Tokyo Enduro Race Report

A team I may consider to join.

I woke up at 6.30 hr in the morning after having dreamt that my connection flight from the island of Huahua to Seoul has been canceled forever. These are the times of dreams I normally have before a day at the races.

However, for the credit of this trace I have to say that the weather was much better than for the same race one year earlier. One year earlier I decided to stay in bed after looking out of the window. This year there was no excuse. As this is one of the only four races I can actually ride to from my home (the other ones being Yokohama Stadium Endurance, Tour du Japan Tokyo Stage in Oifuto and Fuji Hill Climb), I couldn't possibly miss it.

For some reason, the Tokyo Enduro is a jinxed race for me. The first bicycle race I ever attended, not as a racer but as a spectator, was hold in October 1990 on precisely that track in Tachikawa. I came to watch my former youth idol Joern Kinzel, inventor of the famous Kinzel K1. Since that it has always been my dream to race there, I applied in 2005 to attend the possibly first Tokyo Enduro, only to find myself unable to attend because of a very bad ear infection. In 2006 I missed the deadline for application. In 2007 I don't recall what has hindered me to attend, but something did. And last year I registered but decided not to ride because of the weather.

So all propped up and riding against a strong headwind I made my way up to Tachikawa. There were many riders out at the Tamagawa, most of the probably heading in the same direction and it was hard to restrict myself not become to competitive as I wanted to keep some power for the race. I arrived and met Tom just by chance at the gate. James and his family got already in and set up a place and a tent at a very convenient place to the pit stop. The TCC riders were also coming in and we had a few chats but just as we, everybody was nervous and in a hurry to get ready for the race. The Catteni Positivo guys also came and set up their tent just next to our one. The first part of our strategy went very well.

That is, that James, our first rider went to the startline early and got into the top 50 or 100 rider group so that he could hang out with the fast guys as long as possible. He did just that for the first seven laps and when he made the last of his laps he sprinted ahead of the group, entered the pit and changed to Tom so that he could also enjoy being part of the fast group. After four more laps Tom changed to me and when I came out of the pit there was no fast group to hang on to. This is really the key to win the race, if you are alone on the track, there is no way that you can go fast for a longer period of time. So I did my four laps all on my own, killed some wheelsuckers and passed to Kaori who did her part and passed to James again. The president of Corratec, shooting at random riders who don't use his bikes.

After a while I went to check the results at the monitors and saw that all of the TCC teams were doing very well and that we were in 9th position in the mixed class. We were way faster than our original plan which was based on the idea that we should be faster than the winner last year.

Well, as I mentioned already for the Motegi race: Racing has not become easier and the competition is becoming stronger year by year. We are not racing against an ever faster competition but also against age and our chances to win are very slim indeed now. For example the mixed team from Catteni Positivo, that made 2nd place last year came in 11th this year, full two laps behind us.

James made a very good run that and put us back into podium reach, by the end of his tour we were in fifth place and 2 minutes away from the third placed team. Tom made further time good and passed the baton to me with about 40 minutes to go. As the pit closes 15 minutes before the end of the race we decided that I would do three laps and then pass to James for the last two ones. Again I was alone on the track but after a while I found one guy one could keep up me and we were pulling each other until we were overtaken by a fast group of five riders to which I could hang on.

Later after moving into the pit and checking the results I realized that one rider in this group was the 4th placed mixed team. I should have stayed out with the fast group and ride to the end as I was also feeling good enough to stay with them, but I decided to stick to the plan and handed over to James. This cost as not only one minute time because of the pit stop but James was now alone on the track again which cost further time. I moved out as well, waited until James finished his first lap and then drafted him 2 km or so before I ran out of gas again.

In the end we made respectable 5th place in the mixed cat, but I am sure that we could have made podium if we would have had better race infos and reduced our number of pit stops.

I guess this is the lesson from the race:

1. We need to get wired.
2. Four riders = three pit stops

Anyway, we had a very good time. Tom's wife also provided us with some nice Belgium waffles which fueled us up through the race. Nichibe-san also showed up to support us. TCC had a very strong showing. I helped James to pack the tent and transport all the stuff to his car, then I went on to the next race which consisted of a 35 km ride back home which I had to make by 5 PM as my wife wanted to go out and I had to take care of the kids. I finished 5 minutes behind the deadline.

TOKYO ENDURO RACE RESULTS

MEN

Winner 33 laps 3.56.38 hr
4. TCC A (Thomas, Sergey, DeeJ, AlanW) 33laps 3.58.03
22 NFCC 30 laps
36 Catteni Positivo Torino 29 laps
41 TCC C 29 laps (David, YellowGiant,...)
45 Catteni Positivo Trevis 29 laps
70 Catteni Positivo Napoli 28 laps

WOMEN

Winner 28 laps 3.55.02 hr
2. TCC G 28 laps 3.59.38 hr

MIXED

Winner 32 laps 3.53.41 hr
5 TCC A PE (Tom, James, Kaori, mob) 31 laps 3.57.39 (=15th place in men cat)
11 Catteni Positivo Milano 29 laps

More to come. First a bath and some food.

All results are here:

SUNDAY

SATURDAY

Night Cycling, Central Tokyo - The Ride

Some of my younger colleagues are taking this bicycle commuting into the office, well, into the office.  I'm told it is forbidden by the producer/director/actors to watch this without speakers on, since the music is integral to their art.

Ice skating and Chris Horner interviewed, for your viewing pleasure.

Almost Coastal

Having ridden a couple of times to Kamakura on the coast via Route 1 from Gotanda and not particularly enjoyed the route, I was excited to see Tom's ride from last week - Kitakamakura Enoshima Loop.

Enoshima, always wanted to try that and Tom'll know a good out of the traffic route.

With Garmin Connect far easier to use these days and the ride sitting there staring me in the face, I thought, 'I'll download that, ride out to where we it crosses the river and start the navigation function on my Garmin 705 and simply follow it" Easy-peasy.

Dominic in a less than sensible moment had agreed to come along too. Off we went, leaving TAC at 7am, arrived in good time at the 'route crossing' point at which time I dived into the Garmin menu and started the navigation.

This worked very well for about 3 minutes until the incensed beeping started. "U-turn as soon as you can". We did. Much to the excitement of a tuned-up Subaru driver. Found our left turn, now a right turn facing the opposite way, but all good as it counted down the metres and indicated where to go.

A short, sharp climb. Of course, it's Tom's route, remember. Then it dawned on me. I knew where I was. This was where Adam had introduced me to some mountain bike trails behind the golf course, near the top of the climb, back when I wouldn't be seen dead in lycra shorts. Those were the days.

Anyway, I digress. We progressed at this point rather well indeed, many lefts and rights, and all very straightforward to follow. Of course, absolutely no idea whatsoever where we were, but we had GPS so who cared. If I'm honest, a couple of wrong turns, soon corrected, but all in all, pretty good.

Or so I thought.

We cycled past Tokaichiba station and then it went kind of awry. The Garmin wanted a left turn and common sense said straight on. Dominic suggested topping the water bottles off and then decide.

That done, we, well me really, decided to follow the Garmin. It had done an excellent job to this point so give it the benefit of the doubt.

This is Tom's route..

This is NOT Tom's route..

With the Garmin spending more time re-calculating (note to the manufacturer, this should be replaced with "thinking") and then getting stuck and in need of a re-boot, then telling us to turn right, and me ignoring that every time, well we ended down on Route 16 with a dilemma.

We both needed to be back in central Tokyo by 1pm, which meant we had an hour to play with. Continue for 30 mins then U-turn and head home? Na. Go now. We headed along Route 16 until Route 1, then hammered it.

Quick tea break at Starbucks in Gotanda (Positivo approved), then home.

I didn't achieve my goal.

I didn't see the sea.

I did get out on the bike and had a great ride in broody, overcast conditions.


Lessons.

• What looks like a turn to the Garmin, can in fact, be a slight bearing only off to the left or right.
• The unit needs more RAM.
• The unit needs a faster processor.
• Wouldn't hurt to look at a map once in a while.
• Better still a map printed off with Tom's route on it.
• Choosing to field test this functionality in the suburbia that is Greater Tokyo wasn't the brightest idea.

Garmin Connect - Almost coastal


I trust Tom, Michael and James are proving to be speedier up at the Xmas Enduro

P.E. Approved mask???

People wear masks on the trains, in the streets, at the bank ATM, in the grocery store, the classroom or office -- making this an even more anonymous society than it otherwise might be, but I always see very few cyclists with masks.  And the ones that do wear them look very uncomfortable ... I guess they want good filters to keep out exhaust and particulate, and they need a tight fit because the surgical mask won't do much during intense exercise.

I was pleased to see in the Nikkei English version online that a solution is being offered.  This could be just what we have been looking for to use as our Positivo Espresso-approved mask.

I think it MIGHT be possible to achieve the same result (and look) by taking a certain article of women's undergarment, folding the cups together (for double extra pollen filtering, and some face-plant padding) and jury rigging the straps:

This could be THE look for our team photo next year, especially if we want photo in our suits, before the next year's kit arrives.  A brief excerpt from the Nikkei:

Friday, December 11, 2009
New Mask Keeps Pollen, Dust Out Of Cyclists' Way

OSAKA (Nikkei)--Major sports eyewear manufacturer Yamamoto Kogaku Co. will launch in March a mask that protects bicycle riders from airborne dust and pollen.

This mesh mask prevents heating around the mouth and boasts better sealing around the nose. A disposable filter, usable for a week, attaches inside. A fastener holds the mask in place, making it easy to put on or take off.

The mask comes in gray, blue and pink. It and two filters will be sold as a set for 2,625 yen, with a filter 10-pack to cost 2,100 yen.
(The Nikkei Dec. 11 morning edition)

Cycle Mode -- Makuhari Messe

I enjoyed a trip out to Cycle Mode today.  In addition to a nice chance to chat with David M. and his friend and co-worker/racer Zac R. of RGT Enterprises/Assos importer, I ran into Thomas of TCC -- whose face I recognized but was not sure from where.  He quickly picked me out -- the guy with the sling from the P.E. blog photo.  I wish him (and everyone else) the best of luck in tomorrow's Enduro.  Also saw Bryon, who is promoting his Computrainer business, and who eventually headed off for lunch with his father-in-law.  I started to explain to David M. that Bryon had had an accident earlier this year ... but David had read about it on the blog.

I took some one-armed photos before heading back, exhausted.  I wonder if James Huang (who seems to be credited with every photo at every bike show that shows up on Cyclingnews, among other places) needs a partner?  Maybe there is not just one "James Huang" but a David James and a Henry Huang, who formed a company, hired a bunch of photographers, and now take tens of thousands of photos a month???  In any event, click here to go to a gallery of photos -- some great eye candy -- De Rosa, Pinarello, Specialized, Tomassini, Mavic, of course Cervelo, etc., etc.!!!

Some of the photos require explanation so I'll add them below in the post as well.

Juliane will be happy to know that Intermax had a good display of Lightweights ... though they did not seem to draw much of a crowd.  I met a Japanese guy working there (said he was named "Mark") who said he had worked with Juliane during the hand-over.  I also mentioned that Juliane was saying "wouldn't it be great if Intermax led some Japanese cyclists to Transalp."  Mark said Juliane had suggested it ... and did not explain whether or why they were/were not doing it ... which I took as a "not doing it" or "not doing it yet" response.  Too bad.

But the most interesting display of Lightweights were on this devilishly hot machine:

 :

And Reynolds now has a wheel (the RZR -- name sounds like a Motorola cellphone) that they claim is the lightest in the world.  It looks to me as if they have  "borrowed" a few ideas from Lightweight for this product, based on the shape of the spokes and the way they attach to the hub.

There were lots of "alternative" materials for bike frames and parts.   A bamboo (though not as cool as the truly integrated bamboo frames from Boo Cycles):

 An all wood bike from a Taiwanese manufacture (the reps seemed happy to find an English speaking guest!):

Wood wheels on a Tomassini (Eco Cycle approved):

  The Delta 7 lattice framed road bike:

 

I was delighted to see the Cherubim bicycle that won "best track bike" at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show last year, and get to talk some with one of the Cherubim frame builders.  I've got to stop by their shop someday.  (You can see the award plaque in the lower left corner of the first photo -- though these photos do not do it justice).

I even got to try the Compex electro stimulation machine -- for training your muscles without lifting a finger. (My left bicep feels stronger already). check out the gallery for more -- especially those beautiful Cervelos -- hard to believe they are Canadian instead of Italian.

News Flash - Kazahari to close to motorcycles

... on a temporary basis starting Dec 15 ... from Tomin no Mori down to Okutamako. Too many accidents, and 5 motorcyclist deaths since 2006.

Read about it (in Japanese) here.

New mountain destination awaiting PE approval ？

Maid Cafe Popping Up In Yamanashi Mountains

KOFU, Yamanashi Pref. (Nikkei)--In the mountains to the west of Tokyo, one restaurant operator is looking to turn around falling sales by opening an establishment where customers are greeted by young waitresses dressed up as French maids.

Ristorante Syokora -- a local Italian restaurant operator -- expects its first "maid cafe," to open in Showa Town on Dec. 15, to attract gaggles of male patrons. At maid cafes, customers are customarily greeted at the entrance by a curtsy and a soothing phrase: "Welcome home, Master!" The phenomenon took root in Tokyo's Akihabara district, and is now spreading far and wide.

Ristorante Syokora plans to open one maid cafe per year, targeting annual sales of 100 million yen during the first three years.

The Kofu-based company will offer about 10 dishes at the cafe, with these to be taken from the menu of the Italian restaurants. While this total is only one-fourth of what is listed on the Italian menus, the cafe will also boast an original rice omelet creation, on which the maids will cheerfully write the "master's" name in ketchup.

(Source: The Nikkei Marketing Journal Dec. 9 edition)

Cross

"Cross" Part I

"It's the aspect of the sport that I've chosen to perfect"



"The Thoms" Part III

"Pain & Pleasure" Part IV

Trailblazing five new passes into Nagano-ken

I headed out on Tuesday to explore a new route into Nagano-ken. The idea was to take as many passes yet unknown to me as possible.

It was a beautiful early morning. When the sun was rising as I hit the Tamagawa, there was still frost on the ground. The sky was crystal clear.

Discovery pass no. 1 was the small hill starting beyond Higashi-Ome station and leading into Saitama, yet without name. Shall we call it Ludwig's belly because it is so flat?

Instead of heading straight and taking the shortest way towards Yamabushi Toge as we usually do, I went north and took Yamao Toge, discovery pass no. 2 (OK, not quite - I had done it once with MOB on a criss-cross through the area around there). At 250m, it is 130m lower than Ozawa Toge, but also amounts to a detour of a few kilometers.

Then the usual approach up Yamabushi Toge - nothing new here.

Disovery pass no. 3 was to take a southern approach from Chichibu-shi towards Ogano. Much nicer than taking route 299 or even the short-cut, but quite a bit longer and with a pass that requires some climbing.

After my first and last pit-stop for the day at the combini shuten in Ogano, I rode through the Nishi-Chichibu Natural Park with its dam up to Yakyu Toge, elevation 840m. This was discovery pass no. 4 and the first "real" mountain pass for the day. It is my fourth pass from Saitama into Gunma, aside from Shigasaka, Tsuchisaka and Kaze passes. It is by far the nicest climb, on a small rindo-like road with no traffic and up a beautiful valley. Well, there was some traffic in the lower part - dumb trucks and other building site traffic that was repairing the road so that it would be easier to pass for other dumb trucks that would do further repairs so that more building site traffic could pass... It is sheer madness!

The descent on the other side is very steep and the road not always particularly good. It is then a long ride up a broad valley until a short climb starts to Shionozawa Tunnel. I was tempted to avoid the tunnel and do the actual pass, but adding almost 400m to the climb would have cost too much time to make it to my final destination.

Down on the other side, it was the final climb of the day (discovery pass no. 5), first through a broad valley with lovely farming houses, then up endless turns. From the border to Nagano-ken which is somewhere up on the climb it was almost 100 curves up to the top - the Saku authorities had put up signs counting every single curve (another ingenious way of wasting tax payers' money). As one ascends, rocky mountain tops emerge and eventually one reaches almost similar elevation to them.

Very beautiful in the setting sun.

From the moment I had entered Gunma, almost everything was frozen. It was a cold day, despite the bright sun, and the afternoon sun was not able to reach the bottom of the valley in many places. Up Taguchi Toge (1,140m) it was very cold, a few degrees below zero. My hands and feet turned into ice blocks on the way down, despite my peddling (the road is not steep at all).

I lost my way temporarily trying to take a new approach to Sakudaira shinkansen station, which cost me 10-15 minutes and meant the last few kilometers were in complete darkness.

210km in all, with 2,600m of climbing.

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/jp/kanto/810126051893752642

Positivo Espresso approved Jizo-Sama [地蔵]

At the start of One-Kan, just next to the Tamagawa bridge and Yanokuchi Station on road #9, there is the only officially approved Jizo statue which provides the necesary protection against all kind of traffic accidents and evil car and scooter drivers. Please make sure to say proper prayers when passing along as otherwise you will be drawn underground by the pinchers of hell.

Goggle Map

Tamagawa Cycling Road

Yesterday, while cycling along the Tamagawa, there was a strong headwind which made it really hard to make progress. I was not the only one who felt so, other cyclists just falled down from their bikes to rest and catch some breath.

Santa comes early

After the terrifying loss of my MOST Chall rear wheel to Route 246 last week I decided to shop around and see what was out there. First store I hit was STAGE1, which is the store I purchased the Pinarello from, although not Positivo approved I'm calling "Grandfathering" on this one and the purchase of anything Italian should automatically be approved and encouraged by the team, along with flamboyant hand gestures, dodgy accents (Michael, Ludwig & Tom seem to have this perfected) and “Mullering” your bike for any technical issues.

Anyway back on track, STAGE1 is going to see if the wheel will be covered under the warranty as it’s only about 6 months old and to be honest a rim should last longer than that. The store believes the last pair died due to me having too much power, talk about an Ego Boost! So with that in mind I was after a “Machin Proof” set of wheels. Having looked around the store none of the wheels on display caught my fancy. (Basically the bank manager was with me and they didn’t take her fancy)

So off we went to Sagami Cycles in Mitskiyo. Now this store is great and is also run by an ex pro mechanic, although I’m not sure who or what he did in the past but he knows his stuff and after what he did to my beloved FP3 I’ll listen to anything this guy tells me.

After consulting with him he offered me two choices for my needs. A pair of 2010 Aksium SL wheels or the new Shimano 6800 Ultegra SL wheels both of which had very high “BLING” factor but came at a very reasonable price.

Now the wheels will be used for the daily commute to Tokyo as well as training rides out in to the mountains, they need to be light but stiff and able to take the punishment of hill climbing. In the end I was recommended the 2010 Ultegra SL wheel set, which although slightly more expensive were the ones I was leaning too, especially after I was told that they are also very good for racing on.

With the new wheels under each arm I headed for the cash register only to find Kaori, the bank manager and my official sponsor paying for the wheels, she turns smiles and mouths “Merry Christmas”.

Guy’s there really is a Santa!

Last night I built the wheels up with a Shimano Ultegra SL cassette, now I love my 11-23 range that offers 11-12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23 and its perfect for 98% of the ride to work but I found that I need more on Wada-Toge and other mountain climbs. So with this in mind I stripped down my other Ultegra cassette that offered a 12-25 gear range.

Combining the two I now run an 11-25 with 11-12-13-14-15-16-17- 19-21-23-25. Also for some of the major hill climb races I tempted to purchase the rear block consisting of 21-24-28 gears. A lot cheaper than buying a whole new cassette and allows me to mix and match the cassette as I need it.

Beauty and the Bike

Troubles for the Quintessential Euro Cyclist?

They say that bad things come in threes.

First it was my shoulder injury last week.

Then it was James' rear wheel rim dying this morning.

Now I read the news that Paolo Bettini, former world champion/olympic champion/Italian champion and recently retired one-day classic racer, is being investigated for 11 million Euros of tax evasion. The old "I live in Monaco" scam. People always forget requires that it requires that you actually LIVE in Monaco (or at least outside of Italy), if you don't want to pay Italian tax on all those winnings and that endorsement money.

I've always thought that Paolo was a special cyclist. He is the clearly the inspiration for the Official Rules of the Euro Cyclist -- could never have been compiled were it not for him, with his gold accented world champion's shoes and helmet. (I was reminded of the rules recently thanks to an email from F2P of Singapore forwarded by our friend David M. at RGT Enterprises, importer of Assos and other Euro-approved gear -- see the display at Cycle Mode).

Of course, I exaggerate Paolo's role. I should also give top billing and extra credit to Mario Cipollini, another former world champion, who serves as an even greater inspiration to the Euro cyclist than Paolo. So I was amused to read that Mario, too, is now being investigated for tax evasion, along with some other Italian sports heroes, though Mario must be a little embarrassed that his evasion is so much, um, well, SMALLER than Paolo's, and happened so long ago.

You would think if these guys all wanted to claim Monaco residence and given how they like to pose for the cameras, they would at least get together for a photo op in Monaco (maybe with Rebellin and the other F1 drivers), instead of at the start of a Tour of California stage.

Some photos of Paolo and Mario in happier Euro cyclist days (thanks to Google's image search engine):

Death in the Family

After an enjoyable evening with the Team last night, I awoke this morning ready to do some work on the bike. Last week I hit a rut in the road that caused the wheel to become untrue and I decided to fix the problem this morning.

Setting up the wheel rig and making sure that it was all centered correctly, I went about tightening the spokes to remove the buckle and get the wheel nice and stiff again. First, I went about making sure the wheel was actually round and equally tightened across the whole wheel and then finally went about removing the side to side wobble.

After 5 minutes of work I was very happy to have a nice stiff, true wheel again and went about cleaning my rims, especially the breaking surfaces.

At first I noticed what I thought was a deep scratch around one of the nipples. On closer inspection and to my horror I realized that the rim had cracked around the nipple and was being pulled out through the rim. I continued my inspection and discovered 3 more areas on the rim that had cracked around the nipple, sadly the rear rim is dead and must be replaced which is a shame as it was the set that came with the bike.

I will hold a minutes silence to morn a great wheel and hope that possibly it can be reborn with a set of Mavic, Spinergy or Shimano rims or the heart break softened by a new wheel set.

Photos from PE team dinner

SUPERFAST - SLOW - FAST MEMORIES

At Hakone pass in 2001 after climbing up the old Takaido. Please note the helmet which now my 8 year old daughter refuses to wear for reasons of general coolness.

[Preliminary note: This is a cycling-performance related post which emphasizes (and exaggerates) one's own mediocre performances on a ride the day before. Don't continue to ride if you expect something humorous].

I have to admit that I have problems to get out of the bed in the morning. It has been always like this and reached it's highpoint during my rather long university career where I refused to go to lectures starting before 1 PM. So where can one do a meaningful ride at 11 AM?

I wanted to ride out to Hakone on Sunday but couldn't get up in time. I also coulnd't get up on Monday. Each time I tried to convince Dominic to join me. Then suddenly it was 11 AM on a Tuesday.

That's when I left the house after spending the morning reading reflection papers from my students. I took the train out to Kamakura where I arrive at 12:10 and assembled my bike under the blue winter sky. I was slightly overdressed as it was a relatively warm day for the season.

SUPERFAST

But it was super day for cycling along the coast in direction Odawara, with a very strong tailwind. I guess I have written that many times already, but I would like to reiterate the point that I love riding along the roads at the sea. As a bicycle rider one tends to forget that Japan is an island. I like MOSBURGER because i am a MOS guy. And MOS is the abbreviation for MOUNTAIN OCEAN SUN. Oh, you didn't know?

Sometimes I take other riders out to the coast at Miura or Shonan, but everyone finds the traffic three quite terrible. This is true however, the fresh, strong wind, the smell of the ocean and the sight of many familiar places compensate me for that:

I pass around my favorite German restaurant in Kamakura, the legendary SEACASTLE [Please check out the story in Japanese], then I pass my favorite Italian restaurant AMALFI just before passing Enoshima. And everytime I am passing Enoshima, I think that I should finally take a look at the naked Benzaiten, something I plan to do since I first heard about in October 1990. I never do and it is something which could be included easily on my list of new years resolutions just between "climb mount Fuji" and "try to be nice to wife and children".

Surfers were still in the water. Surfing is now a full year around activity and I saw many bikes which were refitted so that surfboards can be mounted for transport.

Lots of memories. Actually the first longer bike ride I ever did was in 1990 from Setagaya to Enoshima with my friend Tobias. I didn't had a bike yet so I rented the "Samurai" steel frame bike from my friend Juergen with toe clips. which I bought at a shop in front of Yokota USAF base.

Tobias in Enoshima, 1990. Still wondering if his hair had a perm.

We spend hours trying to get out of Tokyo on the road to the coast. We had maps which we showed to some local by passers which seemed to be rather surprised of the concept of maps at all. Somehow we made it to Enoshima where we arrived so late that we had to turn back immediately to reach home before dark.

Of course I forgot to get my foot out of the toe clip at a traffic light and toppled over towards Tobias who than fell as well. Domino-theory, I guess. Did I ever apologized? Someday I will.

Anyway, that was the start of a more or less serious cycling career and after that ride I bought a proper Panasonic steel frame bike in Meguro which I kept riding until 2000, when it was stolen.

So I was thinking about this and that when riding along the coast in the 36 - 40 km/hr bracket. The traffic was bad but there were almost no traffic lights and there was enough space on the left side to pass. Then I saw another rider going relatively fast in front of me. Good bike (TIME), old clothes, so this could be a rather competitive one, I thought. And indeed he was. When I overtook him he immediately got into my draft and continued to follow me for the next kilometers. So what to do, in the spirit of Deej's recent TCC post?

I turned out that he couldn't keep up with me anyway. One reason seemed to be rather large ears which were mounted perpendicular to the head and significantly increased the Cd-value (also speedplay pedals wouldn't help here I guess). Another reason also might be that he also stopped at traffic lights quite often.

Then I passed another rider on a GIANT bike with an Oakley backbag [not competitive looking acc. to Deej's classification] and he also stayed in my draft. And he wasn't bad at all, overtook me from time to time and all this despite the fact that he was new to cycling evidenced by (a) listening to a music while riding on a public road and (b) giving hand-signals all the time.

Yes, hand-signals, a difficult topic. I try not to overdo it and restrict them to the most basic ones. But this guy needed at least four hands to give signals and keep one hand on the handle. He tried to signal something which, if I understood correctly meant:

"I am going to stop at the next light and make turn for the left to Odawara station, by the way, thanks for the nice ride"

Or, perhaps he wanted to signal instead:

"I have an itching eczema on my butt which I treated at the local doctor and the bill I got is that long."

In the end I enjoyed 72 minutes of fast riding at an average of more than 32 km/hr without any stops and only a few slow downs. This was probably the longest, fastest stretch I did in a long time.

SLOW

Followed by a very boring piece of road between Odawara and Hakone. The only interesting thing to note about this road is, that one can see on the right side another "Pinchers of Hell" monument to traffic safety which I could pass unharmed.

Instead of continuing the Ekiden road 1 up to Ashinoko and Moto-Hakone, I took a left turn at Sanmaibashi (? 三枚橋) to road Ken 732 which seemed to be the old Takaido leading up to Hakone and took a rest at the (approved) 7-Eleven at Hatajuku (畑宿). I knew this road as I have tried to ride up to Hakone in 2001, one of the first rides on my new Cannondale bike. I never tried again after that.

I have a lot of respect for that climb. Hwen I was doing it in 2001 I took many breaks, walked a large stress on foot and was completely done when I reached the top.

Nevertheless I decided to define a new Toge-baka (#18) and went slowly for it. After about 100 meters of climbing up I noted the house where I had asked an old lady in 2001 if it would still be far up to Ashinoko. She said very politely that it wouldn't be that far anymore, went into the house and gave me two bottles of green tea. I needed them because it was still 600 meters up.

This is a much nicer climb that road #1. There is much less traffic and the houses and resorts along the way are slightly more upscale. There are also some interesting shrines and temples of new religions with a battalion of guard men. The only disturbing thing is, that you sometimes get a good view on the new toll road almost running parallel at some points. Compared to road 1, the distance is shorter (10.6 to 13.2 km), covers less elevation (700m to 745m) but as in the end you arrive at the same point, some of the slopes are brutally steep.
For example there is the 七曲 hair needle section which is a nice challenge.
So after less than 53 minutes I arrived at the top and dutifully recorded my time on the blog. By the way, the top is even higher than the mighty Van Hai pass.

FAST

There was only a short stretch to Ashinoko where I took a rest at the (approved) 7-Eleven. It was very warm there as evidenced by the photo below.Then up to Hakone pass (which is not the highest point) and further on to my beloved route 20. The weather was beautiful and the road offers beautiful views to the pacific on the Eastern side (Odawara) as well as to mount Fuji and the pacific on the Western side as it is running on top of the ridge. And I just love the gentle incline and the many curves which leads on a fast and demanding ride to Atami Toge.

From there onwards it is brutally steep and fast down to the city of Atami. I had a shouting match with a minibus driver that overtook me in one of the curves and it got really close. The maneuver was completely senseless as he had to stop anyway in front of a right light some meters further.

The usual argumentation enfolded: I told him, that he was almost killing me and that he drives recklessly. I was told that if it was that dangerous I should stay away from the road. After all this a 車道　(car road). Well, it is not for the sole usage of cars, technically speaking： "自転車は車道が原則、歩道は例外" （Bicycles shall ride on the road in principle and only in exceptional cases on the walkway) is stated in the pamphlets distributed by the local police station after revision of the basic traffic law in June last year.

I hate to be rude to people but I also dislike to be killed. Reckless drivers shall be shouted at in exceptional cases and only in regular cases not.

After that and within now time I was a Atami station where I took the Shinkansen back home. About 80 km, 1.100 meters of climbing and only 3:30 hrs of riding time. All together 6 hours away from home. An excellent alternative to not do a ride I guess.

Which brings me to the point that it doesn't always have to be the long, demanding ride. I do a lot of one hour rides along the Tsurumigawa and I have found another road along the river that brings me within one hour to Onekan. This is good for a tow hour ride. I can combine this with Onekan and extend this into a three hour ride. I also commute to the university in Tokyo. In November I rode 19 out of 30 days, only four rides where longer than 100 km. Nevertheless I made more than 1.100 km during the month.

A late start is not an excuse for doing nothing.

F2P at Tokyo Cycle Show

Kenichi will be representing F2P (PE's official outfit supplier) at Cycle Mode 2009 (Makuhari - Dec. 11~13). For those going, look for Booth 2-73.