Just the Photos Please

Last week on Saturday, April 3, Jerome and I were slated to do a 300km brevet in Chiba. It was the counterclockwise version of the course I had done in 2014, as reported here. The event was postponed to May 1 ... as part of schedule adjustments due to the Covid-19 emergency. So both 300km events I had planned to join to prepare for Okayama 1200 were not available! 

Jerome and I decided to do the first 2/3 of the event anyway. At the start area, we saw the Chiba brevet organizers, who were running another 200km gravel brevet. They offered to let us join ... but we were not equipped for gravel (need fatter tires), and Jerome had a dinner in any event, and the gravel brevet looked like we would not finish in time. We stuck to our plan -- for once.

We started amid the petrochemical refineries of Sodegaura and took in the crashing waves and salt air of the Pacific Ocean for a few hours of headwind along the coast from Shirahama/ Minami Boso to Kamogawa. But the highlight is really the Satoyama ... areas of well maintained fields and streams, rice paddies and forest, farmers out at work. There were plenty of cyclists on the road, but mercifully few cars once we got out of Sodegaura/Kisarazu. (As usual the Aqua Line was a parking lot on the return drive in the evening).

There was not much epic nor eventful about this ride, just a perfect Spring day in the countryside. So I will let the photos tell the story.

Taken just a few seconds before the photo at the top of this post, this one focuses less on the rapeseed (Nanohana) and more on the people. Also, a nice view of the flowering trees on the far hillside.

Saturday Sakura Ride

Jerome and I planned a Saturday ride. We were going to get an early start ... but rain overnight pushed our schedule back from 730AM to 920AM. Still, once we headed NW we soon found dry pavement. And we found nearly full sakura blooms. We went to the Mitake-san tram station and back. 118kms. Not bad for a half-day ride with plenty of sakura along the way!

Beautiful Lake Tsukui

I had time for only a half-day ride on Saturday, and did not get started until after 10:30AM.  So I decided just to head out Onekansen Doro to Lake Tsukui, then back via Yaen-Kaido.  I have always thought about this segment -- getting up the Tamagawa then out to the edge of the countryside--as the work one needs to go through in order to get to the reward of beautiful quiet country roads, climbs, vistas, etc. There is no way to get out to the nice bits without going through the sprawl of Hashimoto, Machida and/or Sagamihara area to some extent.  And there is the monotony of going up and down along the Tamagawa always, every time.

But Saturday was a spectacularly clear winter day, and gusty winds added a challenge to the ride. Traffic was not particularly heavy, and the views at Tsukui were beautiful.  Of course, I avoid the route over the Shiroyama dam and Route 413 along the South side, and instead do the quiet climb on the North side, then the "Columbia Drug Lord" road.  This time, I looped back along the south side then took a second bridge over the lake and a second climb to the North side. 

View from the North side of Lake Tsukui

I rode with 2 large water bottles and popped a banana and energy bar in my rear pocket, so I made it through a 93 km ride without any convenience store stops.  The stiff gusting winds, starting from NW and shifting to the N/NE over the course of my ride, made for a good training partner much of the way ... and shifted toward my back on the last stretch.  (The wind, along with my Gokiso wheels, allowed me to record my 2nd fastest of 34 Strava-logged efforts on the trip downriver 

Nice countryside ... not far from the Ken-O-Do expressway (?) approaching Lake Tsukui

One lane suspension bridge over Lake Tsukui

I considered a stop on the suspension bridge for the spectacular 360 degree view suspended high above the water.  But pressed on -- after all, this was supposed to be a training ride without stops -- and I am training to be a cyclist, not a photographer.  

Unfortunately, my rear tire tube had developed a slow leak from riding over a big rock at the end of the forest road, and I needed to pull over to change the tube anyway just a few seconds later, so took a much inferior photo of the bridge.  Still, the entire ride was 4:04, of which "moving time" was 3:42.  The (leisurely) tire change was 12 minutes, and the remaining 10 minutes of "non-moving" time was red lights.

So a fairly efficient trip from a time perspective.  Now I need to strap on a heart rate monitor so that I can actually "train" this year, instead of just "ride" when I do these kind of solo trips.

Last Ride before Hokkaido 1200

As Saturday rain turned to Sunday humidity, Jerome and I took a 100 km half day ride to stretch our legs before Wednesday night's start for H1200.  Both of us were a bit bleary-eyed from middle of the night/early morning World Cup matches, we have both gained a few kgs over past months, and Jerome was still suffering from jet lag having returned from Europe last week.   Plus, we need fresh legs from Wednesday evening for H1200.  So we took it easy today heading out Onekan and the Tank Road, around Tsukui-ko counterclockwise then back via Yaen-Kaido.

The weather was not too hot, but the humidity seemed to defeat my cooling system.  As we left Route 413 and headed around the North shore of Tsukui-ko, we passed the newly opened section of the Ken-o-do expressway, which takes long distance traffic AROUND Tokyo instead of THROUGH, and now is open all the way from the Tomei Expressway to the Kanetsu and Tohoku Expressways.  We marvelled at how quiet the traffic noise was, barely audible as we rode adjacent, thanks to the noise barriers.  Very impressive.

Noise barriers on the Ken-O-Do expressway 

How to build an expresway through a neighborhood without destroying it.

Today Jerome rode in his "short shorts" and sleeveless top -- the look that only he can pull off.  He has added some new reflective tape to his bicycle, and more important, could be seen (and distinguished from other road cyclists) from at least 500 meters back, because of his new reflective triangle attached to triathlon belt, signalling a "slow vehicle".

To quote a Pennsylvania state traffic safety website:

• Vehicles designed to travel 25 mph or less and horse-drawn vehicles are required by law to display a florescent orange triangle surrounded by red bands. When you see this symbol on the rear of any vehicle, slow down immediately and maintain a safe following distance.

Jerome often exceeds 25mph (approx 40 kph), and while he sometimes has been compared to a galloping horse, one does not pull his bicycle.  Nonetheless, the admonition to drivers to "slow down immediately and maintain a safe following distance" is welcome.

Stay tuned for reports on the big ride of the summer -- H1200!

Body Heat

A report came out last week indicating that, by the end of the 21st century, climate change could make it too hot on many days to engage in strenuous exercise outside in large parts of the United States without death.  With the air temperature over 95 degrees fahrenheit and high humidity, the body cannot cool sufficiently, heat stroke or heat exhaustion and death result.

Beautiful clear air after much rain.  The Tamagawa path.  Air like a brick.

Of course, the group behind the report is just a bunch of crazy left wing environmentalists with Risk Committee and Co-Chairs such as George Schultz (Secretary of State to President Reagan), Hank Paulson (ex Goldman Sachs CEO, Secretary of Treasury to George W. Bush), and Olympia Snowe (former Republican Senator from Maine).

It has been cool and wet recently in Tokyo, but today, just as I headed out for a mid-day spin, the sun shown through clouds, temperatures soared and humid air was like a brick.  If this is what Risky Business is predicting for much of the world during much of the year 50~75 years from now, I don't like it at all.

But I needed to get in a decent ride.  Two weekend "make up" classes for each of the two courses I have been teaching at Keio, and lots of rain, have kept me away from the bike far too much.

Also, I just did a major makeover of Voyage Voyage (the Ti Travel Bike to get it ready for Hokkaido 1200 -- finally moving over my Shimano 7800/6600/6700 and "Retroshift" components, redoing the bar tape, etc.  I rode it to work on Thursday, made some significant Retroshifter adjustments, and was glad to find the adjustments worked and shifting is smooth.   I can understand why Hiroshi does not like the Retroshift, but now that I have gotten used to them, I do not mind them at all.  I think having large hands, which can envelope the shifters and brake lever, helps.  I have no worries about shifting vs. braking -- it is easy to do both.  And if I should ever break a cable, it will be easy to replace.

Voyage Voyage is ready for the Hokkaido 1200.  2 x1 liter water bottles and tool kit in the 3rd bottle carrier.  

I made it down Onekan and the "Tank Road", and back again.  There were plenty of other roadies out, taking advantage of the rare sight of dry pavement and blue sky to get in a ride.  At a convenience store stop just after the turn-around, a number of us shared complaints about the humidity as I ate some ice cream and refilled my bottles (with the remainder of the water going onto my head or down my back for cooling effect).

Hydrangeas along the tank road

End of the (Tank) Road looking out to the NW

Of course, a few hours after I returned home, a thunderstorm rolled through, the streets were damp again and the temperature mercifully cooled.

Nokogiri! Kazahari Rindo!

On Sunday morning Jerome and I headed up to the Positivo Espresso Oume base.  We met Stephen and, after a breakfast of fresh persimmon from the garden, grapefruit, bananas, yogurt and rolls (Juliane would have been proud of us), we continued up Yoshino Kaido and Route 411.  It was a beautiful morning in Oume, the air clear and crisp ... the next forecast typhoon still 3 days away.

The Oume Base

We made the left turn just a kilometer past Okutama Station and were onto the the Nokogiri climb. Stephen and I attacked, out of the saddle, for the first few hundred meters, then all 3 of us settled in for the 6.7km, 597 meter elevation gain category 2 climb.  We each climbed at our own pace, Jerome suffering from Friday night (into Saturday wee hours) entertainment with junior colleagues.  Stephen crested first, with me just 15 seconds or so behind.  Jerome followed up -- incredulous that he was 6 minutes 30 seconds back.  As he said "no spring chicken".

At the top, Stephen and I waited amidst a large group of men setting up some tents and covered areas that appeared to be a checkpoint for a 70 km. trail running event -- must have been scheduled for the next day (today as I write), Monday, Oct 13, which is a holiday and "Sports Day" in Japan, as trail runners like to go along the crest to the west of Mitake-san, passing Nokogiri-san en route.  Some of the men had "finisher" t-shirts on, while others had "staff" shirts on.  One of the "staff" was smoking a particularly harsh brand of cigarette, the smoke immediately bothering Stephen and me as our lungs tried to recover capacity from the climb (and Stephen from his Friday night red-eye flight HK to Tokyo).

My climbing bike at the top of Nokogiri, at the trailhead.

I was very glad to have my lighter-frame bike (the Canyon), outfitted with compact crank and SRAM WiFli rear cassette and Ultegra 6600 series long-cage derailleur.  I could climb the steepest parts in 34-32 front/rear gearing -- as forgiving as Jerome's triple setup.  This allowed me to stay in the saddle and spin, standing up only for a change of muscles/pace.

Warning -- Don't slip of the road on the South side descent!

Then it was down the south side of Nokogiri, a quick stop for curry at the "Hinohara Woodie House Mura", which seemed to have a good business -- fully rented cabins -- at least this one long weekend.  At the bottom of the climb, we debated whether to try Kazahari Rindo, one of the toughest climbs in Kanto ... or maybe just try the much shorter Chaya (teahouse) climb.  Of course, we opted for Kazahari Rindo!

Jerome and Stephen went ahead, much more aggressive on the approach than I.  They waited at the start of the really steep section, the sharp "V" intersection.  From there, I pulled ahead.  Stephen stayed with me for the first kilometer, as we climbed at 15% or more grade.  But he was riding a bike with, at best, 39-25 gearing.  Almost impossible for this climb, especially the fairly long 18% section up to the Hinohara Mushroom Center.  I went ahead, alternating between spinning and standing, and was up it before long.  Not surprisingly, with this gearing, he needed to dismount and walk for a bit, and Jerome did the same, if only to shift his derailleur into the lowest gear by hand.

I was pleasantly surprised that I did the climb only a few seconds slower than in late April 2011, well into my Transalp training ... and this on the second big climb of the day.  As I waited at the top, I talked with a spirited group of Japanese "ojisan" cyclists who had climbed from Okutama-ko on the main road and were suitably impressed that I had done the rindo.  They were even more impressed when I mentioned that Kazahari Rindo x2 equals the Mortirolo!

A classic Positivo Espresso ride on a beautiful day.  Over 2000m of climbing in total and 170 kms+.

Saturday Ride - Wada Pass

Saturday offered some of the best weather since Spring, and so Jerome and I headed out for a half-day ride.  I tend to have an advantage over Jerome when we ride on Saturday morning instead of Sunday, and today was no exception.

Bright sun and dark shadows at Wada Pass

I pulled most of the way out to the base of the climb.  Riding the Canyon with mini aero bars, I feel as if I can ride for quite awhile at a sustained pace at least a few kph faster than normal.  The aero bars force my arms and shoulders inward, my torso more horizontal, and my rear end up in the air.  The result is speed.

Jerome did pull ahead on the climb up the forest road (Daigo Rindo) approach to Wada Pass, but he was still breathing heavily when I arrived at the pass, so he cannot have gotten too far ahead.  The Canyon still has the "granny gear" 11-32 cassette on the wheel I added for the SR 600 attempt 2 weeks ago, plus compact 50-34 cranks, so I could spin up even the 15-16% grades of the Wada forest road. (UPDATE:  Jerome tells me he reached Wada Pass 10 minutes ahead of me ... so I guess even if I was pulling him on the flats he still has a big lead on any climbs.)

Jerome spent last weekend with Positivista Stephen C., at his Oume training base, and they discussed the idea of perhaps a team training week in Japan next summer. ... Indeed, it would be great to get other members of the team back to Japan, as long as we can find someplace cooler -- the high passes of Nagano, or cooler, drier northern island of Hokkaido?