Archiv der Kategorie: David

von | 24. Mai 2009 · 05:18

"They Must Have A Very Powerful Politician"

That spot in the distance … is Jerome heading up the Enzan side of Yanagisawa Pass via a Route 411 sky bridge.

Click on this photo to enlarge and see the cyclist:

As we ride our bicycles in the Japanese countryside, we sometimes come across an extraordinary (and extraordinarily expensive) piece of public works infrastructure. Among these great feats of engineering (and fiscal stimulus/deficit spending), perhaps the most impressive are the bridges that cross, not water, but land — soaring out into thin air, as it were, arching across some obscure valley to ease the passage of the (very occasional) larger vehicle that might try to navigate a steep mountain pass so as to deliver a large object to a village of a few hundred (or more like a few dozen) old people. In my experience, these great strips of asphalt are of most use to (1) the large dump trucks that go up and down the mountains to move earth in order to build even more spectacular infrastructure, higher up and farther away, and (2) cyclists!

Among these public works, the construction projects of the first half of the „first lost decade“ of the 1990s have got to be the best of the best, the creme de la creme. When one comes upon such an engineering marvel, it is difficult to suppress an exclamation, „wow!“ Such was Michael’s reaction on a trip he took with Ludwig to the western edge of Chichibu this Spring.

And so it was, that I led Jerome on his first ever trip over Yanagisawa Pass on Saturday, he uttered the inevitable „wow!“ Always an astute observer of political economy, one of Jerome’s other phrases immediately came to mind, a phrase frequently heard from him in coming upon similar marvels. „They must have a powerful politician.“ Indeed, Yamanashi’s politicians are so powerful that they are STILL building skybridges toward the top of Yanagisawa Pass (doubtless after a hiatus during the Koizumi era), to further ease travel to the mountain top coffee and soba shop. And we saw numerous large dump trucks joining Route 411 from a mysterious side entrance at about 900 meters elevation, just near the turn off to Kamihikawa Pass/Daibosatsu Pass where we had lunch … as we had seen another mysterious line of dump trucks coming out of the woods at Sasago earlier in the day.

(Unfortunately, the politicians on the Tabayama-mura (NE) side of the pass have noticeably less clout, as evidenced by older bridges, rough road surfaces, and little more than „ordinary“ repaving work we saw on the descent. Tabayama may be still in Yamanashi Prefecture, but it is clearly on the wrong side of the hill, connected more closely to Tokyo than to Koufu. Out of sight, out of mind, as they say. … Or maybe the good leaders of Tabayama did a trade with the politicians of adjacent Kosuge-mura, and decided they would much rather spend tens of billions of yen on the new road AROUND Matsuhime Pass and toward Sarubashi area. That road will make it much easier to get the dump trucks and cyclists to and from Kosuge and even Tabayama.)

Enough about infrastructure. On to the ride report. …

Jerome and I left my house at the ungodly hour of 4:15AM, planning to get to Takaosanguchi and over Otarumi Pass ahead of Tom S., who had a 6AM start time for the Tokyo-Itoigawa ride. We did not see Ludwig/Manfred at our rendezvous point in Komae and, leaving mobile phone messages, headed on toward Takao at a slower pace. After a VERY brief stop at the traditional Positivo Espresso 7-11 in Takao, we headed up Otarumi. As we passed the start for the Itoigawa ride, Tom hailed us from across the street where he was warming up. 5:52 or 5:53AM … a 7 or 8 minute head start giving us plenty of time to get over the first hill and ride with Tom a bit along the first stage.

Jerome was suffering. His legs „felt like cotton“ and he had „no power.“ He struggled on every uphill section during the morning. (I was not worried, since I knew he would recover eventually — he always does, a question of „when“ not „if.“)

In any event, we made it along Route 20 out to Uenohara, and through the dip just to its west (75 meters elevation loss followed by a similar climb). I climbed faster than Jerome and was several hundred meters ahead by the top of the slope. I heard Tom’s voice call from behind just in time to see a train of 4 riders passing me by. I accelerated, hopped on the back and joined Tom, Ludwig (what happened to our rendezvous, Ludwig?) and two Japanese riders. They were going at a good clip, between 35-40 kph on the flat. But Tom seemed to be doing all the pulling. This did not seem fair to me, so after a few minutes, when they slowed perceptibly, I passed the train and settled in front to do my share … after all, that was the idea, to help Tom go for the victory, sacrificing my „double wide trailer“ body by acting as domestique and wind screen, for even a few minutes. Somehow, my move must have confused one of the Japanese riders, who now can up alongside me and asked me in English, „are you living in Chofu-shi?“ The apparent non-sequitur puzzled me, until I remembered that, indeed, Tom lives in Chofu … so I responded politely that no, I live in Setagaya-ku near Futako Tamagawa. This seemed to satisfy him and he let me complete a pull for a few minutes.

After about 5km, as we approached Torizawa, the road turned up briefly, giving me the perfect opportunity to bid farewell, slow down and await Jerome. I pulled up alongside Tom, gave him as big a cheer as I could muster, and then settled back to watch them disappear up the road. Looking forward to Tom’s full report, but I understand he averaged 30.4 kph, up from 29.7 last year. The whole experience brought back memories of last year’s Tokyo-Itoigawa ride, and absent (David J. and Juliane) or injured (Michael K.) teammates. Jerome caught up with me after I pulled off at the Torizawa Seven Eleven, and after some food and rest (having travelled almost 80 km from home), we continued toward Sasago.

We turned off Route 20 to head up the old road, Route 212, toward Sasago Pass. Jerome rested again, trying to cool down and even lying in the road for a few minutes.

When I tried this delightful climb back in early April, I marvelled at the lack of traffic, the road being „closed for winter“ still over the upper stretch of the climb. Remember that this road was once the actual Koshu Kaido — the MAIN ROAD from Tokyo to Koufu and beyond. Indeed, while there has been a train tunnel between Sasago and Koshu (Kai Yamato) since 1902, the Sasago tunnel for cars and trucks was only completed in 1958, and it charged tolls until 1973. Doubtless the traffic volumes dropped considerably as traffic shifted to the new Koshu Kaido, which made it possible to go 3 km THROUGH instead of 12 km or more OVER the mountain. Then in 1977, the Chuo Expressway opened between Otsuki and Katsunuma, going through yet another tunnel, and the traffic began to shift even more.

I am very pleased to report that, even with the road now open, there is still almost NO traffic over Sasago Pass. Most of the climb is a beautiful road anywhere between 5 and 10% gradient. It looks like this (with apologies for the shaky camera hand while trying to climb a 7-8% grade with one hand off the bars). … I could have taken 5 more videos of similar length, also without seeing a single car, climbing in delightful shade and a cool breeze:
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=

Climb to Sasago #1 from David Litt on Vimeo.

In any event, we were soon down the other side and onto the „Fruit Line“ — the road that grips the edge of the valley around to Enzan, affording a spectacular view of the entire bowl, with snow capped Southern Alps in the distance. Somehow I had not realized how hilly this road is, when taking it in the other direction. While it goes along the side of the valley, it is nearly constant up and down. The weather and views were glorious, looking over the vineyards of the „Grape Capital“ of Katsunuma toward the pear and cherry orchards of Koshu and Enzan (much less shaky video).
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=

The Fruit Bowl of Yamanashi … from the Fruit Line from David Litt on Vimeo.

We even had a nice view back toward Mt. Fuji, along the Fruit Line we had just taken.


After a brief debate over the merits of trying Odarumi Pass (elev 2360 meters), versus taking Yanagisawa Pass and heading back toward Tokyo, we headed up Yanagisawa.


We were both famished and overheated, Jerome was still without power, and we nearly collapsed after remounting our bikes upon discovering that a restaurant we passed at 700 meters elevation was not yet open for the day (10:40AM). The lower slopes of this road ought to be called the „Fruit Knife“, as it cuts straight up hill, steeper than it looks.
We ended up stopping at a place at 890 meters elevation, just at the turn off to Kamihikawa/Daibosatsu Passes. They treated us well, giving us towels to help dry after washing ourselves with water from their outside faucets. After lunch on the local delicacy of „Houtou“ — a kind of strip-like udon dish with thick broth — and taking over the restaurant for awhile, Jerome rested on a bench nearby … and recovered.

He started slow on the next leg of the climb, but by the time we reached the upper slope Jerome was firing on all cylinders, officially declared recovered, and he made it to the top well ahead of me as I stopped for photos and ran low on gas.

We quickly descended to Oume, with time only for 3 stops — soft ice cream at the Pass, a brief stop at the westernmost convenience store in Tokyo … at Okutama town near the westernmost train station, and then at a traditional stop at Aurore Bakery in front of Oume Station. From Oume we hopped the train home, having ridden just over 200 km and climbed around 3000 meters for the day. I turned in early and made up for lost sleep.

3 Kommentare

Eingeordnet unter 2009, David, Jerome

von | 2. Mai 2009 · 14:29

THE RIDE


Woke up in time, had prepared the bike already the night before and was ready to go out and ride based on a grand master plan. But would we be able to stick the plan? I mean, for perhaps the first time ever?

Weather was just fabulous, as David used to say, „world records are achieved under these conditions.“ But weather is one thing. Leaving the house at 6:45 AM another. And then dragging the bike through boring but unfortunately hilly Yokohama before finally arriving at the Tamagawa. I was too early, had splendid time to drink my coffee and waited for James, David, Graham and Jerome to arrive. They brought Jon and Craig with them who needed to do some more training before cruising Kyushu in mid May.

Up the Kan-One. Somehow I was very much in competition mood. I tried to climb up the hills as fast as possible and if there was any rider seen on the road I tried to catch up with him. That was maybe a little bit stupid in view of the long climbs we had in front of us, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. Then along the tank road and through Hashimoto for the first break.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4474193&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

The „Tank Road“ from David Litt on Vimeo.

A break gave me ample time to explain the merits of my gravity-zero wheels to Jon and Craig. By chance they are also for sale.

Jon and Craig had to leave us – strict mongen imposed by their better halves were given as reason – but Stephen was on his way to Aihara to add to our team.

So I phoned Stephen, who, to my surprise was on his way in his car, plus 30 minutes late as he had forgotten to take his cycling shoes with him. Plus travelling from Ome to Hashimoto is never a good idea (it is anyway not a good idea to get to Hashimoto in any fashion) plus that Stephen had no idea where he was, where to go and never ridden in the area. But hey, he has an iphone and Google maps which is as much compensation as life can offer.

But anyway, I thought I would never see him.

So the rest of us rode along our favourite Tsukui lake North road (thanks, Hiroshi)

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4474353&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

Short descent on N. side of Lake Tsukui from David Litt on Vimeo.

… and then a short stretch along Doshi Michi towards Miyagase Lake where we made the first of many serious stops.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4474587&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

Miyagase Lake rest area from David Litt on Vimeo.

At one of the many soba shops we had a good meal of soba, Jerome had in addition some fish which I would never have eaten while on a bike trip. David had a „Kalbi“ steak-kebob (kushiyaki) — also not mid-ride food. We waited for Stephen but we couldn’t reach him on the phone any longer. I recommended him to pack his car in a car-bag and take the train, as in Japan anything can be taken on trains provided that it is properly bagged. The amount of bags you can buy at Tokyu Hands is just amazing ; Bike bags, car bags, children bags, garden bags and of course Louis Vuiton bag bags.

And off we were to Yabitsu. Ah, Yabitsu one of my favorite climbs which never makes me tired. The wind was good and I was in good moos, so I started to go up fast. Within no time I was alone and started the real climb which leads to places like „hell swamps“. In my head I was humming „highway to hell“ but my body was slowly running out of steam. But what was that: „A rider with a yellow Wachi shirt was forcing his way up just before the final teahouse at the river – Stephen has made it and was attacking Yabitsu obviously to surprise us at the top : „Hey guys, finally here?“. He has left his car in Aihara and has taken the short road to Yabitsu while we took the more beautiful and much longer one and had a long, long soba lunch at Miyagase lake.
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4474924&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

The valley to Yabitsu from David Litt on Vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4475002&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

Middle stretch on Yabitsu climb from David Litt on Vimeo.

So I talked briefly with Stephen and then I accelerated again, my motivation now on the top and the goal only some three kilometers away. There is one stretch after the tea house which is a little bit steeper and harder, but after that it is OK. Although one thinks constantly that the pass is just around the corner, but it is not.

And up I was a final sprint : 51:39 min new record and 10 minutes faster than last year at the same point in season. Cool. I felt like Lance Armstrong winning his eighth tour.

Stephen came in second, followed by James, David, Jerome and Graham. Then again, no one else was racing against a clock (or each other). We didn’t spend too much time on top and only briefly surveyed suicide opportunities. This is a famous love double suicide spot, you know.

The group (Graham, Stephen, David L., James and Michael K.), stopped for the view and a photo just onto the Yabitsu S. side descent:

Our own personal team photographer, Jerome:


Then a fast downhill to Hadano where Graham left us while the rest of us, believe it or not stuck to the original plan and proceeded to Ninomiya and then long route one further to Odawara and Hakone. Now we were on familiar Ekiden turf.

At the 7-Eleven before the start of the real climb in Hakone I tried to stop David, who just went on, and then James, who signed that he would continue to ride. But with Jerome and Stephen I could convince them to take a break.

And then we started the 850 meter Hakone climb. I used to do this once, in the peak of the season and after a ride straight from my home. This was already the third time this year, including two times after Yabitsu. But nevertheless with so many km in the legs it is a hard climb. We lost Stephen already at the start and up to elev. 600 Jerome and me were going roughly at the same pace. Then I was getting faster, maybe because of the food and finally I arrived at the top. Not in a good time, but at least without a stop in one go. I hate to give up in the middle. I hate to stop. I don’t care if I am slow but I want to ride up in one go.

Up on Hakone the weather was still good but very cold. I met David and James at the Hakone 7-Eleven (I knew that they were waiting there – we always rest at 7-Elevens!) and shortly afterward Jerome came as well. Where was Stephen? After a few minutes I gave him a call at he was still at elev. 700, about 20 minutes to go. David was pushing that he needed to catch a train home and it was getting also cold and dark so we told Stephen to return while we went through with the original plan and continued to Hakone Pass and then to route #20.

Oh, beautiful route #20 (not to be confused with Koshu Kaido National Route #20 or Yaen Kaido Tokyo route #20). Many true things have been written about this extremely beautiful road, mainly by myself, rarely by others. But this is really my favorite road in Japan, slightly curved like the unshaven legs of Juliane, with a nice and steady gradient moving down like the underbelly of Jerome. Perfect views to the West deep into (no comparisons any longer, I am not Raymond Chandler), Shizuoka and via Fuji and to the East to Kanagawa-ken.

The bike is running smoothly at 40 km/hr plus and one has to navigate the curved but never ever to brake. David is so fast on this road, it is almost impossible to catch him. James is also fast, but sometimes he is overtaken by crazy mini cars who threaten to take them of the road.

The driving skills of mini car drivers : Mini cars – mini brains.

So with the first 8 km or so one descents on road 20 from elv. 850 to 650, along Jukoku Toge and then to the legendary Atami Toge. Then there is this brutal stretch where it goes down from 650 to basically 0 with 5 or 6 km. The hands are on the brakes constantly and white clouds are ascending from the brake pads. The rims can be seen glowing lightly in the night as they are becoming hotter and hotter. One moves his behind further and further back and finally touches the back wheel to add braking power. Only with this advances method it is possible to navigate this road downwards. Basically it is a free fall.

So we arrived before 5:30 PM at Atami station, bought more than enough beer and took the Shinkansen home. And who happened to join as in Odawara? Stephen who has managed the long way home from the Hakone climb back.

One beer was not enough to do all the trip justice and recount all the wonderful adventures we had. Also this post cannot do it. So I am hoping that James and David will add some photos, data and videos to show the full extent of this glorious trip. [I’ve added some videos and photos — though my skills as a videographer obviously need improvement. David]

I mean there are many things you need in order to fully enjoy a ride out. A good bike, strong legs, perfect weather, a nice road, not too much traffic and good company. Only when „Set“ and „Setting“ are right the result can be perfect [The older of you may remember that this is original a concept by Timothy Leary]. This ride was a close to perfection as it can get.

A little more video..
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4485921&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=ff9933&fullscreen=1

Wed Apr 28 Ride from Knotty on Vimeo.


4 Kommentare

Eingeordnet unter 2009, David, James, Jerome, Mob, Stephen

von | 19. März 2009 · 04:08

Powerclimbing with TCC

Last week I arranged secretly a Positivo club ride with the TCC. I didn’t know that all of this would end up in another chapter of the „元気じゃない物語“, the modern sequel to a famous book from the Japanese Heian past.

All of this required quite some work behind the scenes, including a reconnaissance trip two days before the actual ride to check out the road conditions on one of the long climbs to conquer. Quite cumbersome, the next time I lease some drones.
David, Jerome and me met at Tamagawahara bridge at 8 and we planned to meet the TCC group, including Tom, assembling at Itsukiachi, on the top of Wada Toge. This would spare us the embarrassment to let everybody wait on the top for us.

We got a very interesting combination of „dressed to cycle in spring“ together: I was packed in long bib shorts, three layers of jerseys plus additional windbreaker in the saddle bag plus overshoes. This was in view of my information gathering two days before. Jerome on the contrary wore short bibshorts, short sleeve jersey and below his famous and beloved fugu fishing net. David was somewhere in between.From the first minute on, we felt this immense pressure to arrive on top of Wada before the TCC and we zoomed along the Tamagawa at breakneck speeds. We were way ahead of schedule at the entrance to Wada and went up slowly as we had to preserve our strength for a) some of the longer climbs to come and b) to show off when riding with TCC. Definitely we were in competition mood.

The gates of Wada were open and the road all clear, this was different to the last time I went there earlier this month. So when we arrived at the top of Wada I immediately called Tom and wanted to tell him that we are already waiting for hours, but I couldn’t reach him. We waited for some time but nobody arrived so it would have gotten boring if not for some entertainment provided by the mountain witch (山姥) running the tea shop at Wada toge.

One middle-age couple in a car, obviously new to the area, was parking in the tea-house paid parking lot where you have to pay rates which you would normally expect at Roppongi Hills and similar locations. The car was already parked when she dashed out of her Lebkuchen house and advised the driver in he usually crow-like, persistent voice that he should move more to the back. That was not really necessary, but as she was the witch and he only the tourist, he obliged and moved the car back by app. 12 centimeters when she started to panic and shout „Stop, Stop, not that much!“. What a great welcome.

Would anybody support me if a write a petition to the Monbusho to nominate her as living national treasure [category: witches, magicians, demons, cursed and supernatural]?

Now as TCC was not showing up, we were even more afraid, that we would be overtaken on the slopes of the golf course hill leading to Kobu Tunnel. This is really frustrating because as per Japan Cycling Road Racing Climbing Association / Committee of Definitions and Abbreviations / Subcommittee of Hill Climb Locations Definitions, the climb through the golf hills is NOT recognised as an official climb but only as „a leisurely ride through the hills of what is left of bubble era Japan“.

That’s why we decided to move on. As usually David, who is the fastest downhiller I know, led the way through Fujino, the descent was really fast and beautiful this time with new fear to meet spots of ice on the road and a fantastic view on Mount Fuji.
From the bottom of my heart I can say that I really hate Uenohara and I hate the climb in the golf hills in particular. One is riding up and finally when a rhythm is found and some elevation gained, one is going down again. On the left and the right people are playing golf instead of earning a living or doing something meaningful with their life, for example: cycling. Sorry, I couldn’t come up with a better example but I think the readers of this blog will understand this example most easily.

Finally we reached the entry to the Kobu tunnel. Jerome, who will attend a marathon within short time, had sticked to his training concept, which can most easily described as: No training. Doesn’t have impact anyway. So he was quite exhausted when he reached the tunnel and throw his bike against the steel barrier on the side of the rode. One can clearly seen the bended steel bars in the photo below, while there is no damage to his bike visible at all. This clearly proofs the superior material properties of carbon fiber compared to steel. As there is also clearly damage visible to the body of Jerome, one can further assume that he is not as strong as carbon fiber or steel.
Still no TCC group in sight. So we thought that it would be OK to get overtaken on the approach to Kazahari Toge and started another wonderful descent with David in the front. Again he won the „reverse polka dot“ jersey as fastest descender and I had trouble to stay on his wheel.

Well and then the long climb to Kazahari or Tomin no Mori started. I was still feeling good and moved away from David and Jerome already at the start of the climb. As usual I got overtaken by a few lightweight, young Japanese riders but I was going steady thanks to the change to a compact crank on my bike. So I passed Sengenzaka without feeling the urge to jump into the hot water there and looking out from the pool on the road watching other cyclists struggling.
I like the climb very much, but there is one part, after the deserted toll booth with is long and straight and seems to take forever. Long and straight roads are demotivating me. I like small and bended roads where one cannot have any idea where they are leading and how much longer they will wind up.

All in all I was pretty exhausted when I arrived at Tomin no Mori. It was also quite warm and I finally decided to get rid of my undershirt. I also shed some extra weight at the toilet there which I assume had some negative impact on my performance going up. I hope they can re-use the place by now. To show how fast I was, I ran to the shop and ordered a bowl of Soba which I wanted to have finished and placed in front of me when David and Jerome arrive. But first it the shopkeeper, who always reminds me of the village smith in Asterix took forever to prepare it and then much to my surprise Tom showed up. He told me that he was on he heels of the TCC group which has passed Tomin no Mori and then he rode away again.

David and Jerome arrived some time later. They had taken a break at Katsunuma. Jerome was in even worth shape than at Kobu Tunnel which is always a good sign that he will became much, much better later during the ride.
Finally on the top of Kazahari (without snow, so yet another misinformation from me) we met the TCC group , but again we decided to speed ahead after a short break and started the most wonderful descent on the back of Kazahari. Normally, when climbing up on one side and going down then on the other, I only have one thought and that is „How lucky that I went up the other side“, as the road I am going down always seems so much steeper than the one I went up (good example: Nennogon in Chichibu). But this is not the case for the road now leading down from Kazahari to Okutama. For years I thought that the climb from Okutama would be much steeper and longer than from Itsukaichi. Not true. And now, after all the construction the roads are in fabulous shape and one can go down really, really fast.

The roads at Kazahari are frequently used by bike and car racing types and the sound of ambulance cars coming to the rescue is not infrequent. By providing an even better playground for racing at Kazahari I am sure that in the years to come even more racers will flock there, enjoy an accident and a longer stay at a hospital or graveyard. Which is probably part of a brilliant strategy to keep the rest of streets in Tokyo safe.

At the Okutama lake I finally met up with the TCC group and continued to ride with them. There were some guys I have met early (Alan, Naomi, David) and some I didn’t (Steve, Phil and some others) and just by chance our complete failed Tsukuba Endurance Team was presented. We continued at a surprising leisurely pace towards Ome and I was drafting first behind Tom and then behind Phil. Drafting behind Phil is much better, because drafting behind Tom is like trying to hide behind a baseball. I will use this example to illustrate my class at the ICU the difference between „riding effectively“ and „riding efficiently“.

We made one more stop at a convenience store close to Okutama station (the Western most conbini of Tokyo as it proudly announces his superior service quality, but it was still better than the one we dropped in at the TCC run in January). Here two memorable things happened:

First David A went through a door in the convenience store on which was written in very big and clear Japanese letters „THIS IS NOT A TOILET“. And then he stayed behind that door forever. I am not sure what he did there and I hope that he did the right thing in the right place.

Then without noticing, a lonely group of two Bosozoku (暴走族) riders had parked their scooter next to the store, but there not seemed to be of the dangerous type. However, when they started the engine again, almost immediately the sound system (I guess that 90% of the horsepower is used to provide electricity for the sound system) was engaged and the sound of the most dangerous music on earth wailed through the former peaceful valley: ENKA ALARM!　

Well Enka is basically one song with infinite variations and performed by the most beautiful women on earth like this, this and this.

We barely survived this heinous attack but still today thinking back to the day I hear

アンコ椿は恋の花

ringing endlessly in my ears. Especially after Alan and Naomi told me that they went to Izu-Oshima, an island famous for this flower.

So we made a wise decision to leave and continue to do the last climb of the day which I described to all TCC riders who were unsure about it as „a piece of cake“. In fact it is again another climb of 400 meters up and while Tom, his Vlaams teammate and David A rode ahead as nothing has happened earlier in the days of climbing, Steve and me battled it out in a constant fight up the slopes at approximately 8.2 km/hr. He completely misunderstood me when my answer to his question „How much is it still?“ was „About 280 meters“ which of course is the official style of answering sanctioned by the Japan Cycling Road Racing Climbing Association / Committe of Definitions and Abbreviations / Subcommittee of Hill Climb Quick Shout Definitions and ALWAYS means „280 meters up in elevation“ and NEVER „280 meters forward“.

As Steve thought that the top of the hill was near he gave everything for the next three kilometers or so, probably thinking that this was natural distance-guessing tolerance. We arrived on top almost at the same time, where I could barely stammer „see, piece of cake“ before being subdued by the forces of gravity and falling to the ground.

One after another also the other riders arrived and I have to say that I was particular impressed by Andy who seems to have made the full ride on his heavy steel frame MTB/hybrid type bike complete with back tray, fenders and all other kind of stuff that we normally don’t consider worthwhile to mount on our bikes. Well, as Lance Armstrong said „It’s not about the bike„, but by no means I would like to imply that Andy is perhaps using EPO. Steve also has a nice KLEIN bike which has a particular good paintjob and is changing colors depending on the angle looking at it.

We then took the much better road down on the other side and immediately Alan had a flat tire. This is the second time I ride out with Alan and he experiences a flat. So I was talking with Tom about the problems of international marriage and even before I could finish the account of all the troubles with my wife (a very short list indeed), Alan hat changed the tire and we could ride on. Incredible. Or impossible. So I still assume to this very day that either he had a spare wheel hidden in the jersey behind his back or that he simply exchanged front and rear tire and just pretended that everything was fine.

The road was getting much wider and better now and as the hard part was over, Phil, Tom, Vlaams and me started to go really, really fast and overtake each other. That was fun.

The rest was eventless, we split at Itsukaichi station, some of the guys went home by train, some by car and I had still to climb up to Tomin no Mori where I have parked my rental car. Sorry the part before Tomin no Mori was made up, I admit that.

All in all a very enjoyable ride, 171 kilometers and 2.800 meters of climbing. It would be nice to repeat this from time to time with the TCC guys.

Later David wrote me that Jerome and him moved along the road further to Ome and then home along the Tamagawa. As suspected, Jerome pulled him all the way home. Which is what he usually does after fooling everybody for 90% of the ride that he is in bad shape.

5 Kommentare

Eingeordnet unter 2009, David, Jerome, Mob, tcc, Tom

von | 8. März 2009 · 02:49

Hints of Springtime

I headed out Saturday with the goal of finally getting in my first 100+ mile (160+ km) ride this calendar year, and getting up over one of the 1000+ meter elevation passes, having been thwarted by a broken spoke when I tried Kazahari last month. Mission accomplished — almost 190 km for the day and I made it over Tawa/Tsuru and Kazahari. I realize this would be a „short“ day for Tom or possibly Ludwig, but very satisfactory for me.

I headed out Onekansen, then along the „tank road“ through the park and climbed/descended the forest road along the N. Side of Tsukui-ko, took 412/20 out past Sagami-ko to Uenohara and finally along the always beautiful and quiet Routes 33/18 toward Tawa and Tsuru Passes and Kosuge-mura. Despite the forays into Chichibu, this remains one of my favorite roads. There were hints of Spring from new green on the hillsides, offsetting what seemed to be the brown tint of pollen on the fur trees.


All was fine until climbing the last part of Tsuru Pass. Just as I stood up out of the saddle and pushed on one of the steeper slopes about 125 meters elevation below the top, I heard the distinct „ping“ of a drive-side rear wheel spoke breaking. The tension on the remaining spokes was greater than when this happened 3 weeks ago, such that the rim was bent and the tire was now rubbing against both the fully opened brakes and the inside of the chain stay. …. but I could still manage to turn over the pedals and figured I might as well go over the top. I made it down the other side and to one of the villages on Rte 139 just above Okutama-ko, where I was able to borrow a pliers from a man who was doing some work on a little gasoline motor in front of his house. I managed to loosen the adjacent non-drive-side spokes enough to and make the wheel very close to „true.“ It felt almost as good as new.

The plum (ume) blossoms have come out at Okutama-ko, having made it up the valley from Oume over the past few weeks, and it felt almost warm in the sunshine at Okutama-ko.


I stopped at the traditional Positivo Espresso roadside cafeteria for sansai (mountain vegetable) udon, which was delivered as usual with some extra pickled vegetables and cooked carrots and daikon on the side. I did not ask the proprietors, but I noticed after leaving that they have taken down the sign on the front of the building — I hope only to touch up the signature beige/off-white paint, rather than as a sign of anything more ominous. They seemed open for business, with the usual crowd of two other customers (one 75 yr old man talking with the proprietor/waitress about not catching any fish that morning, and another even older man who was getting oxygen through a portable tank).

But if it was Spring at Okutama-ko, it was definitely still late winter on top of Kazahari, with plenty of snow on the side of the road. I did not break any records for the ascent, but at least made it up and down without any other problems.

The weather had started to go downhill by the time I made it back to the Tamagawa.
I’m not sure it was such a great idea to try to ride 100 km+ on my Mavic rear wheel AFTER a spoke had broken. At least I stopped shaving off the side wall of my tire after I was able to adjust the other spokes, but the wheel was no longer a perfect circle with one broken and two adjacent loosened spokes. I noticed a slow leak from the rear tire on the way back down the river and stopped near Y’s to change the tube. Then just before going under the Odakyu line, a second drive-side spoke broke with a „ping“ almost opposite the first one. The wheel is now 5 years old, and has been used for a majority of my riding each year. Time for something new.

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Eingeordnet unter 2009, David

von | 3. Februar 2009 · 10:58

Tsukuba Eight Hours Endurance Race Spring Edition

I received an invitation today for the Spring Endurance Race in Tsukuba. The race is held on the Tsukuba car racing track, basically a flat 2.045 km round course, on May 3rd (public holiday) between 10.00 and 18.00 hr. I have attended the race three times; actually it has been the first race ever I attended in 2003 with Veloz, then in 2006 with David, david and Cycling Jane and last year with Alain, Jerome, Olivier, Augustine and Leonard (the two kids of Jerome) as the legendary six rider strong three rider team. This is a nice „training race“, good atmosphere, cheerleaders, camping-like atmosphere but still a lot of excitement. Normally the weather is good and it is possible to go there in the morning and return home the same day. So little effort is required. It would be really nice if we can get a strong Positivo Espresso Team together for this event. Or, if there are not too much riders interested, we can also try to get a combined team with Tokyo Cycling Club who also have some strong riders (I heard).

Teams of 3 to 6 riders are possible, however I personally find that a four rider team gives the best balance of riding and resting. It would be optimal if we could form a mixed team, this would give us some chances for a podium place although it is not easy by any means.

The fee for this race is between 10.000 and 15.000 Yen, depending on the number of riders.

I am writing this post already today because the application starts on February 14th and is limited to 300 teams. It will be sold out very fast and if possible we should have a tentative team ready before this date.

Please let me know if you are interested. we may also want to form two teams, depending on the performance levels of the riders.

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Eingeordnet unter 2009, David, James, Jerome, Juliane, Mob

von | 18. Januar 2009 · 15:08

Roller coasting with the Positivo Espresso Crew

Early on Sunday morning Positivo Espresso assembled a large group of eight riders on the shores of the Tamagawa. At good speed we first cruised along the river, overtaking countless less competitive Japanese amateurs, the riding along Asakawa until we arrived at the 7-Eleven in front of Takao station, the Positivo Espresso approved refreshment stop.


Since a long time we stop there, nowadays it is not any longer question if we need food or drinks, like pavlov’s dog we are stopping there. No matter that there are combinis further down and further up the road en masse. This is our combini.
On the way we lost David and almost lost Alex who was able to arrive almost at the end of our break.

Ludwig and me felt good, so we went for a fast ride up Otarumi Toge. We wanted to draft each other up, however our plan failed already at the start point where Ludwig overtook a BMW on the right at the lights, while I stayed behind the car. I was not able to recover the gap which was then created and could see Ludwig speed ahead in front of me at the steeper parts of the climb.

I felt really good, but made only a disappointing 15:27 min up to the top, way below my best times. Ludwig did well. I was although not completely exhausted and I felt that I could have raced a little bit faster if I had really tried. For a winter TT the result wasn’t too bad.

We waited for the rest of the group on top of Otarumi. Ludwig tried to take a group photo with the camera resting on a stone on the other side of the road. With the help of our precise information, he was able to make some nice pictures of cars racing by.


Here he is positioning the camera.

And here he is asking for some additional information which were unfortunately not at all correct.

There was already some ice rain on top of Otarumi and we were wondering if we could continue. But as usual the weather on the other side of Otarumi is different than on the Tokyo side and once we were back in the lower reaches the situation was OK.

We continued towards Tsukui lake where we take a very nice road over a small hanging bridge and then along the North side on a very small scenic road. Just wonderful and incredible that we haven’t found this road earlier.


We then continued to ride towards the Hiroshi-Mitsubishi tank training range road, which we somehow missed and then along the Minami Tama One Kanbu towards the Tamagawa. This is a very nice and fast road indeed with many ups and downs. One could race there at a good pace and we were testing ourselves against two younger Japanese riders.

Unfortunately there was a group of apparently non-Japanese cyclists who drove through the occasional red traffic light. Mistakingly believing that Ludwig was the leader of that unidentified group, he was approached and reprimanded by the Nalsima cycling police. We others watched interested as he got approached, but didn’t felt much called upon and rather less inclined to join the discussion. In true local fashion, Ludwig took all the responsibility on himself even though he didn’t really feel any.

After going home I thought about what the guy said and I would like to give him some credit because his arguments were not along the lines „This-is- the-rule-in-Japan-you-know, an argument which one hears so unnecessarily often. These days „rule“ is also frequently replaced by „compliance“ which already has made inroad into general usage. Bad enough, there should be a law confining usage to business matters.

We parted at the Tamagawa river and I rode home through Yokohama where I arrived after 118 km in the saddle. It was a very pleasant and fast ride with a good group. Although we were at different performance levels we could stay together and have fun. I had plenty or opportunities to climb, draft, go fast downhill and make the occasional sprint, I guess this is also true for the other riders.

Could do this more often, it doesn’t need to be the weekend 180 km tour every weekend.




2 Kommentare

Eingeordnet unter 2009, David, James, Mob

von | 2. Januar 2009 · 14:41

First 2009 Positivo Espresso Team Training Draws Huge Crowd


Tokyo/Japan [Jan 2nd, 2009]
from our Japan correspondent David Graham [who rarely writes]

Approximately 127.77 million spectators, equal to the total population of Japan minus four wives of attending Positivo Espresso team members, lined the streets today between the Tamagawa and Moto-Hakone to watch the first team training of the Positivo Espresso Team in 2009. Although time and route of the first training has been a well kept secret, after rumours have spread on the news, police and volunteers struggled to keep the masses under control.

The crowds virtually went crazy. Some adults in cars tried to break through the corridor of policemen so that they could be close to their idols.

A bunch of twenty something students in short trousers with strange sashes kept running all the way from Kawasaki to Moto Hakone behind the team. A guy from Toyo Ｕniversity came closest, but missed the team by 8 minutes on the top.


In order to avoid to be recognized by the crowds, the team members took precautions and did not wear today the new

cycling jerseys, sponsored by Mars Petcare, HABA Toys and Wegmans Baggels.

The training was under direction of the new team coach Car Chrismichael, brother-in-law of Chris Carmichael who was contracted on January 1st to coach the four elite riders who attended the training today and all other 128.76 million members who are supposed to join the team in 2009.

„Lance Armstrong might climb up the mountain above Kaloko, wherever that is, in the rain and post photos on twitter …. but who can confirm that he really rode up there? We want to make sure to be seen by a huge crowd of people.„, Chrismichael stated at the start of the day.

Today’s ride included an 80 km more or less flat stretch between Kawasaki and Odawara.


„I want to teach these guys some new skills, such as stopping at red lights. OK, this is a situation rarely encountered at races, but one needs to get a feeling for seeing a red light, processing this information and pulling the brake lever against all logic.“

Because of this new approach, the previous record [set by David Jacob in Okutama July 2008] of 28 policemen and volunteers watching in awe while he blissfully rode through the only red traffic light ever installed in Okutama, was never in danger. David managed a poor „2“ on the open ignored policemen magnitude scale and Ludwig was at least almost hit by a flag wearing volunteer.

The training also focused on „riding together as a team„, however the approach failed after 40 km, when each team member choose the road it would like to go best.


Despite the ethusiastics crowds, there were also some critical voices heard on the sidelines: „These guys should really make more training rides,“ Iijima Koi (36, housewife from Shibuya) said, „I don’t want to ride in crowded trains and stand in line for hours just to see these guys for four seconds.“ And Kudo Ryosuke (98, unemployed) added: „With all Pachinko Parlours closed and only stupid quiz programs on TV, to come here is the only thing one can do on January 2nd anyway.„

The second part of the training consisted of a 14 km long 745m elevation meter climb from Hakone to Moto Hakone. As everybody stared at the team members, it was hard for them to give up or take a break and they were forced to climb up in one go. This resulted in a new Hakone Toge Baka record. Also it showed that guys in their forties are impossible to be outsprinted up a hill by guys in their twenties [provided that the former are on 500.000 JPY plus bikes and the later run].

A police motorcycle escorted the leading rider through the goal area to ensure his safety at the last kilometer. Nevertheless he missed the goal at a left turn and continued straight as he had much power left and didn’t wanted to stop. All riders made it to the top where they attended a soba banquet conducted in their honor at Hakone pass.

When the banquet reached its high point, they sneaked out of the door and continued their training on route 20, nominated not only as „Most beautiful cycling road in Japan“ but recently the decision to ride on route 20 was voted as „The mother of all best decisions“ by an independent panel of decision makers.


They were shadowed until the town of Atami where it seems that they a) bought beer and b) hopped on a bullet train in direction Tokyo where c) later four empty beer cans where found in the garbage container at the rear of car #5.



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Eingeordnet unter 2009, David, James, Mob

von | 30. Dezember 2008 · 12:17

Mars Petcare, Haba Toys, Wegmans Bagels and ….

Some month ago I wrote an unacceptable and disgusting post about a Positivo Espresso Rider Voluntary Recall. Actually, since then I have long forgotten about, but when I scanned the web for Positivo Espresso entries recently I found this after Mars Petcare, Haba Toys, Wegmans Bagels:

http://www.blogged.com/about/voluntary-recall/

Perhaps we would like to inform them that the recall has been recalled.

Ein Kommentar

Eingeordnet unter 2008, David

von | 29. Dezember 2008 · 02:31

Old Year and New Year Rides

Update

Just to help clarify, there are three upcoming Positivo Espresso rides proposed.

Tuesday 30th Dec 2008, Ludwig and mob are going to do a full day ride, starting time between 8 and 9 AM at Fuchu bridge on the Tamagawa. The destination is not decided yet, details will follow today.

Wednesday 31st Dec 2008, proposed by David with Tom and James keen to join. Details to follow in comments or as an update in this post.

Friday 2nd January 2009, Ekiden Ride, David, Michael, Ludwig and James so far. Details can be found below.

4 Kommentare

Eingeordnet unter 2008, David, James, Mob, Tom

von | 27. Dezember 2008 · 08:29

Ekiden Ride

UPDATE 28. December 2008

So far, David, James, Ludwig and me will attend the Ekiden ride on January 2nd. The meeting point is close to the Tamagawa at the Family Mart at the cossing road 15 and road 409 in Kawasaki [see Google map below] at 8.30 AM.

If there is interest, we can do the Hakone climb and then the best downhill in Japan from Hakone Pass to Atami pass on route 20:

Moto Hakone to Atami Route 1 / 20 Ride
Find more Bike Rides in Hakone, Japan

David suggested to do the first ride of the new year on January 2nd from Tokyo to Hakone. As the Ekiden is hold on this day, the roads are sealed off and one can go on the bike in front of the field almost without traffic from Tokyo to Hakone – a once a year opportunity. I could convince my family to go to an onsen in Hakone the same day already, so I would be very much interested to do this ride, but the details, where to start, how to go etc. should be clarified with David. It would be nice to have a larger group of Positivo Espresso Riders together for this trip. Please let me know if you would be available.

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Eingeordnet unter 2009, David