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SEKIDOBASHI @ 9:00 IS PERFECT FOR ME MICHAEL

Did the Kobu Tunnel today…climbing up there was great; descent was a different story….most of road is in the shadow and I tell you with these temperatures, it is scary!! Snow and ice everywhere! I imagine Suzugane Touge will be the same: going up fine…going down eisbahn! But we can always try! See you tomorrow. Tom.

PS: I will be very slow…got tortured by NFCC’s Young Hopes today!

MOB : OK, I will be there at 09.00 at Sekidobashi with my new yellow Assos Fugu jacket and my old bike,

TOM: ALRIGHTY!

HEY BTW, WHO ARE THOSE PUNKS IN RANDOM PHOTOS?

mob : So we met at Sekidobashi at 9 AM and tried to move quickly against the headwind to Itsukaichi. After the break at the 7-Eleven we then rode along the road to Honjuku and further in direction Kazahari before we made a turn to the left and approached Kobu Tunnel. The road was much in the shade with some patches of ice so we moved very carefully. After that we rode to Fujino and down at the Uenohara CC to Route 20. This is not my favourite area really, I don’t know why but Uenohara makes me always so tired.

We then went over Otarumi from the Sagamiko side, none of us clocking the time as we were already pretty tired. Nevertheless Tom speeded up and I secretely looked on my watch but the time was not worth mentioning.

We went down the other side and gad a good lunch of Tororo Soba at a place close to Takaosanguchi station. Tom rode home by bike, I biked up my son from an insect hunting excursion. He and me were in luck first – he finished already at 2 PM and I was there at 2 PM despite the time set for 3 PM so we made an early start for home.

The trip home was a disaster. I mean in the train. We made it to Fuchu when someone in the station decided to commit suicide and jumped in front of our train. We couldn’t see anything as we were in one of the last cars, but as the train has not fully moved into the station when it came to a stop, the doors couldn’t be opened. we had to wait for 30 minutes, then finally could move out, took a bus to Kokubunji and a train to Shinjuku – finally we were home by 6.30 PM.

Nevertheless a very nice ride and it is good to add a lot of kms in the mountains this early in the season. Thanks Tom.

I also bought two maps at Takaosanguchi for the Takao and Okutama area to plan the next tours.

Tom: Thanks Michael…the ride was just what I needed to take up the slack after I got broken on the wheel on Saturday. Sorry to hear about the Fuchu accident and the long way back to home. Let’s go again when we have splendid weather again like yesterday.

I want to ride this Saturday. David Jacob also sounds like he wants to get back on the bike. Anyone interested in an 8AM start at my house? 8:45 at Sekidobashi?

Tom: David, I’ll be there at Sekidobashi – 8:45…I love these zero temperature rides! The Hinoharamura area will have min -6℃ ~ max +2 ℃ temperatures tomorrow fortunately with very little wind….

Well … David Jacob and I got a 10 minute late start, then I flatted a tubular tire about 5 minutes south of sekidobashi. Tom had invited some of the NFCC and rode off with them for Sagamiko. I managed to change my tire and, after some fun with the valve stem coming unscrewed, got it fully inflated. David Jacob and I rode up to Oume and over Jerome Hill (we blew through the record for Jerome Hill — and I was coasting the first part and only pedaled at all as the road turned up near the end), back over a different hill (the hill you go over if you do not turn at Sakamoto and head up Jerome Hill, and back down the river from Oume. 105 km or so from my house. Add 20 km for David Jacob. I got 3 hours of sleep after a long, long night of bengoshi recruiting activities. It reminded me of day 3 of the Tour de Noto, after Michael’s birthday party the night before, but with half the sleep. In any event, it was good to stretch the legs.

Tom: I’m sorry David I couldn’t wait for you. I’m glad to hear though that you managed to fix a new tubular on your carbon wheel…those tubulars can be a nuisance if you have to change them mid-ride. About the Jerome Hill….talk about pulverizing records! ….I cannot believe what you guys managed to do ‚cause I really gave everything for my time!! Are we measuring from the same start line? Something has got to be wrong haha!! Anyways, let’s do this hill all three or all four (with Michael) or all five (with Jerome himself) of us together next time!

Had a nice ride with three much younger NFCC guys…first time for me to go with them (which is why I didn’t want them to wait much longer at Sekidobashi)…two of them are transfers from a professional team. Whereas lately I am usually the one waiting at the top of the touge for the rest to arrive, this time it was the complete reverse! They all had to wait for me to show up! Not a very pleasant feeling having to let others wait. All three of them are more than 10 years younger than me, so maybe it has something to do with age…one thing is for sure, if I continue to cycle with them every weekend, I should be able to improve my hillclimb skills.

We are measuring the same distance — between Sakamoto crossing and the sign at the top of the hill. but don’t worry Tom, our 5 minute record was coming DOWN the hill. Michael picked up one clue — about riding via Oume. The other was „I was coasting the first part …“ 5 minutes was a very leisurely descent.

Jerome, Adam and I will brave the elements tomorrow and go for a TT of Tomin-no-Mori. Anyone more than welcome to join!!

(* Koremasa Bridge is one bridge ahead of Sekidobashi Bridge when going stream upwards – about 9 minutes on the bike between them)

an interesting article I found in regards to Cadence :

Using a slightly lower gear with a faster cadence can be more efficient than riding a higher gear with a slower cadence. The difference in efficiency is due to the unique physiological demands of each style. A high cadence pedaling style involves frequent, low muscular force productions while a low cadence pedaling style is comprised of less frequent, but more forceful muscular contractions. Since the slower cadence requires more muscular force per each pedal stroke, a greater percentage of fast twitch muscle fibers are recruited. Fast twitch muscles are not as efficient in their use of glycogen, so your body’s energy resources are drained more quickly when they are used. This can lead to increased fatigue late into your rides. During a stage race or when training frequency is high this becomes very important since stresses are compounded from one day to the next. On the other hand, the relatively low muscular force used with a high cadence relies more heavily on the slow twitch fibers, which are more aerobically efficient in using the body’s energy stores to produce work.

Typically, a cyclist will be most efficient with a cadence of 80 to 90 revolutions per minute (RPM). Cadences lower than 80 RPM require greater muscular forces, while cadences over 100 RPM place a higher demand on the aerobic system. Incorporating low and high cadence workouts into your routine will have you best prepared for your goals, though a majority of your riding should be done with an average cadence of 80 to 90 RPM.

tomorrow looks like rain – but sunday should be fine (though cold). anyone interested in going for a ride ?

Jerome and I had a nice, relaxed winter training ride today. He started slow — the aftereffects of a trip to Tomin no mori earlier in the week and a long run yesterday. As usual, by the end, he was pulling me home down the Tamagawa.
We went over Otarumi west of Takao (no attempt for the record today), took C.V.’s once-secret route around the South side of Sagami-ko, then Rte 76 over to Doshimichi and home from there. We tried a detour on Rte 513 (the North side of Tsukui-ko), which was beautiful with the sun reflecting on the lake to our south, and very little traffic on that road as it climbs up and then plunges down to a bridge over the lake … and back to Rte 413.

Here is a map of the ride:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:%2F%2Ftrail.motionbased.com%2Ftrail%2Fkml%2Fepisode.kml%3FepisodePkValues%3D4720609&ie=UTF8&ll=35.6063,139.385812&spn=0.122302,0.505052&om=1&output=embed&s=AARTsJpBxZtnoTFoN8EH7W-91NHjMwZUyg
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