At the Kawasaki Keirin Track

With the brakes and bullhorns off, and 48x14 gearing,
my commuting fixie is a real track bike!

MOB did it at end of 2008, others have since, and now it was my turn to join Hiroshi and his Keihin Pista club for one of their sessions on the Kawasaki keirin track -- to ride the "bank".  Gunnar and Tim S. also joined for this event.  Tim mentioned that he lived in Portland at one point, and offered to provide info and intros to the cycling (and cycle racing) scene before my visit in February.

It was a great way to spend Saturday afternoon, and I look forward to another visit soon.  It took awhile to get used to riding high on the steep banked curve, but it was much easier to get to the top of the bank than I had thought it would be, since on the keirin track the approach is very gradual from the flat to the top of the bank.

There were actually people in the stands as we rode ... all of whom were just there to bet on and watch via big screen some keirin races being held elsewhere (Shizuoka, today) and maybe have some shochu.  It was great to go into the velodrome the back way, pass the large room where some of the riders were hanging out, schmoozing, training and tinkering with gear, and to emerge in the infield with music playing and an audience.

Next time I will need to remember to count the number of one lap "pulls" that I do when
we ride in a line.  Lots and lots of laps, just not sure how many.

Gunnar's track bike -- Chrome frame, chrome wheels, chrome stem and bars and post!

Hiroshi, Gunnar and Tim are #2, 3 and 4 in the line.  Tim was riding the bike Eric borrowed for Saiko --
the GS Astuto carbon frame with Ultegra DI2 electronic shifters and GS Astuto 50mm carbon tubulars.

And there they go!

Practicing my track stand (?), smiling after a try at the Flying 200m

Time flew by, it got colder, dusk neared, and it was time to go, as the facility began to shut down.

Industrial strength rollers for riders to warm up before the race.

More rollers, Hiroshi with his Nagasawa track bike,
and the entrance to the area where the keirin riders were hanging out.

Track Party!

Through work that my office is assisting with related to a charitable project (the Oranda-jima Foundation) to help the recovery of Yamadamachi in Iwate Prefecture from this year's devastating tsunami, I happened to be at a meeting last week where Jan Remie, the manager of Rabobank's Tokyo branch, and Harada-san, one of the other Rabobank Tokyo executives, mentioned that they were a prime sponsor of the opening event planned for today at the new velodrome in Shuzenji on the Izu Peninsula.  I immediately mentioned an interest in attending, and was delighted when Jan said that it might be possible -- as a guest, in the "midfield" seating in the center of the arena.  On Thursday this week I was told by Okawa-san of Rabobank that there was a second ticket available, so ended up planning a day in Izu with Jerome.

We drove down, and parked at the new velodrome at the Cycle Sports center.

We hopped on our bikes for the trip down into Shuzenji proper, headed South through central Izu, then East up over Hiekawa Toge (Frozen River Pass!) and down to Ito on the coast -- a delightful road I remember riding with David J., Juliane and MOB back in Golden Week of 2008.  Then a quick spin up the coast with wind at our backs, and onto Route 19 for the climb up over the Izu Skyline and part of the way down the western slope to complete the loop back to the velodrome.  The weather was spectacular, and even on a ride of less than 50 km, we were able to manage about 1000 meters of climbing.

Jerome heads up the forested climb to Hiekawa Toge -- no traffic!

The velodrome is great.  The wooden track looks beautiful and very fast, and the building is nice, new, functional, but not over-the-top extravagant.  I suspect that Keirin revenues paid for it.  After watching the day's festivities, I really want to try to ride on a track.

Thank you, Rabobank, for sponsoring a great event, and for raising money in support of a good cause.

I bought some Rabobank gloves, helmet, t-shirt, and a cap -- profits to go to the Yamadamachi relief effort.  I would have bought everything else they had for sale, including socks and a winter-weight long sleeve jersey ... but they were at least 2 sizes too small.  If you want to buy some similar gear, let me know and I will see if I can get it for you -- with the profits to go to Yamadamachi recovery.

For a cycling fan, this was a dream event.  Theo Bos, Olympic silver medalist and five time world champion at various track events, was there.

Late in the day, Mario Cipollini made a surprise appearance, and even raced and won in a team sprint event with Elia Viviani of Liquigas and another Italian rider.

Cipollini (center) and Viviani (right), in the glare of the spotlights

Cipollini still has quite a motor at age 44, and 22-year old Viviani cleaned up, winning multiple events during the day.

Liquigas' Elia Viviani and Saxobank's Michael Morkov await the medal ceremony after their victory over Rabo, a Japan national track team pair and numerous other pairs in the Madison.  They manage to find time to give an autograph to an eager fan in a Chinese dress.

Of course, the Japan national track team, and numerous Keirin stars joined.  There was a special Keirin race featuring the Japan national road racers -- including Fumi Beppu, Yukiya Arashiro, Yukihiro Doi and Takashi Miyazawa (who has recently joined Farnese Vini, several of whose Italian riders were in Shuzenji today).  41-year old Shinichi Fukushima, their sempai, won the event.

Beppu and Arashiro, looking relaxed and happy, post-race.

Jerome has told me in the past that he once helped Fumi Beppu get his French visa when Fumi first started racing in Europe.  Now, I finally can confirm that the story is true, and Beppu-san still appears grateful to Jerome.  He also seems to speak quite decent French.  Chapeau, Monsieur Beppu!

Up close to the competitors and, more important, their track bikes

And of course, there were the women's races.  Did you think Fassa Bortolo quit sponsoring a cycling team?  Wrong.  They still have a team, just slightly more attractive than the team Koki Nagai used to work for when he was the mechanic working on bicycles for Petacchi, Bartoli and Rumsas.

Simona Frapporti accepts her victory lei and bouquet

Now it is the Fassa Bortolo Top Girls team.  Simona Frapporti won a race, and she and Silvia Valsecchi came close in others.  The Japan national track women set several "Japan Records" on the new track -- the first of many that this track will see.

Silvia and Simona, who tore up the track today

I wanted to go back again for more the next day ... now I can understand a little of the Six Days of Ghent.

Our hosts, Jan and Miranda Remie

And the Winner is ....... The Clock !

After Ravenna David and me went to two of the most cycle unfriendly cities in Italy.

The first one was the medieval town of Urbino, located inland of Rimini on the Adriatic coast. It is not that the inhabitants of Urbino have something against cyclists. Most of them are young, as an university for the fine arts is located within the walls of the city and they are most friendly to every visitor. It is just that the town was built on the top of a hill and almost every road has an gradient of 20% or more. Unfortunately I have deleted by mistake all data from my camera SD card, so I have to take a photo from the net to provide the necessary impression.

But I guess that will give the general idea of the city's layout. Once a child was presented a bicycle in the town by its parent for his birthday. He leaned it against a wall to thank his father. When he turned his head again it was gone and some seconds later one could hear a strange sound beyond the city wall far below. So the legend goes. It is the Mortirolo of the cities. David and me indulged in arts and culture there but our time was cut short by the deadline for the rental car return in another town in Northern Italy.


When we arrived there I thought that the tarmac of the major roads might be a little bit too wet for my taste. Also no cyclists were seen in the streets. Later we learned that cycling is indeed not allowed within the city. As is roller skating, skateboarding and scooters. Instead the town has two major themes if you look at the buildings:
Ground floor: Decay, mould and mortality
First Floor and above: Art and culture.


Yes, David and me went to the town to select the Positivo Espresso Art Prize Winner 2011. And we are proud to announce that the winner is:


CHRISTIAN MARCLAY


For his groundbreaking artwork: THE CLOCK. which is displayed at the Bienale 2011.
If you would like to have more info about THE CLOCK, please check out these Links:


The Clock at the Bienale
As explained by the BBC
As shown (excerpts)
The Artist at Wiki

After we have completed this task with great bravado, we spend another night in our **L hotel and parted ways the next day. During the course of two weeks David and me have spend almost every minute of each and every day and night together. We were only separated when we proceeded with different speeds during the Transalp race and when we went to places where men tendentiously go alone to. Not once we fought or argued during these two weeks and during the race we mostly worked perfectly well together for mutual success. Thank you, David. So here is a snippet from Pasolini's movie "The Canterbury Tales" which I dedicate to our  Alp adventure.



Silver Rides

The extened "Silver Week" is now finally over and a lot of riding has taken place. It started exactly one week ago.

On Sunday Ludwig and me met in Ome, had breakfast with "Aurore" the French mistress of the equally French bakery which is beloved by everybody and headed out in direction Chichibu. We tried to find Tom's new road but had initially some problems. Not sure, neither Ludwig nor me are efficient explorers of new frontiers and we use google maps for the way to the toilet in our house.The matter was complicated by the fact that a Japanese rider tried to draft with us. When we let him do some work in the front he drifted against the curb in a right curve and almost fell just in front of me. That was enough: we increased the speed and almost had him completely exhausted when we noted that we had lost the way.But then we found the road and it was beautiful indeed. No traffic, lot's of up and downs and a beautiful view into the main Chichibu valley leading to Yamabushi pass. After lunch a TT up to Yamabushi and a lunch at Shomaru we went down on the other side and up to Karibazaka. Many riders were out there and we continued along the green line to Sadamine pass, then took a turn North and went up the backroad over Kayunita pass to Nihongi. Boldly we decided to go further and discovered some new passes, such as Samugami, before we finally arrived at Nagatoro, the famous gorge which is mentioned in every sightseeing pamphlet about Saitama (although there aren't many).

From there onwards we rode further North and rode over Mase pass, a somewhat harder than expected climb before we finally arrived at this Shinkansen Station which is supposed to actually have a meaning. Somewhat. I am talking about Waseda-Honjo.

A nice ride and something more of Chichibu discovered.

The next day I rode to Shibuya to register for the Cycle Messenger World Championship. An event which is tailor made for me. I realized this when I came to the registration bar: I was the only guy with a road bike and also the only one who demounted by moving the right leg over the rear wheel. Everybody else swings the right leg in front, get somehow ride of the hands and the handle and turns the leg over the handle bar. Still much to learn. I checked for the jerseys but they were sold out already - only S size left. Also the XL t-shirts were gone. At least I got a free snicker bar. The registration was chaotic. David also wanted to register, but despite the fact that he went there two times he couldn't in the end.

My ID card was still in the made but I had to leave as I wanted to visit Positivo with my son and choose his new bike. We made a very reasonable choice (I hope). I would have loved to make the less reasonable choice.

On Wednesday Graham, Michael and me met at precisely the same spot in Ome and rode out in direction Chichibu again. WE took the fast run route this time. I "pushed" Michael over Yamabushi, staying behind him and applying psycho-terror tactics in order to make him fast over the hill. That worked pretty well and he made it in about 20 minutes up.

After a fast run on route 299 and the Laurent/Dominic/mob 7-Eleven on road 140, we continued until the intersection with road 37 and made a turn to the North. From there onwards we found the perfect point to follow our main tradition "the pointless ride".

You see, every time Michael, Graham and me are riding out, perhaps also in a group with other riders, we are obliged to do at least one stretch to an obscure location which involves heavy climbing and does not serve any other purpose than to arrive at this point for the sake of arriving at this point. We started this tradition this year, when I volunteered to show James, Michael and Graham the entrance to the incredible steep climb up on Mitake mountain, completely forgetting that the road to the entrance is already longer and steeper than anything we normally climb anyway. All of them were very favorably impressed and our bold undertaking and my leadership skills were the topic of many conversations made when the rest of the tour led the group up to Kazahari Toge in great pains.

So this time we decided to make a pointless climb up to Tsuchizaka Toge, a nice 700 m high pass connecting West Saitama with the Eastern Democratic Republic of Gunma-ny, famous for strong winds and tough women (Angela Merkel, and some 100 kg female hammer throwers, shot putter and discuss virgins). As the border was tightly controlled by tough women that hide so well that they were not seen AND this was our pointless ride anyway, we went back where we came from and rode further North to enjoy a fast lunch at a "michi no eki".

Michael and me took a new Keirin "0,00%" beer and when we tasted it we found out that was something missing. It was not only the alcohol but also any hint of taste similar to beer. I found also out that Graham is the other person in Japan who has read Julian Barnes. He is also the only person in Japan who has read "Peeling the onion" by Guenter "Waffen SS" Grass in a simplified English version.

And when we continued to ride and I wanted to shoot a photo, I was stil so dizzy by 0.00% of alcohol, that I forgot to un-cleat the leg I wanted to stand on and felt flatly on the road, much to the amusement of Michael who continued to tease me about the lack of alcohol resistance for the rest of the ride.

And then we made it to Nagatoro again. Beautiful and serene it is indeed. Actually it is so quiet, that almost all tourists who come there fall asleep immediately as we can see in the photos below. Also Michael, Graham and me took a nap and we woke up when we were kissed by a beautiful prince. But this is a different story. Again, a fast ride over Mase pass, one of my new favorites and then further on to Waseda-Honjo where we took the Shinkansen home, had a real beer in the train and made it home well in time for everybody's mongen.

The following two days were stuffed with commuting 41 km to the university and doing a training ride for the track race event of the CMWC at the Tsurumi river close to my home.

And then on Saturday I rode to the Keio Kaku and wanted to take part in the CMWC race there. The usual bunch of gaijins and Japanese messengers was already there: more tattoos could be seen than on the bodies of the Kansai chapter of the Yamaguchi-gumi, piercings enough to supply raw material for the great leap forward in China and haircuts like I would have had if I would been 20 today. Fine.

Then they didn't let me register because I was on a road bike. You can read the whole ordeal here on their blog site where I vented my complete frustration which these guys who are as flexible as the Hamamatsu police officials when I asked for my driving permit in 1998. OK, they are dressed differently, but the concrete in the head unfortunately remains the same.

Luckily David was there so I didn't felt so alone and after we have watched the TT event we decided to ride out on Onekan, have a coffee and talk about our favorite subjects: International Law and Jerome.

I was still so angry that I decided to ride to Takao and try to achieve a good time at Otarumi, which I did - first time below 14 minutes despite the wind plus with a heavy rucksack on the back.

And as I was still angry I thought that I could also add Yabitsu on top of this, so I continued. I started the climb at precisely 5 PM and when I made it to the top it was already pitch dark. Strange noises in the Forrest, wild animals and "warumono" cracking through the underwood ... alone almost as scary as Sasago tunnel.Then down on the other side - very slowly in the dark and right into a big matsuri at Hadano. Luckily the famous bento capitol of the world was still open and I had an excellent Oknomiyaki for 240 Yen.

In the end it was a beautiful day. Or a beautiful night.
So what's next : Yokohama endurance race on Saturday !

Kawasaki Pista Track

Hiroshi kindly invited me over to the Keirin Track Training today in Kawasaki. I was late and the start was rather unusual.

As I left home in a hurry I had no time to take a look at a map and find out the precise location of the Kawasaki Keirin Track called URBAN BANK. I have been there in January and I thought that I would find it easily, but I found myself wandering aimlessly around before I could find a map. Ah, there it was, the characteristic oval on the map, just a couple of corners away .... and there I was at the entrance and between the track and me was only an older guard man. Who refused to let me in. I insisted. I explained that the club of my friends was training inside. I strongly pointed out that I need to go in now. He didn't budged. I said:

"Look, I have been riding with the club there on my bike already in January!" "On the horse track?"

Oh. One look at the signpost at the gate and I had to admit that he was right, I didn't rode to the Keirin track but to the nearby horse racing (keiba) track.

So I was very late for the training.

Hiroshi was already there and in good mood. We rode some laps at low speed, then went up and down the banks until we gathered a group of five riders and started to draft around the track. The speed was picking up and after a while we have lost almost all riders. There was a group of three left and Hiroshi was already pulling his third lap in the front when I had to give up as well.

There were some obvious reasons for this:

a) a strong headwind on the finishing straight
b) my legs were still tired from
1) The Hitachi Naka Four Hour Endurance Race
2) My venture up Dosaka some days ago
3) Playing squash the day before
c) neither Hiroshi nor anyone of his friends provides adequate draft for me while
d) I provide draft for a line of riders which would stretch almost over one lap.


After that we took some more slow laps, I tried some more high banks and fast runs and then we did some other fast laps but I couldn't outdo Hiroshi today. But I will train hard.

I did maybe 80 km on the track today but my legs are extremely tired afterwards. When I went on the scale at home afterwards I was finally below 90 kg for the first time since ...I don't know....and as a non-smoker perhaps for a first time since 1994 (When I was working in China. There were no cigarettes available except for some very nasty varieties and there was almost no edible food there as well.)

I like the track riding very much. I really have to make an effort to follow Hiroshi and I feel that I am getting stronger by riding hard. This has probably a better effect on my body than some of the longer trips.

Thank you Hiroshi for taking me there. we also spoke about a road which branches off from the (Sagamiko) descent of Otarumi Toge and goes first to a place called Bijotani (Valley of the beautiful women) and then further on to the backside of Wada Toge. Must go there.

So I am now very tempted to apply for the JCRC "Try the bank" event in Omiya in August. Anybody interested to join me?

Photos courtesy of Hiroshi. I tried to rotate them into correct position but in vain. Please note that my new Positivo Espresso bib shorts are still in the washing machine. I have to speak a serious word with my better half.


UPDATE. I rotated them for you.. Jimmy Shin.

Kawasaki Keirin Track

After staying in Shibuya late yesterday night with my son and doing the things young people usually do in Shibuya [to be precise: playing table tennis and eating cheese fries at Outback], I decided that I should not go through all the hassle of riding out to Chichibu or some other mountainous place just to end up in piles of knee-deep snow. Instead I had an invitation from Hiroshi to join him and his clubmates for a training session at the Kawasaki Keirin.

I got ready at home after checking the way to the track and packed the usually things plus, as this was the first time and Japanese customs requires to be polite and bring some presents, I took a handful of Haribo Lakritz Schnecken with me. These are tycpical German sweets which look like rolls of low grade Pakistan made industrial cables and taste alike.It takes only 30 minutes from my house on route 140 to Kawasaki station, I arrived on time. The road is not too bad and there is even a river, Tsurumikawa where one can ride stretches of the ride on a cycling/pedestrian way just as in case of the Tamagawa. I was surprised how big and well developed the area around Kawasaki station is, completely different from my image where I put Kawasaki in the file lettered "insignificant".

Actually for a very long time I have not been in Kawasaki at all. I mean, yes I have been in Kawasaki but the purpose was not to go to Kawasaki but to pass through, either on the way to Yokohama or to Tokyo. I have exactly three roads through Kawasaki, Dai-Ichi Keihin or Dai-San Keihin, if I am riding a car, the other one Nakahara Kaido if I am on my bike. This is my whole experience of the town which is insignificant indeed.
Apart from that I have been in Kawasaki one time and that was in 1991 or 1992, going to Club Quattro to watch STAR CLUB, a Japanese Punk Band which a friend from Switzerland called Urs (all male Swiss are called Urs, that is similar to Kims and Parks in Korea) recommended to me as the Toten Hosen of Japan. After watching them, I believe there were more the Plastic Bertrands of Japan [Thanks Tom for reminding me of this guy when you wrote your blog recently].

In summary, my image of Kawasaki developed through the years like this:

• 1977 : "Hey, these are the cool green motorbikes that my hero Yvon du Hamel is riding"
• 1991 : "Star Club is playing there too!"
• 1992 : "The environmental problem between Tokyo and Yokohama [Tokyo Journal]"

followed by a long time of nothing and which has now completely changed again.

Hiroshi waited for my at the parking place. I gave him some Lakritz for welcome, he managed to eat them well. The parking space was packed with cars of the spectators, did they come to watch us? Was I am going to race immediately? Of course not, a lot of people come to the Keirin stadium, owned by the city of Kawasaki, to watch the Keirin races at other places on the big screen and place some bets.

Why would anybody wanted to do that, if one can sit at home, have a glass of beer, a bowl of octopus on sticks in front of you and a nice warm blanket over your feet and one can place his bets over the Internet? Well, I guess the answer is that one also have a wife, kids in the midst of puberty, things to do and and and and at home so it might be better to escape and spend the day in freezing cold on the stands of the Kawasaki Keirin and watch TV. I guess this is called "public viewing" today, a phenomena almost exclusively experienced by males in their forties and fifties.
Hiroshi was so kind to show me around, so I could take a look at a hall with rollers, where the Keirin pro warm up before the races, including ventilators in front and ashtrays on the bench. I also took a look at the parking place where the pro bikes were standing; I saw a Kalavinka bike, so nicely described in this wonderful book : "The accidental office lady." He also explained to me the basic differences compared to road bikes. Not the obvious things, but the finer details, such as there is almost no distance between the lower tube and the front wheel.

We then went inside and met some of the other guys. About 20 or 30 riders were presented from various teams, the atmosphere was relaxed and there was not much club mood. No exercising, no long pep speeches, no long explanation of the rules. Very nice indeed for a change. Juliane and me have some experience with Japanese club riding and we didn't like the set of rules prevailing there.

We then started to ride on the track. Tracks in Japan are either 333.33 m or 400 m long, this one being the later type. The direction is always counter clockwise, which fits me well as I am much better in left corners than in rights. From the inside to the inside, there is a green marked part and a red marked one which is for warming up and almost flat. This is followed by a small part in green which is enclosed by two white lines. The inner one of these two white lines is precisely 400 meters long. This is the normal racing part where one rides during the race, mostly in a draft line. There is a slight inclination on the curved banks but not too much. Then further up is another yellow line, about halfway of the width of the track.
First we went in a group of seven riders, starting slowly at 20 km/hr but accelerated equally slowly until 40 km/hr. We took turns in the lead after each lap. The pace was fast, but I could follow almost until the end. The last laps were at 46 km/hr and there it became increasingly difficult for me to hang on. It takes some power to concentrate on going at the same speed all the time, not faster, not slower, not to leave any gaps to the rider in front and keeping the same distance. It is not allowed to shift gears or to brake, so everything has to be managed with pedal power.

As I had no fixed gear bike, I could brake while continue to pedal but I rarely did. When I was in danger to overtake somebody, I climbed up on the bank in the curves only a little and that decreased the speed sufficiently.

The level of concentration is similar to riding in a a group during a race. I tried my best to keep pedaling all the time, not to use the brakes or shift the gears.The general feeling is a litle bit like on a home trainer, there is no change in position on the bike which I generally dislike because my butt starts hurting after some time. As long as one goes at the same speed I managed well, but sometimes there was some confusion when we overtook other groups and I started to brake or to shift out of habit.

After 40 minutes or so we made a break and after that we tried it again. This time we moved up to the highest point of the bank. When looking to the right, everything is normal, just riding along a fence. But when I looked down to the left and I saw the inclination and the height I didn't felt too good. But I got used to that. Hiroshi showed me how to get down from the high line in the curves to the two white lines and accelerate, taking all the momentum. One can easily go up to 50 km/hr.

I then felt strong and stayed with another group making more laps. Then another break. I talked to some of the other guys and everybody was very friendly. I spotted also Ms. Takamatsu, JCRC women champion of 2007 from Maglia Rosa, who I have seen at some JCRC races here at there this year.

Then I did a last try and went as fast as I could, followed by some laps to regain power, so some kind of interval training. Just for the fun of it I did 1.000 meter time trial and with flying start and I could do below 1.30 min which would be more than 40 km/hr average, but there is still a long way to go to achieve a good time with standing start, which should be around 1:15 min a guess.

I must say that everybody was very friendly and helpful and the atmosphere was nice, just the right balance of being taken care of but also left in peace. I personally felt much more powerful when I left the venue and I thought that this would be a good training to gain more stamina and absolute speed, something which comes in handy when thinking of the races I would like to do in 2009: endurance and flat course short races.

I distributed the remaining Lakritz to everybody as a token of gratitude. Not sure if this was appreciated. Then I rode home. which felt strange. I mean it felt good to change position from time to time and to get out of the saddle. But I tried not to brake and not to shift gears and to keep pedaling, I just couldn't get used fast to my usual style.

My thanks go to Hiroshi who as so kind to introduce me to track racing and to Tom who introduced me to Hiroshi. I would like to do it again in the near future. It is good to know that there are still so many things left in cycling which can be explored. Not only track racing but maybe I need also a mountain bike to do the remaining stretch of route 76 next year.

When I came home I found out that Hiroshi has already updated his blog about todays training. I got a very positive review and the Lakritz I have given him found their way into the glass heart of the family.

Track Racing

This is somewhat on a short notice, but I am going to train today with Hiroshi and his Kawasaki Pista Club on the Kawasaki track race which is located here:


大きな地図で見る

If you like to join, please give me a call. We meet at 12.30 hr today. It is OK to race on your normal racing bike, no track bike is required. You just need the usual stuff (helmet, gloves).