Archiv der Kategorie: David

von bikesnob28hb | 27. April 2010 · 09:46

Impressions from my Sayonara Ride

It is very strange to write in detail about one’s own Sayonara ride while one is still in Japan. So I would like to make a few comments here and there only, post some pics and thank everybody who came along and send me off to the far shores of Germany. Still it is hard to write something which hasn’t been written already a thousand times before. But you have given very much to me and I am very thankful for that.
So, we had a good time.

It started as a nice day in spring with the carp streamers high up in the sky. I met some of the PE guys at the Tamagawahara bridge and we rode off to Takao. On the way we passed a cyclist with an exchange frame on the back. Perhaps, I thought, we should re-start the TCC-thread about the proper content of a saddle bag and include „Exchange carbon frame“ I thought before we realized that the bicycle free flea market was hold at Sekidobashi along the way. Just like cycling, the flea market has come a long way, from a hardly noticeable event to more than 100 people attending last Saturday – not bad at all.
We said goodbye to Dominic who was asked to attend a ballet recital of his daughter before she will be send to Borneo where she will live in the jungle with the Aborigines for two years; hence the need for ballet education which will come handy.And by chance I also saw Zenbiker along the way at the Asakawa. Or perhaps I understood something wrongly. My English is not very good, sometimes I mix up easy words such as „fencing“ and „fanzine“.

The ride was not really leisurely so far, but we took the peaks out most of the time. Suddenly I was alone with Fumiki and (Ko)shu, but we all arrived more or less arrived at the Takao 7-Eleven.

Can you see where this picture was „photoshopped“ to get rid of some unpleasant detail?

A huge crowd has arrived already and I was very much impressed by the turnout. Doing my round of shopping at the 7-Eleven, I noticed a small detail at the Weider Jelly Stand. It seems that nobody so far was interested in Vitamins, Proteins or Beauty, but everybody was preparing himself for a „leisurely“ ride. More energy was much in demand.

We then rode on through Takao, the Showa cemetery (where I once almost met the emperor with the zipper of my trousers open) and along the Jimbakaido to the bus stop at the base of Wada Toge where we assembled the group for the first ever organized time trial of TCC and PE. There was some reluctance first and some riders choose to disappear before we could get started, but overall we manged this quite well and we had a lot of competitive results. James time was very impressive and so were those of James and Tim on their fixies.

Here are some photos which I took at the start of each rider and which documents the various pro starting techniques which are acceptable in Japan as per Japanese Cycling Rulebook paragraph 248 b):

The „Handle is piping hot“ style. It is not allowed to touch the handle before the command to start and Tim also never did afterwards until reaching the top.

The „Ground is piping hot „style: It is not allowed to touch the ground ever unless a flat tyre needs to be repaired. Which happens every 20 km.

Zen-like concentration paired with minimum wind resistance in standing position. Headtowel soaks up sweat from extreme concentration.

The „I am gone already, cannot possibly wait for your finger to push the shutter“ style executed by Yair.

The Scottish copy of the previously described Hiroshi-Zen starting style. The rucksack is filled with real look stone made out of polyester to increase the awe-factor. Note: More efficient when rucksack is open.

The „When speed is more important than direction“ style.

This style is appropriate for rides from Tokyo to Nagoya or further as proven by Travis.

This is Kim starting – easy to mix up with Fumiki as both belong to the blue men group.

The bike starts to move at 40 km/hr immediately after releasing the brakes. The „American dragster race“ style.

Sorry to say, Steve, but this style is not yet described in the rulebook.

Please note that as usual Mike lines up behind Sergey at the start so that his motivation to overtake him is amplified by a factor similar to the amount of Japanese government debts.

…. as we can see here.

Sorry, there are no photos of Thomas, Graham, Tom, James, Kim and me. Our huge group was then assembled at Wada pass when I finally made it up and much to my surprise everybody was sitting in front of the witch’s tea house. The witch was nowhere to be seen.

Really, I never have seen such a sight in my life at Wada. We then continued with a fast downhill and the cumbersome climb through the golf hills of Uenohara. Tom had selected this course to execute his final punishment on me and also in memory of Paul Jason who rode this precise course once.

Nobody was really in the mood to start another time trial up to Kobu Tunnel (OK, I was not in a mood to do so) but nevertheless once David gave the „Go!Go!Go!“ sign everybody started to move up quickly. I was staying with Yair almost all of the time. Already a bunch of guys were waiting at the top when I arrived and the others came in one by one. Steve almost crashed while trying to raise his arms in victory salute. He barely could stay on the road and in order to calm down he went for a pee with fellow Englishman Michael. Which lasted for only a few seconds as the warning shout „Naomi is coming up!“. Steve managed to zip-up and to play the innocent bystander while Michael couldn’t manage to stop.Naomi nevertheless didn’t noticed anything and showed Steve how to cross the finish line not only in style but also straight and paralell to the road. Also I would like to mention that she was also so kind to finish behind me, I guess some form of Sayonara-present. She overtook me once when riding up to Tomin-no-mori and that was when I set my personal best time. Amazingly after a while also the Fixies were arriving. They had the huge respect of everybody that they could do that extensive climbing on their bikes. Still I guess that everybody else thought that theyr were happy to posses 20 speed geared bikes. I like this photo of James with enchanced colors. The bike itself is rather not enhanced. Cool helmet color, by the way.

And then we went superfast down to Itsukiachi in nice duells giving no rest to the wicked. This also continued on the Mutsumibashi road to the Tamagawa, where Ludwig, James, Travis, Yair and me speeded along at 40 km/hr plus. And what did I get for all of this effort? One lousy T-shirt from Israel!No, I was joking, I think it was the perfect present for the day, Thanks Yair.
As this was my Sayonara ride I rode out the next day with Ludwig to Chichibu, but this is another story to be told another time.

L’hitraot.

3 Kommentare

Eingeordnet unter 2010, David, Hiroshi, Mob, tcc

von bikesnob28hb | 11. April 2010 · 23:55

Sci Fi Movie

Sunday offered near perfect temperatures for riding. As planned, Jerome and I headed out a little after 6:30AM and met Tom at Koremasa-bashi. Tom, having done another monster ride on Saturday, over 250 km and some big passes, still managed to pull us at about 35 kph along the first stretch. With Tom („the Cylon“) in front, Jerome second, and me in the back, I could still see reasonably well, but had an almost perfect wind block.

Just before Tamagawahara-bashi we passed a group of 25 or more cyclists in team kit assembling for a morning ride. We later passed a group of about 12 Catteni Positivo riders in a line on the Tamagawa path. They have new uniforms, looked younger and fitter than last year’s Catteni group and were moving at a good pace … but were still easy to pass with Tom pulling at 35 kph. The Catteni leader looked like a real racer/climber type. We also passed a group of Ovest riders from Fuchu, heading at warm-up pace to a rendezvous at the end of the path … with another huge group of riders, waiting around, mostly in Ovest kit. Tom uses the Ovest shop and swears by it, and we have seen some very fast Ovest riders flying before — putting in top-five times on the Tokyo-Itoigawa ride, at least.

We rode out via Itsukaichi (where we passed another large team in „Hotstaff“ jerseys — I could not have passed them but for a lucky traffic light at a minor intersection where they stopped and I continued), and then Umegaya Pass (aka „Jerome Hill“) and up Yoshino Kaido, parting ways with Tom at the 7-11 at Kori, where Yoshino-Kaido ends and we turn left onto Rte 411 (Ome Kaido) to climb up to Okutama-ko. We took as second quick rest at the end of Okutama-ko in front of the recommended cafeteria (still too early for a meal).

These teams — yesterday Catteni, Ovest and Hotstaff, plus the first group we saw, are a big change from the days when the only group of more than 10 cyclists one would ever see was Nalshima. And while these groups may not be riding as far as we do, they seem to be more serious than in the past. This is only a good thing, as far as I am concerned. Drivers will watch out for road cyclists. And it is almost never these cyclists who do the stupid tricks on the Tamagawa path that risk injury to us.

On the Tamagawa there were flowering sakura (cherry trees). On Jerome hill there were a wide range of flowering trees, including one in a spectacular purple. At Okutama-ko (540m elev), there were more sakura and ume (plum trees), and we could see them on many wild hillsides later in the day. We headed up Rte 139 toward Kosuge, cut over to the base of Tsuru Pass and then to the base of Matsuhime.

The 500m elevation main climb up Matsuhime (from 750m to 1250m elev) was not bad, and at least made me feel that I am starting to get back in shape as a result of the past month’s rides. Then again, I had put on the compact (50/34) crankset, so it was only expected that I was able to spin up the hills better than in previous weeks. There was only one other cyclist at the top — far away from the morning crowds.

We descended quickly from Matsuhime (1250m elev) to the South, stopping at the park at Fukashiro Dam (650m elev). We filled our water bottles at a (temporary) stream close to the top of Matsuhime. A few people had stopped at the Fukashiro dam rest area. These were the last humans we saw for the next several hours.

And this is where our science fiction movie started. We crossed under/over the gate and through the tunnel for the long climb up the road to O-Toge (Big Pass -around 1550 meters elevation). After what seemed like a few hundred meters, there was a loud „bang“, a „hiss“ and it was as if we were transported in time or space. I thought I saw a blue flash. Jerome’s sidewall tire had clipped one of many rocks on the road surface, pinching his tube. He was able to patch the tube quickly and we were back on our way.

The road surface was terrible, as last year, but there were only two spots (above 1100 meters) where there was so much debris as to require a dismount.

Complete solitude greeted us on this climb and the following descent — two hours at least, from 650m to 1550m and down to around 1000 meters, not a single person. What had happened?

Had we gone forward in time, with one of those devices the Terminators use to come back and kill John Connor … to a day (say, the year 2075) when there are no more Japanese people left, except for old people in nursing homes?

Or was this „I am Legend.“ Had all the people been wiped out by a terrible (unintentional) genetically engineered plague, leaving behind only zombies who would come to get us if we could not make it to safety by dark?

We got our answer soon. There were some kind of animal droppings at various places along the climb. Then we saw it — a monkey came down noisily from the brush above and onto the road ahead. It detected us and took off running down the road away from us, rounded the corner and plunged into the wooded slope below. This must be Planet of the Apes.

We picked up the pace, in case a group of armed gorillas should be sent out to look for us. This is a beautiful climb, spectacular vistas, varying grade, and the road gets better once you pass 1250m elevation. The descent on the South side, with no traffic (closed road still above 1000 meters), and not too cold to enjoy it, was spectacular, memorable — to anyone asking the question, THIS is why we ride.

As we did last week, we hopped the train from Otsuki and were home for dinner.
http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/29756956

3 Kommentare

Eingeordnet unter 2010, David, Jerome, Tom

von bikesnob28hb | 9. April 2010 · 10:58

Sunday Ride — Route TBD

Jerome and I will be leaving my house (let’s call it the corner of Komazawa Dori and Kanpachi Dori) at 6:30AM. We will pick up anyone who wants to join at Tamagawahara-bashi at 7:00AM.

The route thereafter is open to debate and depends somewhat on who joins, on the weather forecast (rain Sunday night … or starting before our return time in the afternoon?) and any individual time limitations. But make no mistake, it is prime training season and we are hoping for a classic Positivo Espresso ride.

My vote is for Matsuhime (1250 elev) from the North side, then the gated-off Northern approach to O-Toge (1500 meters) and quick drop down to Otsuki … but I could be persuaded to do just about anything other than Yanagisawa Pass, which we just did last weekend. I could probably be persuaded to do even Yanagisawa again — they’ve got two newly opened sky bridges so the descent to Enzan is even faster than before.

Please show up and get ready to make a persuasive case for your favorite* ride!

*Must be within day-trip distance of Tokyo.

9 Kommentare

Eingeordnet unter 2010, David, Jerome

von bikesnob28hb | 4. April 2010 · 15:09

The Wild Sheep Hunt

Yesterday, Tom rode the giant Yanagizawa Loop, consisting of the climbs to Yanagizawa, Kamihikawa, Sasago, Suzugane, Hinazuru und some other minor ones. Today, David, Jerome and me did the same loop. Almost.

Well, at least that was the plan, when the three remaining Positivo Espresso founding members gathered at Tamagawahara-Bashi at 7:30 AM. The (former) Tamagawa bicycle path, now a major walking path for the hanami-crazy, was full of people so we decided after a while to ride the normal road up to Ome.

Which brings me to the discussion about the Tamagawa path and the recently added obstacles (see for example here). Honestly, I don’t care. I don’t even want to put the argument forward that riding along the Tamagawa is boring and not very challenging and that I have been there a hundred times. Yes, all true but not of general interest. The point is, in my opinion, that the sum of total obstacles doesn’t increase too much, if some fixed obstacles are added to the enormous number of moving ones.

There were simply not that many people when I started to ride along the Tamagawa about ten years ago: people, people with dogs and bicycle riders on the path. It was a fast and simple way to get out of metropolitan Tokyo. But by now, this has changed dramatically: too many moving obstacles. Even if the speed bumbs will be removed, that wouldn’t change too much.

So, riding the (normal) road to Ome was comparatively much more pleasant and we were speeding towards our target like a fusillade of human bullets shot from an AK-47. Or perhaps more like a set of RPGs, given the shape of our bodies.

And so we arrived in Ome in 2 hours and 5 minutes – from my home in Yokohama that is. It cannot be done faster (today). And after a short break at Aurore bakery, we continued our fast ride towards Okutama and further up to the Okutama lake, without any longer breaks. This was the first time that I did the stretch between Ome and Yanagizawa in one go and as you can see on the right side this has now become the CHO TOGEBAKA (cho, in the double meaning of 長い and 超える), given the distance and elevation conquered. This is the mother of all Toge Baka (so far).

Now, when we made the turn at Okutama lake, Jerome was shouting from the top in front of me. Actually he told me, that we should wait for David who was further behind. But I didn’t understand that properly, plus I didn’t saw Jerome waiting, so I was assuming that he would be still riding in front of me. Now, as I don’t wanted to be beaten up Yanagizawa, I accelerated and went quickly around the lake, supported by a nice tailwind. No sign of Jerome. „Jesus“, I thought „He must be in really good shape.“ So I tried harder and exhausted myself completely on the climb. No Jerome came into sight. I had this vision that I was so slow, that David would overtake me with double my speed from behind.

So I run up Yanagizawa at full speed; until 200 elevation meters before the pass when I finally was convinced that Jerome must have been behind me. And I had run out of power. The climbing started to become really, really hard after being in the saddle for almost three hours. All the houses up there are deserted and all the curves looked alike and finally, well, there was the final one and I arrived at the restaurant on the pass which was also luckily opened. Jerome wasn’t there.

I had a bowl of Soba, when Jerome arrived about 10 minutes later. We waited for David, who joined us after further 30 minutes, looking pretty wet and exhausted. In the moment he entered the restaurant, Jerome and me got up from our chairs in good, old Positivo Espresso tradition and said „OK then, let’s go!“.

But the truth was, that I was also pretty much done and I wasn’t fully hydrated and recovered after some days of sickness last week.

So I made the following proposal: „We can do now Kamihikawa, Sasago, Susugane and Hinazuru, so about 34.786 meters (BBiT) of climbing plus an estimated 6.732 km (BBiM *) of distance, or we ride down to Ensan (now Koshu, by the way) and jump into an Onsen.“ Surprisingly enough, all of us opted for the Onsen visit, so we mounted our bikes and made the fast run down to Ensan. There it was pretty hot. The sky was blue, the thermometer showed 17 degrees and after all the cold weather before, we suddenly didn’t felt in the mood any longer to linger in hot water.

So we rode the Fruit Line to Route 20, climbed up again and then took a right turn up to the haunted Sasago tunnel. We took it really easy, at least David and me, while Jerome was frolicking around in faster speed-hemispheres.

Shortly before the gate we met a woman who asked us, if there would be an old hotel further up the road. No, only a haunted tunnel with transparent octopuses living in the vaults. Later David said, that we should have taken a photo of the women in order to check if her body and face would show-up on the print, then perhaps she was only an epiphany of a Fox deity.

The old Sasago Tunnel was filled to the ceiling with maximum horror as usual.

Here we can see David and Jerome, still not suspecting anything, while entering the tunnel from the Ensan side. And here we see David and Jerome and me coming out on the other side, after we have experienced pure terror in it’s most terrifying form in the darkness inside.On top of that there was also a strong wind and it was extremely cold inside the tunnel. And the weather on the Otsuki side of the tunnel was about 10 degrees colder than on the Ensan side.

So we made a fast run down to route 20 and almost froze to death. Then we made another superfast run down to Otsuki station on route 20 which was even more fun. And then we had a superfast express train from Otsuki home; all in all it took me less than 2 hours from arriving at Otsuki station to the door of my house.

A very nice trip with 167 km distance and more than 2.500 meter climbing (mapmyride checked). Could have been warmer, though. The last two rides (Chibchibu and this one) were some of the coldest rides ever. I enjoyed reading about the other rides on the weekend by Ludwig, Tom and the large PE group as well. It is good to know that so many activities are going on and there are so many groups to join.

Notes: I wrote this post yerstday after the ride, but didn’t had the time to edit it and include the photos. So, please take this as an addition to David’s post on the same subject.

(*) BBiM : Blind Believers in Me

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Eingeordnet unter 2010, Cervelo Soloist, David, Jerome, Mob

von bikesnob28hb | 3. April 2010 · 01:54

Sunday Ride?

This weekend finds me with no Brevet and no work/family conflicts on Sunday (in contrast to Saturday, today, which has both work and family conflicts), … so I very much hope to ride tomorrow. I want to get in one of the traditional routes I have not yet done this year — one or more of Kazahari, Tawa/Tsuru, Matsuhime/O-toge and/or Yanagisawa passes, and in typical P.E. fashion the plan may be more ambitious than the actual trip. It looks like it will be cold in Okutama, but sunny, so dress warmly and in layers. I’ll leave my home at 7AM and plan to be at Tamagawahara-bashi at 7:30AM. Any interest?

6 Kommentare

Eingeordnet unter 2010, David

von bikesnob28hb | 1. April 2010 · 08:14

Into the Heart of Coldness

„I raised my head. The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky–seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.“ (1)

And so our trip to Chichibu began on that fateful day of March 31st in the year of the Lord 2010 as we assembled along the shores of the river Tamagawa. The air was humid and cold and despite several layers of clothes wrapped around our moribund bodies we froze as if we had entered eternal purgatory.

Considering the conditions of the roads, we made good speed along the Tamagawa until we reached this hotbed of modern decadence, the sixties Saigon of Yamanashi-Ken, the city called Ome on the fringes of metropolitan Tokyo, this last outpost of civilisation before time comes to a final, sudden and grinding stop.

Luckily our friends and loved-ones did not catch us red-handed as we engaged in an orgy of absolute evil at Aurore bakery. Shamelessly we indulged in the indifferent consumption of „Royal Milk Bread“; the only king we are loyal to being the master of pain in the upper calves, waiting for us behind the passes into foreign Chichibuian land. But we needed to fill our stomachs thoroughly, as we would enter civilisation again only after a long journey through the impervious jungles and hills of the land to the North of us.We mounted our trusted gear the next morning and after a while we reached the holy fountain, a place where mysterious powers would emasculate the prejudiced riders. A group of young riders from a minor educational institution (Waseda Univ., that is) came back from a trip surveying the edge of the known world and greeted us heartily. Never will they know the horrors of life, until after graduation.

The first test of manliness awaited us at Yamabushi Pass. A German expedition led by Colonel Manfred von Holstein has conquered this hill some time ago and their unbelievable deeds have been engraved in the cornerstone of cycling forever (in plain language: see Togebaka # 12 to the right). Jerome, our svelte French cook, Dominic, the ruthless colonel of the aborigine regiment, David, the American maverick of unequivocal lineage and myself, all (seven) of us charged ahead with full speed:

„Half a league half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
‚Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns‘ he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred. “ (2)

Even after I had climbed up for what seemed to me an endless amount of time (15 minutes, to be precise), I could still feel the warm breath of Jerome blowing in rapid convulsions against my neck. I gave all I could and conquering the last bends of the road I was finally on my own and arrived at the lofty heights of Yamabushi in respectable time. So did Jerome, Dominic and David as well, as they are brave and respectable fellows indeed.

But in the cold no break could be made: the sweat we produced so plentiful during the climbs became solid slabs of ice on our bodies within no time. There was no choice but to continue to the next hill of Shomaru Toge. A strange place where coffee is served (but no tea) to the travelers who bode no ill. Where water is a priceless commodity, photos celebrate the visit of Prince Takamatsu and Princess Chichibu in 1953, and people hover over bare holes in the grounds to get finally rid of the remains of Royal Milk Bread and other lustful offenses of the past.

Again, down into the valley of the death (route 299) we charged while the cold got almost unbearable. And up again we clambered towards the heights of Karibazaka, a place talked about in whispers on stormy nights when the one-legged and the crazies gather around the fireplace to tell the lore of times long past (in plain language: see Togebaka No. 17 to the right).

A yellowed photo taken on the pass may give the curious reader an impression of the hardness the men endured.Along the ridge we proceeded until we came to the hedonic temple of Takayama Fudo and again made a charge into the valley of the death (Route 299). As the strain of the journey mounted, the men were beginning to show their nerves: „It is the 10th birthday of my daughter today – I must go home!“ cried one of them in an uncontrollable rage, before jumping through the bushes into the wild never to be seen again. Or perhaps he made it indeed, but as the distance to home was long, he surely did not make it before the 11th birthday of his little princess.

What remained of the men, now reduced in strength by illness and desertion to about 3/4 of their former and full force, continued along the road and then made a fateful left turn towards the center of hedonic worship: The temple of Nennogongen, guarded not only by two fierce deities but also by steep slopes with ridiculous gradients.

„Surely the way straight is shorter and will lead back to civilisation. I must go there!“ uttered one brave man when finally faith abandoned him. With all earthly powers spent and not one grain left to keep him away from his foolish deeds, he disappeared in front of our eyes up the road toward doom. Our once glorious platoon had by now lost 50% of its men, and the thin French cook and I readied ourselves for a last, long and dangerous climb up to the temple awaiting in the mist ahead.

After a while the Frenchman showed his nerves as well; aimlessly he was wandering from the right to the left and barely could he keep his gear under control. I did all I could to keep him away from fate, telling him stories about the beloved left behind. How surely wonderful the places must be that we were certain to reach at any minute. Waiting for us behind that last curve. That turned out to be the second last curve. No the third-last. Not even this. And with the last drop of power almost spent, we arrived at the parade ground in front of the temple and rode up the last few hundred meters. Everything that was told about the place is true. The curious reader may wish to find out for himself.Now riding down in small numbers the bends of the unbelievably steep slopes, we headed for the last and ultimate goal of our journey: The temple of Takedera, where according to our secret assignment, Mr. Kurtz was supposed to hide.

What seemed to be quite an enjoyable ride along a stream turned out to be a hellish ascent for the last 500 meters. Who would have thought that this would prove to become the most difficult part of our journey? While we Christians are punished for our earthly deeds after death when we are judged by our lord, the pagans are punished already on the way to their places of worship.

Arriving finally at this wonderful place we were informed that we were too late: Representatives of the colonial powers of Singapore and Australia have already come and taken samples of the place. Surely it was a most beautiful place and the climb up to the Honden provided us with some compensation for the things we have been through. But nothing was left but to return to our world after we have seen:

„The Horror! The Horror!“

So brought to senses by the foolishness of the things we were chasing after in vain, we made the run for home. Just like speeding human bullets, faster than ever before did we rode along the roads that would surely bring us back to civilisation. There, finally a light along the road. No, this time it wasn’t a fee fire but the illumination of this wonderful place called Tamajiman where only too soon more social events will take place.

And there, to our great joy, David greeted us, holding out for the last few days he had even managed not to touch the remaining two slices of pizza lying so temptingly in front of him, and bearing the names „Jerome“ and „Michael“.

Yes, we all made it back into the lap of civilisation, with its warm toilet seats and glass washing basins, and I am here to tell you the story of our adventures. The rest is shortly told: In the darkness we rode back along the shores of the river Tamagawa and all of us arrived between 7 and 8pm that evening at home. Great was the joy there when we could re-unite with our loved ones (unfortunately 2/3 of my loved ones were at the ice skating rink and the remaining 1/3 experienced a sudden and powerful attack of puberty- one may think about reinstating proven, good traditions).

More than 200 km of riding and far more than than 2.000 meters of climbing (excluding barometric tolerances).

PS By the way, in many ways this was also a very classical Positivo Espresso ride. We started very fast, slowed down considerably and were equally fast in the end as in the beginning. The only non-classical element was, that 50% of us stuck with the original riding plan.

(1) from „Heart of Darkness“ by Joseph Conrad, 1902
(2) from „Charge of the Light Brigade“ by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1854

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Eingeordnet unter 2010, David, Jerome, Mob

von bikesnob28hb | 30. März 2010 · 04:16

Mid Week Ride Announcement : 31. March (Wed) Chichibu Hills and Sights

For tomorrow, we have scheduled a nice criss-cross ride through some well known areas of Chichibu, including medium climbs and some temples and shrines along the way:

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/jp/chichibu/234126991531058203

Meeting Points are at 7 AM on the Komazawa Dori / Kanpachi Intersection and at 7.30 AM at Tamagawahara Bridge, Tokyo side (km 0).

From there on we will proceed along the Tamagawa towards Ome and have a second breakfast at Aurore bakery (km 32) where we need to pack enough food supplies for the climbs to come.

We will then follow the road to the holy foundation and start the first hill climb time trial up to Yamabushi Toge (participation optional). This will be followed by the short climb to Shomaru Toge and a fast downhill to road 299. From where we will start the second time trial to Karibazaka (again, optional). Eventually this will lead us to Takayama Temple and back to road 299, where we will turn North again and start to climb up to the famous Nennogon Temple (from the non-steep side).

A quick, pointless ride will lead some of us for the first time to Takedera. After everything hard is done, we will make a second rest stop (km 112) and continue back to the Tamagawa and ultimately home.

About 156 km of riding, covering app. 1.900 meter of elevation starting Tamagawahara Bashi.
So far Jerome, David, Dominic (tbc) and me have signed up. If anybody else is interested, please let us know, we can arrange further meeting points if convenient.

7 Kommentare

Eingeordnet unter 2010, David, Jerome, Mob

von bikesnob28hb | 15. März 2010 · 08:32

Inviting MOB Sayonara Ride ideas….

After reading David L.’s Utsunomiya burube Brevet story below, a crazy thought just occured: „how about doing a mock/sham/mogi Takao→Itoigawa ride*1 when MOB is back in town?

Another idea for a Sayonara Ride would be the (somewhat shorter) „Jason Loop„*2….

Any other ideas ?

(*1 with stay& partying in Itoigawa)

(*2 a.k.a. „P++l Jason Loop“)

In memory of one of MOB’s numerous tragicomic jewels:

„Sure it’s OK for newcomers to join us on a ride out in the mountains.“

Translation: You are lured into the moutains and left in a place from where you have no idea how to ride home. One of the newcomers, Paul Jason changed his phone number and e-mail address after the ride. You might want to consider to do the same before.

7 Kommentare

Eingeordnet unter David, Mob

von bikesnob28hb | 22. Februar 2010 · 07:49

THE BARA BARA RIDE

from right to left : Deej, Clay, Yair, Jules, two unrelated riders, Setsuko (perhaps)
No Davids in sight. Also no slot machines.

When we planned to organize a classic ride on Sunday, we didn’t know that this would draw the biggest group in team history. And for some reason it comprised of only one David, actually the original one, now with beard. And, of course it became an undisciplined, unorganized „recovery“ ride in the typical fashion of our team.

I woke up early in the morning still with very heavy knees as a result of the 200 km trip the day before with Ludwig where we circumferenced the Hakone mountains. Already on the way to the meeting point at the Tamagawa I noticed that I could barely ride 30 km/hr in the flat, neither force my heart rate to go over 155 BPM. But not to worry, as this was an official Positivo Espresso „recovery ride“. So I expected some fast pace along the Tamagawa until everybody burned out and then a leisurely ride up to Otarumi and Tsukui.
Well I arrived on time at Tamagawahara bridge and already a large crowd has gathered, not only the usual Positivo suspects such as David, Jerome, Dominic (David), Bryon, Yair, James (David) and Michael on his Cervelo with new Shimano Di-3 (this is an upgrade from Di-2 which includes a small electrical assistance motor, invisble to the human eyes), but also Fumiki and his friends „Ko“ and „Sho“ (together they ride under the name 故障) and Deej and Jules from the TCC. I was tempted to collect participation fees and ride home (150 Yen for PE members, 15 million Yen for first timers) as a free and rich man.

And while I was talking with Fumiki as he casually mentioned „Everybody’s riding already“ and I turned my head just to see our group taking the first bend at the horizon. So we had to hurry up and chase behind the peloton. It was impossible to catch up as everybody in the front group pedalled as fast as they could and there was a strong headwind that we had to overcome. Finally at the bridge after Sekidobashi we caught up but at this point we have lost already Bryon and either Ko or Sho, not sure. The tempo was just murderous for me and I was looking forward to the point where everybody would relax; this was supposed to be a „recovery“ ride.

We then rode the usual road along the Asagawa where we encountered a dispatchment of stormtroopers or perhaps baseball kids and where we left a mildly negative impression on the local population. Little girls were graping there teddy bears tightly and small boys looked up to there mothers, saying „Mama, when I am big I want to become a foreign bicycle rider.“ „Rather I will set fire to the house and kill the whole family.“

We somehow made it to the Takao 7-Eleven where we re-grouped and linked up with Tom, Hiroshi, Nishibe and Clay from TCC. To the neutral outside observer we must have looked like a very fast group thanks to the strong additions from other teams.

I spoke with Jules and he asked me „Are you the guy with scars all over your leg?“ How did he know? Where my lovely deadhead-diapers lurking out from the bib trousers? But I agree, scars on the legs are even cooler than shaved legs. And they hurt more. But the part of my body that hurts the most was my behind, as I did more than 400 km of cycle riding the last five days. I will refrain from posting pictures here.

Then we started the Otarumi TT and even before the official starting point Tom, James, Deej, Clay, Hiroshi, Fumiki and Jules went off like rockets while I stayed with Nishibe, Yair and David in a second group, followed by Dominic, Ko, Michael, Jerome.

On the top of Otarumi we took a group shot to document this historic event (more riders then average blogviews per day in 2008).

From there on we continued downhill and then took the classic turn to Tsukui lake. All of this still at very high speeds. Things became a little chaotic. I guess all of us took the left turn at the Circle K that leads to the Tsukui North road, but then not all of us went along the North side and definitely many lost track when we rode into Hashimoto. David proposed to ride his favourite backroad shortcut and I was hanging on for dear life, as I had no idea where I was and in case I got lost, it would have taken me days to find the way back to Onekan.

Somehow we managed to re-group at the Starbucks 7-Eleven at Onekan, but in the process we had lost Tom, Michael and Dominic who rode home on their own.

Deej, Clay and Jules started first on the Onekan, followed by Jerome, me and the rest of the pack. Just a few hundred meters behind the tunnel we saw Deej who was screwed. No, I don’t mean that he was bonking, I mean, to be precise, that his tire got screwed by a app. 20 mm wooden screw, NiCr plated, judging from the look, probably made in China. After making sure that he was OK and had everything he needs for repair we continued along the Onekan and at one point I met David and Fumiki again while finally continuing leisurely with James along the Tsurumigawa home. Fumiki said that he enjoyed the ride-out but that he would now ride into the mountains to do some more serious things.

At least the last 20 km or so I had the feeling of a „recovery“ ride.
So I guess it is time to propose two or three things here to „avoid confusion in the market place“ (the most favourite quote by Japanese business executives when a company/competitor starts to do things differently than before):

RENAME THE POSITIVO ESPRESSO TEAM INTO POSITIVO ESPRESSO TEST TEAM

Well, the Cervelo Test Team is called so because in addition to racing, it also fulfils the role of testing the Cervelo bikes under severe conditions. We do not belong to a bicycler maker (well, Prolite, perhaps), and therefore we are not testing any bikes. But we constantly test the well being, patience, nerves and physical composure of all team members and therefore we rightfully deserve the name „test team“.

DEFINE „RECOVERY RIDE“

Recovery Ride – As opposed to the common understanding of a recovery ride in standard cycling, a Positivo Espresso recovery ride is defined by the fact that most of the riders attending, will be recovered sooner or later from the roads by firefighters, ambulances or archaeologists eventually („Hm, high BMI index and DuraAce 7800 group set – probably an investment banker from the early 21st century I would guess.“). The average speed will be ridiculous high and climbs can be long and painful. However, regardless of distance and elevation, a recovery ride must include a statement in the official announcement that it will be finished in the early hours of the afternoon.

RIDE ORGANISATION

Again, if it comes to organisation of rides and freedom of individual members to do what they please, Positivo Espresso is second only to Bakunin. I understand that some of us are not happy with this and I can understand their point of view. On the other hand, the quest to get our unorganized, undisciplined team changed, i.e. to ride organized, perhaps even in a paceline (!) and stay together has been undertaken by many brave souls and not led to any success so far. I also feel that I am lacking the divine powers to change this. So perhaps it is more important to change expectations. An organized rides, in Positivo Espresso fashions means, that we meet in a somewhat organized fashion.

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Eingeordnet unter 2010, David, Hiroshi, James, Jerome, Mob, Nishibe, tcc, Tom