of 24 degrees but I was running out of water. And climbing became harder.

I reached the small soba shack at elv. 1.200 me and it was really getting hard to climb. Only 200 meters up.....only 100 meters up, my speed dropped to less than 10 km/hr and I was zigzaging the steeper parts of the road. Then I finally saw the toge. I still had the power for a final sprint and moved in: 2:22 hrs (see Toge Baka), much faster than the last time and, more important, without any breaks. But two hours of more or less continuous climbing had taken their toll and I was feeling very tired. As you can see in this photo, taken in front of the Yanagizawa rest area.
Actually this photo was taken, after I have rested for half an hour. When I arrived their the situation was like this: Totally exhausted I tried to each out for the gigantic soft ice which I thought was waiting for me.
I must remark, that the people running the restaurant up there are really nice and helpful, contrary to the witch at Wada Toge.

The day's work was done. I had a good training for the forthcoming Tokyo Hill Climb race on Sunday. I then prepared for the long descent to Enzan. This is really a very nice descent, leading over some long and curved bridges with nothing but depth on both sides of the road. I started cautiously in the beginning, but after a while I went faster and I almost hit 70 km/hr at some stretches.

I have much more confident on my Cervelo bike going fast than I had an the Cannondale one I used to many years and gradually I am improving. I used to be a real sissy, but now I am almost a rabbit.

Enzan is really beautiful with all the fruit trees, I took some photos of the peaches and grapes. Then I arrived at the station and I was lucky that I could jump on a fast express train taking my home. When the rain passed Otsuki on the way back it was raining, so I guess I was lucky with the weather this time.
So, revenge on Yanagizawa has been made, now I still have to climb Odarumi.