Jerome qualifies for PBP

The big fish at Omaezaki Port

I rode my 3rd Okitsu Classic 600km this weekend -- the previous two being in 2013 and 2015.

This time, the main goal was that Jerome qualify for PBP. (I already did so with my Tasmania series, so was just "along for the ride" and the training.)  He had chosen really, really tough 300km and 400km events, and so it was with some relief that I joined him for this 600km brevet.

ONLY ~6000 meters or so of elevation gain (ridewithgps says 6800m, route labo says 5605m, my GPS unit recorded 5900+), on a course that was familiar and offered many rewards. The weather forecast looked good -- dry and not too hot nor too cold, tailwinds along the coast near the start!

But it was not easy. 600km never is. The main surprise was a very stiff headwind on the return leg, that slowed us (and others) to a crawl and forced us to manage our time carefully on what otherwise should have been a fast return course.

As we neared Okitsu on Friday night, Jerome mentioned that he did not bring a reflective vest. He planned to get by with only a reflective "slow moving vehicle" triangle. I groaned -- what if the Audax staff did not let him start? Or someone complained during the ride? It depends on the group, but many local groups in Japan would not accept just a rear triangle. I gave him my extra rear triangle and he rigged a front/rear set on his back and chest. If the AJ Kanagawa staff complained, I would give him my vest. If his wheel was not rideable, I would give him my wheel. If he needed spare tubes, he could have mine. (He only brough two extra tubes -- not much for a 600k). After all, for this weekend, I was riding as his "domestique".

Jerome's jerry-rigged reflective gear.
(His shoes and helmet already make him the most visible rider during daylight).

We were off to a fast start a few minutes before 6AM. Jerome and I made excellent progress through Shimizu, along the Strawberry Line, then the Okuzure Kaigan.  He got a bit ahead of me on the short climb there when I stopped for a photo, and I only saw him again after descending into Yaezu.

From Okuzure Kaigan

More, from Okuzure Kaigan

There he was, alongside the road, off his bicycle. "I think I have a flat" -- he had a very soft rear tire.  So we rolled slowly to the next convenience store, guaranteed to be within a few hundred meters anywhere on this stretch of Pacific coast, and took a premature first break.  (Jerome was using a large "bikepacker" underseat bag, which had the benefit of holding everything he could want, but the detriment of no outer/separate pockets, and he needed to remove it entirely from his bike to dig out a spare tube.) After the tire change and a snack, and another 5 minutes or more to put the bag back on, we were back on the road!

My setup -- Imezi167 55mm rim tubeless-ready wheels. Fast!
My first try using a in-frame bag instead of front bag.

About 15 minutes later, Jerome slowed, "I think I have another flat". This time, we were just across from a "Workman" store selling work clothes and accessories.  We pulled in and Jerome went and bought a reflective vest while I worked on the tube/tire change.

After two flats in the first hour or so, I suggested he should put on his new, spare tire.  Only after I had installed the new tire as he was shopping in Workman did Jerome look at the just-removed tube and see that it had been patched before ... and was probably leaking. The flats, at least the second one, had nothing to do with the rear tire! I should have checked carefully. Jerome swore he thought he had brought "new" spare tubes, not patched ones. Anyway, I gave him one of my spare tubes, so he still had one more to go. No vest. Old tubes ... not the careful planning that a 600km ride PBP qualifier merits, I thought. Okay, maybe I said it out loud -- among friends, right?

With this 30 minute delay we were a bit late into the Omaezaki control, despite a good pace and tailwind. We had one more unscheduled stop, in Kakegawa, where we passed a Cycle Base Asahi and Jerome bought additional tubes and even another tire (?). I could not resist taking a photo of the giant fish across from the Omaezaki control, even though I had one from 2015. This time I would get the full tail in the photo frame!

This should have been an easy part of the ride, from Omaezaki through Kakegawa, Iwata, north of Hamamatsu and near Tenryu, but the weather was humid, the air heavy. Even with a tailwind and cloud cover to protect from direct sun, it felt hot and was not easy.

Fresh green growth on the hillside

After PC2, we headed north into the hills. Our course veered through Aichi Prefecture (Shinshiro), then gradually climbed along river valleys and ups and downs, through Toei and up to Niino Pass (Elev 1050). It was a very gradual climb, so the work just crept up on me.

I did not take many photos. I had a photo from 2015 of the giant "bottle" of regional sake with the mark 空 ("kuu") on the side. No need for another photo.  I had photos of the wild masked creature on the mouth of a tunnel -- local "monsters" who appear during the flower festival. The signs told us this was the road of the flower festivals (花祭りの道). I'm afraid we were a month late for the festival. But I appreciated the lush greenery, and the low traffic volume. This is a hidden corner of Aichi.

Eventually we were over Niino Pass, and down the other side. We were going down, but there was still plenty of up mixed in with the down. We stopped just before 8PM at Anan, the first convenience store in 50kms or so along Route 151. Jerome was flagging -- even more than me -- his lack of sleep over previous days and weeks catching up with him. I searched for a basic business hotel in Iida on my iPhone. The ones that Google found for me were all up the grindingly long hill by the train station (or in an entirely different town), way off of our route.

But with a bit of work on which areas I showed on the map, I finally got Google to point out the "Southern Cross Inn", just off our course. They had rooms available. Non-smoking rooms (the entire building, in fact, was non-smoking). Change does come to Japan, just slowly. The cost? 3000 yen each, plus 8% tax. Almost laughably cheap. We were at the inn by 915PM, still only 270km or so done, but Jerome especially needed the sleep, and I would not complain about it. We could only rest from 930PM-1240AM, and needed to be back on the road by 1AM in order to have enough time to reach the PC at Omachi, north of Azumino.

Just after dawn from outside of Shiojiri

It was very, very hard to get back on the bike after a short sleep -- for me only an hour or two, I think. I felt better after a 2AM "breakfast" stop at a 7-11, the only other customers 4 teenagers, 2 boys and 2 girls out on a cheap Saturday night date playing catch in the massive parking lot.

The stretch from Iida to Ina and up the hill through Tatsuno to Shiojiri is a gradual climb, barely noticeable, but interspersed with plenty of rolling hills. At least there is a new highway that includes bridges over some significant dips. I do not remember these new sections from 2013 or 2015, though I could be wrong.

Japan Alps hidden in clouds over Azumino

More Japan Alps .. this time with rice paddies.

Irises. There were lots of flowers nearby.

We arrived at the northern turn around, in Omachi north of Azumino, with 40 minutes to spare. We left almost 30 minutes after the control closing time. A long rest, and more tire changing. Jerome headed out with his new (from Cycle Base) tire on the rear, and shifted his new (brought along) front-wheel specific Giant P-SLR2 tire to the front. No more flats the rest of the ride! Trouble-free the last 500km+!

Swapping tires and tubes ... means off with the bikepacking bag, again.

Now Jerome pulled me. We made it through Matsumoto, and I suggested we stop for some food. I knew Jerome wanted a place to sit down, in a restaurant. Our "regular" family/chain restaurant stop is Gusto ... but before we reached the Gusto, we came upon a Gusto Steak place. Jerome loves steak during rides. Old school. I went along with the choice and ate a hamburger with fried egg. Steak at 1015AM on Sunday. We were their first customers of the day, the only ones in the place.

It was hot by now, and the headwind continued. Jerome went ahead up Shiojiri Pass (of course, this is the Jerome steak effect), waited for me almost 15 minutes at the top of the 7km climb. I had rested mid-climb where found a bit of shade. As soon as we were over the top, the wind hit hard. Wow. Gale force. I was gripping my bars on the descent, worried I would get blown into the lane of traffic by a gust. Before long we were down, through Okaya and heading along Lake Suwa. Whitecaps visible, strong, stiff breeze directly at us. Jerome was pulling me -- he loves to pull other riders in headwinds.

We made another convenience store stop between Suwa and Chino. I thought about giving up. Why continue -- just a long slog into the headwind to get to the final control by 5PM, then another long slog into the headwind to get to the finish before 10PM?

Of course, I banished those thoughts and we started the long, gradual 7.9km climb to Fujimi Pass ... never difficult, and always easier because of anticipation of the long descent on the other side. We made yet another (short) stop near the top, and we were on the descent through Hokuto ... past Hakushu, past Mukawa, entering Nirasaki. We had been leapfrogging riders continuously, but not really riding with others much. At least the wind was not quite a strong here. In Nirasaki, we turned onto Pref. Route 12 around the west edge of Minami Alps ... this is the least bad alternative, and offers a fast descent to the Fujikawa. At the turn off to Route 12, we started to ride with Hase-san, who remembered us from the "Isabella" 2016 Tohoku brevet week. Despite the headwinds and despite having left Omachi well after the cutoff, we were still 45 minutes or more ahead of the time cutoff at the last control. And were part of a big group at the control, many riders on a similar pace.

We took Yamanashi Pref. Route 9 from here -- yet another new road the next few kms. So many NEW roads have been built in Japan since I started cycling here 15 years ago, and gradually been incorporated into brevet routes.

I dreaded the ride down the Fujikawa. If the headwind continued as it had ... this would be a nearly 80km slog to the finish. I've done it before, and it is just not fun with a headwind at the end of a long ride.

New road under construction above the Fujikawa

But I need not have worried. The wind calmed to a fraction of its former self. Instead of a slog, we could relax and still make good time on the Fujikawa and enjoy the beauty of the surrounding mountains and the river all the way to Fujinomiya and Fuji! I was still riding, and already I had started to forget the pain of the heat and headwinds. Randonesia sets in early.

After we left the Fujikawa, it was just a short (15km) trip along local roads parallel to National Route 1, and we were done!

Paris Brest Paris (PBP) -- Only One More Qualifier Left for Jerome

This weekend Jerome completed the Velo Club Aoba randonneurs' "super 400" brevet.

Lots and lots of climbing

The event had around 6000 meters of elevation gain, hence the "super" designation. It started with the gradual climb to Lake Okutama then on to Yanagisawa Pass (elev. 1475m), then dipped down to Kofu, Elev. low.

The riders then climbed up to Shinshu Pass (elev. 1500m) , with some extra riding around the Crystal Line area on the Yamanashi/Nagano border, before dipping into Nagano through Kawakami-Mura, back through Nobeyama and down to Minami Alps/Kofu area again. 

Finally, there was a climb up to and through the Fuji "five lakes" area - Motosu-ko, Shoji-ko, Sai-ko, Kawaguchi-ko, and Yamanaka-ko (high point "only" elev. 1100), then a descent down Doshi Michi and back to Tokyo.

Only 25km left!

Fortunately, the riders had almost ideal riding weather. Cold in the wee hours up on Mt Fuji, but otherwise fine. None of the ice and snow that hit Jerome last month on a similar VCR Aoba 300k event.

I woke at 4AM and rode out to the Machida/Sagamihara area, past the end of Onekansendoro, to greet Jerome as he came back in. Mindful of the Audax prohibition on assistance by non-entrants, I did not let him draft and stayed away up the road as I rode back in. He was pretty thoroughly knackered, and lay down flat onto his back at the goal.

Reminds me of PBP

VCR Aoba traditional finish at the base of "hospital hill"

We stopped by Seijo Gakuen Starbucks for a quick coffee with the Tokyo Cranks on the way back into town, and I got at least 80km of riding in.

Jerome and I will both try the Okitsu Classic 600km brevet in a few weeks. I am already PBP qualified, but I need at least another 600k to keep up the endurance from Tasmania if I am to do PBP successfully. The Okitsu ride is a very nice course, one I have done twice before but not since 2015, so I look forward to it. Jerome needs this to complete his PBP qualification.

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.

Okitsu Classic Done; Going to PBP! 600km personal best ... riding the hardwood frame Renovo.

Katsuo!  At the Omaezaki Fish Market across from PC1, about to devour a vending machine.

The past weekend I joined the Kanagawa Audax-sponsored 600km Okitsu Classic. With this event, I am now done with the qualifiers for Paris-Brest-Paris and can register for that quadrennial lollapalooza of randonneuring, a 1230km romp by bicycle through the French countryside! Yippee!

View from my room - Suruga Kenko Land

We rode the Brevet in almost perfect weather, not too hot nor cold, only the lightest of rainfall on Saturday afternoon -- just enough to keep cool and never enough to make a damp road.  And of course, I rode on my new Renovo Firewood.

I read recently that the Fukuoka GW brevet week, in which riders can do a full 200, 300, 400 and 600 series, was called "Heaven Week".  So I would call this a "Heaven's 600 ride", in contrast to some other cyclist groups which try to turn every little hill into a Mt. Everest. True, there were 5300+ meters of climbing.  But that works out to less than 1000 meters per 100 kms.  Not bad for Japan. And there is only one really painful stretch -- the 120 kms between PC2 and PC3.

Riders start to bunch up just after the start.

Waiting at the red lights.  And waiting.

Alone on the "Strawberry Line"(Route 150).  Berries not in season ...

Flood plain of the Abe-gawa in Shizuoka-shi

On the old Tokaido between Shizuoka-shi and Fujieda.

No traffic on the old road between Shizuoka and Fujieda

Typical village in the coastal hills

Tea on the hillsides

The first 160kms, Start to PC2, were very fast.  I departed near the middle of a long line of riders -- 75 or 80 starters, I think.  Quickly the groups separated into 5-15 people each, waiting at red traffic lights.  Just the start-up at a traffic light takes a long time as each rider clips into his/her pedals and launches slowly forward.  And it is impossible to time the lights -- accelerate when you see a walk signal turn from constant green to blinking and know you can just make it if you hurry. In these early sections the Japanese randonneurs tend to accelerate very quickly from lights -- using excess energy, in my view -- but top out at too slow a speed for me.  Worse, they do not rotate at all at the front, so on a long stretch the group's speed gradually slips.  I want none of it, this burning energy yet going slowly, so this time as in other rides spend the first 15-20 minutes trying to race through all these lines and get to the front.

First view of the Rapha boys -- stylish vests!

Okumura-san's flowing hair -- his most noticeable feature from the back

This time, I managed to clear the long lines of riders, and found myself all alone along the "Strawberry Line" coast southeast of Shizuoka City.  After a climb over the small hill between Shizuoka and Fujieda, I find myself riding with Himei-san and Shukuzawa-san, both clad in Rapha brand vests and clothes.  These "Rapha boys" and I eventually join with Yo Okumura, who is on his beautiful Cherubim bike and recognizes me from a similar encounter at the front of the pack on this year's January Nishi Tokyo 200 brevet.  Yo has flowing long black hair, ... so it is always a bit of a surprise to pull up next to him and see his thick grey stubble beard.

Anyway, eventually Yo and I pull away (actually, he pulls me), and we continue at high speed to PC1.  I pull part of the way, but mostly just enjoy the ride drafting off of him.  My average moving speed for the first 80 kms -- over 29 kph.

The Renovo proves itself a great bike for this kind of riding -- I am on 700x28 tires -- fatter than I have used in the past, with slightly lower pressure (80 psi vs 95-100).  And I have a wood-framed bicycle -- a naturally shock-absorbing material.  The set up is a kilogram or so heavier than my lightest carbon framed bike, and with a longer wheelbase.  The result?  I am cruising in great comfort at higher than normal speed!

It is at least 5 minutes before any other riders arrive at PC1 (the Rapha boys are next), and just as I am settling into my snack, Yo is up and gone.  Already?  And I had thought he might be tired from that long, fast pull!

Anyway, I leave PC1 about the same time as the Rapha boys, catch them after a quick photo stop, then lose them again when I slow to take a picture of the Hamaoka nuclear plant in the distance.  For what seems like the next 50 kms, I am losing them, catching them, again and again.  Anyway, I feel much better than when I did a nearly identical ride in 2013.  This time I am at PC2 at 160 kms before 12:30PM.

Hamaoka nuclear facility (and wind farm) in the distance.  Once styled the "most dangerous place in the world" for a nuclear reactor.  Now with a sea wall 1.6 km long and 22 meters high.

Typical central Shizuoka - tea and sprawl.

Planting season for the rice farmers.  At first I was a bit frustrated, stuck behind him as trucks whizzed close by.
Then I realized it would make a good picture, relaxed and got out the camera.

I got a wave back and even what I take for a smile!

Community flower garden along Route 151 after PC2.  I passed literally hundreds such flower beds.

After PC2 we enter the hills and the pace slows markedly.  Many riders pass me.  I struggle toward a high point.  Then another slow, gradual climb to Niino Pass, the high point of the entire ride (it seems to be a few meters higher than Shiojiri Pass).  After Niino Pass, there is a big fast, curvy descent.  The Renovo is very stable and quiet on the descent -- no chattering over bumps and rough spots.  So I keep my hands off the brakes much of the time, and go FAST, definitely faster than in 2013.  When I do brake, the disk brakes are silky smooth, easy to adjust with slight squeeze or release.

Somewhere in the mountains of Eastern Aichi Prefecture on Route 151.

The Renovo next to one of MANY, MANY streams and rivers.

Small village across a big bridge from Route 151.

Get your kicks on Route 151?

More new green growth.

Near the confluence of two rivers

More eastern Aichi.  Always an expressway somewhere high up in the distance.

As I stop for photos and snack, riders start to pass me.

Same bridge, other direction.

Still in Toei, eastern Aichi

The climbs continue, the flowers continue.

I switch on my new Supernova E3 Pro dynamo light -- I have no problems at all riding at night with this, powered by my SP Dynamo SD-8 -- borrowed from my commuter bike for this ride since it is my only current dynamo hub for disk brake.  Thanks again to Vic Chen for a night of trouble free, good visibility riding.  Another rider follows me for long stretches between Shiojiri and Azumino.  I let him pass at times, since his lights are driving me crazy -- pointed too high, and not adjusted to keep out of the eyes of the occasional car or truck that approaches.  Of course, the vehicles reciprocate with high beams, and I feel like I am flooded from front and rear.  Eventually, at the Michi no Eki Azumino Horigane no Sato, I pull off for a rest and get away from his lights.  I am thankful for the E3 Pro and dynamo - just the right light in just the right place this trip.

Approaching Anan Town now in Southern Shinano.

Many more cat naps, 30 minutes' rest at a Family Mart cafe before Shiojiri, and an hour of sleep at a Gusto in Matsumoto, get me rested enough so I can summit Shiojiri Pass and Fujimi Pass in the morning, then roll down the hill to Nirasaki/Minami Alps.

The Alps west of Azumino, at dawn (4:33AM).  This is where I broke a spoke and nearly lost it on the my first 600 km event back in 2010 -- the Chubu Audax event over Nomugi Pass and to Kawanakajima from, then back to Nagoya.

Lake Suwa on a beautiful Sunday morning

The park on the west side of Lake Suwa

Farmers planting on the gradual climb from Chino to Fujimi

The famed Suntory Hakushu distillery and whiskey museum -- for another trip.

Minami Alps from Hakushu

Minami Alps from Mukawa ... beautiful if only they would put the power lines on the bridge or away from the view!

Reunited with the Rapha boys, on Yamanashi Route 12 approaching Route 52

As I continue on Route 12 through Minami Alps, who should approach from the rear -- the Rapha Boys!  I am surprised to be ahead of them.  Apparently they got a real rest at the Shiojiri Kenko Land.  Later on as we approach the last checkpoint, Yo Okumura again rides up to us.  "I thought you would be at the finish by now!"  No, apparently he also rested at the Kenko Land and his knees were acting up.  Anyway, we get to the checkpoint within a minute of each other, and it is great to be riding with people who I thought had left me far in the dust.   They do so again, however, and the three of them all finish 30-60 minutes ahead of me, my lack of sleep catching up.

At last, down the Fujikawa

More Fujikawa

The last of many nasty little hills on the Fujikawa.
This shows the middle 1/3 of the climb.  The lower part is steeper.

The finish in sight!

In any event, it was a really nice 600km.  Not too painful at any time, and plenty of leeway against the clock so no worries about whether I would make the time deadlines.  A few more long rides like this, and I will start booking hotels again so I can get better sleep.

17 riders were faster (but none under 31 hours), and 50 riders were slower, among the 68 finishers. Not bad.  My time was 34:27, as opposed to 37:05 in 2013 when stiffness and sore ribs punished and slowed me.  An improvement of 2 hours 38 minutes -- not bad.  And almost 90 minutes faster than I have ever done a 600km ride.  Not bad at all!  

Maybe it was the Renovo and its comfortable setup?  Or maybe I am getting into strong physical condition?

Am I confident that I can finish PBP?  Yes.  

The upcoming SR600?  That will be a real challenge, at the very limit of my ability.

The first 475 kms - recorded with Garmin Edge 800 -- until it died
(as often happens on multi-day rides)

Last 115 kms, after I realized the Garmin was dead ...
and switched to iPhone and ridewithGPS for recording the remainder.