The video:
16 June 2010
15 June 2010
An Amazing Response!
Already they have risen over ¥460,000 JPY (Almost £3,500 GBP) for the Tyler Foundation and I would like to thank everyone on their behalf that has donated.
But the charity badly needs more!
You can help not just be donating money but also by spreading awareness, we all have FaceBook, Twitter, Linkedin and other media outlets at our disposal so I’m asking if you can all spread the word as internet campaigns like this are known to have a tremendous impact on these kinds of charity fund raisers! We all remember the “Fat Cyclist” Right???And it proves that just one person can make a difference, even if that one person is joined by hundreds and thousands of other individuals.
You can pleadge support to Dominic here and James here.
So please make a difference, spread the word, donate or if you are able to donate a prize for the random draw we are trying to put together.
Any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated by the families whose children have cancer.
Many thanks.
14 June 2010
PE global domination cont.....
Laurent D. has once again completed the Paris-London ride with his Societe Generale team mates. In doing so, he himself raised over 14,500 Euros for CARE International.
On Day Two of the ride he was wearing his PE jersey with great pride. My first thought was that he stands out like Alberto Contador wearing his national (Spanish) colours when riding with his Astana team, but then it dawned on me that Laurent had his team working for him while Contador, a mere mortal by comparison, has to work hard and lead from the front.
Chapeau, mon vieux, chapeau.
A Very Good Cause
Next month two of our very own, James K. and Dominic H. will be riding in this year's Etape du Tour, a mountainous stage of the Tour de France which is open to amateurs. The ride is 174km (108 miles) long with 4,000m (13,123 ft.) of climbing. It finishes on the top of the legendary Col de Tourmalet.
They are raising funds for the Tyler Foundation. The foundation's mission is to support children with cancer in Japan and their families by improving quality of life during treatment and by ensuring a smooth transition to normal life after treatment.
If you're able to help them, please visit this link to the event and click on one of thier names.
Donations may be made by wire transfer in any major currency to Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ in Tokyo or via Paypal.
Here is the link for the donations:
If you are based in the USA or are a US tax payer you can benefit from US tax exemption by making a US dollar donation to the US branch, "The Tyler Fund" which is under the 501(c) 3 tax-exempt umbrella of the Pittsburgh Foundation. To receive a tax exempt "receipt", US dollar donations must be made with a credit card, cheque or bank transfer to the Pittsburgh Foundation.
(http://www.pittsburghfoundation.org/credit_card_gifts).
Please be sure to indicate "The Tyler Fund".
We believe strongly in this cause and would appreciate help you can give.
Thank you and best wishes,
James and Dominic
To spread awareness please feel free to copy this entry to you blog, facebook, twitter, linkedin or any other media as this really is an amazing cause that is in need of funds, 100% of what you donate goes to the charity as both Dominic and James have paid 100% of the entry fees, flights and accommodation completely out of their own pockets!
25.000 Hits
OK, we are still 7 hits short as per today, but all in all the general interest in the web site has increased substantially over the years.0 - 5.000 hits from 14.11.07, the start of the site to 26.09.2008, 316 days,
- 10.000 hits to 21.05.2009, 228 days
- 15.000 hits to 18.11.2009, 181 days
- 20.000 hits to 21.03.2010, 123 days
- 25.000 hits to 14.06.2010, 85 days.
It is intersting to note that we recently had more than 400 hits a day, mainly from Italy which were linked to the "not your usual Cannondale CAAD9" post. It seems that some busy blog has linked us up. At least I hope that this is a reasonable explanation.
"Rollers" redefined
It seems that the time is ripe to analyze the definition of "rollers", "gentle rollers" and the "social ride". I believe the Cappuccino Ride can now only be used for the Onekan-route 20 loop which involves a stop at Starbucks. This ride has now been truly demoted to a recovery ride and is reserved for Sundays.
Firstly, quite out of character, we stuck to the original plan - James K's plan that is. The ride took us from Ebisu (James K, Michael H, David C, Tyler, Graham, Fixie James, Fixie Tim, Eileen, Pete (newbie & thus lamb to the slaughter) and me. Along the river we picked up James M and at Fussa, Fumiki. All Daves and one Davina, but Davina had turned back already as she was just out to try out her new Laskey which James M had built up for her the previous day. That was the first sensible decision of the day. Having not ridden for 2 months and with family commitments, David C, the only real Dave in the group, turned around close to Itsukaichi. It was here that I bumped into my old colleague and now one of Tom's riding partners, Matsuzawa-san. He too was on his way home after an quick assault to Kobu Tunnel, a place I did not know but, unbeknownst to me, was soon going to.
After a stop at 7-11 we set off up Tomin no Mori (Motoshuku side). Lovely approach and climb, but quite long. The official Togebaka route is almost 21km long with 745m of elevation. James M and Fumiki then shot ahead as expected. James M posted a new record time up Tomin of 51.39. James K and I worked our way up in 66mins as part of our Etape training. Meanwhile Tyler ground it out, perhaps aiming to conserve energy for his planned volley-ball game that night. The effects of a week in the heat and pollution of China took its toll on Graham who had to rest to avoid being the first PE
to give his life to cycling. We would have been shocked and saddened had he expired but we would have saluted his sacrifice. Perhaps the good folk of Honjuku would erect a shrine to him similar to the Tom Simpson memorial on Mont Ventoux. Michael H turned back as well to carry out his duties as a board member of the prestigious tennis club which counts Their Imperial Royal Highnesses as members. All credit to Pete who had not ridden in a long time who made it up on his new bike - but he was toast at the top. As for the fixie boys, well..... chapeau I thought, but triple chapeau when I saw these guys descending - and they seem to love it.
While taking a break at Tomin no Mori it struck me that Fixie James, clad in all black with a bright orange helmet looked like something out of the 70s/80s punk/new wave/ synth band, Devo. See what you think.
Like Positivo Espresso, membership of Devo has been described as "fluid". Another tenuous link is the song "Mechanical Man", reminding us of Mssrs Tom Boonen & Spillaert.
Although Devo perhaps do not fall into the category of drink and drug crazed bands of the past, they were certainly eccentric. Promoters had to unplug their equipment during a live performance entitled "The Mongaloid Years". They supported the Church of SubGenius. More recently some members formed Jihad Jerry & The Evildoers. And now Devo are back and this is what a bunch of people in their mid-50s can look like:
Down the other side and a stop for fluids at Watanabe & Watanabe. It was here that there was some debate about routes and until this point one could have called it a social ride. James M had assumed we would return along Okutama and down through Ome but James K had planned turning other way and taking in a few "rollers" which would lead us back round to near the bottom of the Tomin climb. Pete was shot and said he couldn't face another hill to which come of us urged him to stick with us because there were just a few "rollers" ahead. Very sensibly, he listened to his legs and headed back towards Ome with Fixie Tim.
So what is a "roller"? Our first roller turned out to be a shortish climb of 11%+. At the top of the next roller, which by the way folks turned out to be Tsuru Toge. I questioned James' use of the term roller. His reply: "I never said they were gentle rollers". Thus I deduce that a "gentle roller" is up to 9% while a "roller" is 9-13%. Of course, the next "roller" was the climb up to the Kobu Tunnel. Be warned, now you know the difference. Always be on the look out for the word gentle. Also beware when you are invited on a social ride. It could turn out to mean a 200km+ ride with 2000m+ of climbing and a stiff headwind back along the river with a rider who likes to attack his friends.
The lungs-on-sticks, James M and Fumiki, went tearing up these rollers like cats who have just had their man-bits dipped in hot water. While he has always been fast up hills James reports that Fumiki has got even faster, no doubt spurred on by James' attacks. Worth noting that Fumiki went up Fuji in 1:11 last weekend. While my cadence at one point dropped to 52 I could see Fixie James ahead grinding it out at about 30. I don't really understand why these guys want to put themselves through so much pain. Watching him descend on 13% slopes with no brakes not only left me in awe but terrified me as well. I knew Fixie James had a bulging rear tire that could have blown at any time. He said he had fun, but was cooked when we returned to the 7-11 and took the train home from Itsukaichi after trying to patch up the tire. Smart decision as the headwind we faced from there back home was very stiff.
James K must have arranged to meet his medicine man at the 7-11 or applied a testosterone patch as he took over along the river. The wind drained me and I was lucky that James M dropped back to pull me back to the group. Fumiki got cramp in his right calf muscle. As the ride went on Tyler's attendance of the volley-ball game started to come into question. First he was moving from playing an active role to perhaps being a setter, then it moved to him coaching & encouraging from the sidelines to perhaps never actually making it.
Quote of the day: "I want to become more of a d*ck. Japan makes me too nice. I want to go back to being an a**hole so I am visiting America next week". (Fixie James)
A good day out, tough ride, great company. 205km, 2100m of climbing and 8:30 in the saddle. Back home for dinner with the parents-in-law. No beer as I gave my father-in-law the last one.
11 June 2010
We're all CANNIBALS !!
Tom Boonen's Quick Step team switched to Eddy Merckx bikes some while ago. For the launch of the new EMX-7 model (on June 22), the PR people at Eddy Merckx Cycles created this attention-grabbing copy (re-)enacted by Tommeke Boonen...Commented The Cannibal Himself after viewing the (controversial) poster:
"I find this too aggressive - way too dramatic. I was even shocked when I saw the advertising campaign. This is simply too provocative for me - I guess I can no longer follow...I've grown too old for this kind of stuff. Also, I couldn't raise objections or anything; after all my company was sold, so..."
Good news for "the older crew"
Endurance championI saw this in this week's Road Bike Rider newsletter. There's hope yet. No mention of beer and pies though.....
How Old Before I Fold?
Q: I'm 44 and in the best shape of my life. But I wonder if I'm about to start losing it as I close in on 50. How many more years can I maintain my present cycling fitness? -- Barry C.
Coach Fred Matheny Replies: At 64, both Ed and I are still hanging in there, although recovery time has certainly increased over the years.
We and some roadies we know managed to keep improving into our 50s. In fact, Ed and I each rode a 40-km (25-mile) time trial faster than ever at that age, and we'd been racing the event since our 20s. So I believe you still have lots of good years to look forward to.
In preparation for my talk on "Aging and the Cyclist" at a medical conference, I did quite a bit of research on this subject.
Studies show that although sedentary people lose their ability to consume oxygen (VO2 max) at a rate of about 1% a year after age 40, active people lose only 0.5%. And competitors who continue a long-term vigorous training program might lose only about 0.25% annually.
In fact, some life-long endurance athletes have actually improved their oxygen uptake between ages 45 and 55.
Their secrets:
---Consistent training. Keep it up month after month, year after year, and never take lengthy layoffs. The cliches are true: Use it or lose it. When you rest, you rust.
---Hard efforts. Don't just cruise on your bike by gearing down and backing off when the going gets tough. Ride with intensity. Attack the hills, attack your friends. Vigorous pedaling preserves oxygen uptake better than spinning.
---Weight training. This helps keep strength high and body fat levels low. Most people gain fat and lose muscle as they age even if their bodyweight stays constant. Lift consistently to preserve precious muscle mass.
---Healthful lifestyle. Avoid risky habits and behaviors. Stay active and motivated by finding ways to keep cycling fun. Ride with others, buy a new bike, find different roads, accept the challenges of racing or long-distance events.
---Longevity genes. Some people seem to age slower than others. Did you choose the right parents?
Q: I'm 44 and in the best shape of my life. But I wonder if I'm about to start losing it as I close in on 50. How many more years can I maintain my present cycling fitness? -- Barry C.
Coach Fred Matheny Replies: At 64, both Ed and I are still hanging in there, although recovery time has certainly increased over the years.
We and some roadies we know managed to keep improving into our 50s. In fact, Ed and I each rode a 40-km (25-mile) time trial faster than ever at that age, and we'd been racing the event since our 20s. So I believe you still have lots of good years to look forward to.
In preparation for my talk on "Aging and the Cyclist" at a medical conference, I did quite a bit of research on this subject.
Studies show that although sedentary people lose their ability to consume oxygen (VO2 max) at a rate of about 1% a year after age 40, active people lose only 0.5%. And competitors who continue a long-term vigorous training program might lose only about 0.25% annually.
In fact, some life-long endurance athletes have actually improved their oxygen uptake between ages 45 and 55.
Their secrets:
---Consistent training. Keep it up month after month, year after year, and never take lengthy layoffs. The cliches are true: Use it or lose it. When you rest, you rust.
---Hard efforts. Don't just cruise on your bike by gearing down and backing off when the going gets tough. Ride with intensity. Attack the hills, attack your friends. Vigorous pedaling preserves oxygen uptake better than spinning.
---Weight training. This helps keep strength high and body fat levels low. Most people gain fat and lose muscle as they age even if their bodyweight stays constant. Lift consistently to preserve precious muscle mass.
---Healthful lifestyle. Avoid risky habits and behaviors. Stay active and motivated by finding ways to keep cycling fun. Ride with others, buy a new bike, find different roads, accept the challenges of racing or long-distance events.
---Longevity genes. Some people seem to age slower than others. Did you choose the right parents?
For good measure, here is another old cyclist:
10 June 2010
09 June 2010
Weekend Cappuccino Ride?
Im still in recovery mode from last Sunday and will ramp up the rides during the following week ready for Miyake Jima. So I will be going at a social pace.
If anyone is free on either Saturday or Sunday for a ‘CASUAL Social Ride’ now known as a “Cappuccino” Ride please let me know.
He seems very able and reported that he did a 100km ride recently, I was thinking of a ride up Tomin no mori and down the otherside to Okutama and looping back round to the Tamagawa.
08 June 2010
Lower Saxony Asparagus Route
Did I ever wrote anything bad about the weather in Bremen? Blue skies and temperatures of 25 degrees on the weekend plus let me forget all things said previously....not.
On Saturday I made a short 50 km trip on the embankments of the river Wümme through the lovely Wümmewiesen West of Bremen. It is quite nice to draft behind fast roller skaters which are plentiful in Germany. That left me fresh enough to attend the POETRY ON THE ROAD literature festival in the evening with my cute and charming landlord. I was blown away by Serhin Zhadan, an Ukrainian author who has written books with such stimulating titles as "Anarchy in the UKR" and "Hymn of the Democratic Youth". Seriously, he was good.One more glas of Montepulciano let me wake up only at 10 AM, but hey, who cares, it is summertime in Germany and the sun settles at 10 PM. There is still plenty of time to have a good breakfast, check the web, write some correspondence, select the color of socks to match with the bib shorts (NFCC bib short and red socks with some white filaments) and neverthless do a 200 km ride. And upon homeconing one can take a shower and go to bed immediately. Perfect, but only for less than six months every year.
I rode on my bike and I was ... fast. Was it, because the weather was perfect and I was riding down a slight hill? No, of course not such obvious explanation. It was because the previous day I went shopping to bicycle Stadler and bought a brand new carbon sattle post for my Cervelo. A beauty. Light as a feather. Much lighter than the old carbon one. It made up for all the weight I have gained in the meantime in Germany, I am sure. And it only cost 200 Euros. A bargain. That was at least what I was thinking when I left the shop and have spoken with the very able salesclerk. When I woke up on Saturday I was thinking what A stupid idiot I was to spend that amount of money and how to explain to my wife.
So I started my exploration of lower saxony by riding South along the river Weser in the blistering heat under the sun. There were quite some bicycle riders on the embankment and the combinatin of lots of traffic plus cobblestones led me away to the country roads. Most of them have bike pathes separated by lines of trees from the road. There is few traffic anyway but the bike pathes are in good shape and the riding can be fast there nevertheless. I continued through lovery villages such as Riede, Emtinghausen, Martfeld and Hoya, I am sure, everybody has heard about by now. Further to the South one rides on the Lower Saxony Asaparagus Route which consists of harvested asparagus paddies to the left and to the right as far as one can see. But I am sure it is quite beautiful in spring, when the asapargus fruits are showing their head boldly above ground and the asparagus blossoms are twirling in the air.
This was followed by the Lower Saxony Renaissance Route which basically consists of paddies of another kind to the right and to the left as far as one can see. There are zero moutains, it is almost as if somebody had flattened the landscape by using a gigantic razorblade recently.
I made breaks at the gas stands which today have a quite impressive sortiment of sweets. Imagine a convinience store where you take everything away except the choclate bars, soft drinks and beer. Now enlarge this offering by the factor 20 and you have the picture. Virtually 100 of different sweets and enough sugar to send the population of a mid-size retirement home into a never ending diabetis melitus delirium - but hardly a single gramm of carbonhydrates. No, I am not joking.
Bücken, Marklohe, Lemke, Stolzenau, Loccum... finally after riding for more than 70 km there was one climb of about 20 meters perhaps. By now I have almost made it to the famous Steinhude Sea, the biggest German domestic lake in the North.
Hm. That was not as impressive as, for example Yamanakako, besides the surroundings were cluttered by mobile homes, many Russians and bored teenagers. So I did spend much time there and continued to ride to Neustadt am Rübenberge ("Newtown at the beets mountain").
I came accross an air force basis at Himmelreich (Kingdom of Heaven), went right through the village of Wenden (turn around) and made it to the town of Rethem when I took the next break after about 160 km. I still had about 60 or 70 kms to go to Bremen.
After spending the whole day in the sun, having a terrible sun burn and never thinking once about the weather, it started to drizzle. I had no spare clothing with me, so I decided to do what reasonable cyclsits do in this situation: To ignore the weather and to continue on the road home as fast as possible. That went well until Westen (in the West), but now there was also lighting and thunder and when I started to count the lap between the Lighting and the thunder I ended on the letter "N". Of the word "ONE". So I decided to take a break at a gas stand and wait until the worse is over.
Luckily I know from my engineering studies, hydrology course that the R15 n=1 rain in Germany (a rain of 15 minutes duration which happens once a year) is the common standard for design of floodwater drains; in other words: Every rain that is shorter will be more intensive, every rain that is longer less intensive. Shorter less intensive rains do not happen that often; the same is true for longer intensive rains. So? Statistically speaking you have to wait for 15 minutes until you can proceed. Unless you are very unlucky. Understood? My neither, but it helps to think about while passing the time freezing in the rain at a gas stand, I can tell you.
And iot worked. After 15 minutes I left and by now it was dry and I made it to the town of Verden, from which I took the train to Bremen. Of course, this being Sunday and in th eveneing I had to wait 40 minutes for a train to arrive. And I was lucky, because this train, for a change was on time. So I was home. By the way, this is my new home.
At 10 PM I was home, freezing, got out of my wet clothes, took a shower, went to sleep and went to work the next morning. A perfect day. Almost.
Wooden Bikes
I am not such abig fan of wooden bikes, but this one looks classy. Full article in German from Spiegel Online.
FHC 2010 Results
| No. | Name | Time |
| 8772 | Konstantin Prodanov | 1:18:15.8 |
| 8782 | *Geoff Purtill | 1:21:01.2 |
| 8792 | Frank Arnaud Mehl | 1:22:12.7 |
| 8795 | *Shane Predeek | 1:24:53.1 |
| 8787 | Kenichiro Hayakawa | 1:26:01.4 |
| 8757 | Carlos Fernandez | 1:26:53.2 |
| 8747 | *Steve Tallon | 1:27:07.9 |
| 8779 | Thomas Quantrille | 1:28:11.7 |
| 8790 | James Knott | 1:30:30.2 |
| 8793 | Dominic Henderson | 1:32:21.6 |
| 6011 | Larry Sperling | 1:33:27.5 |
| 8794 | *Tyler Marthaler | 1:36:34.9 |
| 8777 | Walter Donahue | 1:38:22.6 |
| 8783 | Mark Senter | 1:41:31.5 |
| 8791 | Graham Davis | 1:44:32.0 |
| 8781 | Stephen Coady | 1:46:20.1 |
| 8798 | Koji Kawasaki | 1:55:16.3 |
| 8797 | Christopher Orr | 1:56:03.0 |
| 8780 | Stephen Gidge | 1:56:04.1 |
| 8785 | Kosuke Fujioka | 2:03:25.4 |
| 8778 | *David Johnston | 2:08:44.8 |
| 8784 | Augustin Bouhet | 2:25:59.3 |
| 8789 | Jerome Bouhet | 2:26:00.7 |
| 8788 | *Scott Gentry | 2:28:04.0 |
07 June 2010
The shocking truth: 95% of all pro cyclists are cyborgs. Jan Ullrich was one too.
Once one is starting to dig in the right place, all kind of muck is turning up. Lately we have learned that Tom Boonen (the right one, not the identical clone who rides under the name TOM in Japan) is possibly a cyborg.
This would also explain, why Jan Ullrich refuses to aknowledge that he was doped. A cyborg is never doped. A cyborg is only fine tuned and serviced.
A new method, developed by the MIT which consists of subjecting standard digital photos to additional x-rays has now revealed that the inner body structure of many pro cyclists give reason to suspect bio-mechanical enhancement.
Take the example of the below photo of Jan Ullrich, which was taken at the 2004 Athen Olympics.
After x-raying the image and peeling off layers of body flesh, one can see a quite different Jan.
After x-raying the image and peeling off layers of body flesh, one can see a quite different Jan.
Fuji Hill Climb 2010 - a Mötley Crüe
Breaking news at bottom: James on the fixie got his date (see end of blog)
A motley crew boarded a bus in Tokyo on Saturday afternoon (not worth a photo) but a few hours later, at 6am on Sunday, had been converted into a team to strike fear into the heart of any cyclist (above, and no, apparently Walter and DJ were not holding hands) - if the challenge was pie-eating or drinking yards of ale. We had the kit, but also body fat and hairy legs. It should be noted that many people commented positively on the BGC jerseys designed by Walter. They were especially popular with the old women serving the complimentary bowl of noodles after the race. Talking of motley crew this gives the opportunity for me to get in my now usual mention of a crazed, over the hill rock band, Mötley Crüe.
Readers of the Positivo Espresso blog will recall James K sent out a message late last week
a couple of open slots for the race and there was a reply from an Alberto C, soon followed by replies from Lance A and Fabian C. So it was with some surprise that I looked around the bus and saw someone looking and even sounding remarkably like this gentleman pictured on the left. All weekend he claimed to be called Carlos and that he worked at a major investment bank in New York. After an uneventful bus ride including the obligatory stop at an expressway service area that nobody needed (a Japanese tradition), we arrived at the registration area to check in and drop off our bikes. Bikes were left in the vast gymnasium overnight.
After checking my bike in I tasted the forbidden fruit. Walking past the Pinarello stall the man beckoned me over and invited me to test ride the new Dogma 60.1. To be more precise, I think I was standing in front of the stall with my tongue hanging out and drooling. This is my dream bike which I am currently not allowing myself to buy for no good reason. It isn't the machine but the man is what the sensible people say.
Back to the hotel, wonderful onsen followed by dinner at the Italian downstairs. We consumed the restaurants supply of aptly named Chianti Fiasco (sounds impressive but they only had 3 bottles) and then finished the Sangiovese (3 bottles) while DJ worked on the restaurant's store of white wine. Some stuck to beer and a few even water. 2 long tables were laid out for us but when we arrived one seat was already taken by a trim looking guy with coiffed hair. Turns out he is Mr. Hill Climb Japan. Daisuke Imanaka is the second Japanese rider to participate the Tour de France (1996). The first was Kisso Kawamuro in 1926. Also rode in the 1995 Giro d'Italia and won the Tour of Hokkaido a record 3 times.
When Ken mentioned that he was 25 years old and had exercised every day for the past 8 years and was taking bets about his time the next day being better than 1:29 we realised we needed to do something. Since he works for our hosts, BGC, the restaurant staff referred all questions about orders and bills to him, giving Koji the chance to keep filling up his wine glass. Despite this, Ken won his bets in the race the next morning further proving my theory that red wine before a race is good.
After dinner, believers in the school of thought that carbs are good and therefore a cleansing ale is essential before a race went up to The Twinkle Roof on the top floor. Note that this bar is closed on Tuesdays. This is the first time I have heard of a hotel bar (the only one in the building) that closes one day a week. It was here that an important discussion of aerodynamics took place. Who said Positivistas were not well-rounded (academically, not physically)? Tyler explained Laminar Flow (I have included a diagram just in case you don't know what this is). The wake created by air passing over a roughened surface is smaller than if passed over a smooth one (think golf ball).
Geoff put this theory into practice by not shaving the following day thus having the equivalent of a layer of sandpaper on his face and achieved an excellent time of 1:21. Could there be a link with the tweed-clad mustachioed riders in last week's blog?
The crew gathered at 5:20 on Sunday morning and took the shuttle to the start area. The photo looks like a provincial Afghan market place which has just been bombed but in fact it was the car park where cyclists gathered. The only explosions were tyres which had been pumped to 140psi by people who forgot they were already at 1050m and were about to climb to 2350m.
This year the Elite class set off 4km further down the road making their race 28km. Thus times are not comparable with last year. This year's fastest ascent of the usual 24km course was 1:05. So far no rider has officially broken 1 hour. The nearest was a few years ago when someone clocked exactly 1:00.00. Perhaps he too was distracted by the harmonica player who seems to ride around 4-5 km from the top thinking he is encouraging riders when in fact he is quite annoying. Although this year once again we were cheered on by the usually kindly obasans and taiko drummers I noted Japan's version of Diablo was missing this time. The original is pictured.
It seems that everyone who rode last year significantly improved their times. I was pleased with my 1:32 (almost 12 minutes faster than last year) despite having gear problems which in the end forced me to abandon my ride back to Tokyo and take the bus instead. I now believe the old man to whom I slipped a few Yen to nobble James' gears overnight misunderstood me and sabotaged my bike instead. This may have kept me off the podium so I never did discover whether Yamanashi podium girls are any match for the Giro d'Italia ones.
James, with whom I agreed to work with on the climb but never saw again after the start gate, a true PE tradition of not keeping to a plan) very nearly broke 1:30. Konstantin, this year on his own bike and not weighed down by a heavy chain lock came in at 1:18, Tyler 1:32, Ken 1:27, Shane 1:27, Alberto "Call me Carlos" Contador 1:25-ish etc
(all times are subject to announcement of final results).
Although not in our group, and in fact not officially registered, a Different James rode a fixie up in 1:32, a very commendable achievement but then again, this is the man who rides a fixie up Wada Toge. He started several groups ahead of us and I was sure this was no course for a fixie and that we would see him on the climb. We didn't. Our descent would definitely have been more fun than his. However, he was keen to get down as he was working to get the phone number of a very attractive non-male working at one of the cycle clothing stalls.
After returning to Tokyo Tyler and I broke our journey from the drop-off point at Ni-no-hashi to home (500m for him and 800m for me) with a couple of warm-down debriefing beers at The Tipplers Arms.
Very special thanks to Walter, James, Ken and others at BGC for their hospitality, generosity and organisation of such a fun weekend.
BREAKING NEWS: Different James, the fixie rider, not only made it back down Fuji but also got his date. Smooth operator.
04 June 2010
Bahnhof Zoo / mein Zug fährt ein / ich steig' aus / gut wieder da zu sein : VELOTHON BERLIN 2010
There are two major races in Germany for non-professinals, the Vattenfall Classics in Hamburg and the Velothon in Berlin. Thousands of would-be racers gather each year to finish or to crash.By introduction of Fab, the newest addition to the Positivo Espresso Euro Klub (PEEK), I came to Berlin to attend the Velothon 120 km race.
He also allowed me to stay in his flat and took me to the Saturday afternoon school party at the local Waldorf School which is run by the hotel group of the same name. David M from RGT Enterprises, Japanese Importer of Assos, AX Lightness and other bike porn visited a Waldorf School in Switzerland as well in his youth, so it cannot possibly be a bad place. Although I need to remark that artists, psychologists, lawyers and teachers do not necessarily qualify to operate a sausage grill. Unless one compares it to the effectiveness of Japanese road works.Berlin was quiet the afternoon when we prepared our bikes and made a training ride to the Wannsee lake. Little did we know that the same evening Germany would become the new pop music capital of the world when Lena won the European Song Contest in Oslo with her song "Satellite":
AI WÄÄNT EBERYBÄÄRR VOHR JJUU
AI IIFEN DIID MAI HAIRRRRRRRRR VOHR JUUU
AI BOUGGD NJU ANDERWÄÄÄRRR DÄÄR BLU
ENDD AI WOOR THEM JAST DE ODER DAI
And even less did we know that only one day later our country would be without head of state, all this happening in the town where I was just racing. OK, something similar happened in Japan this week as well, when Prime Minister Hatoyama stepped down for taking the blame of choosing the wrong shirt for an appearance at his garden cocktail party. Rumour has it, that this was a preliminary design for the next edition of the Tokyo Cycling Club team jersey.
So while major events around the world were causing dramatic changes, I was drinking some red wine in the garden of an old school friend from Moenchengladbach in preparation of the race the next day.
When I was waking up the next morning and looked out of the window, it was raining. Heavy rainfall was forecasted for all of the day with 96% probability. So I did what every decent optimist would do in such situation. I checked other weather forecasts on the web for more optimistic information, unfortunately to no avail. As I have told Fab many stories about my bad weather cycling adventures in Japan (Sado Long Run 210 in 2008, Yokohama Bike Navi Enurance in 2008 and 2009), perhaps slightly exaggerating one or the other detail, I was in no position to bail out. Luckily the rain stopped and we collected our third team member, Tibor S , Herr Professor; as these days I tend to prefer to be surrounded by men of equal or higher academic credentials.
So we drove into the city , just in front of the Brandenburg Gate where the race starts. Fab and Tibor lined up for the 60 km race which had an earlier start and almost the same finishing time as the 120 km race 1.5 hours later.
These guys were pretty relaxed and after hearing the German National Anthem, they started to roll out in start block D. The road was pretty crowded whereas almost no spectators were watching. So I manged to get on my bike, sprint to the Brandenburg Gate and shout some encouragements when Fab and Tibor were finally coming in. STAY WITH THE MAIN FIELD, GUYS. CLOSE THAT GAP ...NOW !
Finally Fabian hang on to one promising looking wheel which turned out to be a huge blunder.I then went to drop my bag at the official bag dropping station, repaired my flat tyre (yes, that happened as well) and prepared myself mentally for the race. I desperately hoped that it would not rain but the probability of staying dry was low.
At 9 AM I was in starting block D (just as my JCRC classification) which turned out to be a mistake. The starting blocks are organized by indicated average speed. Quite modestly I noted 36 km/hr on my race application, not knowing that speed of sound minus 12.5 km/hr would be about the average velocity entered by all 120 km riders. Quite some hobby riders around me, not even sporting racing bikes.
OK; there was also start block E and F, but this was where apparently three years old with supporting wheels and people who have lost their bike on the way to the race were standing. So when the race started I tried to move up the front as soon as possible. The C block has started 5 minutes before us so I might have a chance to close in on them. Wide streets filled with many slow riders hampered my efforts first, but once the general speed picked-up I was surprised that only after a few kms the first groups formed and that already the first gaps between the groups were opening. I jumped from one group to the next, sometimes trailing a group of riders behind me, but after a while I had the feeling that I was perhaps with one of the first D block groups and there was no other group in sight in front of us, so I stayed with them.
As it is in such races, it turned out that basically I stayed with some of these guys for the rest of the race. There were four riders from SPARKASSE ERZGEBIRGE (Savings Bank Ore Mountains) who were leading the pack and a tall guy with a Caisse d'Espargne jersey who standed out so I used them as my orientation points. Erzgebirge is the part of Germany where people are so bored in the evening, that they produce the famous nutcrackers, even when under socialist rule.
I was close to ask the nutcrackers if I could ride with them in one group, also promising that I would stand in the wind from time to time, when the first hills of the Gruenewald, the major mountain ridge of Berlin appeared just in front of us. So instead of asking, I thought I might convince them by riding to the front and leading them up the mountain. Which I did and I did a really good job of climbing up this steep mountain (I guess Jerome's hill is more demanding) and when on the top I looked back and the peloton was way behind me. So instead of presenting myself as a good team player that could ask for post-merger integration, I showed up as the ultimate idiot who squanders his powers senselessly within the first 20 km of the race. A photograph, waiting to capture the amount of sufferings on top of the hill took this photo precisely in the right moment.
I took it easy on the descent down and was overtaken again by some of the other riders in my group. Two of them decided that it might be a splendid idea to crash just in front of me at a speed of over 40 km/hr and gently slide into my line. Luckily I didn't brake but managed to overtake the pile-up on the left side.Even on the climb we were overtaking the first groups from the C starting block and now it became difficult: I had to be very focused and concentrated to ride in the peloton, but also not to land in one of the slower C groups we were overtaking. Quite some times I found myself in the middle of one of the slow C groups, while there was already a gap to my original D group opening. So I was forced to sprint back to my group which I luckily managed every time.
In hindsight, that was he best part of the race: Seeing the gap, getting into sprint mode and making an all out effort at 45 - 50 km/hr to establish contact to the group in front. Then hang on and recover.
The speed was quite fast, constantly in the 40 to 45 km/hr range at this point of the race. Then it started to rain and I prepared myself for getting wet. But miracle, oh mircale, it stopped raining after only 15 minutes or so. And then we were on the highway back to Berlin, a long flat and straight wide road where I had the chance to eat some powerbars and get new energy. Also the speed had dropped quite substantially and it was now very easy to stay with the field, even while eating and drinking.
And then we came back into Berlin city, as more traffic islands popped up everywhere and one has to ride really, really, concentrated in order not to crash. Also the speed wasn't that fast any longer. I was just happy that I didn't crashed and that the weather stayed dry. There were also more spectators watching now and with just three kms to go I made myself ready to ride to the front of our group and start the sprint. We made a left turn into the street of June 17th which is leading to the Brandenburg Gate and for the first time after the start I had the feeling that I was racing in Berlin. My eyes were glued to the rider in front of me almost all of the time and now suddenly I could look up and realize where I was.
I positioned myself well, but there was no sprint. Later I learned that it is expressively not allowed to sprint at the event (except when the first riders from the A block move in). I was happy to finish in 899th position (out of more than 4.000 riders) with an average speed of more than 39 km/hr (the actual distance was less than 116 km) and in 2:57:41 hr.
Done. I went to the bag drop station where two bored girls waited to pick up my things.
"Can I get my bag please?" "Oh great, your the first guy to show up here to pick up his bag. Wonderful. Do you like some cookies?"
I got some more stufff. Please note the standard size safety pins and the "Hey, my body is full with pills" type peppermint box.
I got some more stufff. Please note the standard size safety pins and the "Hey, my body is full with pills" type peppermint box.Seems I was first in something. Then I took the subway to Fabs house, now it was raining. Fab and Tibor did well in the 60 km considering their lack of training (Fab did two weeks) and coaching (one day). So we decided to set up a training camp in Mallorca for next year.
And then I returned to Bremen which was not as easy as I thought. Jumping out of the train there it was raining. Of course
PS Later I learned that the complete PEEK was assembled in Berlin during this weekend. Juliane and David were travelling to MELT at Ferropolis and stayed in Berlin for one or two nights. Time to gown a moustache and make the trip to London.
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