200km early January brevet

January 8 was the Sunday of a long weekend, followed by a holiday Monday (coming of age day). Jerome and I picked this day for an R-Tokyo 200km ride, one of our PBP qualifiers. The route was pretty typical for an early January 200km event … the classic/standard R-Tokyo start at Todoroki arena area in Kawasaki, standard route out of Tokyo (Nakahara Kaido then Chogo Kaido, then eventually heading south to hit the coast at Oiso), a ride along the coast road, Miura Peninsula, etc. The weather was good … dry and not much wind, not so cold after the first few hours. 

We met at Kanpachi and Nakahara Kaido around 540AM and made it to the start on time. Jerome struggled with the online Google form check-in system a bit in the cold and dark, so I headed out first. I managed to keep ahead until the first PC at around 68 kms. From there we rode together on the second leg to the tip of Miura. On the third leg home, he was waiting for me to catch up from time to time, but at least I was not far back.

There was traffic. There was a lot of traffic, especially for the middle of a long weekend. 

And this route requires patience with red lights. Lots of red lights. 

An upload of this photo was the proof of start.

First Fuji views were obstructed and show the smog.

Finally some car-less stretches heading south toward the coastline.

Sky Blue Parlee in foreground, junkyard in back.

We stopped for lunch in Misakiguchi at the tip of the Miura Peninsula. After lunch, we rode past an incredible line of cars sitting, waiting to get into the town. 5kms long? There were more lines at each bottleneck up to Zushi, where our route turned east. Yokohama, again, was mobbed with people, both cars and pedestrians around Minato Mirai.

Fuji barely visible in the haze and light clouds.

A quick snack in the sun.

Minato Mirai on the return
(from here photos loaded out of order)

Almost done.

Classic view near southern tip of Miura

Minato Mirai crowds.

Wish we had ridden through more country like this ... or at least up and down the eastern side of the peninsula instead of slogging through traffic on the western side.

Misaki harbor, now searching for a lunch spot. We found a restaurant - Chiritontei - that was just fine!

Again, too much haze.

We finished in around 10 hrs 40 mins. If we had not had such a relaxed, sit down lunch, we would have been closer to 10 hrs. If we had not needed to wade through the traffic, then under 10 hrs. Not fast, but not so slow either.  I rode 227kms for the day, including to/from the start.

Another PBP qualifier out of the way, in the bag, checked off the list, crossed off, wrapped up, completed, and DONE! I've done my 200 and 300, and my 400 and 600 remain. Let's see, that means I am either half way (2 out of 4), or one third of the way (500 out of 1500km) depending on the way you think about it. 

The rest of January I will focus on swimming and also try to ride the Pelso recumbent regularly to regain my "recumbent legs". I'll get back on the road bike in February and beyond!

Cold Wet Training Ride to Miura

Wet RAMAX leaning in Yokohama

Last weekend I rode the 200km Nishi Izu brevet. The 3 weekends before that I did rides over Nokogiri, Yanagisawa, and Mitsumine. The next 3 weekends are, with any luck (please, no more Covid-19 countermeasure cancellations, please), 400km, 300km, and 600km brevets I will do with Jerome.

So this weekend I could relax a bit, I thought. On Saturday I swam first thing in the morning and had music practice in the evening, so no ride. Sunday (today) I would get out on the RAMAX. Jerome, Peter J. and I made a plan to try Tsuru Pass and Matsuhime -- similar to a ride we did last October.  

But it was not to be. 

Tamagawa at Marukobashi

Wet pavement

Jerome with his 24x7 lighting - powered by SP Dynamo

The weather was on what the Japanese TV weather forecasters call a "kudarizaka" 下り坂. ... a downhill slope. Cyclists generelly enjoy downhill slopes -- they make it a lot faster and easier to go forward than a climb, but when used to describe the weather they are not a good thing. When I checked on Saturday night, it looked as if there would be rain in the afternoon Sunday, and the morning might involve a few drops here and there. 

Things looked worse when I woke on Sunday. There was a text from Peter J. that it was going to be raining all day west of town, and he was going back to bed. The pavement was damp and a few drops were falling, and the temperature (around 6C or 42F) was more like February than April for Tokyo. I also would have gone back to bed, but I am training for Cascade 1400, and that means riding sometimes even in less-than-ideal conditions.

I took a few minutes to check the weather forecasts all around Kanto. It seemed as if the best hope for a dry day would be to ride in Chiba or Ibaraki -- East of Tokyo. But there is no good way to get there quickly by bike from Tokyo. A train ride?  Then I had an idea. If we headed south toward Miura, a typical winter course, we might hop the ferry from Kurihama to the Boso Peninsula of Chiba and ride there, if the weather forecast held.

Jerome agreed to the change of plan, I left home at 630AM, and we met at Marukobashi at 7AM just as it started to rain. We checked the forecast again. Now it seemed as if there would be rain off and on everywhere, including Chiba. So the ferry would not be worth the extra time and effort, and might mean getting stranded in the cold and wet. We decided to just head down toward Miura and go as long as we felt okay.

At the south end of Yamashita Park

Sakura viewed over the top of a building (public toilet) in Yamashita Park.

Through Yokohama we climbed the slope and took the lovely hilltop road through Yamate, including a stop for the (very industrial) view. 

View from the hilltop park. This was probably a lovely vista 150 years ago.

After descending the south end of the hill/ridge and rejoining a quieter road parallel to Route 16, as we rode along in light rain, we saw a motor scooter accident on the opposite lane. The scooter must have locked brakes as it tried to slow and turn ... and the person riding fell with the scooter coming on top ... at slow speed. A pedestrian ran out to help lift the scooter. As we came up then crossed over, the rider, freed from the scooter, stood up ... but could not put any weight on the right leg. I could see a large hole in the right pants leg around the knee. Ouch. 

We could tell that it was a police scooter (with a white box on the rear for carrying paperwork to write up interview reports and issue citations that was labeled "POLICE"). But it was only as we got within a few meters that we realized the motorist was a police woman. We suggested she should stay seated and rest a bit before trying any sudden moves, and warned that often it takes an hour or two or even longer to know whether you are actually injured from this kind of fall (as a cyclist, I know it all too well).

Within another minute, a man and woman ran up with work clothes and caps that identified them as with the Yokohama Fire Department and asked what happened and whether she was okay.  She said that her brake had locked up. Then soon after came someone in a black dress uniform who must have been the local fire station chief.  He asked her if she wanted to report it as a traffic accident or not, as no one else had been involved. She said clearly "yes, I will report it."

As the authorities seemed to have everything under control, we headed on our way.  But I could not help but feel badly for the police woman. And not because she might have suffered leg or other injuries that would take time to recover. I felt badly for her because I could only imagine what a one-scooter accident might do to her service record. I had images of her being assigned to the reception desk or file room at her police station, for the next decade or so, whereas before she had been heading toward the detective squad. I worried that gender discrimination in Japan might make this a bigger black mark on her record than deserved. Then again, at least she did not need to worry about being terminated -- no regular employee in Japan does. 

When I used to commute into town down Meguro Dori, at the crossing in front of the Meguro Post Office, there was always a uniformed Tokyu Bus employee standing with a flag warning motorists to keep out of the Bus Lane (7AM-930AM).  I noticed that the SAME employee had this duty for many years. And last week on a morning spin as I came in Meguro Dori ... I saw that he was still on bus lane flag duty, though another five years have passed!  What did he do to deserve this? Maybe he never passed the test that allows him to drive a bus? Or a couple of fender benders early in his career as a driver? Some other failure? Or maybe something that made his boss really angry?  I hope he likes working outside. Anyway, I could not help think of him after the police woman's accident.

In the end, we got to Yokosuka and into a Gusto family restaurant before the rain got too hard. The forecast, again wrong, suggested that if we had breakfast, we might get another 3-4 hours of riding with a respite from the rain. We emerged 45 minutes later ... to more rain. It cannot be helped ... "Sho ga nai" ... the Japanese phrase.

South of Yokosuka -- last time I got out my iphone while riding. Rain got harder from here.

Finally, rinko'ed for the train from Kamakura

We did a ride around Miura in the cold rain, aided by a tailwind heading south,  fighting a headwind, and alongside heavy traffic, on the way back to Kamakura. As we pulled in to Kamakura Station after the wet, cold slog, Jerome said "I love cycling ... but maybe not to this extent." Then we enjoyed a wet bike-bagging experience, a cold train ride home, and, in my case at least, a hot bath.  I hope I will see the benefits of the past five weeks' training in the upcoming brevets!

The RAMAX performed well again. The Shimano disc brakes and Di-2 groupset, coupled with Panaracer Gravel King 700x28 tires, are trouble-free and offer a great deal of confidence in the rain.

116km of wet and windy fun!

Winter Miura

I finally made my annual winter ride on the Miura Peninsula awhile back. Took the train to Yokosuka Chuo and back from Zushi and just did the loop around the bottom of the peninsula this time, with Peter W.  We had lovely weather and a nice, not too tough ride at a relaxed pace. I will let the photos do the talking.

First Brevet of 2019

The Oregon Randonneur at Tateishi on the Miura Peninsula, looking toward Mt Fuji

Japan Audax local affiliates offer many 200km brevets in early January. They usually fill up, and this year (a PBP year) especially so, as everyone wants to get in a ride while off from work.

Last year, 2018, Jerome and I rode our first brevet on January 7 in Shizuoka, 200kms from Numazu to Fujieda and back, with a detour up Nihondaira. It was a very nice day and, despite some heavy traffic at places, a nice course.

In 2017 I did an AJ Tamagawa brevet from midnight on New Year's Eve, watched the first sunrise of the year along a beach on the Miura Peninsula, with a few other riders and thousands of visitors to the area. I was done and home before Noon on January 1.

This year, AJ Tamagawa, among others, is offering a "brevet week" of events -- it is possible to ride 200, 300, 400 and 600km events, complete the "SR" (super randonneur) series, and qualify to ride Paris-Brest-Paris, all during the first week of the year! Taiwan's audax group has a similar series, and one Japanese randonneur I know had already completed the SR series before I started my ride on Friday. Another, Ijichi-san, staff of AJ Tamagawa who is one of the core Audax riders (he rode Susan Otcenas' Seattle Intl Randonneurs' Cascade 1200 last year, as well as Maya Ide's Tohoku series over Golden Week), told me that he would do the full series this week -- but he already did the 200km on the pre-ride check (which counts under Audax rules).

But this idea of an SR series in the northern hemisphere in winter is, well, crazy. It is going overboard. It MAY work well this year, when the weather is good, but it is hard to plan a good 400km or 600km ride that will work in mid-winter, even in typically dry Kanto. Indeed, the AJ Tamagawa 600km will have probably 300 or even more (500?) traffic signals. So many stops. So much traffic ... to keep on a route near Tokyo and out of the mountains. One long boring slog. Worse, if the weather is cold. No, the first week of January is for riding during the day. A 200km is the perfect challenge.

The moon, Venus, riders, high rises, trees, and train station, all before first light.

The same view a few minutes later. Wave of riders at the ready!

Jerome missed the signup, and was unsuccessful in asking AJ Tamagawa to accept a last minute (late) entry. I think they just have too much on their plate to accommodate such requests while running a brevet week. So he rode out over Yabitsu Pass, and did meet us at the Oiso control. Mindful of the Audax rule that non-participants cannot provide any assistance to riders outside of controls, we rode the same course, but never close enough to draft. I gave him some directions ... but not vice versa. Still, with about 50 stops for traffic signals, and another control, we could chat enough.

Which bike to ride? I wanted to ride the Parlee ... but broke a cable and did not have time to replace it. The Ti Travel bike, Voyage Voyage, is disassembled for installation of a new group set. So I was happy to ride the Oregon Randonneur. I had not used it in months, so needed to lube the chain, pump the tires, and rode it the evening before to a fondue feast at Jerome's. It felt a bit sluggish. And on the ride out to dinner the rear fender was rubbing, and I got a flat tire on the way back home.

I switched out the wheels and tightened the rear fender ... and it was as good as new. Still I am not a fan of the Ultegra 6700 shifting -- far more sluggish than 6800 (or 6600, in my opinion). It turns out that the DT-Hugi hub on the rear wheel ... needs maintenance. The freehub was barely turning, as if the grease inside has gotten clogged with other material. So I I switched to other wheels. I was glad to have others to use for this ride -- the bike was a joy once I got it ready to go. (If anyone needs a spare wheel in a pinch ... I have them!).

Mt Fuji while crossing the Tamagawa on Route 1 (from the side walkway)

Anyway, I made it to the 6AM start with almost 15 minutes to spare ... only to be told that I was in the 630AM "wave". This was a bit disappointing since I knew that the traffic through yokohama would not get better as time passed, to say the least.

The course was kind of like a combination of my recent Miura ride (to the tip of Miura Peninsula), and my recent Shonan coast ride (the segment from Enoshima to Oiso where we had lunch). But this time I would take Route 1 through Yokohama and then Route 16 all the way to Yokosuka. I prefer my route from Christmas Eve, which skirts the harbor edge of Yokohama, goes through Minato Mirai and to Hakkeijima via the Sangyo-Doro. And I would prefer to avoid the coast road between Kamakura and Enoshima, where it is basically a parking lot. It is not fun to ride through a parking lot, even when the view is glorious and drivers don't pull over to the left and block your way.

On the parking lot/road between Kamakura and Enoshima.

I did not take many photos. Only one stop on the way between Yokosuka and Misaki-ko, none between Enoshima and Oiso -- both where I was taking photos last week with a far more dramatic sky.  These are from elsewhere -- Hayama area mostly.

Mt Fuji from south of Yokosuka

The Oregon Randonneur takes a different riding style than a modern carbon or titanium racing bike. It requires a kind of spinning style. It is a bit heavier, and the narrower steel tubing will flex a bit and absorb stomping. But it responds very well with a slightly lighter touch and a faster peddling cadence. And once it gets going ... it keeps going, fast.  The randonneur-style bars have comfortable, large/wide "drops". Then again, to move fast up the hills on this bike, I must get out of the saddle. It is almost like running up a hill on the peddles. Once I adjusted to this style of riding ... which took the first several hours ... the bike was fast and comfortable, and I could finish in a reasonable time, given the stop-and-go nature of this course and the relatively heavy traffic.

More from Tateishi

Sunset at Marukobashi ... almost done!

Even as I grumble about the traffic on this course, it was a great way to start my cycling year. I just need to keep it up to be ready for Tasmania next month and France in August.

Strava for the entire day is here.

Miura quick winter ride

Sunday we still had ice and snow NW of Tokyo, and I had a lot of work, but needed exercise. What to do? I hopped the Keihin Kyuko limited express from Shinagawa to a stop in southern Yokosuka, and rode to within sight of Jogashima and back to Kurihama. 45-55 minutes each way on train seated and able to read, for just over 2 hours and 50kms of nice riding along the coastline. Not bad. A good winter compromise. Some of "the usual" photos for this route, on a cloudy morning:

Bike leaning, at Kannonzaki

Blue-hulled container vessel in the distance

Chiba - Boso across the bay

Minami Miura

As planned, I took a ride on the southern part of the Miura Peninsula today, with Andrew Edsall. Jerome slept in after a home party with visiting friends from France.

Weather and views were spectacular. It was a great start to the new cycling year. Not a long ride, just over 50kms, and a relaxed pace throughout. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Random roadie we passed - many like this.

Approaching Jogashima - Izu Oshima in the distance?

Izu across the Sagami Bay

The winter's ride lunch tradition - maguro-don at Jogashima

Breezing Up!

First sakura