Took a lot of hard work and dedication to be this prolific.. approximately 260 posts per second.. I am a fast typist though.
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Archiv des Autors: bikesnob28hb
MOB wins 219 km Brevet in record distance of 261 km (and finishes last time-wise)
I have to say that I am mighty impressed by all recent posts about long rides to the West of Tokyo. Everybody is in very good shape and will set no record times for Itoigawa. Not that I could write about similar adventures yet, but as long as I haven’t found a team in Bremen and established a blog in German I thought that I might as well post on the Positivo Espresso blog to give some insights into German cycling. Which is quite exotic. Last weekend I attend a 219km brevet (or bike marathon, as it was called).
I could leave the office comparatively early on Friday night and made my way to the local bike store at the edge of the town. There I could buy some parts to prepare myself for the brevet the next day. Most important; Watertight shoecovers, as spray rain was forecasted for all of the race day. I also bought a lock for my bike which looked as it has been milled out of a block of pure cryptonite. On the safety scale of the manufacturer from 1 to 10 it ranked on level 8, which I thought would be appropriate for Bremen. I wanted to confirm this at the counter and created great flabbergastation: „You want to leave your bike parked in the city with this lock? Are you completely out of your mind? Don’t you know that the police recommends at least this type here?“
And with this words the salesman lifted something on the counter which seemed to be suitable to lock a Soviet attack tank to a blast furnace. It was not only heavier than my bike, but even hard to lift up from the counter. Lesson learned: Take the tram into the city.
I also bought a family-packages of Snickers, muesli bars, bread etc. as I was so afraid of getting a bonk due to the complete absence of convenience stores within continental boundaries.
I woke up in time and of course it was already raining. Neverthless I rode the bike out to the start. Finally, some „real“ bikes were there, I noticed a Trek, some „Principia„, but surprinsingly no Canyons or Red Bulls, the two biggest German direct mail order bike brands. I paid my 20 Euro registration fee and got a start number (Sekken) and wanted to fix them on my jacket. There was a basket with safety pins …. I should have taken a photo. While in Japan safety pins for pro bike use are maximum 2 cm long, made out of cross section-optimized lightweight steel and all of the same type, these safety pins were massive. I haven’t seen these type of safety pins since Bill Grundy interviewed the Sex Pistols in 1976. If German bike locks couldn’t stop a Soviet tank – these safety pins would.
Everybody was very nice. And very old as well. There were a lot of cakes, sausages, sandwiches and drinks perpared by some older ladies which all looked like my mum. This is in sharp contrast to Japan, where they all like like my mother in law.
Anyway, at sharply 9 AM the tour started and I made myself on the way with the first and stronger group. Most of the riders were my age but there were also some fast younger guys with us. There were also a lot of tatoos to be seen, mostly on the lower legs. And I was happy to note that the typical body shape of the riders were much more like the one of David, Jerome or me as opposed to the bodily hulls of Ludwig, Fumiki and Alan.
Now the pace was quite fast, always in the range of 35 to 40 km/hr except when there was a turn or a road to be crossed as we had to adjust to the local traffic. After a while we had a fast group of about 25 riders and we were riding in a very organized fashion, taking turns at the front. Every rider stayed in front of the peloton for about 3 to 4 minutes before he felt back and made place for the next rider. Very efficient and organized, very German indeed.
And within no time we came to the first check point after 50 km.
After having experienced this very controlled riding for more than an hour, I thought that the whole group would start together agin from the control point, but there was no organisation at all. Some guys started, others tried to hang on, some didn’t and when we finally formed a group together again, we were only 18 riders left. Again the pace was quick and it was almost impossible to get back to the group once one has lost contact. At one point the front rider and me in second position went straight whereas the rest of the peloton made a right turn. When we found out we had a very hard time to close the gap again. It was strange to experience this difference between effective riding in the group and utterly chaos in group formation.
The second checkpoint was already at the 80 km mark and I utilized the time to clean my glasses. And when I put them on again I noted that most riders from the fast group had left already or where in the process. I hurried up to catch them and I was lucky, I thought when two other young riders from Hamburg University Cycling Team came from behind. Cool. I thought I can hang on to these guys and they will lead my back to the group. I am not exactly sure what has happened next, but they zoomed by at 60 km/hr and I had not even the slightest chance to stay in their draft. Now completely on my own I lost the contact with the group and could see them disappearing on the horizon.
Alone in the rain, without any draft I knew that the remain 140 km would be very much harder than the first 80 km. Luckily at the next light another rider who has lost contact closed up to me and we rode together, changing the positions every 5 to 10 minutes. Apart from the rain and the wind the ride was OK – there was not much to see and there was virtually 0 elevation meters to be made. Later, when I cheked the bike computer it had noted 227 m elevation diffference for much more than 200 km of riding. I guess that would be the same as riding 200 km on the Kawasaki Keirin bank. The Luenburger Heide, a natural reserve, we crossed, was a sandy, barren landscape. Parts of it were used by the British army for tank shooting practice.
So for the next 50 km I rode with this guy, older one, not very talkative. Then at 130 km we came to the next control point and the guy asked me if I wanted to east some hot soup which was served inside. Sure, I said and went inside. What he didn’t say was that he didn’t wanted to eat soup and bat wanted to go ahead, so when I came out again he was nowhere to be seen. Another group of riders was just incoming and wanted to take a soup break as well, so I thought,what the heck, I go on my own and when they overtake me I go with them.
That was a very bad idea. Becuase I thought that we would return the same route as we have come, but in fact there was a much shorter, official way back. So I tried to find the markers from the way out and had to stop quite frequently to check if I had not overseen a marker at a crossing which took quite some time. And there was no other rider on the road who could help. Of course I had no map as well. And after a while I got completly lost. No markers at all. And for the next two hours I rode in circles … Wohnste, Klein Wohnste, Hesslingen, Zeven, villages no living sould has ever heard of and which I crossed multiple times. Until I gave up to find the markers and oriented myself on the markers of the Bremen-Hamburg-Cycling Road.
This would lead me back to Bremen, I thought rather naively. Well, there are plenty of markers but sometimes on crossings where one is desperately needed, there are none. So again I lost the way many, many times. Beside, as German cycling starts at tyre size 700C x 35 in general, some stretches of the cycling road were unpaved dirt roads leading through forrests as showned in the Brother Grimms. Scary, not a house in sight, only forrest and fields, no cyclists, no human souls at all, sometimes a raised hide for hunters on the edge of a clerarance .. is there someone inside watching? Aiming?
But slowly I was coming closer to Bremen. While I did the first 100 km in 2:51 minutes, the second hundred km almost took me more than 4 hours.
Finally I arrived at the oputskirts of the city. I navigated my way to the goal and made it barely before the cutoff time at 6 PM (or nine hours). Most of the riders had already left – the fast group came already in after 6 hours.
I set a new record: 261 km for a brevet of 219 km, I think that is not only a record distance-wise but also pretty stupid. And of course it is the result or riding unprepared. But on the other hand everybody was quite nice to me at the finish and I got some cake and sausages from my mums.
Summary: Nice to talk about later, but very, very hard while doing. I found some better looking stretches of road yesterday, but photos of the weekend tours on the PE blog made me very envious: blue skies, warmth, mountains …..
Lesson learned: If the sky is blue in the morning and the temperature warm, phone the offide and take a holiday. This will only happen once a month anyway. From May to September.
Sorry no photos.
Map of the ride.
Eingeordnet unter 2010, Bremen, Cervelo Soloist, Mob
SHHHhhhh no talking we’re training!!!
My morning actually started badly with the valve extended venting air from my SRAM wheels and I didn’t release until after I had swapped out inner tubes. With 5 minutes to eat breakfast, switch my climbing cassette to my Ultegra wheels I set of with 50 minutes to cover the 25km from my house to Tamawagarabashi. 43.33 later I was at the meeting spot… with the blood up I was ready to train.
Once everyone was assembled we…… well …I headed out… as people were still making idle chat as when I looked behind they were still at the bridge… ok i thought, there is a few of them and Jules and Clay will bridge the gap! Wrong.
Finally reaching the next stop at Takao 7-11 Steve and Fumiki were waiting for us and in true Positivo tradition the plan amongst the traditionalists was changed. (As a newbie I’m still not used to this riding style and maybe in another 10 years I would have learned to uphold this tradition)
With only Fumiki and me sticking to the original plan we headed out with Clay and Jules who had decided to climb O-Toge and would be with us along Route 20. With Clay setting the pace of the Delorean from “Back To the Future” we shot off up Otarumi, Clay taking the victory easily and leaving myself and Jules to fight for the scraps and on the second to last bend I launched my attack taking 2nd and completing the TT in 11:46, not enough to beat my record but still a fast time.
Jules and Clay pass two hikers on Otarumi
Fumiki was taken by surprise of the sudden race to the summit and failed to catch a wheel, he still came in very strong and the 4 of us descend Route 20 towards Sarunobashi where we would part company with Jules and Clay.
http://www.facebook.com/v/388913179246
As it happened a few unlucky reds put a gap between us of around 200meters and we would only get a glimpse of the two now and again before finally losing them altogether in the twisting roads.
We made a very brief stop at to get water at Sarunobashi before heading up towards Matsuhime. Not wanting to get caught in the midday sun we attacked the mountain without remorse and I reached the summit at 11:06 – 116km in 4hour 11 minutes of riding time. Fumiki was going strong and with me shouting encouragement from the goal he put in a valiant and heroic sprint for the line.
Fumiki looking very composed after his final 100m sprint up Matsuhime!
A quick stop to take a photo as this was Fumiki’s first ever time to climb Matsuhime and we were off again. A very fast descent to the village where we used the farmers tap to refill our bottles and sprinted off towards Okutama.
We stopped here for Fumiki to get some Calorie Mate and some honeycomb that reminds me of seaside walks in Brighton and Southsea and to try and reach Hiroshi-san who wanted to know how we were doing as he intended to meet up with us.
Alas with no signal we decided to press on and we attacked Kazahari (Is that correct??) at 12:17….not so much fun in the heat of midday, I love this climb also and we both made good progress. We slowly started to drift apart and it became a solo battle between us and the mountain. I was feeling on form and was passing cyclists at a very good rate. I have no idea where this time trial finishes so all of my times have been at the Sasanogone Car Park (SP?) which is the first car park right after the Tomin no Mori rest area if you were to climb it from Motoshuku. I didn’t take this as a TT as I was starting to feel the burn but made it to the car park in 00:43:33.
There were a lot of bikers on the mountain and they were only riding half way up…. those that rode to the top were in for a surprise as the police were out in force with a drag net…. they must have made a pretty penny that day.
With Fumiki back in tow we headed to Tomin no Mori rest area to get some food… probably due to all the motor bike riders waiting for their tickets to be issued anything remotely nutritional was gone as was all the bottled water. Fumiki showed me the location of a tap and free water… Good Lad!
We descended the mountain and blasted through the country lanes, Fumiki is a lot more cautious than I on these narrow roads and we were separated until Hinohara Village Hall.
Once assembled again we blasted off down Route 7 towards Fussa and the Birugoya, Fumiki used the last of his energy to take a pull at the front and once on the Tamagawa we made another quick stop for liquids and to comment on just how hard we were going.
I pulled Fumiki along the Tamagawa and as we came to Y’s Road and the 7-11 we both looked at each other with that “I need food please stop” look. Finding a warm bit of concrete we both tried to replace the calories we had burnt and commented on the epic journey behind us the ridiculous pace we were setting.
We donned our helmets and mounted our steeds like war weary soldiers knowing that they had no choice but to push the attack and we headed out on the final stretch. We decided to use the road as the cycle path was busy and would not allow us to keep the 34-35kph pace we were setting and before long we had a Tama warrior sucking wheel…. I decided to have a little fun and make a sprint… even after 200km I was pumping away at 50+ kph just to have some fun with the guy.
We quickly reached the Tamagawara Bride were we posed for the second photo of the day and headed out for home.
211km behind us and Solo rides ahead, back at Tamawagara Bashi ready to Die.
I finally reached home smack bang at 5pm with a distance of 235.8km, 3,380 meters of climbing at a pace of 28.6kph, with a riding time of 8 hours 15 minutes.
Fumiki it was a pleasure riding with you, it truly was an epic ride and I hope you not in too much pain today!
http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/32681814
Eingeordnet unter Uncategorized
TTT Training Tokyo-Itoigawa 2010. Team Positivo Espresso.
We were wearing our ‚away‘ kit.
Eingeordnet unter Uncategorized
P.E. Rules, Revisited
Today’s Sunday ride … was a bit too much for me. Either I’m still recuperating from last weekend’s Brevet, or I’m not yet in my fighting shape, or the warm weather got to me, or most likely some combination of the three.
James M. had planned a 250 km ride out via Takao and Rte 20, over Matsuhime from the South and the back via Kazahari. He wanted to go at his „training speed“ — I’m not sure what that is, but it is fast, and not really consistent with a social ride.
Michael H., Jerome and I joined James, Yair, Clay and Jules from TCC at Tamagawahara-bashi, Nishibe-san at Sekidobashi, and Fumiki and Steve (from TCC) at Takao. The weather was gorgeous, even hot*, and the pace was fast out to Takao.
*As you can see from the photo, Jerome took full advantage of his exception from the P.E. Team Rule No. 9 today to wear his „short shorts“.
Jerome and I decided to head instead for Sasago, over Sasago Pass and then on to Kamihikawa and Yanagisawa — an even more ambitious a program (likely to meet Tom going the other way), if at a slower pace and with plenty of optionality for people to bail and take the train or an alternate route back.
Nishibe-san made it to Fujino, then said he would head back — via Wada, I think. When I caught up with Yair and Michael H. at Uenohara, Yair was about to turn around and head back for Shinjuku, having done his work already as powerful domestique for the lead group. Jerome and Steve were waiting at the far end of Uenohara and continued on with Michael H. and me for Sasago. We did not see James M., Clay, Jules or Fumiki again — they presumably turned off at Sarubashi. There was remarkably little traffic on Rte 20. Perhaps the „my car“ drivers were already tired out from sitting in GW traffic jams and decided to stay home, while the trucks were off because it was Sunday?
I was a bit worried going through Uenohara — wondering if the Uenohara curse of near-misses, crashes and mechanical trouble that haunted Michael O.B. K. in recent years will get passed on now that he is in Germany. Fortunately, no one had any problems today.
I fell behind Jerome, Steve and Michael H. on the climb after Uenohara to Yanagawa. They waited at the entrance to Otsuki and asked if I wanted to stop. „Yes,“ I called as I passed, „but at a convenience store.“
I went ahead in search of one. I quickly passed a Daily Yamazaki on the wrong side of the street. Then after a few minutes another Daily Yamazaki also on the wrong side of the street, at the crossing in front of the station. Nothing for a few kilometers until, on the West side of town, a Lawson, also on the wrong side of the street. No P.E. approved Seven Elevens on this stretch. I left my bicycle out front so that the other 3 would see it when they passed. The Lawson is not just any Lawson. It has the best, most beautiful feature that is missing from 99% of the convenience stores in this part of Japan. No, I don’t mean a „western style“ toilet. I mean a bench on which to sit and eat your food and drink your drink. It seats almost 3 tired cyclists (the 4th must take photographs or sit on the ground), and is in the shade during the late morning. Accordingly, we were happy to declare an exception to P.E. Team Rule No. 20 for this Lawson.
I had very good memories of climbing first Sasago then Kamihikawa one day last Spring, but it was not to be today. I quickly fell behind the others on Route 20, and again on the old road climb to Sasago Pass. By the time I arrived at the top, it was clear that today was not my day. Michael H. took a last photo of Jerome and Steve, in case it is needed for a search and rescue operation on Kamihikawa, and he and I headed back for Otsuki and the train home (he had a board meeting at his tennis club late afternoon).
The trip back to Otsuki was downhill and fast, despite a headwind. We parted ways at Tachikawa and I rode another 23 km home, making it about 150 km for the day. (If Jerome and Steve actually did Kamihikawa and Yanagisawa, and Jerome rode all the way home, he should be well over 250 km, which was James M.’s original target). Jerome? Steve? James?
Eingeordnet unter Uncategorized
Itoigawa training and Devils & Angels
Up at 5:15am on Saturday, out with Humphrey to check weather conditions – lightweight jersey was decided upon, followed by breakfast (cereal, brown toast, banana & caffeine laden High 5 drink for me and a bowl of dry dog food with goat milk powder supplement for Humphrey). As this was a training ride for the approaching Tokyo-Itoigawa 300km race we wanted to get the distance in, hence the early start. For me this was to be the longest ride I have done yet. I realise that for Tom a 250km ride is an average weekend ride so perhaps when I am his age I can do the same. Off at 6am to meet James K out by David L’s house. On the way I enjoyed the site of youth around Ebisu station, namely drunks either propping each other up or strutting around in a last gasp attempt to pull a bird.
Lucky James and I are both male as we were merely amused that we both decided to wear pale blue Rapha jerseys that day. Had we been of the opposite sex we would either have had to have a fight involving scratching and hair-pulling (I would have been at a disadvantage here owing to James‘ ‚modern‘ hairstyle) or claim to be extremely embarrassed, storm home and swear never to talk to the other again. However, a Rapha aficionado will have recognised that these were jerseys from different years as one has a white stripe on one arm while the other has a white hoop on the chest.
On a gorgeous and windless morning we made fast progress along the river towards Ome. At one stage we came up behind a petite non-male rider who was clearly in great shape and moving fast. I felt no urgency to overtake as the path dipped down and made a U-turn and climbed back up to the main cycling path, but once back up on the main path the show was over as the aforementioned non-male rider was back in the saddle and I decided it was time to pass. Shockingly, the Aurore Bakery in Ome was not open when we arrived so we stocked up at 7-11. Before I had a chance to take a mournful photo of the Aurore shutters and send it to MOB to show how Japan is collapsing without him, men appeared from within to open the store.
We chose to ride long Yoshino–kaido for a change and it did seem to be more shaded than the main Ome–kaido. While riding along to Okutamako we saw several side roads that look worth exploring, but unusually, we stuck to the plan. I recognised one as Jerome’s road which leads up to the gates at the top of Kazahari but all others may have led to Shangri La or to even more remote places such as Bremen for all I know. The climb up Yanagizawa Pass (1,550m) was harder than I had anticipated but it was very scenic and we made our way up.
We kept getting passed by 2 younger and surely anorexic Japanese riders. One had a bell on his saddle bag similar to the ones elderly hikers use to warn bears in the vicinity so you could hear him coming. Not quite the same as what pro-cyclist Bernard Eisel had to endure: „I thought, I’d better let this motorbike come by but when I turned around and looked it was Cancellara.“ They must have kept stopping ahead of us, hiding in the shadows for us to pass only to accelerate past us again just to taunt us. The pale blue Rapha clad duo with a combined age of almost 90 were not to be broken.
The 1,050m descent down to Enzan is stunningly beautiful. 16km of fast roads which are in good condition thanks no doubt to a powerful local politician. We turned onto Rte 20, known in the area as The Fruit Line, and into a headwind and some unexpected rollers. A quick refueling at a 7-11 was followed by a scary ride through a busy 3km tunnel. The tunnel was at the top off a steepish approach so I was in my small chainring. Earlier in the day my chain had come off while shifting back into the large chainring so although the tunnel flattened out and was fast I was too scared to risk shifting for fear of losing the chain again. The tunnel had no stopping lane on the left. The result was that as fast as I pedaled I was unable to fully engage the perfectly sculpted calf muscles to which Mr. Knott often refers. A fast and uneventful ride along Rte 20 and after some mind games to see who would blink first we agreed to skirt around Takao rather than go over the top.
Discoveries:
- Van Houten Cocoa: final stop at a conbini not called 7-11. This drink was a revelation for as it did the job when I was getting tired (I don’t drink coffee).
- No recovery beer: after a long ride it seemed a stop at the club house (Central Tokyo Chapter) was in order for a celebratory/recovery beer. However, my riding partner, Uncle Serious, declined.
Like Pinto in the cult movie Animal House I had a devil on one shoulder urging me to have a beer while on the other should an angel was telling me not to do it and that I would regret it in the morning. Unusually, the angel won and I can thank him for it today because I feel good. I hope nobody holds this against me. I am happy for my no alcohol theory to be proved wrong and am offering myself up for ongoing research (taking the devil’s side).
256km, 2500m climbing, 10hrs 31mins in the saddle without a sore backside (thanks again Rapha).
Signing off……
Eingeordnet unter Uncategorized
Then finally, it was time for the very last ride.
As James rightfully commented on his blog, there were quite a number of Sayonara rides during the last week. But having now finally arrived in Bremen, looking out of the office window on the grey sky and rainy weather, I can finally confirm that the last right was on last Saturday together with Ludwig.
As I was suppose to leave home for good on Sunday at 6 AM, Ludwig and me planned only half a day or riding on Saturday. We planned to ride out to Itsukaichi first, then climb Iriyama and Wada from the North side and try to set a new and final Togebaka record on Otarumi from the Sagamiko lake side before returning home. Needless to state that everything turned out completely different – as usual.
Ludwig did a long and gruelling ride the day before and therefore we met only late at 8 AM at Tamagawahara bridge. We were proceeding at medium speed along the Tamagawa and crossed over to Charles country road before we wanted to hit Mutsumibashi road to Itsukaichi.
Just when we climbed up the short hill leading from the river to the main road I heard a loud bang from the back of my bike and suddenly the handling started to feel strange. When we checked we found out quickly, that one of the spokes of my brand-new Shimano Ultegra rear wheel has broken and that another one was loose. This resulted in an extreme untrueness of the wheel which rubbed not only on the brake pads, but also on the cable stays. Impossible to ride and unfortunately the standard tool set didn’t provide anything to turn Shimano spokes so we couldn’t repair this somehow on our own.
I have to say that I am a little bit fed up with broken spokes. My Campagnolo Zonda back wheel gave me some troubles this year (three broken spokes) und I wanted to take countermeasures by buying the relatively cheap and reliable Shimano rear wheel everybody was talking about – only to become disappointed again. Perhaps it would be a good idea to let Nagai-san built a robust wheel for me just as he did for David ….. but then unfortunately they do not look as cool as a set of Zonda wheels.
Luckily we found a tyre shop close to the main road that provided as with a pipe – and a monkey wrench so we could at least adjust the wheel in such way as to make it „almost“ true again. The tyre team there was very nice and helpful. So please, if you need tyres (for your car, of course, not for the bike) in the future, please buy them there. For some reasons the guys over there hate Bridgestone and are huge fans of Dunlop and Continental. Schwalbe of course, they have never heard of. Great guys.
Despite all the trouble I felt great, almost like having my own pro team of mechanics and later Ludwig and me went to a Combini and bought some cans of beer for them.
I didn’t felt very comfortable with the rear wheel minus one spoke, so we decided to return to Y park on the Tamagawa and get the wheel fixed. When we arrived, the mechanic there told me that they didn’t have any spare spokes on stock for Shimano. No, they couldn’t true the wheel as well. No, they didn’t have any wheels to lend out. Quite desperately I took the stairs to the second level and asked for the cheapest rear wheel available to buy – Shimano R50 that is for about 7.000 to 8.000 Yen. With this I went down to the mechanic and asked them to exchange the cassette from the Ultegra wheel to the new one. So I was asked to write my name in a list and to wait until it is my turn. Couldn’t I be placed in the front of the list, as this was my last day in Japan? No, this wasn’t possible. So could I exchange the cassette by myself? No, also this wasn’t possible. OK, Sayonara Y.
So in the end after spending a great deal of time for nothing at Y (An experience that many Y customers are making as well, should I believe other blog entries), we decided to ride home to my house and get the Zonda rear wheel for exchange.
Here everything went smoothly expect that my wife was very happy that I have arrived back from the trip in time for some family activities and I needed to tell her that the ride has now finally started and that I won’t be back before 6 PM. That created some friction that were substantially bigger than the rubbing of my rear wheel on the cable stays. Wives cannot be kept in closets and exchanged when causing friction as in case of back wheels. We need to consider this when making decisions about one thing or another and we have to be careful not to mix things up. In this case however, and as this was now scheduled to be my very last ride in Japan for a longer time, the decison was quite clear. I excused myself and without wasting too much time Ludwig and me paced along the Tsurumigawa river on our way to Hashimoto.
And finally, afte getting almost lost one more time and crossing over some hills to Takao, we arrived at 3 PM and after having done more then 136 km at our traditional 7-Eleven in front of Takao Station. What is normally a two hour , 50 km ride from my home, turned into almost 8 hours of despair and friction. But we have made it.
When one is out on the last ride, everything turns into symblic „last“ meanings: The last time to meet at Tamagawahara bridge in the morning. The last time to take a photo of Ludwig pissing with his back to the camera. The last time a spoke breaks. In Japan, but elsewhere they will continue to break. The last time to set a Togebaka record.
So, this was the very last time to give Otarumi a try and after 136 km of warm-up the condition was not the best one. On the one hand. On the other hand Ludwig gladly agreed to let me draft behind him. On the other hand Ludwig had by now more than 300 km within the last 36 hours in his legs and he wasn’t sure if he would make it up fast. Plus there was a nice headwind.
We started at 25 km/hr all the way to the Family Mart where the TT starts and then we accelerated to 30 km/hr plus while I was staying closely behind Ludwig. „Hey – that is nice and easy“, I thought as we rode fast through the flatter parts of the approach. If this continues, I would have enough power to overtake Ludwig and sprint to the top. I thought foolheartily.
Because once the gradient started to become steeper (not steep, but steeper) and Ludwig was still going strongly, I could barely stay on his back wheel. At least I had the feeling that I was fast. About 11 to 12 minutes into the ride Ludwig pulled away and I was on my own. In the distance I could see the final corner, after which the overpass should have been. Looking at the watch I thought that I was doing well. I mean, if this is really the last curve because going up Otarumi there are two curves which look almost the same and I always mix them up.
„Hey, I am the god of speed …. ups …. that was not the final curve, I still need much more time to go“ is what I have been thinking many times at Otarumi. Perhaps one would erect a signboard on the second last curve „THIS IS NOT THE LAST ONE“ and another one at the last curve „STILL THINKING YOU WERE FAST?“.
This was the last one. One more push out of the saddle and I achieved a new personal best of 13:34 min. Ludwig was of course faster, as I can name at least ten more riders from TCC who can kill me easily on this hill, but please remember: I walked up this hill in 2004 when I tried it for the first time. I have come a longer way at an older age than most of you guys.
This was a very nice good-bye present from Ludwig that I will remember for a very long time.
We then took some final photos on the top. There seems to be a huge wolfhound beast lurking around at the Ramen shop which is always closed on the left side, but perhaps you need to understand Japanese and be afraid to encounter him.
In order to shave off time, we rode down the same side in direction Takao station and I made it home before 6 PM so I could „true“ the relationship with my wife.
When Ludwig and me said good-bye to each other we had a final, typical conversation. Out of nostalgic considerations, I wanted to state some of the beautiful rides we did together and the high mountains we have climbed together for the first time as well. I thought of our ride up to Mitsumine Jinja and to Haccho Tunnel in Chichibu. But Ludwig wasn’t too impressed about these two rides. We thought long and hard which other passes over 1.000 m elevation we have climbed together for the first time and coundn’t come up with any. And we couldn’t agree on any single ride that was great, except for a vague feeling that we did something quite interesting sometimes in Chichibu…somewhere. So we parted.
Meanwhile in Bremen: My Cervelo bike is with me and now ready to ride, but I didn’t had to time to do any junk miles yet. No wonder, grey skies, light rain and a temperature of 10 degrees almost all of the time. I better get used to that weather quickly or I will not ride at all.
I checked out the race events yesterday and much to my surprise there is a kind of brevet hold on Saturday for 210 km. I first laughed when I read the desciption of the route: „There are almost no elevation gains. The biggest challenges will be to cross railroad lines and highways.“
Then I stopped laughing when I noted that one has to do the 210 km in nine hours time. Not impossible, but surely not for the easy-going ones. I completely stopped to make any npoise when I checked the weather forecast for Saturday.
So I called the organizers: No. it isn’t a problem to register at the start on Saturday. Yes, the route will be marked and there will be supply stations. Yes, there will be even something warm to eat. They expect about 500 riders (for various distances between 60 and 210 km). Yes, I can pay 20 Euros (2.600 Yen) at the start.
This is great. No registration two weeks before the race, paying at the 7-eleven, than not starting because of bad weather. So I will wake up on Saturday morning, check the weather and .. not start AND not loose any money, great. Or perhaps I start. Will let you know later.
The other good thing is, that even in May the sun sets only after 9 PM, so there is still time for a short loop after work. Theoretically.
Need more latex.
Eingeordnet unter 2010, Cervelo Soloist, Mob
Chainring of the week
via GH
plus bonus quote (of last month)..
“I though, I’d better let this motorbike come by but when I turned around and looked it was Cancellara”
via cyclingnews
Eingeordnet unter Uncategorized
Sunday Riders
As this weekend is the last week I should do any distance training for the Tokyo Itoigawa Fast Run I was wondering if anyone is free for an epic 200+ km ride this Sunday (Saturday is a no go for me)
I was planning on doing the same route I did a few weeks back with Dave – Otarumi, Matsuhime, Tomin no mori and home. This was about 250km from Yokohama and also leaving early to avoid climbing at midday and allowing us home at a reasonable time.
http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/29645226
I’ve posted the ride details on the TCC forums so hopefully we could get a good turn out.
Eingeordnet unter Uncategorized
bikesnob28hb
fixiefanboyhb
sudi1662
there is no "I" in cyclyng 