Yanagisawa Pass - First Adventure on the RAMAX

The RAMAX ... looking down at Enzan/Koshu

The sky bridges of Route 411 just SW of Yanagisawa Pass

Jerome and I had planned to join a 200km R-Tokyo brevet on Sunday March 13, part of our qualifying for Cascade 1400.  That was postponed when Kanagawa prefecture extended its "manenboshi" (prevent the spread) anti-Covid-19 measures. Different Audax clubs have different rules about Covid-19, including some rides that have been adjusted to allow a start at any point during a one week timeframe, avoiding any crowds or groups, and so can proceed during "manenboshi". But this R-Tokyo event was supposed to be a traditional brevet with everyone starting on Sunday morning 7AM (in waves 5 minutes apart). So it was postponed to a date TBD.

Jerome rode on Saturday ... so I headed out Sunday morning early with the goal to do a good training ride, at least as much work as the 200km R-Tokyo event (a mountain-free course full of short up/down sections along the eastern edge of the Saitama hills from Kawasaki to Yorii and back). Peter J. had recently ridden over Yanagisawa Pass ... which got me thinking that I had not do so in several years. It is one of the true long climbs in Kanto, to a peak at just under 1500 meters elevation and with lots of repeated up/down in between Okutama-ko and the beginning of the real climb just west of Tabayama. In summer, there are enough sun-exposed stretches that it can be unpleasant, but on a mid-March day, it would be perfect.

This was my first real ride on the RAMAX "(Randonneuring Adventure MAXimum") bike. I had the "loaner" wheels, including the very colorful rear rim, and had not yet changed the Challenge Gravel Grinder tires. They seemed to roll smoothly on my way back to Takasaki a few days earlier -- and they are excellent tires for their intended purpose! Based upon bicyclerollingresistance.com, however, it looked as of they would add 10-15 watts per wheel of rolling resistance riding on a smooth road, as compared to the types of "slick" wheels I would typically ride.  And each one weights 415 grams, plus tubes, so heavier as well. But, I thought, what if I have the energy for a rindo detour onto gravel -- perhaps they would come in handy? And I was not out to--nor in condition to--break any records, so did not mind the marginal loss.

The bike performed well. I like the handling as I climb, especially the neutral, solid feeling as I get off the seat and work the pedals (not quite "dancing on the pedals," but close). I tweaked the seat position -- a bit higher and farther back -- to get closer to ideal.  After the ride, I swapped out the 110mm stem for a 120mm one, moved the seat a wee bit forward, and now it is juuust right.

End of the Tamagawa Path - Hamura, Almost to Oume

It was an uneventful ride up the Tamagawa to the end of the path just before Oume. There was a large group of men standing in the river, some fishing, some watching. I don't recall seeing this kind of spectacle at this spot before. I continued on after filling my water bottles and consuming banana from my back pocket.

Curbside dining in Okutama Machi (in front of Daily Yamazaki)

I stopped again at Okutamamachi near the Station -- last convenience store until Enzan, if memory serves. I chatted briefly with another rider who I had been playing leap frog with. I got the only onigiri in the Daily Yamazaki store, heading out just before he came in.  An hour or more later, as I left Yakyutei at the far end of Lake Okutama after a bowl of udon, the same rider was again approaching.

Entrance to the Nokogiri Climb off Route 411.

The traditional food stop at west end of Lake Okutama

Hazy sunlight at the west end of Lake Okutama

I liked the mix of traditional house, laundry drying, and construction equipment here.

The weather by now was warm enough that I pulled down my arm warmers/covers -- just riding with short sleeve jersey and bib shorts, and changed to the half-finger gloves for the first time this year.  Tabayama was looking very relaxed, people eating lunch on the terrace overlooking the river, flags flapping in the breeze (that seemed, now, as if it might push me a wee bit up the hill). 

Tabayama Michi-no-Eki

Tabayama - onsen from michi-no-eki

Finally on the real climb

A short rest around 1150m elevation ... 

Then I was onto the climb - nearly 800 meters up from here.  There was ongoing highway work on each side of Yanagisawa Pass ever since I first climbed it nearly 15 years ago. I remember climbing Yanagisawa with Jerome in 2009, our last massive training ride before Transalp (we tacked on Odarumi -- nearly 2000 meters elevation gain from Enzan to the top AFTER Yanagisawa on that hot day). I remember riding Sasago/Kamihikawa/Yanagisawa Passes as a series in the other direction once while training for Transalp in 2009, and again in 2011. And I remember riding this pass in the first brevet I ever joined, a 400km Kanagawa Audax event in late 2009. Well, the last tunnels and skybridges are now done and the only work in progress is some minor curve/shoulder improvements that does not involve a tunnel or bridge.  There was at least one tunnel on each side of the pass I have not gone through before ... how many years since I took this route? At least 3 or 4 years. Too long. I should do it at least yearly. 

I climbed slowly. I need to do a lot more rides like this if I am going to be in shape for Cascade 1400. 

At the pass ... I did not stop for food here today, though we often do.

No view of Fuji today ... and a decidedly unfriendly sign warning that for non-customers
the parking (even for bicycles) requires payment. Reminiscent of Wada Pass in the old days.

The descent into Enzan was fun as always. Perhaps I went a bit slower than normal, cautious during my first long descent on the RAMAX. But I felt confident the entire time. I turned left to join a road that goes diagonally down to the "Fruit Line" and continued (up and down and up and down) on the Fruit Line past Katsunuma and to Route 20 (Koshu Kaido). Then I did another climb to the entrance of Sasago Tunnel. I thought about a side trip on the deserted old road over Sasago Pass, as when Jerome and I did this combination of passes in 2016 ... but prudence is the better part of valor. Through the tunnel, I made a fast descent to Otsuki, grabbed some tasty Family Mart "nama pasta", and went fast again to Uenohara. 

At 182 kms, I thought about continuing to Takao to clear 200 ... or riding home from Mitaka or similar to Takanawa, also to get an extra 20kms. But I noticed that somehow three spokes on the non-drive side of the loaner rear wheel had gotten so loose that the spoke nipples had dropped off and into the wheel well. The wheel still felt rock solid ... but there is a limit to the number of spokes you can lose without the wheel becoming dangerous!  I should have checked the wheel's spoke tension before riding it. But I had gotten AT LEAST as much work in as if I had done the 200km brevet course east of the mountains, so I was not going to sit in the dark, take the tire and rim tape off, try to fish out the spoke nipples and re-tension it. Instead I declared my mission accomplished, hopped the train home, and fixed the wheel the following day.

Yanagisawa and Sasago Passes on a Beautiful Day/Night

Jerome and I planned to join the Kumamoto Audax Fleche this weekend with Nagoya-based friends. We were looking forward to riding from Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture via Shikoku, and ferry to Oita, and from there on over the shoulder of Mt. Aso and on to Kumamoto.

The organizers cancelled the event within a few hours of Thursday evening's earthquake.  Of course, there was another, even bigger, quake only 28 hours later!  Looking at the massive damage from Saturday morning's BIGGER quake, I was very glad not to have been in Kumamoto on Saturday.

So on Saturday Jerome and I decided to ride into Yamanashi from our homes in Setagaya instead. After a late (930AMish start), we rode via Oume and up the hill to Okutama-ko.

A rider through the trees along the Tamagawa

The Tamagawa/Route 411 just past the Nokogiri Mountain turnoff

At Lake Okutama.  The entire hillside was flowering!

Then lunch at the far end of the lake at Yagyu-tei, our standard cafeteria-style stop.  As always, Mrs. Watanabe greeted us with a smile.

Then a long slog through Tabayama and another 800 meters of elevation gain to Yanagisawa Pass.  Jerome was ahead of me almost the entire climb, until a quick food stop at roadside just below 1200 meters elevation.  He seemed to run out of energy -- to the point I needed to wait 7-8 minutes for his arrival at the pass, unheard of.  He was revived by a soft ice cream cone at the top.

Revived a bit at 1200m elevation for the last push, thanks to a banana and some trail mix!

We had perfect weather for climbing -- not too hot, but not cold either.  Just chilly enough to merit jackets on the descent toward Enzan.  There were spectacular flowering trees both in the wild and in the orchards above Enzan.

Mt. Fuji is somewhere out there in the haze.  I could make out an outline "live".

We returned via the "Fruit Line" and then the old road to Sasago Pass.

Owls big and small watch over the intersection of Route 411 and the Fruit Line

Sunset from the Fruit Line

The old road over the pass was closed ... but it was easy to get around the gate and keep climbing, no one else near.  We quickly came to an obstacle.

But we could climb around one end carrying our bikes, and fortunately did not find any other similar blockages further up the hill.

A terrified Jerome shields his eyes from the witch's gaze.

The witch has taken my bicycle.  I'm done for!

After quick dinner stop outside Otsuki, I hopped a train home and arrived before 1130PM.  Really 165kms and 2500 meters of climbing was plenty, in anticipation of starting the Okayama 1200km randonée at 4AM next Saturday morning.  Jerome, on the other hand, rode the remaining 80km+ home, making it around a 250km day for him with arrival after 1AM.  Being Jerome, I am sure he will recover in time for Okayama.

80km before 8am -- Send Off Ride with Jerome with No Gusto

Dawn Looking toward Sekidobashi

Early Light Crossing the Tamagawa

Jerome is planning another winter trip by bicycle to Osaka, where he has a meeting on Monday. This time he will try the inland (i.e. mountainous) route, since the weather forecast is decent -- a few degrees warmer than at end of December, though still below freezing for the first 5 hours and again for at least another 14-16 hours from late afternoon as he enters Nagano to morning in Nagoya on Sunday!

Light shines from the heavens onto Futako Shinchi

I felt the least I could do was give him a pull out of town, so I woke up early, threw on my warm gear, and left around 4:20AM.  As we rode through Machida and Sagamihara, we decided to stop at a "Gusto" family restaurant at Lake Tsukui for a quick breakfast and warm-up, before I would head back into town for my day's activities.

Unfortunately, the Gusto was closed!  No signs of activity at 6AM.  Too many of these places are no longer open 24 hours.  I guess old people in the countryside do not frequent overnight restaurants.  In any event, the Family Mart up the street had a place to eat (and sip hot coffee) inside the store, so we made do with it.

Jerome checks weather on his ride route

We say farewell. Jerome puts on the warm gear for a cold morning ride up to Sasago and beyond!

Then a fast ride back into town.  And now I get to start my day.  All in all much more exercise than I had hoped for today ... though at the expense of a bit of sleep.

Stay tuned for any reports of Jerome's progress.

JEROME UPDATE:  After we parted, Jerome made steady progress up Route 20 (Koshu Kaido) through Uenohara, Sarubashi, Otsuki and to the mouth of the Sasago Tunnel.  As with the Fellowship of the Ring, Jerome knew that evil lurked deep in the mountain, and so chose the beautiful, deserted road to Sasago Pass.

I wish he would have asked me, since I would have told him this would almost certainly be blocked with snow.  Indeed, it was blocked with snow when I tried it once in mid-March.  So in late January ... not likely passable.  Of course, it was not.  But in addition, there is the well known "witch of Sasago Pass".  We have only actually seen her once, as we climbed through mist up the other side of the pass several years ago, and came upon an old hag-like woman wandering around, who asked us if we knew of a "yado" (lodging) nearby.

But her work was in evidence on Saturday, as she had strewn debris on the road, resulting in a flat tire, even before he started the portage section on snow and ice.

Debris blocks the road

In the end, Jerome made it to the pass and the entrance to its short, pitch-dark tunnel.

Sounds and smells of the witch emerge from the pitch black tunnel mouth

But he was driven near-mad in the effort. And the witch noises (and smells) emitting from within her tunnel lair persuaded him to turn back ... and go down the hill again.

Jerome -- near mad with frustration.

So Jerome went back down the hill and, now several hours behind his planned schedule, decided that rather than going on through Sasago Tunnel, he would return to Tokyo.  Another ill-conceived plan for mid-winter ride to Kansai via the mountains was cast aside!  The disappointed rider returned home, only to seek a more traditional transport mode that will get him to Osaka Monday meeting.

Still, he logged around 200 kms.  Not bad for a Saturday in January.

*According to his Strava track, Jerome now has recorded the fastest time in 2015 on numerous segments, with speeds of 2.6 kph on the upper part of the Sasago Pass climb (where he changed a flat then walked in snow).  Strava really needs to get rid of the "fastest this calendar year" feature and try a "fastest in last 365 days" feature instead!  And it appears that he actually DID make it through the witch tunnel and down the other side of the mountain, before returning through the main Route 20 tunnel and back to Tokyo.

Tokyo - Itoigawa 2011

I awoke in a dark, cramped hotel room in Hachioji and stumbled to turn off my alarm. I felt terrible, only 2 1/2 hours' sleep, still dehydrated from too much beer and not enough food despite some glasses of water before sleeping, still tired from way too late a train ride out to Hachioji -- on the 11:45PM train from Shinjuku, arriving around 12:30AM, then wandering in the dark through a "gauntlet" of questionable entertainment joints to find my business hotel. Guys in suits standing in the street wearing sun glasses at midnight, pairs of girls in the shadows.

Anyway, at 3:40AM I needed to scramble, try to consume and keep down some convenience store sandwiches, two small yogurts, plus a cold Seattle's Best Double Espresso I had bought on the way into the hotel a few hours earlier, dress, shave, pack my bags, assemble my bike in the hallway (not enough room in the room!) and hit the road. It took longer than it should have, and was after 4:10AM by the time I left the hotel, 10+ minutes behind schedule and not a moment to lose. Our start was 4:40AM, and I first needed to get to Takaosan-guchi, check-in, deliver my rucksack and drop-bag, find my teammates, and get ready to actually, well, race a bicycle.

About 15 minutes later, passing the Positivo Espresso recommended 7-11 on Rte 20 in front of Takao station, after riding much too hard for a warm up, I heard a woman's voice say "Litt-san!" It was the-nice-woman-whose-name-I-did-not-get from the staff at the May 7 Saitama Brevet. She was riding with a man in "Pedal Far" bib shorts (her husband, perhaps?) up toward the start. She asked "do you remember me, from the Saitama Brevet?" "Yes of course," I said. "What time is your start." She responded "I did not ride I was on the staff." My Japanese must have been as garbled as my mind. "I said, "no, not the Brevet, your start today". She said "I'm not riding, I'm "o-en-dan" (support for a participant -- support, fan club or cheerleader, maybe). I just mumbled "excuse me, I'm late, I've got a 4:40AM start" and pushed ahead. So I still did not get her name, or learn any more about her (or the man riding with her, who looked like a strong rider). I guess if I keep up these endurance rides, I'll probably see them again.

I arrived at the start area at 4:33AM, just as Travis was trying to call my mobile phone and he, Gunnar, Steve and Yair were talking about a revised 4-man team race strategy. I checked in, dropped off my bags, tried (not very successfully) to catch my breath, and had the foresight to pull out my camera and ask someone to take our team photo.

Yair, David, Gunnar, Steve and Travis -- P.E. 2011 TOITO team, in TCC jerseys (except for Yair "Sufferfest" Bauer)

Unfortunately, I did not have the foresight to clean the fog off of the lens, or to hand the camera to someone with a steady hand -- so the photo gives a remarkably accurate idea of how I was perceiving the world at this time.

And then we were off! We started with 4 of the riders from Team Cuore -- a Japanese group of very enthusiastic riders based around a shop in Taito-ku, Tokyo -- and several others.

As feared, I lost the back of our group on the first climb, to Otarumi, and cleared the pass in just over 16 minutes -- 90-100 seconds slower than a week earlier despite my best efforts to stay with the team. Was it really a smart idea for me to ride (race) with these guys, whose average age is 12 years' younger?

But on the descent, I passed several of the Cuore riders and Yair (who really needs to add some weight if he wants to "drop like a rock" on the descents. He is looking slimmer than Alberto Contador and with just as spindly arms). I caught the rest of the team just as they were starting up at the traffic light in front of Sagami-ko station. I felt semi-human again.

On the 60-70 meter elevation climb up to Uenohara, I again lost the back, but on the next downhill, I timed (luck) the light at the bottom perfectly and, going 60 kph, passed my 4 teammates plus another 5-6 riders onto the next climb, then rode generally with (or within hailing distance of) the team to Otsuki. I lagged again on the climb to Sasago, but passed various groups of other riders and arrived only 5 minutes back of the team, with an average speed of 26.74 kph for the leg. Not that bad a start after all -- 75th fastest time on that leg out of 359 finishers (and also an unstated number of "DNFs" -- we saw some riders struggling and other resting who surely did not make it all the way by the cut off time).

Anyway, a 292 km ride is too long for a "blow by blow" account, ... and I've got some work and then want to catch a bit of the Giro, so let me give a few highlights.

First the results:

1. Andy Wood won for the Nth straight year, with a time of 8:44:43. He passed me near Chino and shouted out a greeting, recognizing my TCC jersey. I was about to say something back ... but he was gone. I think I did see TT bar extensions, but I did not get a chance to measure whether they exceeded the permitted limits under the TOITO rules.

2. Tom S. put in another very strong performance, with a time of 9:43:09 for 11th place overall, 5th in the 40-49 age group. Chapeau!

3. In 3rd place at 9:12:43 was Kondo-san, the fabled Brevet rider (see my 600 km May 7 Brevet report), riding for Nalshima.

4. Our team had some excellent results.

Travis finished 52nd in 10:57:45. Double Chapeau!

Gunnar outsprinted Steve to the line for 71st place, in 11:19:18. Steve took 72nd in 11:19:21. They rode very well together as a pair -- really ought to aim for Transalp at some point.

Yair, still recovering from an injury this winter and only 2 months back on the (beautiful new) bike, suffered through the middle/late segments but still managed to equal last year's P.E. group time, at 12:28:59, for 165th. With this ride under his belt, Yair is back.

5. The wind shifted throughout the day -- we had a headwind coming down into Kofu, tailwind between Shiojiri and Matsumoto, and then a cross wind, then a headwind from just before the lakes South of Hakuba until the finish. The last was at times a very stiff headwind, offsetting the speed of the descent. We all suffered in the heat during the 78 km stage between Shiojiri and Hakuba ... many of us taking an unscheduled convenience store break early in the long climb, and me deciding I was in danger of serious consequences if I pushed too hard, and so taking it easy for awhile.

When it came, the headwind was cool and, thus, a real relief. I kept repeating to myself, "the wind is keeping me cool, be thankful for the breeze, ... and tuck low enough so it runs over along your back, inside and down your jersey". Overheated, I was happy to sacrifice a bit of speed for the longer term relief from the cooling effect. As I emerged from the last of the tunnels on Route 148, into a noticeably cooler area, I welcomed the cloud cover, threatening skies and wind, the heat a distant memory.

6. I did not ride any of the "no bicycles allowed" overpasses in Kofu. I went with the Japanese riders along the side street, and waited, and waited, and waited, at the lights. At one of these, there were about 15 riders and a truck and few cars ahead of me. The light finally turned green, the truck, cars and maybe 3 riders went through before it turned red again, 10 riders ahead and so no chance to sprint the light on yellow-changing-to-red ... another 4-5 minutes wait, it seemed, during which all the lights I could see at the intersection were red, cars just sitting and nothing moving in any direction. Aaaaargh! Also, this time, I did much less running of red signals than in 2008 with Juliane, DJ and MOB. Hard to argue that I don't know better this time. ... but I did get alone for a good part of the Shiojiri-Matsumoto stretch, and was able to time the lights very well, move to the front of waiting traffic, pass through when no cars were approaching and the light had changed to a "right turn only" arrow -- the usual tricks, without doing anything dangerous or attention-getting. How much of the difference among the top riders is really just a question of how many rules they break?

Later, I was able to persuade a Japanese rider to join me in going through some "T" intersections (along the top side of the "T"), and to make a left turn on red (remember, this is Japan - riding on the left, slinking around the corner, and continuing along the left), against some useless red lights. He eventually went ahead of me and I could see him, at the next "T" intersection, go up onto the sidewalk, around the intersection, and back into the street again, avoiding the red light -- all perfectly safe. He learned quickly.

I had very bad luck with road construction on the Hakuba-Itoigawa stretch, with several lengthy waits for one-way traffic the other way.

7. Travis, Gunnar and Steve did try at least one Kofu overpass, but one of the other riders yelled at them from the side street, causing Steve to look over to see who was yelling, and why, ... and he ran straight onto the dividers/chevrons between the overpass and side road, flatting both front and rear tires, with some rim damage and a big jolt and big scare ... but not enough of a scare to keep him from continuing on. I was a few minutes back and missed the excitement, and just passed a smiling Steve who was walking his bike back ... I thought looking for something he had dropped. Anyway, Travis and Gunnar went back to help, I went on slowly, and we regrouped at Nirasaki ... only for them to go on ahead of me up the hill.

8. The route was noticeably better than I had remembered. No big trucks coming down the tunnels this Saturday afternoon ... though I did see a few going the other way. And there was an improved road surface and wider shoulder, I think for a good part of the stretch around Matsumoto. And reverted from a 2008 detour to the "usual" route again North of Matsumoto. Also, the checkpoints were far better stocked with bananas, rice balls and drinks -- water, mugi-cha and pokari sweat -- when riding with a 4:40 AM start than with our 2008 6:25 AM start.

And we saw many more team cars and supporters on the side of the road, cheering us on up the climb after Nirasaki and again later on. There were two young, attractive ladies dressed up in "maid" costumes, standing by their car on several of the climbs cheering us on, jumping up and down.

I blew them a kiss as I passed the second time, but meanwhile I could only think ... of this past week's news of Arnold the Governator and his child by a former housekeeper leading to his separation from Maria Shriver, that news from California following just a few days after Dominique Strauss-Kahn's arrest for his alleged brutal attack on a chambermaid at the Hotel Sofitel in Manhattan ... what is it with these guys and the maid costumes?

9. With my long explanation of the Kofu red lights, the road construction, miserable afternoon heat and the headwinds, I've just about run out of excuses.

Anyway, my time was 12:06:42, which placed me 137 out of 359 finishers. This was 20 minutes better than in 2008, though I was really hoping to get somewhere comfortably under 12 hours. Still, not bad, all things considered.

And when I reached the hotel driveway entrance, I was surprised -- done so soon? I thought I still had a few more kilometers to go. Why did I leave so much in the tank at the end? Sunday morning, but for the rain and the press of work, I would definitely have headed up the coast on my bike. The only aches or pains during the ride were some numbness in my feet -- I need to check my right cleat alignment. So even if my time was not so much better than 2008, the Brevets have definitely helped my endurance. Now, over the next 3 weeks, I just need to try to do more climbing practice, then I'll be ready for Transalp.

By the time I finished, Travis was gone, headed to the station then back to Tokyo. Tom was waiting and offered his congratulations before heading into Itoigawa with his Vlaams teammates. We unwound, soaked in the onsen, enjoyed our bento boxes out front of the hotel, with some extras (tonjiru udon, cucumbers w/ salt, beer), added 2 pizzas later -- ordered and delivered to our hotel room -- chatted with Saito-san, a neighbor from the Cuore team in the room next door, who offered me a taste of a nice Burgundy Pinot Noir. We all slept early and very soundly.

After breakfast, we braved the pounding rain on Sunday morning to the station and hopped the train back to Tokyo.

Another successful event. Will we go back next year? Too soon to say.

Our team at the start -- second try at a photo, after cleaning the camera lens.
Look at those faces-- is that a unified expression of determination to ride to victory, or what?

Gunnar models the hotel yukata -- and seems to be having some trouble straightening his back and unclasping his hands after the new experience of riding 300 km in a day. One of the older, male riders complimented Gunnar on his yukata ("ni-aimasu") and no one reproached him for wearing the hotel slippers outside. ... the guy who yelled at Steve in Kofu must have been DNF, or maybe still on the road at this point.

Tom S. prepares to ride into Itoigawa to his lodgings.

The Sea of Japan and wet roads, from our train.

Travis' report: http://www.tokyocycle.com/bbs/blog.php?b=91

Tom's report: http://vlaamsewielrenner.blogspot.com/2011/05/40th-classic-300km-endurance-race.html

Andy's report: http://www.jyonnobitime.com/time/2011/05/tokyo-itoigawa-2011-race-repor.html

Time to Climb - Sasago, Kamihikawa, Yanagisawa

Inspired by tales of the Positivo Espresso Europe ("pee") training camp in Mallorca, still trying to catch up with my own Transalp training after too many weekends off the bike from mid-February through March (work, earthquake, visit to the U.S. with my son, etc., etc.), and with spectacular weather forecast, it was time for a big ride, with some real climbs.  I thought I should return to Kamihikawa Pass, a long climb that was one of the key days on my April 2009 Transalp training.

Jerome and I left early and rode together out One-Kan and the tank road, and as far as the South side of Tsukui-ko. From there Jerome headed for Yabitsu Pass and then on to Zushi to meet some business contacts for an early lunch.  I continued on to the West, joined Rte 20 and took it as far as Sasago -- cannot hurt to ride the first leg of Tokyo-Itoigawa a few times this year to have it fresh in my mind for May 21, and traffic was light after Uenohara.

Resting before the Sasago climb, in Euro-cylist gear -- Assos jersey, bib shorts, socks and (not visible) inner layer today, with plenty of white (though the shoes are red and silver/grey).

I left the main road for the always beautiful climb up to Sasago Pass (1050 meters). 

The ghosts were nowhere to be seen in the sunlight today, but I felt their cold breath in the haunted tunnel.

Entering Koshu City, at Sasago Pass.

Even Route 20 looked nice today -- this photo in front of from the Kai Yamato 7-11.

After the descent, I stopped for spaghetti at the 7-11 in Kai Yamato, then headed up Kami-Hikawa. 

The town was full of sakura, still in bloom.

If this is Yamanashi, then there must have been a battle involving the Takeda family nearby ... this statue of Takeda Katsuyori ko, 4th son of Takeda Shingen. 

In this case, it was the last stand of the Takeda, against the Tokugawa, in the battle of Tenmokuzan -- Takeda Katsuyori died in Tano (田野), early in the climb up the Hikawa.

Kami-Hikawa was just as long as I remembered it, from 650 meters elevation at the base of the Sasago descent up to 1625 meters, just above Kamihikawa Pass.  But it was not quite as steep, perhaps, as the impression from my first visit.


Then a second refueling stop with Houtou (Yamanashi flat noodles in miso broth, with vegetables and, the house specialty, pork that had been marinated in wine), and then the last climb of the day up to Yanagisawa, followed by the long ride back to Oume.  At 210 km and 3400 meters of climbing, I hopped the train home at Oume.

I took the big climbs slowly, but had better legs than in 2009, managing a third pass (Yanagisawa) and a much longer ride this year.  Now I just need to get faster.