A Lovely March 20 -- 200km ride in Chiba ... by AJ Tamagawa

I've done AJ Chiba rides that never entered Chiba. I've done an Audax Nihonbashi SR600 in Fukushima (and a corner of Yamagata), nowhere near Nihonbashi.  So I guess it should not have surprised me that AJ Tamagawa had a brevet course that is nowhere near the Tamagawa river, and instead goes back and forth across Chiba!

The course looked like a perfect 200km for late Winter/early Spring. And the start was near Funabashi Station, just over the border from Tokyo into Chiba. This was an easy train ride from Shinagawa, not too far from my house. It was as if the event had been designed for people coming from Tokyo! ... as most of the Tamagawa regulars would be doing. This event was listed as the Tamagawa group's Audax Japan 20th anniversary celebratory brevet. I guess all the local clubs are supposed to designate one of their rides this year for such treatment. And I think this course was good enough to merit the distinction.

For a start that was easy to get to, there was a trade-off of some urban riding the first and last 30 kms, until well past the center of Chiba City.  Some of this was nice, open, along Tokyo Bay past Makihari. In the morning there was almost no traffic. But on the way back it was not pleasant, alongside zooming cars in the dark. I guess if I had one criticism of the course ... I might suggest they push the start further along the same train line, to somewhere near Chiba Station. They could eliminate 2/3 of the slogging and replace it with more countryside and coastline! 

This brevet, similar to the 300km in Izu last month, had a pancake flat start and finish, and a very hilly middle. In this case, the first and last 35kms was almost flat (a few gentle rollers for part of the return, but nearly flat), and the middle 130km had around 2300 meters of elevation gain.

The course profile: Flat at both ends. 2300m of elevation gain in the middle section.

Bike check

A lovely morning -- cold but it would warm up soon!

I rode out solidly in the middle of the pack (with my start group -- 20 minutes after the first wave).  

Early in the ride.

On the bigger climbs outbound, a number of smaller, lighter riders passed me, but I was still making decent time.  I kept my stops relatively short -- just a convenience store, not a sit-down meal with others, at Kamogawa, even though some riders I had been leap-frogging with mentioned that they were going for a Chinese restaurant. 

Somewhere along the reservoirs around Katakura Dam and Kameyama Dam, after the biggest climbs of the outbound leg ... but still heading up before a final descent into Kamogawa.

Leaving Kamogawa, we climbed up prefectural route 81 to Seichoji Temple -- the same climb as Jerome and I did in our "thunder snow" Chiba 200km in January 2024. 

On the coast near Kamogawa.

On the climb out of Kamogawa

But this route had an additional 500+ meters of elevation gain compared to the "thunder snow" brevet, much of it in the second half.  Instead of taking the most direct route back north, our route zigged toward the East over lots of nasty shorter climbs, eventually going to a hilltop PC called "Miharashi Terrace", then another control point in Mobara, and only then cut back toward the NW.  

Spectacular view from Miharashi Terrace

Proof of passage.

This was not the "nasty" part of the climb up.

Miharashi Terrace had a very nasty entrance climb from the main road. I walked part of it.  From there, we were riding pretty much into a headwind as we approached the Mobara checkpoint, slogging on the flat sections.

Then we finally turned NW and the wind was mostly at our backs. By the time I was up the last climb after Mobara, around 100m elevation gain, I could feel the goal approaching, almost taste it. The goal may have been 30kms away, but no more climbs, and a tailwind. 

We took a fast small road alongside, sometimes in between, various golf courses, gradually descending.  Then once we got closer to Chiba City, from Midori-ku west we took a limited access road that also was fast, below grade in some stretches but with room for bicycles.  I felt strong at the end ...  the feeling itself exhilarating after my 400k DNF and 300k slogs in recent months. 

My time was not fast -- nearly an hour slower than the "thunder snow" brevet 14 months earlier, but still under 12 hours.  The extra 500+ meters of climbing and additional urban slogging at lights explained the time. That, plus I had done only one other ride in March that exceeded 150kms, and none with over 1000 meters of elevation gain. Finishing strong made it feel like a fast ride, at least.

To get my proof-of-completion time stamped receipt, I waited what seemed like at least 5 minutes as a part-time worker slowly checked out someone buying a week of groceries at the convenience store.

I chatted with the AJ Tamagawa leader upon my arrival at the goal ... embarrassed that I don't remember his name as he is always extremely friendly and encourages me to do more of their rides (which was a natural a decade ago when I lived near their start in Futako Tamagawa, less so now). The staff gave me a "stamp card" to fill in for the Audax Japan 20th anniversary event ... which I promptly lost so will not complete, despite other rides that would "qualify" for stamps. ... there goes my chance of a door prize.

Anyway, this ride was everything I could expect in a late-winter brevet in Kanto, and Chiba has some wonderful riding country for this time of year, once you get away from the congestion near Tokyo!

After dawdling at the finish, I got back to Funabashi Station, rinko'ed my bike, and hopped the 20:04 train that got to Shinagawa 33 minutes later.

Another brevet on the Brevet -- riding in cross and headwinds, and then searching for the rear derailleur limit screws

On Saturday I joined the AR Nihonbashi 300km "around the world" brevet. Why "around the world"? Because the checkpoints were evidence of foreign culture and/or foreign enclaves in Japan -- a Dutch windmill, Thai temple, Sri Lankan temple, Brazilian grocery store, and a Mosque ... not to mention a Japanese shrine thrown in just to remind us of the host culture.

Winter brevets limit choices for the organizers. And early March can be decidedly wintry in Japan. This brevet would not have happened if it had been a day earlier, when there was snowfall in much of north Kanto, though sun and above freezing temperatures ensured it was all gone a day later. A ride in the mountains at night, on a 300km or 400km course, can be problematic. So courses tend to stick to the plain. Indeed, on the January Chiba brevet that I joined, one key goal was to get over the highest point before the "thunder snow" hit.

The difficulty with flat courses in Japan near Tokyo is that they tend to go through densely populated areas with plenty of traffic. And Saturday traffic tends to be worse than Sunday, with many more trucks out on the road. A 300km brevet usually must be held on Saturday, unless on a 3-day holiday weekend, since the finish reception for 7AM starters, for example, remains open until past 3AM the following morning. That does not work for riders or volunteers who have Monday to Friday jobs. So a winter flat brevet means a brevet with heavy traffic. Indeed, I did a winter AR Nihonbashi brevet back in 2015, and the congested traffic of that event was enough to keep me away from similar events for quite awhile. The only other option is a night-time Saturday start. That is actually my favorite if I can show up well-rested, as we are assured near zero traffic on the outbound leg and far fewer trucks on the return during the day Sunday.

On the other hand, a flat course is what I want--what I need--for the recumbent. I have done 2 previous 400 km brevets on the Pelso recumbent, plus the 1667 km ride across Honshu last Spring. But the Pelso has been gathering dust in recent months. Signing up for yesterday's event was strong motivation for me to get the bike out and put it into riding condition -- fine tune the 12-speed SRAM Eagle GX drivetrain I had got and installed last year, go back to the J-bars (I did not really like the steering tiller I experimented with briefly), and otherwise get it ready to use regularly. I managed 5 rides, each of 40-60kms, on the Pelso in the past few weeks.  Was that enough preparation to use it on a 300km brevet? I was about to find out!

The other reason I selected this brevet was its start and finish near my home. Well, the start was at Odaiba, which, as the crow flies, cannot be more than 3kms from home. Even going across the Rainbow Bridge, it is more like 5kms.  And the finish in Shinbashi/Shiodome is even closer. 

Of course, the Pelso is not easily rinko-able, so a train to the start was out of the question. And with a 630AM start it is not allowed even to walk a bike across the Rainbow Bridge (pedestrian access is from 9AM in summer, 10AM in winter). So I rode via Kachidoki/Toyosu, 11.5 kms to the start, just as far as, say, an AR Tamagawa or Randonneur Tokyo event starting near the Tamagawa. Oh well, not such a great advantage to join a Nihonbashi event when it starts in Odaiba!

Jerome also signed up for the event. I knew he would not like the flat winter course and heavy traffic, but was glad that he would do it -- some extra motivation for me to show up even if the weather was bad, to finish if the chips were down. But he registered for a 6AM start, 30 minutes before me. I got to the start location after he had left and never caught up ... but at least could communicate via text during the ride.

The forecast was for typical early March weather. A low of just around freezing and high of around 11-12 degrees C (50-55 F). But the weather forecast on Friday night warned of a "winter style" weather pattern, with stiff winds from the NW.  An online forecast showed that the winds would be strongest during the day from maybe 9AM until 4PM then gradually die down. Looking at the route, I realized the strong wind would almost exactly coincide with the time we would be riding ... to the NW. So a nasty headwind stretch of 120kms or more! The forecast proved remarkably accurate.

I left home by 540AM and was at the start area, next to a smaller replica Statue-of-Liberty in Odaiba, by 6:10. The ride to the start was lovely -- dawn rides often are near the waterfront.

After the bike check and lots of other riders admiring the Pelso (the only recumbent there, as is usually the case for events in Japan), one of the organizers said that the 630AM riders could start. No one else looked as if they wanted to lead, so I headed out. I managed to get around a corner, through a couple traffic lights, and onto the main road north past the Tokyo Big Sight convention center, and was sure any of those who started right after me must have been held up by one or more red lights.  I did not see any other participants until 23kms into the ride.

Onto the course, alone.

But I did have plenty of company. After 7AM on Saturday morning, the city was coming to life in this industrial/harbor-adjacent area. There were lots of trucks.

The route turned toward the East at around 20kms in. For the next two hours or so, I would be riding almost directly into the glare of the morning sun. This makes a huge difference riding a recumben, face upward. At night, I could see the constellation of Orion above me as I rode ... but in the morning, it was the brutal glare of the sun.

The route turns East here.

I wish we could have headed up the Arakawa.

As the route crossed the Arakawa, there was a steep ramp up to the bridge with no shoulder. I was waiting at a light with numerous trucks and did not like the idea of riding next to them up that ramp. So I went down a side road and walked my bike up the levee to the pedestrian/bike crossing on the North side of the bridge. This was fine, except I lost time, and even more time at the far end of the bridge, where cyclists and pedestrians needed to descend a looping, slow pathway. As I reached the bottom and returned to the main road, ... a group of at least 5-6 riders, a healthy share of the 630AM starters, had passed me.

I caught them at the next traffic light and trailed them for around 10kms ... until I noticed that my front tire was noticably soft. A slow leak, or open valve that got bumped from time to time? I pulled over at the next opportunity and pumped up the tire. Perhaps it would hold?  By now, we had left Tokyo Prefecture behind and were passing through Ichikawa and Narashino, Chiba. Here we were on smaller roads -- one lane in each direction, and the traffic had become heavy -- long lines of cars waiting for red lights, in some places without room to pass and pull up to the front of the line even.  This was shaping up to be a long brevet. 

Heavy traffic ... in many places without this much shoulder nor any sidewalk, and wide trucks,
 so impossible even to pass by the cars on the left.

The tire was soft again. I pulled off at a 7-11 parking lot, flipped the Pelso over, removed the front wheel, and changed the tube. The first tube I tried to insert was around 10cm too long. Very poor quality control. The second tube worked, at least, but it seemed like the change had taken 3-4 times as long as it should have. My knees were starting to hurt -- riding the Pelso does put a lot of presure on them, something I never experience with a normal upright bike -- and I had some pain in my left rib cage going back to a minor accident on the Pelso on March 1, that I think I stressed it somehow when I did some manual labor around home on Thursday, or perhaps even when slept on it Friday night. My rib injury was causing more trouble today than it had in the past week, so I was moving slowly off the bike. On the bike, reclined on the Pelso, it was not a serious problem.

New tube inserted, I was back on the road and into the congestion. This continued most of the way to PC1. Finally, we had left the city behind and were in the countryside. The PC was at a park that included a lovely, functioning windmill.

At PC1

By now, there was what felt like a gale force wind from the NNW.  We were still heading ENE, so it was a cross wind. About 500 meters beyond the PC, my Wahoo beeped at me that I was off course. I had followed 3 other riders who were continuing ahead, when the course turned left. I hollered and the nearest 2 riders (a couple), turned around. The furthest of the 3 continued along, at least for the time being. I looped around 270 degrees and then entered the side road, which went up a steep hill, 9, then 10, then 11 and 12 degrees.  I got off and walked, the couple passed me. Anyway, it was a short steep bit so I was back on the bike in under a minute. 

Wind coming at us across a lake, just past PC1

Finally, some low traffic stretches ... but the crosswind gusts were deadly.

The next part of the trip involved less traffic and even some quiet country roads, but vicious winds mostly from our left side. At points, I felt pushed across the road, even though I leaned over to the left side of the Pelso seat. It was like riding a sailboat port tacking close to the wind ... except a bicycle lacks a keel. The vicious wind continued.  I saw a couple riders headed the other direction. ... They DNFed and were headed back to town or a train station. I took some ibuprofen for my ribs and knees, which seemed to do the trick.

A few times I needed to get off the bike, the wind was so strong.  Eventually, far into the 30km stretch between the windmill PC and PC2 (at a Thai temple), the couple who had passed me on the hill ... came heading back down the road. DNF, they said. They made a good choice, I think.

At PC2, Wat Pakna, near Narita

After the second PC, we turned to the WNW. Our route would be pretty much straight into the wind from here (82kms) to the third PC at Oizumi (198kms). It was slow going, especially the first couple hours. I was creeping along at between 15-18kph, but was still passing more riders than passed me. At least the lower position of the recumbent makes it a good choice on a flat course into headwinds.

Somewhere early in this stretch, before Tsukuba, we went through an area with some short ups and downs and I downshifted, taking advantage of the wide gearing on my 1x12 drivetrain. The chain ... rode up over the innermost gear and jammed in between spokes and cassette. It jammed hard. 

Unjamming my chain. ... first of many times.

I spent at least 20 minutes trying to get it unjammed, finally succeeding after removing the wheel (a huge pain with the Pelso!) and a lot of elbow grease. My hands got sliced a bit on the teeth of the cassette. Bloody. Why did the chain slip inside when it had not had any problem since I had tweaked the "b limit" adjustment screw a week earlier to solve some other shifting issues?  This 1x12 setup is new and really only had gotten use on the rides over the 2 weeks before the event, but all had been dialed in and going smoothly the past week. Smooth shifting into all gears. Why did it need to develop a problem now, on this slight upslope in Ibaraki near Inashiki?

I looked for any upper/lower limit adjustment screws, on the top, bottom and rear of the rear derailleur. There did not appear to be any -- nothing visible even with the bike upside down and wheel off.  Odd. Maybe the Eagle GX did not have them? Oh well, I thought, I will just need to be careful as I shift to the lower gears.

It did not work. I think over the rest of the ride I counted 7 times where the chain jammed. Sometimes I could quickly pull it out and reset it. Other times it took 15+ minutes and I needed to remove the rear wheel.  I tried to avoid the innermost gear of the cassette ... but somehow the chain jumped over and into the spokes even when I thought that I still had at least one cog left. I tried to ease the chain up a gear as gently as possible ... which usually worked ... but sometimes did not. This killed a LOT of time and set me way back over the final 200kms.

At least the tires held after the first tube change. ... except, except, the tire had not fully sat onto the rim, in some places still not all the way expanded to the "hooked" intersection with the bead, and so there was a perceptible "bump" as the front tire turned. I never fixed this (which would have required much higher tire inflation, then deflation back to a good level). I was on rough enough roads so it did not really make a big difference, but it was a minor annoyance for 250kms. 

After passing through Ushiku, the route took us SW of Tsukuba along a 4-lane road that had some trees and other landscaping. There were still plenty of trucks, and lots of "otaku" engineer types driving "car-guy" models of cars. (Audis, BMWs, the new Prius PHEV, etc.) on weekend outings -- maybe a quick trip to the pachinko parlor, or the golf driving range.  But at least with 2 lanes in each direction there was plenty of room for them to pass. Tsukuba has a different feel to it, because it was developed as a kind of science and technology city. Lots of research institutes and corporate R&D facilities, I think, as well as the pre-existing "inaka" (countryside) stuff.

PC3 Sri Lankan temple

Combini pasta stop just before PC3. Already almost 3PM -- behind pace!
Does my recumbent rear bag carry as much magic as Doraemon's bag?
Well, today it was missing a few things.

We had a nice stretch on some local roads, and a couple long stretches on national route 354, in traffic. I stopped a few times, and chatted with other riders.  By now, I was mostly in the vicinity of riders who had started at 7:30AM, an hour after me. I had made slow going of it, and I think most riders slower than me had given up already.  At every PC I was at or just slightly behind the time limit ... but the organizer was not enforcing intermediate time limits, as the PCs were designated "tsu-ka check" (just need proof of passage -- the photos -- not proof of time).  I figured I would catch up on the return into Tokyo, once there was no more headwind.

I texted with Jerome from time to time. Over the first stretch he had gone WAY faster than me. ... but then on the headwind he noted it was "tough going", even for him. He was still perhaps 80-90 minutes ahead of me, though he had started only 30 ahead. But the gap had stopped increasing. 

As I took my Wahoo off the bike at a convenience store to recharge it a bit while I stopped, one of the ziptips broke through the base that held the unit on. After a few more kms, the material I had used to bind it tightly to the handlebars (a rubbery base -- but might as well have been a cut piece of an old inner tube) fell off somewhere, leaving the Wahoo rattling around and slipping off. I held it in my hand for awhile, then eventually used some electrical tape to secure it. I had forgotten to bring my stash of zipties. 

Crossing the Watarase-gawa west of Koga, Mt Fuji in the distance. 545PM!

As the sun went down, I passed from Ibaraki into Gunma Prefecture. My dynamo light was pointed too far down so I tried to adjust it ... and it came loose in my hand. I had not secured it properly to its base -- amazing that it had not fallen off over the past couple weeks, and today's first 150km+.  I also had forgotten to bring the correct size of Torx star-shaped allen key wrench to fit it into the base. So I just used my back-up light for awhile. 

Eventually I made a pitstop for a hamburger at a McDonalds, a few kms before the Oizumi PC. I had a message from Jerome that he had stopped not long before at a burger place AT the PC -- a Brazilian supermercado. The headwind had died down to a fraction of its former self after sundown ... just before we turned, finally, in a different direction. 

The supermercado PC

I realized that my backup light would probably run out before I reached the finish. I could have recharged it if that happened, but it would have taken too long for me to have any hope of meeting the cut off. And the beam was not nearly as good as on my "Supernova" dynamo light, properly aimed.  So I used the rest of my electrical tape and managed to secure the dynamo light. It pointed slightly to the right, into the middle of the road (and oncoming traffic), but was low enough so as not to bother the drivers and it held to the finish.

Electrical tape -- one essential I remembered to bring along.

The missing torx wrench, Sunday morning at home.

After passing SW through Fukaya, Saitama, the road eventually turned south and the SSE through Ogose, Moroyama, and Hidaka. This is a very familar route. I remembered it has having more up and down than it did. The recumbent was just fine to climb on going over these "rollers" ... except when the chain slipped off and jammed into the spokes again. 

I was at my wit's end, crouched beside the bike in the dark and cold, trying to get the chain back on, when another rider (730AM starter) came by. He pulled off to ask if I was okay, and I expressed my frustration. Another 10-15 minutes wasted, by now several hours in total. Why wasn't there an upper and lower limit screw on this derailleur? He took a look and shrugged his shoulders. By now I had started to cough occasionally, and the cough seemed to be originating in the area of my ribs/lungs that had been bothering me earlier. That was not a good sign, but at least the coughs were seldom, not frequent.

Anyway, the chain dug out and reset, I made it up the hill, through Moroyama -- a very familiar location -- and took the turn off to go to Hidaka Jinja, another PC. I don't think I had ever taken this short detour, but it the shrine was very impressive and worth the deviation. I'll stop by again sometime when it is actually open.

At Hidaka Shrine

It was now 1140PM. I was 30 minutes behind schedule to make the 2:30AM cutoff at the finish.  One more chain-caught-in-spoke incident on the climb out of Iruma. I sent Jerome a text telling him about the cough, that I would not make the cutoff, and could meet him somewhere between the goal/finish and our respective homes for a bite to eat if someplace was open. But I did push on. 

The climb out of Iruma was much shorter than I expected ... the route turned left to the SE rather than going South over the ridges to the tea-fields of Sayama/Oume. I was expecting several more hills but instead we traveled on a long, long stretch of mostly flat to 1% downhill. I was making up some time, actually a fair bit of time and moving at a good clip. I passed several riders. With no more headwind and no more traffic, only the red lights held me back.  I tried my best to time them, and to use the ones that I hit for a short rest, a sip of water, a check of the route and time.

I got a message from Jerome that he finished just before 1AM.  A few minutes later I sent a note that I would "go for it". I was within 30kms, and still had 80 minutes left. 

Then I hit red light after red light.  On Oume Kaido, I rolled up to a red light watching the cross-light turn yellow, then red, and started through just as it turned green.  I had not noticed a police car on the far side of the 6 lane road. He barked at me with his loudspeaker and I gestured up at the green light as I accelerated on.  The car did not turn or follow. But the lights got more frequent as I got into town, around the Ogikubo area, then down Kan-nana.  I was riding near other brevet riders now, though none whom I recognized, and no 630AM starters I am pretty sure.  At red lights I pulled to the front and said "excuse me, I'm a 630AM starter, I'm out of time and need to hurry."  At a red light were we turned onto Inokashira Dori, I just inched around the corner and continued on -- a technical violation but a harmless one at 2:10AM. I snapped my last PC photo, the mosque at Yoyogi Uehara, at 2:11AM. There was a note from Jerome that he felt ill to his stomach and was heading home. 

The Mosque at Yoyogi Uehara, 2:11AM

Now I was on familiar roads ... taking a route I have often ridden from Uehara through Omotesando and to Nishi Azabu. In fact, I had ridden it on the Pelso within the past few weeks.  But I could not do anything about the red lights -- at Yamate Dori, then before Yoyogi Park, then at Meiji Dori, and again at Aoyama Dori. Each light killed a minute or two that I did not have. And in the city there was still cross-traffic, even in the wee hours taxis racing back and fro.

I got to Nishi Azabu Crossing at 2:28AM. 300kms into the brevet course, but still 3.7 kms from the goal in Shiodome, and no more time.

So I rode home, picked up some food at a convenience store, bought milk for my morning coffee, left a voice message for the organizers announcing my DNF, ate, bathed and slept. 

The next day, in the morning light after sleeping in, without the panic of trying to reset a chain ... I searched online and found the youtube video on how to set the limit screws for a SRAM 12 speed Eagle GX derailleur.  I got out my Torx star allen wrenches and reset the front dynamo light properly and securely.  And I will reset the Wahoo base securely.

Wahoo secured with tape after the base broke.

No limit screw visible from the bottom (nor from the top)

Two small limit screws, tucked way in underneath. Argghh!!!

I think that with a bit more thoughtful and careful bike preparation, I would have completed this event within the time limit.  And the Pelso actually handled the short rolling hills of this course better than I remember from last year's events. It is still not a good bike for longer or >10% climbs, and not great for riding in heavy traffic with narrow tolerances. But it is great for looking at the stars, and it is easy on the back, neck, arms/wrists, and butt. If I rode it a bit more and actually trained on it, it should be faster than a regular bike on a course like this, especially with the nasty headwind stretch. I worry a bit about it putting too much stress on my knees, but I think I can manage that by spinning a higher cadence/lower gear and moving my position.

I did not get "credit" for homogulating a 300km event, but I did ride 313km in difficult conditions. So not a bad training outing. And a good learning experience with the Pelso.

400km with Chiba Audax on the Worst Day of the Year* ... on the Pelso

In order to qualify for the quadrennial Paris-Brest-Paris randonee, to be held this August, I must complete a full series of 200, 300, 400, and 600km brevets by early June. Having done the 300 and 200km events in December and January, respectively, and another 200 in February while visiting the USA, I want to clear the remaining qualifiers relatively quickly, so I have plenty of time in case I need to redo one of them.

After all, things can go wrong: things like a mechanical issue or minor stomach upset that result in a DNF. Or bigger things, like an earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster that stop all train services and result in cancellation of Audax rides for at least a few weeks. Or even a pandemic lockdown that stops all Audax rides for awhile.

Over the years things HAVE gone wrong. At this point in my randonneuring career, I've seen it all, or at least most of it. So I know I should plan ahead and try to consider contingencies.

It was in that spirit that I signed up for the Chiba Audax March 18 400km "GO Shirakawa" brevet. The course started from Abiko -- same location as last year's Chiba 400km around Boso Peninsula -- but it headed in the opposite direction, north through Ibaraki and Tochigi as far as Shirakawa in southern Fukushima Prefecture, then back along an almost parallel North-South route somewhat further east, eventually, reaching the Pacific coastline at Oarai near Mito, then eventually looping back to Abiko.

The course looked relatively easy. It had no relentless climbing, and no high mountains, only one sub-500 meter elevation pass at the Tochigi/Fukushima border, and the usual ups and downs elsewhere. The final 60kms was pancake flat.

But the course looked at least less boring than a typical Kanto winter ride. Heading north from Abiko, the route was mostly in the countryside. There would be traffic lights, but they would not be endless, and there would be no 20-25km straight agricultural road in the midst of flat fields. And the entire return would be on Saturday night into Sunday morning, with light or even no traffic on some highways that I would not enjoy riding during the day. The Chiba Audax website listed the "difficulty" as 2 stars out of 5. Easy.

RidewithGPS showed 3800 meters of elevation gain on the 400km course. But a close examination of the route led me to think the actual climbing would be well under 3000 meters, probably closer to 2000. (In fact, my GPS measured just under 2000 meters when all was said and done). The climb between Nasu and Shirakawa, the one almost to 500m elevation, was very gradual, only the last few kilometers exceeding 5%. Most other climbs seemed to be less then one kilometer long, with elevation gain less than 75 meters. 

As the ride date approached, I started to think ... maybe, just maybe, I could do this event on the Pelso recumbent? I cannot climb well on the Pelso, but I can go fast on a flat course -- faster than on my other "diamond frame" bikes. And I have gone 400km on it before, once. Even if I ended up walking up the last few kilometers of that one bigger climb, and a few smaller climbs later in the course, maybe the Pelso would be as fast as another bike? At least it should be fast enough to complete within the 27 hour time limit. 

So I decided to ride the Pelso.

As the ride date got even closer, however, the weather forecast started to look ominous. By 2-3 days before the ride, the forecast was showing heavy rain throughout the relevant area of Japan on March 18. Andrei O., who was also riding and is also planning to do PBP, mentioned the forecast. 
Worse yet, it would be very cold, nearly freezing, and the winds on Saturday would be steady out of the north.  In Shirakawa, we might be riding in sleet. To sum it up, we would be riding from Abiko to Shirakawa (165kms) directly into the wind, in heavy rain, and near freezing, winter-like temperatures. I remembered a brevet in mid-March eight years ago, when Jerome and I rode with Japanese randonneurs in the wee hours through northern Ibaraki, in weather that was much colder than anticipated. I remembered a slog down the Beef Line, barely warm enough to keep going, knowing that to stop would be even worse. I warned Andrei that it might be colder than expected.

Given the weather forecast, I waffled on whether to go ahead with the Pelso. In the rain, the reclined body position offers full exposure to the elements. Rain hits my face and goes straight into my eyes -- blinding me temporarily if I do not have appropriate eyewear. Sleet would be even worse. And in the rain, my feet tend to slip off of the flat pedals that I prefer for riding the Pelso. 

In the end, I decided to stick with the Pelso. Forewarned is forearmed. I would take a real rain jacket, rain pants, new REI Goretex rain covers for my Amfib Q36.5 gloves, and other appropriate gear. I swapped out the flat pedals for SPD pedals. I would wear SPD/mountain biking shoes. I also would bring spare warm socks, gloves, winter head cover, inner layer, socks, etc., just in case needed during the trip.

Only 23 out of 90 registrants started the ride. Chiba Audax allowed people to switch entries to a 200km brevet on Sunday if they did not want to challenge the difficult conditions. A dozen did so. 

Still feeling jet-lagged and somewhat sleep-deprived from a return to Japan on Monday ...  I removed the wheels from the Pelso and fit the beast of a bicycle into my car on Friday evening. On Saturday I woke at 430AM, still not feeling well-rested, and was driving toward Abiko in the rain shortly after 5AM. I arrived, set up the bike in the rain, and proceeded to the Start area. There were about 25 people there, including the organizers. The vast majority of the 90 registrants were marked "DNS" due to the weather. What was left was a relatively hard core group. The organizer told us that this was an easy course ... except for the weather. He also announced that they would not enforce the time limit at the Oarai Kaigan control point (288kms), to offer more flexibility to complete the ride. These messages, an "easy" course, but a need for more time to clear the control over 70% of the way through the ride, seemed inconsistent to me.

And then we were off. I made it up the first short hill out of the start, my heart racing, and continued making good time over the first hour. One Japanese rider, Kimura-san, passed me with a reflective vest labeled "組長" or "boss".  I kept catching up to him at traffic lights over the next 5 kms until he finally cleared one that I missed in Tsukuba. He told me that he was only fast at the beginning. I took this as typical Japanese humility ... but in fact, now see that he finished at the back of the group. 

I needed a bathroom break so pulled off at a Family Mart where our course turned east in Tsukuba at 31.5km. I also got some food, and could see lots of riders passing me by. A few blocks after I started up again, I turned to go up a curb cut and onto a wide sidewalk ... failing to realize that the curb cut was covered in slick metal. Wham, I went down on my left side as the wheels came out from under me. Fortunately, with the Pelso recumbent, this fall was not much worse than, say, rolling off a sofa onto a floor. No injuries to me nor bike (other than a need to re-set my chain and readjust my handlebars), and so I continued.

Temporary shelter in Tsukuba

By late morning, the rain was, if anything, stronger, and the temperature, if anything, colder. And the headwind had picked up ... not as vicious as some Spring winds in northern Kanto, but steady. We crossed from Sakuragawa in Ibaraki into Mashiko in Tochigi. Mashiko is known for its style of pottery, but there were few people out and about today anywhere. This entire part of Japan was familiar to me from my days locating sites for and developing solar projects. Our team ended up with two Tochigi projects further north and west, but also spent endless hours roaming this part of the prefecture with local partners looking at sites that, for one reason or another, did not pan out. 

NW Ibaraki

By 145PM, I was at 133kms, slowing down, and really cold and wet. The rain was strong (stronger than the forecast, at least tenki.jp's forecast), the temperature was maybe 3-4 degrees celsius (38F?), and the headwind continued. I pulled into a convenience store for some lunch. There was no "eat in" space. Across the road was Otawara City's "Kurashi-no-kan" that seemed as if it might at offer some covered space ... but looked very dark and cold. I decided not to head over. Instead, I went outside the store and adjusted my recumbent, raising the seat back maybe 3-4 cms, to try and get more power on the upcoming climbs and to be a bit more stable starting and stopping. I came back inside and ordered coffee. The staff ignored my presence sipping coffee inside the store by the front window ... against the rules. In the end, it was nearly a 30 minute stop but I did not feel much better as I restarted. Still cold and wet and tired. 

As I continued on, I found that my hands were not moving well due to the cold. I could barely move my shifter using my right thumb, even applying all the weight of my arms from an odd angle. I rode for at most 30 minutes/10km before another stop, this one at a michi no eki in Iono. They were selling some cooked foods ... at a cafe window with seating only outdoors (though at least it was under a roof cover). Eating outside would not help in my current condition. The main indoor area was a vegetable market, selling local produce. I went in and asked if there was someplace warm I could just sit and warm a bit. The woman at the cash register led me to a back area where there was a table and bench, and told me to make myself at home.  It was not toasty, but at least it was a lot warmer than outside. After 15 minutes I got up to leave ... but one foot outside and I realized I needed a bit longer. I had a spare pair of winter gloves with me (forewarned!), that I had wanted to save until after the rain stopped. But I realized I would never make it up the next hill without changing into them.  The Goretex mitten covers ... would not fit, as these gloves were bulkier than my Q36.5 Amfibs.  Anyway, the stop took nearly 30 minutes in total, but at least I headed out with warmer hands and wearing dry, warm gloves. 

Miraculously, the rain started to lighten up a bit after a few minutes of riding. At this rate ... less than 1mm precipitation per hour ... I might make it with my second pair of gloves dry. The road turned up, elevation gradually climbing from 220m elev toward the pass at 460m. I was able to climb okay and make decent time now. This was the climb I had thought I might need to walk, perhaps as much as 2-3kms. In fact, I was doing okay, but I slowed to the point where, for the last 500m or so, I dismounted and walked to save energy. It was already after 4PM, but at least I was at the high point for the entire ride, had done 155kms, and would get some rest on the next section. Andrei O's photo of this stretch from a bit earlier ... as he was now far ahead, is below.

The minute I reached the descent on the northern side of the slope, into Fukushima Prefecture, the rain turned to sleet. The sleet stung as it hit my face. But it was still falling lightly, and the road was not icy. I could descend at decent speed toward the next control point (a photo at Nanko Park in Shirakawa 166km) then to the Tora Shokudo (171km) where the organizers had suggested we stop for food. 

At Nanko Park in Shirakawa

The restaurant's interior was warm, there was room for me to place my wet outer wear next to my seat in a box on the floor, and the ramen tasted better than any I have ever had. I used the toilet and changed from my soaking wet inner layer into my warm, long-sleeved turtleneck Q36.5 base layer. In the end, a 50 minute stop.  If I total the 16 min stop at 31kms, 20 mins at the first PC at 88kms, the 2x30min stops in Otawara and Iono, 7 mins at Nanko Park, the 50min stop at Tora Shokudo, and 10 mins a few minutes later to get new batteries for my rear light,  ... I must have been off the bicycle at least 163 mins during the first 175 kms. 

Best ramen I've ever tasted?!

But the rain had almost stopped, and from here (175kms in, at just after 6:00PM) the route would head east, then south, with the wind at our backs. Indeed, I actually made very good time from here most of the way to Hitachinaka, 100kms further on.  The temperature indicators by the roadside first showed 1 degree Celsius, then 2 degrees, then finally 3.  I could see stars in places now -- my gaze upward as I reclined on the recumbent. By 11PM, I had gone 265kms total. This entire stretch from Shirakawa had started at around 300m elevation, and ended close to sea level. There were a few intermediate climbs, but all of them were short. A few I walked up, if I felt at all unsteady, taking a couple minutes rest from the bike. But most I could ride up. I took one more short stop, then pressed on to the Oarai Kaigan 7-11 control point.

I got a rice w/ melted cheese and sauce "doria" at the convenience store, heated up. Here, the staff person shooed me outside when I tried to eat it just inside the front door. "no eating permitted inside!"  Well, I explained, it was so hot that I got cold waiting for it to cool down to an edible temperature. She was not buying my story, even though it was after midnight and very cold still outside. Ugh. A Chiba Audax staffer had been at the Tora Shokudo, and was here as well at Oarai. I asked if there was any place to rest up ahead ... a coin laundry, internet cafe, onsen, or similar? ... he said there was not much until Kashima, the 337km checkpoint.  Another 25-30 mins off the bike, then I pressed on. 

Finally, around km 326, on the eastern side of Lake Kitaura, there was a 7-11 that had a mini-coin-laundry in its parking lot, a small shed with 4 dryers, enclosed with a glass front door/window. You can see it here with google street view.  

My 3AM rest shed

The space was not heated, but it was protected from the wind. I put all my extra/wet gear in the dryer and set it for 24 minutes, laying down on the floor mat in front. I could feel warmth from the dryer on my hands, and slept immediately, waking to the buzz of the dryer alarm. There was another audax cyclist lying down motionless across in the parking lot in the lee of the 7-11 building. ... it looked cold out there. I added another 100 yen to run the machine another 12 minutes, and slept again until the next buzzer. The rider had moved on by the time I awoke. 

After heading a few hundred meters further and noticing my front light was not working, I stopped to fix the wire  ... and two riders passed me and zoomed up a hill, as our route left the Kitaura lakeside. Including both my rest and the repair work, by the time I was back on my way ... it had been another 50+ minute stop, but a much needed and very effective one. I walked up the hill then remounted. Finally, I made it to Kashima Jingu. The shrine looked huge, and quiet. 

At Kashima Jingu ... bicycle parking

It was now just past 4:30AM, and there were two other riders at the shrine, one of whom had asked questions about the Pelso and introduced himself to me earlier as Warabe (based on the start list, last name Shiraki-san), and was the guy who had been resting earlier by the 7-11, I believe. After the obligatory photo as proof of passage and a short rest, it was on toward the next PC ... and now riding into the wind for the last 65 kms. I reached that PC and chatted a bit with Warabe-san. There were two younger riders as well who had zoomed past as I fixed my light connection, one said he was 31 yrs old, the other 38. They looked like college kids. I headed out ahead of them but stopped when the course started to parallel the road along the Tonegawa. I wondered, ... should we ride up on the levy on the bike path (last year's Chiba 400 had taken that in the opposite direction) or stay down on the road? The two youngish riders passed me and stayed on the road. I followed, keeping to the road, eventually passed them, and did not stop again until I got about 30kms away from the PC, only 20km left to the Goal. I could see Audax riders heading down the road in the opposite direction. Apparently they were from a Nihombashi event, another 400k that started 5-6 hours later than we had (and so had had 5-6 hours less rain!). 

I pulled off to the side of the road and removed some clothing ... my rain jacket, winter cap, and helmet cover. And I switched back to the somewhat lighter weight gloves. It was at least 6-7 degrees C now and warming gradually, the sun above the horizon. Indeed, Sunday looked like a lovely day for a bike ride, even if Saturday had not been!  I could go noticeably faster without so much gear on. Less wind resistance, I guess? In any event, the finish was so close now, I could taste it. I pushed through, puzzled over which of three 7-11 stores within a kilometer of each other was the official end point, finally needed to consult my cue sheet, google maps, and confirm some kanji readings then loop back to the correct one and pick up my receipt. The two 30-something riders came in just as I entered the store.  I checked in at the finish with the organizers, headed back to my car just as Warabe-san came rolling in, packed up my bicycle, ... and napped for an hour before driving home. 

I finished in 25 hours and 33 minutes. There were 23 finishers in all, 6 after me and 16 ahead. Andrei was the first in, in 21 hours and 11 minutes. I think if I had been well-rested, in decent weather, and on a normal bike, this could have been a 21-22 hour event. Amazing that Andrei could do it that quickly despite the conditions (he had similar difficulties in the cold and wet ... and a 90 minute stop to rest and warm up). But then again, if we had had decent weather ... it would not have been an adventure. 

Postscript: I must say that the recovery from this ride, now 3 days ago, has been much tougher than other recent long rides. At the end of the ride, my butt was very sore where it had been resting on the edge of the recumbent's carbon seat. Usually I ride the Pelso laying on top of the seat, but by changing the seat to a steeper angle, I was effectively sitting on the bottom edge and applying more weight on a narrow edge there. I did not notice it until ... after 8 or 10 hours riding in that position.  With the seat elevated and SPD cleats, I could not move around on the seat but was locked in one position. The last couple times I got on the bike ... I really did not want to sit down on it again.  Also perhaps from the single position, my knees hurt just a bit during the ride, but not significantly. Spinning in a low gear helped defray the issues of a single position. But the leg stiffness following the ride was much worse than usual.  Overall, I was exhausted the next two days.  I think I started the ride tired -- both from bad jet-lag and not enough sleep on Wednesday evening, and an early Saturday start with not an early enough sleep on Friday night. Also, climbing on the recumbent I find I am quickly going "into the red zone" -- pushing the pedals at an unsustainable power output. Those repeated "red zone" efforts, trying to get a heavy bike and an overweight rider up a slope, took a toll on my cardio vascular system. I'm being careful to just rest and recover so that now, on Wednesday, I feel ready to re-engage fully. Also, I should add that this Spring the pollen levels in this part of Japan have been off the charts. The rain on Saturday of course kept them down ... but once the rain stopped, and definitely by early Sunday, they must have come back with a vengeance, and pollen levels have stayed high since. I'm on medication, but I think the impact of the pollen has probably complicated the normal recovery. 

I think next time I try to ride the Pelso 400kms or more, I will stick with my flat pedals, and will try to make sure that I am wearing shoes that will not slip in the rain, rather than going with cleats.  And in warmer weather I hope I will be able to avoid the baggy un-aero clothing, and also will be a few kgs lighter!

*Portland Oregon has an annual "worst day of the year" bicycle ride on the last Sunday of winter. This ride, on the last Saturday into the last Sunday, and in these conditions, was close enough.

Addendum:  I next rode the Pelso on April 2, for around 95kms in pleasant weather -- to get coffee with the Tokyo Cranks, view sakura along the Tamagawa, and then a few errands on the way home. It felt faster. And more comfortable. I had ridden the day before so did not push my pace, but still made decent time. I felt far better than I had on the Chiba 400kms.  With flat pedals and some running shoes, and the seat a bit lower down - not "slammed" but not elevated as I had done for the climbing, I could make decent time with less effort and more comfort.  Next, I'm going to get some new tires and do some modest maintenance, and I should have it ready for an ultra distance attempt during Golden Week. 

More hydrangeas ... in Chiba

Last night I had an "offsite" meeting (corporate anniversary celebration with some people attending from far away who I had not seen since before the pandemic), for a company I'm involved with. The meeting was at the Akademia Park conference center (run by Hotel Okura) in Kisarazu, Chiba. ... so I took my bike and had a quick after-breakfast spin along the route that Jerome and I had taken in April on our Chiba 400km brevet.  I went as far as the top of the climb near Mother Bokujo, then back to the hotel. Only 26-27kms, but a good climb and lovely descent! And there was that one nasty nasty very short hill that I walked up in April, 20% grade at the steepest point ... that I could spin up with fresh legs and Voyage Voyage's SRAM etap AXS gearing.

My route there and back:

The hotel and conference center are lovely ... and vastly underutilized assets. It took less than an hour from Minato-ku by car coming and going. But train is much longer. This is an area that will thrive if EVTOL air taxi service ever gets going in Japan!