SOS Landscape and 30.000 hits

It has been a while since I blogged about cycling tours I have done around Bremen recently, but I thought that this would be appropriate to do on the occasion that we have reached 30,000 hits on the Positivo Espresso site.

I had planned to visit a congress in Hamburg which I did on Wednesday to find out the city is more advanced than Bremen as Japanese speciality stores are opening there at breath-taking speeds.

Hamburg is about 100 km away from Bremen and can be reached by regional trains within one and a half hour. If everything goes smoothly but I never does if you are travelling with Deutsche Bahn. This time if felt more like taking the train from Lumumba to Maputo as everything stopped somewhere in the absolute nothing and after waiting for an hour the passengers were forced to evacuate and walk along the rails for the next exit.

On the positive side, this gave me the perfect opportunity to escape work and spend the rest of the day on the bike. There were blue skies over Bremen which used to be common in June and July but a rare occurrence in recent weeks. There are red skies over paradise, blue skies over the Southern states and even liquid skies over New York.

But over Bremen the skies are generally grey, patched with dark grey clouds.

So yesterday could have been the last beautiful autumn day in Bremen. Yes, it is autumn already as we are some degrees closer to the North Pole and temperatures have dropped into single digit ranges during the night. Farmers are pulling pumpkins from the fields and displaying them on wheelbarrows in front of their houses and the general atmosphere is one of winter coming closer.

So I jumped on my bike and took off riding through the high-tec park close to the university, stimulated by hundred of academic brains working hard in the buildings lining up the street. A right turn brought me to the restaurant Platzhirsch, where the first climbing challenge of the day awaited me that usually brings my pulse into the 170 - 180 range: A short and brutal climb leading up to the bridge crossing the federal highway. Approximated 10 meter elevation gain. Normally I try to accelerate up to 40 km/hr on the ascent and keep the speed until the highest point so I can cruise down in the same speed range. Yesterday I felt like  Mosquera riding up the Bola del Mundo with Nibali on his heels.

The road then leads along the river Wümme and is a very pleasant ride for about 20 minutes. Not too much traffic, a wide asphalt road and many roller skaters riding along this very curvy and technically sophisticated road. Great. But very short. And 100% flat. And done already a hundred times, so this is like riding along the Tamagawa between Noborito and Sekidobashi. One knows every pothole, every speed bump and every turn already by heart.

So I took the road further on to Lesum and Vegesack, the Northern quarters of the fee and hanseatic city of Bremen. Finally some hills, not too high but at least one goes out of the saddle and the addition of cobblestones is nice as well.

Ritterhude, Osterholz-Scharmbeck, the further to Worpswede. Now I was in the middle of the lower-saxony landscape. Below is a photo taken of the landscape just out of Osterholz-Scharmbeck and then we see one of the landscape shortly before Worpswede.

Did you notice the difference? No? Well there is almost none, so it's hard to compete against all the beautiful photos of mountains and roads in Gunma and Nagano pasted on this site. Riding on a bike one gets easily bored therefore. Out of boredom comes anger, frustration and despair. So the government has installed a series of "SOS-Landscape" communication modules at extremely boring spots where one can dismount from the bike, pick up the receiver and start complaining about the dull environment.  Calls are picked up by the SOS landscape call center in Chennai, where a group of German-speaking Indians listen sympathetically to the flood of complains, never complaining themselves even if abused heavily and urging the hapless riders to re-mount and do some more miles...

Which I did. The good thing about riding in this stimulus-lacking, flat landscape is, that one is fast. I can easily do averages of 30 km/hr over distances of up to 100 km/hr whereas I was in the 18 - 25 km/hr range when riding even over smaller bumps in Western Tokyo. Not even riding behind David at the start of a trip along the Tamagawa I was able to go that fast. But here, there is only a wide road, nothing to look at except the speedmeter and so one goes fast. Yesterday I was averaging about 32 km/hr.

Quelkhorn, Fischerhude, Borgfeld, here is where what remains of the German emperors family is living in Germany, so the newspaper said. I was now back in the federal state of Bremen and after a few more turns I was back at the university, shortly before the 100 km mark. Not so much distance but a nice quickie, considering that the whole ride took about three and a half hour and fitted in nicely in the afternoon before attending a congress later in the evening.

Honestly, 100km is nothing to blog and boast about given the standard of the Positivo Espresso team, but this is reality in Bremen now. Today I look out of the window and it is raining again. Perfect weather to commute with my new Gazelle, but not for any longer rides. Rain is also forecasted for the weekend. I guess I need to travel more with Deutsche Bahn to get riding opportunities.

Why I need a second bike

With Christmas 'only' three months away my children have started drawing up lists to tell Santa Claus what they would like to receive. The lists are now stuck all around the apartment, including at eye level for both positions a gentleman assumes in the lavatory. So I thought perhaps I should send a letter to Santa explaining that I 'need' another bike and, as he is likely to be convinced by my reasoning, perhaps he could see to it that it is a Pinarello Dogma frame size 56.

So why do I need a second bike? This weekend the family and I headed up to our place in Tateshina in Nagano Prefecture. I had been there last weekend as well, driving around to map out future rides. Now was the time to try out some of these rides. Once the luggage, bike, wife and dog were in the car there would be no room for the children. Even leaving the wife behind would not have freed up enough space for both children so we had to take 2 cars. No question of leaving Humphrey (the dog) behind as he loves the long walks and swimming up there. So I reason, I need a bike to leave up there so that we do not have to exaggerate the family carbon footprint. By the way, there is something very satisfying about getting off the Chuo Expressway at 12:05am on a Saturday morning and seeing the toll is only Y1,000.

On Saturday, I left the house down a treacherous hill to join the Venus Line at Tateshinako. From here I rode up a few kms and then branched off on a road linking to the Marchen Kaido (Rte 299). The ride was an extremely pleasant 20km climb up to Mugikusa-Toge (2127m).

This is a very nice climb with only light traffic. The gradient varies between 6-8% and then becomes easier nearer the top. All the motorbikes were those of sensible middle-aged men out for a ride, rather than lunatics on hotted-up racing bikes (I would meet these the following day on the Venus Line). At the top I pulled up along side a Harley Davidson whose owner was photographing the sign to signal the top of the pass. He seemed non-plussed by a lycra-clad gaijin (why should he be?) but when I identified his bike as a Fat-Boy he was impressed and decided that despite my attire I was worth a quick chat. He explained that the newer model Harleys are much quieter and thus less interesting to him. When I then explained that I have a 1978 Ducati 900ss he became wildly excited as these bikes are well known for a great sound. We parted as buddies: he made his way back to Nagoya while I did a U-turn home to get home for lunch as promised. For some reason, on the way up the long climb I started to dream of a curry. Great descent but for the last 1-2km climb back up that treacherous hill to the house. As I pulled up to the house I was met by my fan club. Later I had that curry.


The following day (Sunday), I took the soft option and drove the 17km along the Venus Line to Shirakabako and parked. I then rode up Rte 152 and on to Rte 155. Instead of climbing up Rte 67, a steep climb up to the Venus Line, I chose a new route (Rte 142) which took me up "The Other Wada Toge". This is a beautiful climb. About 550m elevation gain at a steady 6-7% gradient. I stopped counting the curves but a sign near the top was for Curve No. 70 - I think I started around Curb No. 20). Some beautiful views and a nice old open fronted thatched building for what purpose I do not know other than to offer shelter to cyclists and hikers.
This is no witch house!
From here I rejoined the Venus Line, turned left and rode to Kirigamine Highlands and on down to Shirakabako again. Being a holiday weekend the Venus Line was busy up here. Young bikers riding like lunatics and overtaking across yellow lines and various car clubs (a convoy of Mazda Miatas etc) took away some of the pleasure but the views were breathtaking.
When in a car one doesn't always notice the gradient but in arts where I thought I would be riding along on a flat road I was in fact riding up a 6% slope and into a headwind. Had I had the time I would have turned right instead and gone on to Utsukushigahara Kogen. I drove this road last weekend. There is an 8km Alp d'Huez style series of steep switch-backs which look to be an interesting challenge.
These rides were for discovery purposes. Next time I will ride from the house to in a loop taking in Alp d'Huez v2.0 to Utsukushigahara Kogen and back along the Venus Line. About 110km with 3,000mm of climbing.

As I write this I strikes me that I have 2 motorbikes, neither of which I ride now, but only one road bicycle. Will Santa rectify the situation I wonder.

Tokyo - Karuizawa

Jerome and I enjoyed a beautiful day and, as planned, made it to Karuizawa (183 km or more distance and 2748 meters of total elevation gain) in time to hop the train home for dinner.

As usual, we started out fast and averaged just under 30 kph to Oume.  After a quick stop (too early for Aurore) we continued on to the Holy Fountain and then over Yamabushi.

Through Chichibu City, some prefer to swing SW on Rte 140, heading out to town as if their goal was Mitsumine Shrine ... before cutting over to Rte 299 via Rte 37 ... or going way high and way West via Rte 201.   Others prefer turning right and just slogging along Rte 299 through its congestion and following as it dips way down to cross the river and climbs the other bank, typical sprawl until clearing Ogano, when it becomes a very nice road.  Today Jerome and I tried a middle path -- going straight, which took us to a big suspension bridge (which had a nice view back to Chichibu) and into the the Chichibu City "Muse" park. 

The park is on top of a ridge that provided an extra little climb, very pleasant road, and we ordered a quick plate of curry and rested some at the "stained glass" cafeteria before heading on our way, a fast descent down the back side of the ridge and then joining Rte 299 having skipped the worst of it.

What had been a very fast trip to Chichibu and the park slowed to a long slog, as we both started to show our fatigue.  I showed it more.  Jerome usually pulled way ahead, then waited for me.  The stops and rests grew closer together.

Jerome waited for me, resting, at Shigasaka Pass tunnel entrance.

I rested on the way up, taking a photo looking back along Rte 299 -- where we had been.

The mountains of the Gunma border -- impressive as always.

I thought Jerome was just being kind, waiting at regular intervals and being a good sport about it, except I realized he actually needed the rest when I caught up to him waiting at the side of the road at a nice stop at Uenomura (gifts, crafts, very nice new building with river and bamboo down the hill in back and a much better place to rest that the typical convenience store, if without much of the food -- I think called the Uenomura "fureai-kan" or something similar). 

He motioned me to the side of the road and told me we needed to stop at the rest area.  I was looking unhealthily pale and covered in sweat much of the day -- my muscles okay but my body generally and circulatory system tested by the fatigue.  Here in Uenomura (just at the beginning of the climb to Jukkoku Toge and before the turn off from 299 in Gunma onto Rte 45, toward Shimo Nita ("the city that Konnyaku built") as we rested and recovered yet again, we pondered the time -- somehow the hours had passed by on Rte 299 west of Chichibu City, our fast start squandered.  We still had over 50 km left to Karuizawa, and some big hills, first Shio-no-zawa Pass (not Shiozawa Pass -- the next road East), then the long climb from Shimo Nita (Elev.  260 meters) to Wabi (和美) Pass (Elev 970 meters) and into Karuizawa, with some very steep short bits (13-14% or more).  We decided we would see how we were doing at Shimo Nita and make a decision then.

An unnecessary conversation as it turns out.  We climbed from the Uenomura rest area (Elev. approx 590) over maybe 5 kilometers up to 740 meters elev, then found the mouth of the tunnel that bypasses Shio-no-zawa pass.  Inside the tunnel, we continued a gradual climb for about 20 seconds, ... then the road pointed downward at what seemed like a decent 2-3-4% grade.  We went very fast the next 3 km inside the tunnel, and the descent on a wide, well designed road, just beyond it, at probably our fastest speed with least work all day.  At Shimo Nita we turned for Karuizawa without hesitation.

More mountains of Gunma

The climb to Karuizawa was painful because of some very steep parts, reasonably heavy traffic for a true country back road, and one section where you go under the expressway ... soaring what seemed like very far above us, cars zooming by on two bridges that appear from a tunnel on one side of the valley, and disappear into another tunnel.  At one point I needed to rest, and the most comfortable (least uncomfortable) place was the slightly inclined plane of the retaining wall next to the road.

But we made it to the top in one piece, then a victory ride down the hill and into Karuizawa ... cut short by a huge traffic jam about 3-4 kilometers south of the station ... everyone in Japan (well, every one who drives a late model German car or Japanese copy) was heading back from golf or out for a meal in central Karuizawa, or trying to get to the one underpass where they can go from the South to the North side of the shinkansen tracks.  We slipped through the traffic watching for car doors, but it was surreal -- cars just sitting, red tail lights as far as the eye could see.  I hope they enjoyed the weekend!


70 minutes back to Tokyo station, by shinkansen.  Another successful P.E. tour, in the books.

New Audi Commercial Mostly Shows Mountain Bikes

Sean Kelly's priorities

"The bike, then the car, and then the wife. In that order." - Sean Kelly

And before anyway gets too PC you don't want to mess with Mr. Kelly. He is one of the hardest men around. Probably eats nails.

The photo below comes from the marvelous Big Ring Riding blog-site.

Life Cycles Trailer

www.lifecyclesfilm.com/ Beautifully shot.

Tsuru Tsuru Loop

Another weekend, another Saturday ride ... this time with a plan (achieved!) to return by the Noon hour.  Aurore bakery in Oume was closed, so we took that as an omen not to go into Nariki and approach the Holy Fountain or Yamabushi Pass.

Instead, we went via Ikusa-bata (Battleground), over the forest road climb to Umenoki Pass (approx 650M elevation) and Tsuru Tsuru onsen.  We took a slight detour to swing by Stephen and Ryoko Coady's place near the bridge at Ikusa-bata.  Ryoko's familiar bright red VW was parked outside and there were signs that the house is in active use (but it was early Sunday morning and no signs of activity stirring inside, so we moved on after a few minutes rest in the shade on their porch.)  Is Stephen still in Switzerland?  Back in Japan?  I've lost his cell number when my last phone died and was replaced, the data unrecoverable by normal measures.

At the top of Umenoki Pass, another in my series of photos of Jerome resting on concrete road surfaces:

My Cervelo ... still with the bulbous saddle bag from last weekend's Brevet:

The onsen is 2.8 km from the top of the climb.  The lower stretch of this descent on the S. side of the ill, after passing the Onsen, was one of the most delightful roads I can remember within the Tokyo prefectural limits, a classic 2-4% grade along a river/stream with very little traffic and lots of green.  It must be spectacular in April/May.  The climb up the North side had nice variety, mostly shaded, some very steep stretches but none that lasted for long, almost entirely in the shade, and on a closed forest road with no traffic yet a decent road surface (for climbing, anyway).  I've known about this for several years, but never managed to try it until now. (The entrance is not obvious from Yoshino Kaido on the N. side -- you would miss it if you did not know where you are going or have a good map.

This may help for anyone who wants to try it and does not know where the entrance is:

A Brevet Too Hot

Jerome met me on Saturday the 4th at 6AM as planned and we drove out the Tomei Expressway and then through early morning traffic jams of trucks on Rte 16 to Sagamihara, finding the  god-forsaken, hot stretch of gravel along a riverbed where we could park for the Brevet.

Jerome was on his smart looking new Look 565 -- replacement for the stolen 2004 Look 585. As an "unofficial" entrant, Jerome made a good showing -- with reflective vest, lights, etc.

We suffered through the first leg to Itsukaichi, made a short stop, then suffered through the heat on the way up the lower Akigawa.  Jerome took a break for a plunge in the river before the climb to Kobu tunnel, while I pressed ahead slowly and waited for him at the tunnel exit.  After a quick trip to Uenohara, we took an unscheduled convenience store stop in a desperate attempt to cool down.  To no avail.  I made my slowest ever ride up Rte 20 to Otsuki and was fortunate to have Jerome go ahead and scout out a route through several farmers' fields and down to the Katsura-gawa, where we could get into a river pool by climbing down a rope.  Temporary relief.

After only 10 minutes on the bike again, I felt just as hot as before.  We stopped at another convenience store past Tsuru, ... no shade and heavy traffic on the climb up Rte 139 to FujiYoshida.  Time passed and we saw fewer and fewer Brevet riders, as we slipped to the back of the pack.  Jerome waited for me several times and we finally limped into the Kawaguchiko rest stop at 3:05PM, just ahead of the 3:15 cutoff.  At least it was cooler there at 900 meters elevation and with a few clouds.

After a long rest (almost an hour), we pressed on in the cooler climate, partially recovered and rehydrated.  We persuaded one Japanese rider, Hiroyuki, not to "retire" and to continue with us.  Once we climbed up to Saiko, and rejoined the main road, we made good time to Motosu-ko, which was beautiful, with a breeze for the windsurfers on the far side, and some haze and clouds mixed with blue sky.

We then had a nice, fast, long descent down to the Fujikawa at the base of the western side of Mt. Fuji.  .... where it was again HOT and HUMID, even as the sun set.

We slogged on with Jerome pulling me and Hiroyuki much of the next 50 km, into a light headwind in the dark.  At Fujinomiya, I said my farewells and boarded the train home.  The combination of heat, serious sleep deficit and lack of training over the past 4 months, having defeated me.  Lacking a "rinko bukuro" ("bike bag"), I used my windbreaker as a "modesty cover" for my bicycle on the train, at least to shelter passengers from any chain grease -- which seemed enough to keep the train staff from complaining on a quiet Saturday night.  I recovered enough on the train to ride home the 15km from Shin-Yokohama, and at last got a decent sleep at night.

Jerome made the long climb up to Fuji Skyline at night (spectacular, as I had expected and hoped to enjoy ...), saying goodbye to Hiroyuki and another Japanese rider after waiting repeatedly for them on the lower stretches.   He enjoyed the descent into Gotemba and then slogged back down Rte 246 to Sagamihara, getting there at 4:30AM, 30 minutes after the cutoff, but when there were still 5-6 other cars awaiting returnees.

Even if, for the first time in 6 attempts, I failed to complete a Brevet, at least I managed a ride of more than 125 km for the first time since my mid-May injury, and thanks to my riding partner I went far enough into the event so I don't need to completely write off the idea of the two longer Brevets in October.

Transalp 2011 Preparations

David and me are planing to attend as a team the Transalp 2011 race in summer next year.

As this is a long, long race with many elevation meters to climb we have to be very well pprepared if we want to do Transalp from Germany to the finishline in Italy. It is essential to listen to the voice of the pros, so riders like Filippo Pozzato can give one of two hints shared from his preparations for the forthcoming world championships via Cycling News.

OK, from now on I will stop driving around in my Ferrari, break up with any long-term girlfriend that might still remember me and stop having fun as everyone in my age group.
Vittorio Adorni. I see.

MEIJI CONSTITUTION REVISITED

Ludwig and I spent the evening in the very room where the Meiji Constitution got drafted...

Unforgettable views along the way...

Ludwig's superb navigating skills...

Heisei Constitution finally mapped out...

The Addition

Finally a new bike that can be used all year round in Bremen. And for 150 Euros only!

Well, I have to admit, that 150 Euro is rather the official price which is mentioned when I speak with my wife. Perhaps we can see it that way: The frame was purchased for about that money, however additional investments in tires, tubes, saddle post, bar tape and a brand new rim on the front wheel with 36 bomb-proof spokes added substantially to the amount. Still, the "Blue Boy" was much cheaper than say, two Carbon saddle posts for my Cervelo.

And cheap it should be, as this is the main specification for bike owners in Bremen. Bikes get stolen all the time. The Bergamont cross bike from my landlord, that I have used the first couple of months here got stolen last week. And there is hardly anybody here that couldn't tell a similar story. So above all things I need a cheap bike, one that easily can be replaced by another cheap bike, one I am not that emotionally attached to in case it get stolen.

Bremen is the city of old , rusty steel frame road racing bikes. Perhaps I should buy some and send them to Japan for refurbishment and sales, I possibly can make a fortune.

Second, it must be possible to ride the bike through the seasons. And the main seasons in Bremen are rain, windy and cold. And the forth one, summer is a little bit warmer, windy and still with a lot of rain. So a proper bike needs long mudguards on the front and on the rear.

I had some problems with the bike shop in Bremen (Fahrrad Feinkost) where I bought this perhaps 25 year old Dutch, steel-framed Gazelle bike. When I came to collect it the first time the rims where still in terrible shape. We agreed on a new date and still nothing had been done when I called. "So when will the bike be ready?" "We will let you know."  Again I felt the gap in service attitude compared to Tokyo. So when the bike shop finally called me to let me know that the bike was ready for pick-up, I told them "Sorry, I cannot drop in, I am currently in Tokyo and will stay here probably for the next three weeks." "OK, you can pick it up when you come back from Tokyo." "Sure, but I will probably continue to travel to Rio. I will let you know once I am back." So after keeping the bike long enough in the shop to decrease inventory turns and increase accounts receivable for the shop management to become noticeable I picked it up finally yesterday evening. An event that wasn't by chance coincidental with a visit of my aunt and uncle in town.

In the eighties my uncle owned a Koga-Miyata racing bike which he proudly showed off to us Renault, Raleigh of Motobecane riding nobodies. He was the first person I knew who had a bike with tires glued on the rims, a concept still so strange to me that I continue to stay with clinchers. So I knew that he would become rather excited about this steel frame bike and Japanese etiquette would require my dear wife to become not too excited in the oposite direction. In fact we had a very pleasant evening and to this very hour the bike wasn't mentioned any more in domestic conversations.

I made some final adjustments today and took some photos for this post. By chance I took a closer look at the clamps fixing the cables on the top tube and there was the magic word: "Dura Ace". I fell in love immediately. Actually the bike has quite some nice features: A standard crank plus a 14 - 19 6 speed cassette which is basically a two speed setup. And look at these tiny levers, compared to the dual control Ultegra levers! Surprisingly the cables are routed under the bar tape. And and and. This must ne love, definitely. I will take her out for a spin tomorrow morning.

And visit the bike shop on Monday to buy a huge steel lock so that nobody will ever take her away from me.

Appropriately dressed gentlemen on the track

The gentleman with long hair is Sir Paul Smith himself. Sorry mob, not tweed.

Source: Bianchista.blogspot.com

Hot Brevet To Go

On Saturday I return to the Brevet circuit (motto: "slow and steady wins the this-is-not-a-race") after an absence of 4 months, for a 300km ride from Sagamihara around Mt. Fuji, including one climb up to Kawaguchi-ko, then back down the West side, then a climb in the cooler late afternoon/early evening from 200m up to 1500m elevation on the South side -- might even need a windbreaker to keep warm on the mountain in the dark at that elevation.  Jerome is planning to join.

We leave the river at Sagamihara (start between 730 and 8AM) go out via Takao toward Itsukaichi.  For anyone who wants to ride along, the cue sheet can be found here (Japanese required).  Instead of getting to Sagamihara for a 7:30 start (we will drive out), you could join at the first check point -- the Akiruno Togura 7-11 west of Itsukaichi (the "last 7-11" before the climb to Kazahari), which we should pass through sometime between 9:00 and 9:30, before heading up the Akigawa to Kobu Tunnel, then via Uenohara, Tsuru and up to Kawaguchi ko and Saiko.  The second check point is near Kawaguchi-ko, hopefully sometime between Noon and 1PM.

I'm really looking forward to riding the low road around the West side of Fuji, along the Fuji-gawa, and climbing the Fuji skyline drive on the South side for the first time.  Then again, I'm also happy that much of the route is on roads I have taken at least once before, so we won't need to focus much on navigating.  Stay tuned.

Vuelta Stafe 4 Finish

http://www.rtve.es/mediateca/videos/20100831/asi-gano-igor-anton-chaparral/864285.shtml

Very interesting and exciting finish of the Vuelta stage yesterday. The lone racer in front from Caisse d'Epargne, Rigoberto Uran was caught after an attach only 600 meters away from the finish on the last and brutally steep approach. Fantastic course, provide that the riders drip in one by one after being destroyed in the climbs at the beginning of the stage. This is not a finishing area for a mass sprint of the peloton.

More high-altitude conquests

Day 1: back over the highest pass in Japan - Norikura, at 2,700m

Day 2: over Utsukushigahara Kogen at 2,100m

Day 3: over the highest national highway pass in Japan - Yamada Toge, at 2,172m

More here.

Laurent Fignon

Velonews and others reported today about the death of Laurent Fignon at the age of 50.

Laurent Fignon followed by Greg Lemon(d)

My first thoughts when I read he news were: "Oh, he is not that much older than me and he has won the Tour de France twice AND died already." I guess this is what happens when one get older and people one know are passing away to the right and to the left. Until, those who are still standing on the right or on the left will say: "Oh, mob has passed away already!"

I never watched cycling races on TV when I was a kid or later as a student, but for some reason unknown, I remember same names from the Seventies and Eighties: Diddi Thurau (noboby could escape the hype that was created in 1977 when he was leading the TdF), Raymond Poulidor, Joop Zotemelk, Freddi Maertens and of course Eddy Merkcx. And Laurent Fignon. Poulidor and Fignon I just loved for the sound of their names.

Moreover, Laurent Fignon wore this big oval glasses which made him look rather like an intellectual than a road racer. One could imagine him in the Sixties on the barricades in Paris leading the student unrest, agitating with a megaphone.

In this sense he was similar to Günther Netzer, the leading blond soccer revolutionary from my home team Borussia Mönchengladbach. Much adored even in these days. In the end nobody started any revolution but even years later one has the feeling, yes, these were the guys who could have managed it.

As Laurent Fignon was riding during a time when sun glasses were not popular and helmets not wore, one can remember his face and hair style well, they cast a well-known shade. Today, riders are almost anonymous when racing. Would you be able to identify say, Pettachi in a police line-up? Nibali? Tyler Farrar? Rudi Project. Oakley. Addidas. Rh+, Giro, Bell, Specialized, Mets and Catlike.

I am not sure when exactly, for sure not the first time when we met, but Jerome's glasses plus hairstyle reminded me of Laurent Fignon. Not to mention his riding style. So I am happy to see Jerome alive and kicking in Japan: riding on the right, or riding on the left side.

On the demise of the Cervelo Test Team

David posted already about the end of the Cervelo Test Team. I just would like to add some longer thoughts, perhaps too long for simple comment.

OK, Cervelo shuts down it's own racing team and joins forces with the team of Garmin-Tranisitions. Things like that happen all the time, is there any team that starts in major cycling events that runs under the same name for a longer period of time, say 3 years? So one should not be sad. I would be sad if my hometown soccerteam Borussia Mönchengladbach would be renamed for obvious reasons of speed of spelling into Postbank MG, but teams in the peloton are lacking a more emotional bound.

Which is to say, that the Cervelo Test Team might be the obvious exception to this rule for several reasons that came to my mind the moment I read the news.

Well, I ride a Cervelo bike and so do some other Positivo Espressionists and TCCers. It might not be the greatest bike in the world (that is perhaps because it is the cheapest bike in the Cervelo lineup; so the more expensive ones must be greater and better: S1, formerly know as the Soloist). I personally also don't think that it is much better or worse than a Cannondale, Colnago or Canyon. But it is my bike, the one I chose some time ago, and for that simple reason I would have loved to see the Cervelo Test Team continuing.

Why is it so hard to support a team called "Liquigas"? That is indeed another point for Cervelo: A sponsor who manufacturers road racing bikes and setup his own team. It is hard to support teams that are sponsored by companies distributing gas, providing credit, telecommunication, power tools, promoting strange countries or distributing consumer electronics. Moreover in countries I travel to very rarely. So I liked the idea very much that a cycling-related company sponsors a cycling team. That seems so logical, but with the exception of Skil-Shimano and perhaps Garmin-Transitions, there is not very much logic out there.

Exceptions to the above comment: Gerolsteiner, because they had these nice bubbles on their racing jerseys some years ago. And Euskatel, for the fantastic orange color. Definitely not exceptions:  Milram and Team Telekom. Minus points in addition for the magnenta color and failing to provide me with a telephone line within 4 weeks in Bremen.

Cervelo has great marketing. They featured a series of short videos called "Beyond the peloton" which were very well made. Yes, yes, they brought great insights into the world of pro cycling and looked deeply behind the scenes of the teams. Sorry, but not the point. My point is that they had a good music track, some kind of modern version of Erik Satie's
"Gymnopedie No.1". Plus some very nice pictures, all together creating an atmosphere, an image in my mind of how cycling could be.

Last but not least, the team featured some sympathic riders. No, not Heinrich "Barbie" Haussler, who was rumored to take a leading role in Toy Story 3.  Rather, Carlos Sastre, who came across in the video series as a very responsible and modest guy, Thor Hushovd, and Andreas "GPS" Klier -- of whom I had never heard before.  And so far we have never heard any doping rumours about them. This is more than one can expect.

Finally, Cervelo had the best designed jerseys of all tour teams, with the exception that Team Euskatel has the better color. No sponsor names in completely different designs all over the place. Simply three colors plus oversized ""E accent aigu" or however this thing is called.

That sums up my thoughts. So let's see how the new liaison with Garmin will work out. How would a GPS system look like if it were designed by Cervelo. How would a bike look like if it were manufactured by Garmin?  I'm sure it would come with a 492 page user manual and a reset buttom located under the bottom bracket. And you must call Garmin every second month and ask for a new bike update.

Anyway. The Cervelo GPS could be the salvation.

Thanks to Podium Cafe.

No more Bartape.Net

Cervelo Test Team confirms it is ending its Protour team sponsorship.  Sounds like the cost is just too expensive.  Sastre to Geox for the coda on his career.  Hushovd and Haussler rumored to be going to Garmin Transitions, and there are rumors that Garmin Transitions will become Garmin Cervelo, swapping out their Felt bikes for the faster, lighter, more aero and more comfortable Cervelos.

"The team had a spectacular debut season, winning stages and the green jersey in the Tour de France, stages in the Vuelta and Giro, as well as seeing Heinrich Haussler break through as a major force in one-day racing."  They also made a nice video sitting around on the team bus.

Climbing the Jens Voigt way

With thanks to Race Junkie at http://racejunkie.blogspot.com

"Be a Man" said the Russian

As I rode out towards Ome with Laurent I thought I was unlikely to write a blog about the ride as I did not want to draw attention to the fact we were sneaking off for a Monday ride. Admittedly I had some concerns in the back of my mind as this was my first ride with him and like the other Belgian-on-a-bike I know I suspected he enjoyed pain & suffering. The previous night I saw the weather forecast was calling for 92% humidity at 6am and a high temperature of 35-36C and told Laurent whose response hinted about the events of the next day: "I'm just re-watching The Deer Hunter and if they can go through that then we can ride. Just don't bring a pistol and a bullet as we mind end up preferring that."

We made the obligatory stop at the Aurora Bakery (the PE sticker is still on the pole outside the shop) when we were approached by an American man who said our accents reminded him of a TV Cold War spy series called The Company which he was watching. When Laurent pointed out he was in fact not British the man said "of course not, you are Russian" and then told us about Sasha, a mole in the CIA and to be particularly careful of his cardboard cut-out because it is alive. Confused? So were we. He explained he had been to a party "for a couple of hours" - it was now 9am on a Monday morning. I never knew Ome had such a wild scene. Our stoned American sauntered off towards the station but reappeared in 7-11 warning us that we were being followed, but not by him. Drugs do strange things to people and this enables me to introduce the usual drug/booze crazed rock star.

This week I learned the story of Vince Taylor, the singer who David Bowie credits as his inspiration for Ziggy Stardust. Vince was a moderately successful Elvis-type singer who in 1958 wrote the song Brand New Cadillac, made famous by The Clash in 1979. Although popular, the BBC would not play the song on the radio as it was deemed to be advertising. Vince's career struggled so he found work in Paris.

Vince became seriously unhinged when he tried LSD and appeared in front of his band-members holding a bottle of Matteus wine telling them he was now Matteus, the son of Jesus Christ. At the concert that night he took a jug of water into the crowd and tried to baptise the black leather-clad audience. It didn't go down too well and his career was pretty much over.

On the road to the Holy Fountain the temperature was already 33C. The heat, the previous day's ride and my first run in 2 years which left me with very tight hamstrings made climbing tough. My time up Yamabushi was almost 4 minutes slower than in the spring. On the way up I was thinking about which station I could get to on the other side but the descent made me feel OK and I told myself to HTFU. In the now searing heat we turned off up to climb Shigasaka. Last time Laurent took a wrong turn and ended up riding up a wall before the road leveled out. This time we got the 'right' road which initially felt like a beautiful and gentle climb up the valley. No sooner had I said we had dodged a bullet and had found a nice road the gradient kicked up, and then up more. 10%, 11% and even 12%..... hard work. About 2km from the tunnel at the top we found a pipe gushing cold mountain water. Even Bertie Contador would have stopped. By the time we reached the top I was cooked and fully intended to branch off at the bottom of the descent and head to a station.

At the junction at the bottom I was about to make my excuses and say farewell when Laurent, the Russian, delivered the killer line: "Be a Man". This is an in-joke between Laurent, a mutual friend and me and is a more polite version of HTFU. I could not face our mutual friend questioning my manliness. The video clip explains the phrase.

So instead of turning right and enjoying a flat/downhill ride to the station I turned left and headed up the road in blazing sun. At the entrance to Shiozawa Toge we stopped at a local village shop for water and ice-cream. No water so cold green tea. Very nice on its own but not so good later on during the climb when luke-warm and mixed with High 5 summer fruit flavoured energy powder. A very chatty old lady running the shop pulled stools out for us and offered us her kuri-gohan (chestnut rice) from the previous night. When we told her we were riding up Shiozawa she was surprised and said she had never actually been up there despite probably living around there all her life. I grew suspicious. Laurent claims he remembers a steep bit from the year before but not much else. The human brain has the ability to suppress painful memories.

The climb starts as quite hard work (9-10% up to a bridge) but soon after becomes a monster. Coming around a corner the road narrows and kicks up to 16%. Just as I was about to tackle this slope a truck came so I had to stand aside. No chance of starting again so I walked the next 50m. I thought I could have done it so soon when the next ramp came I managed to ride it (16%). It got worse. On the next slope I managed to keep riding until about 18% then stepped off. The next one was a non-starter for me: 200m at 22%. Even the local postman's motorbike was struggling. After this the gradient dropped to a more comfortable 7% only to kick back up to 14% for a short stretch. The descent is long and fast but narrows in the middle so caution is urged.

We hammered it down to Tomioka and then up an unexpected 100m climb to Annaka where we boarded the train to Takasaki from where we took the shinkansen. I felt sorry for the people sitting around us on the train. The man sitting next to Laurent abruptly got off at Omiya, probably to call his wife to say that he felt faint and wasn't going to back in Tokyo that night but felt he had to break his journey in Omiya. When I got home my children didn't want to come near me. I got in the shower fully-clothed.

Although my legs were not in top form it was a very enjoyable and challenging day. 180km, 2500m of climbing and 8 or more litres of fluid during the ride and lots afterwards. I didn't have a camera so had to make do with my cellphone, hence the lack of photos.

Red ticket

"In the case of running a red light, for example, car drivers can be fined up to 9,000 yen, but cyclists face a fine of up to 50,000 yen, and there is a possibility that they will automatically get a criminal record.

In April 2006, the NPA set up a program to promote road safety measures, and told prefectural police divisions to crack down on cyclists who violated regulations. In March 2007, while the Diet deliberated on a revision to the Road Traffic Law that would tighten enforcement of the regulation that in principle cyclists should not travel on sidewalks, police began to crack down on cyclists riding on sidewalks. After the revised law came into effect in July, the NPA told police to issue traffic tickets to cyclists for blatant or dangerous violations.

In 2006, a total of 268 cyclists were issued red traffic tickets, but this figure jumped to 598 in 2007, 903 in 2008 and 1,326 in 2009. The most common offence in 2009, committed by 436 people, was passing through closed railway crossings. Next was ignoring traffic lights, for which 358 cyclists were ticketed. Another 67 received tickets for riding at night without lights and 50 were handed red tickets for riding under the influence of alcohol."

Over 1,300 cyclists ticketed for serious offences in 2009 amid police crackdown