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Photo of the week:

And so it is…the day has arrived that the ceremony should commence.
The Blide-meat shall be held at the current location for which we are staying and all are invited. As per tradition (Orkney not Irish) scones and whiskey will be served as well as a number of other tasty eats and drinks.
The original date was posted on another blog post but not so clearly stated, so…

Date: May 8th
Location: The Moncrieff residence in Meguro–ku 2-10-68-302 Masters Y House Mita
Time: TBD
Post event: near by pub to carry on with the celebration

Please let us know if you can make this event as we hope to pack the house we have been so greatly invited to stay in.

Thank you All for the warm wishes of health and prosperity.

Bryon, Natsumi & Yuta

A general introduction for the curious.

The League of Cycling Purity is an organisation for Proper Cyclists. Where most cycle organisations merely aim to help their members or regulate a particular aspect of cycling, the LCP aims to control all cyclists and bicycles. On the whole it has failed to do this, although it claims great success in maintaining the pitch of bicycle chains at one half inch.

This webpage is not an official publication of the LCP. As you will read below, they are not enamoured with the kind of technological progress represented by the internet. Mass communication for most of the LCP ends with the radio (valve, amplitude modulation) although some members did buy a television for the coronation. The information presented here comes from publications of the LCP and talking to its members.

Rules about members

Members must own at least one bicycle. All bicycles owned by a member must conform to the rules of the League. A member’s cycle house may be inspected at any time without warning by the League’s Special investigation department. For this reason, members are advised to register any impure cycles owned by others in their household, such as wives, children, mistresses and servants.
Cycles are to be mounted in the gentleman’s fashion, from the left, unless the man is left handed or during formation exercises.

Clothes must be of natural fibres, (cotton, silk and wool) or leather. The fit should be close, but never tight. Colours should be subdued and blend in with the countryside. Socks should be black. Woollen knee stockings may be black, brown, green or russet. Waterproof rainwear of nylon or other synthetic material is permitted (rule changed in 1972).

Hair must be regularly cut and never longer than the collar. The preferred hairstyle is the short back and sides, but many members who are thin on top prefer a No. 3 or 4. Long hair is only excusable in the most extreme circumstances, such as shipwreck.
No member may wear a helmet, except when on active service or in a combat zone. (“I’d like to see one of those silly plastic hats stop a .303 round”, said Major-General Jeremy ‘Chuff-Chuff’ ffarnsworthy-Smythe (Royal Artillery) (retired).)

No member may read a new Shimano catalogue without a doctor or trained first-aider present.

Rules about bicycles

Except for the first circle, wheels must be 27”, sprint rims, or (since 1997), 700c.

Components must be approved by the club. Generally this means they should be steel and of english manufacture. Now that there are very few bicycle parts made in the UK, members are faced with the choice of making their own from lumps of metal or using European components. Some Japanese parts are permitted, but very few and definitely no post 1985 Shimano.

Where deraillier gears are used, the control levers must be mounted on the down tube. After a fierce, and, at times, violent, internal debate in 1978 it was decided that it doesn’t really matter whether the cables are run over or under the bottom bracket.

Clipless pedals are not permitted. The LCP is aware of the theoretical biomechanical efficiency gains that result from the centre of the pedal spindle passing through the ball of the foot. Some thought that the 1982 Shimano crank with this feature was a good idea, if flimsily executed. All agreed that is was a better idea than the one known previous experiment in this area, when in 1923 K.V. Brahhamlad-Vinkerton MA (Cantab.) made holes in his feet to accept the pedal spindles. Unfortunately, his garden shed was not as clean as might be desired for performing a major surgical procedure, and gangrene set in. He survived, but lost both feet. After his release from the Bethnal Asylum, he was fitted with artificial feet and continued his cycling, winning the League’s most improved rider trophy in 1933. Needless to say, his prosthetic feet had holes for the pedal spindles. K.V. Brahhamlad-Vinkerton was killed in action in 1944.
Bike shops

As one might expect, cycle shops are important to the LCP. There is an approved list of cycle shops the League regards as worthy of their custom. For simple items such as brake cables or a new bit of rubber for the inside of a Woods valve members will use any specialist cycle shop, though some of the less restrained members will mutter and curse under their breath at the flagrant displays of impure cycles.

The ideal bike shop is to be found on a secondary shopping street in a respectable working class neighbourhood or market town. It will be named after the proprietor, the proprietor’s father or grandfather. The sign will be handpainted by a long dead signwriter, the telephone number will betray its pre-Subscriber Trunk Dialing allocation by giving an exchange name rather than an area code. In the window there will be a sparse, unattractive display, with a discontinued bicycle, some empty parts boxes, obscure tools and unfashionable clothing (e.g. ‘Team Bovril’ or Milk Race).

In 1947 the LCP introduced a grading system for shops. The first class shop only sold goods approved by the Componentry Committee, the Second Class shop sold these goods and a limited range of impure products, such as wider saddles for the fairer sex, and Third Class shops were all others. In 1952 a prohibited list was added of shops which were unsuitable for members to enter. Some shopkeepers complained that they were on this list not because of their merchandise but because they had fallen out with some member of the LCP, perhaps by suggesting that they spend money and stop fondling the Airlite hubs. In 1955 a new category of First Class (exceptional) was added when Mr. G. Harmsworthy opened his shop in Bradford that took things a stage further by only selling things to the members of the LCP. This shop went bankrupt after ten months, partly due to his complete refusal to sell things mail order “I need to see the customers membership card.” It was suggested to him that he only send goods to addresses on the membership rolls of the LCP, but for some reason (sheer bloody-mindedness) he chose to disregard this suggestion.

Today there are no first class shops left in the register, and precious few second class ones. Locally, the second class shops are Common Wheel (Maryhill branch only), Wheelcraft and Willy Bain’s Bicycle Repair. The list of forbidden shops grows rapidly, including Halfords, Evans, Alpine, Edinburgh and pretty much everywhere else you have ever heard of. Special opprobrium is lavished on Kinetics on Bearsden, Glasgow, which has the temerity to sell not only recumbents and tandems, but also electrically assisted bikes. Indeed the owner once rode past a gathering of the LCP on an electrically assisted recumbent tandem, resulting in three heart attacks and one death from apoplexy. After this tragic event, the Ladies Axillary petitioned the local council to plant trees in front of this shop to prevent public decency being further outraged.

There are very few LCP approved framebuilders left, mainly because the artisans approved by the LCP are so good that their work is handed down through the generations. One such is Charles Ralph, who makes the Alves Framesets. His luxuriant growth of beard makes him ineligible for membership, but his knowledge and skill are respected. Members appreciate his total lack of advertising and inaccessible location. His workshop is in a converted goat shed at the back of his house. His house is hard to find without a six-figure grid reference. To get there one takes the Rothes road out of Elgin, doubles back toward Fogwatt, then up a single track country road, then a concrete farm track and finally a rough track to his house. Once there, assuming he is at home and not hiding in the bushes, a prolonged discussion of the required frame will ensure. Mr. Ralph will strongly advise on certain issues, “73 parallel for this frame” but be open on other matters, such as frame eyes. After several hours of looking at tubes and Nervex lugs, a specification will be agreed and a price quoted. Mr. Ralph may become upset if you ask about a guarantee, “It won’t break”.

Decision making within the LCP

The LCP is very secretive about how it is organised. There are various committees, which issue communiques and policy statements, and there may be a central board of governors, but no-one knows who they are. Some hill walkers have reported seeing groups of wool-clad men leaning on the top tubes of their bicycles in circles at the top of remote mountain passes, arguing ferociously. These are assumed to be business meetings of the LCP.

Money

Members of the LCP hardly ever spend money, but when they do they buy the best quality and expect it to last forever.

Old parts

Some members never throw out their old parts, keeping them as “spares”. it is not unknown for members to have to build new sheds to accommodate their stocks of worn out chains, hooked freewheels and chainrings and punctured inner tubes. A few members have been buried with their coffins surrounded by beds of rusting metal and perished rubber.

…continues here theleagueofcyclingpurity.com

For now, just some photos. Could one imagine a more perfect setting than the Fussa „beer shack“ — complete with shrine, Edo era buildings, Koi-nobori in the flag post, and the most spectacular flowering trees imaginable. Please add your own (or email to MOB, Tom or me and we will do so).

Gathered for the party („James hams it up, hefting his Pinarello“ version):

Gathered for the party („full group except the photographer (David L.) and late arrivals (Jerome)“ version):

After the first 8-10 pitchers:

The signed farewll jersey — this time an Israel national version, as Naomi snaps a photo. We look forward to seeing Michael victorious riding in it in the Berlin road race he will join end-of-May:

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Sergey, Thomas and Ludwig — at one of the convenience stores after Ura Wada, before the „golf course hills“:

Gathering at Takao:

A tremendous find by Dominic ‚The Calf‘ Henderson.

Ludwig, Yair and I will be meeting at the Tamagwara Bashi at 9am tomorrow morning to ride up to Takao for the 10:30am meeting point at the Takao 7-11 .

Anyone else riding in is more than welcome to meet us here and ride up together.

See you all tomorrow for what should be a memorable sending off for Michael.

Cold but dry,. even sunny weather predicted for MOB’s farewell ride and party tomorrow — see the sidebar on the PE website for details, including the 10:30 meeting at Takao (7-11 in front of the JR station on Rte 20, of course). 

And just because you did not RSVP for the party doesn’t mean you cannot get in on the ride — a classic Wada, Uenohara hills, Kobu Tunnel, Akigawa/Itsukaichi route (the „Paul Jason Memorial“), that should leave us with enough energy for spirited eating and drinking.

I will be leaving my home at 9AM or a few minutes after, for a leisurely ride to Takao.  That means 9:30~35 at Tamagawaharabashi and 9:45 at Sekidobashi, if anyone is riding out in the same direction at the same time and wants to draft behind me.  Please leave a reply if you want us to wait for you. … now back to work.

Hi All,

As the time draws closer to our departure date business is starting to wind down and the final stages are underway.

Those who would like to have any testing done should schedule to do so. The studio will closing its cycling testing capabilities in a few weeks, all other training will continue till the last week of May.

Thank you all for your support over the time at the new location. Our hope is continue with the services offered her in Japan in Hawaii with future upgrades such as metabolic carts and lactate testing.

Look for us in Honolulu!

I have been thinking of the best way to bring about this post and in that thought process sided with the new arrival of Yuta, the day got passed me.
One year ago (yesterday) I found myself in a very euphoric state of Oh Sh*t, don’t panic, what is he going to do, I have no where to go and I am, am I, going to be OK? Other things running in past the view screens were of course what happen..ed, where is my wife, did I really land on my head, I’m allergic to penicillin, James I think I broke my arm…my wifes phone number is….I think I landed on my head…I’m allergic to penicillin…did I already say that…I know my wife’s phone number…zero ahhh zero…I’m allergic to penicillin….ahh zero…my ass is on fire…

As if in time with the rest of the world in a cosmic time space continuum crashes were happening all around. I too of course was not to escape the cosmic tractor beam and the rest is history. Some interesting facts about the ordeal, „breaking“ your neck isn’t all that bad as I found that while wearing the neck brace for 6+ months really helps out when long night at the bar is a foot. Also, while very cautious as we all have experienced in our own way, the Japanese medical system is VERY good. I was really impressed by it all AND VeRy thankful that I had my Japanese wife and her family on my side. While a many hours were spent at home watching five or more movies a day, my great prolific team mates kept my spirits up by detailing the wonderful rides that ended that summer, obviously not written with neck brace man in mind none the less wonderful reads. Lastly the over all reaction of those around me during the recovery. Many wonderful people gave and displayed their support while others well, didn’t…such is life. It’s a bit unfortunate although a reality that times like these and incidents that happen, tend to make one reflect. In a perfect world one wouldn’t need a traumatic event like this but then again…

Over this last year there have been many recoveries, new beginnings, life a new and moves on the horizon. Change is good and life must go on, and on it goes. Some may know others may have heard, we will be relocating to place where reflection is closer to a daily process tied in with fruity beverages, white sands, Polynesian spirit and cool breezes that softly whisper to the olfactory senses…Hawaii

One could say a bucket list should follow such an event, I say I’ve got my list although it requires a lot more heart (beats) and a lot less thought…

Oahu cycling info:

5 hardest

1. Wilhemina Rise

13.6% average percent gradient

2. Halekoa Drive

11.52% average percent gradient

3. Peacock Flats

10.17% average percent gradient

4. Kamehame Drive

9.11% average percent gradient

5. Paula Drive

8.86 %average percent gradient

extended list here

I think it was Dominic asked about the calculation of gradient…86% WT*

Surely I’ll get from Boardy to Merckx at some stage…

See you in Hawaii!