there is no "I" in cyclyng

If you had not heard, Jerome and I are training for Transalp; he just returned from 2 weeks of eating and drinking his way through France and Senegal, and we were looking for mountains!

Not just hills, but mountains! STEEP mountains! The kind of mountains that Tom and Ludwig write home about.

We headed out up the Tamagawa early Saturday, under dark skies.

By the time we got upriver as far as Fussa City our plans were a bit up in the air because of the threat of rain (it turned out to be only a few drops, but looked ominous at the time), and some serious jet lag for my returned teammate.

Instead of Matsuhime or Yanagisawa, we thought prudence the better part of valor, and eventually decided to head up Kazahari.

Kazahari Rindo — I had never been on it before. It is truly in the „lost valley“ of the North Akigawa — I had not been even on the lower reaches of that stretch yet this year and forgotten what a picturesque setting the valley is. More North Akigawa, please! The only problem — and the reason it is still undeveloped — is that there is NO WAY OUT.

No way out, that is, unless you count the crazy route up the Kazahari Rindo, with grades of 15-18% over long stretches, and a fence blocking all traffic (except foot and bicycles) at the top; or the other, poorly maintained, partially closed and also very steep road over Nokogiri-san („cross cut saw mountain“ — just as ugly a hill as the name would suggest) and down the other side to Rte 411/Oume Kaido. Nokogiri is one of Laurent’s favorite climbs, but the only time I did it, my tires were slipping treacherously on the rough, damp surface on part of the climb where the road had poor drainage, and on the descent I sat on my brakes so hard that my front tube overheated, causing a flat.

Anyway, others have written plenty about Kazahari Rindo in the past, and I did not have my camera along, so let me suggest you visit Ludwig’s and Tom’s posts.

I was a bit concerned about trying this hill with my 53/39 crankset, rather than the compact 50/34. At least, on the descent, I would have my tubeless tires and would not need to worry about flat-due-to-overheating.

The good news, Jerome and I made it through the Kazahari Rindo with NO PROBLEMS. We did not even walk on the steepest section. The road surface is smooth and well-maintained the entire way, even on the section between the fence at the top and the „kinoko center“ (mushroom research center?), and we might have broken some records.

We are ready to claim the „reverse polka dot“ jersey for Positivo Espresso!

THE END

*Our full route from Fussa was: continue up the Tamagawa to Oume, then Yoshino-Kaido to its terminus, then Oume Kaido (411) up to Okutama-ko Dam and along the lake to the far end, ascend the back side of Kazahari on the normal road with about 100 motorcycle and sports car enthusiasts going through their paces, DOWN Kazahari Rindo (YES!!!! Conquered!!!!) and the North Akigawa, back to the Tamagawa and home. Average moving speed of around 27 kph for the entire ride, and an even 162 kilometers or 100 miles.

We passed a TCC contingent (Deej?) on the North Akigawa, just below the entrance to the Rindo. Hope they had a nice climb.

Is the water safe to drink?

That was the question that became an obsession briefly on Sunday afternoon as I climbed up the closed Maki-Koganezawa Forest Road, slowing working my way up the back side of the hill toward Otoge („Ootouge,“ or „Big Pass“) on a great Sunday ride,

I left home early and quickly rode to Oume, then out Yoshino Kaido and Oume Kaido to Okutama-ko; then up to the top of Matsuhime Touge („Pine Princess Pass“), arriving by Noon.

As usual, I stopped to enjoy the view on top of Matsuhime.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4594047&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

Matsuhime Touge from David Litt on Vimeo.

Click here to see a larger version of this photo, on which the names of the various sights from the Matsuhime viewpoint are legible:

The weather was spectacular, hot and a bit humid down below in the valleys, but nothing like the summer, and on this one rare occasion I felt as if I had raced the Tokyo heat to the higher elevations and won!

From Matsuhime it was a very fast descent from 1250 to 650 meters elevation heading South, and I turned off the main road at the reservoir behind Fukashiro Dam („Deep Castle Dam?“). I slid my bicycle under the locked gate and headed through the tunnel, a first for me but following in the footsteps of many Positivo Espresso riders (Tom, Ludwig, Michael).

I had tried to fill my water bottle at the „Lake Fukashiro“ park rest room, but thought better of it given the large warning signs that indicated the water was not drinkable (just like the water at Matsuhime). I started riding up the road slowly, knowing that without any food left and only about 300ml of water, and having consumed several liters of liquid just to try and stay hydrated so far during the day, I would need to conserve energy to make it to the top. Google Maps‘ terrain feature had led me to believe, correctly, that even though the top of Otoge is 1560 meters elevation, the North (back) side of Otoge is not nearly as steep as the climb up from Otsuki on the other side, and I was in the shade much of the way.

Also, based on Ludwig’s posts from earlier this year, I knew that the road condition on the North side was too poor for a carefree descent. The road seems like it is used only for some TEPCO maintenance of electric power facilities (including some mysterious tunnels into the hillside — very Area 51) and is shut off to all other traffic. There were two short gravel stretches where the road is under repair, lots of landslides (but none blocking more than 25% of the road surface, and too many rocks to count — but nothing to create any difficulties in climbing slowly on a closed road in bright daylight and dry weather).

I rested when I got to another gate, somewhere around 1200 meters elevation, having finished my water long ago, running very low on energy, and with another 350 meters elevation of climbing ahead. It was at least peaceful, like this:

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4594932&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

Otoge — climb from the North side from David Litt on Vimeo.

There were streams running down the hillside, and I was tempted to drink the water … which looked perfectly clear and safe. But having hiked in the Appalachian mountains in the eastern U.S., where just about every stream has enough giardia lamblia to require water purification of some kind, made me cautious. I pushed ahead and finally, after another few kilometers, came to various signs of life — a van or two parked by the side of the road, a cyclist descending, two motorcycles (dirt bikes) and then a wood cutting team with chain saws, the senior member of which was standing in the road supervising. I asked and he assured me that the water was „probably“ completely safe, that he and his crew drank it all the time. I filled up my liter bottle, immediately consumed about half of it (delicious!), and hopped back on my bike.

Then it was up to the pass, around yet another gate (watch out for bears at the top!), took one look back at the last gate, and then a very quick descent the last 15-20 km to Otsuki Station, to hop an express train to Tachikawa and ride the last 25 km home from there, for a total of almost 170 km and 7000 meters of climbing (calculated using Tom S.’s altimeter … something more like 2300 meters elevation on my altimeter, the truth probably somewhere in between.)

More next weekend!

I remember Golden Week („GW“) for bizarre traffic jams like the one Michael mentions in his blog post earlier today, or this one that I encountered on the forest road up (and down) Wada Pass back in 2007 — total gridlock, cars unable to pass, and once stuck in line unable to go back either, and the line getting longer minute by minute:

On Saturday morning, I did run into an unusual traffic jam heading out of town, about 60% of the way down the back of Otarumi Pass outside of Takao on Natl Route 20. I went by the line of cars and trucks, and was amused to find several road cyclists, Japanese of course, patiently waiting their turn in the line of cars. I realized it must go several km further, to the traffic light at Sagami-ko station or the entrance to the expressway, so I turned off at the bottom of the hill, cut over to Route 412 and took Charles‘ once secret route (Rte 517) on the hillside south of Sagami-ko. The GW traffic there looked like this:

Much better.

I’ve been taking advantage
of the work holiday and my kids‘ school schedule, until the rain came Tuesday afternoon and work returned today (need to run in to the office this afternoon). So far, my rides have been:

1. Wednesday — „The Ride“ over Yabitsu and Hakone Passes — as fully documented in a previous post. 155 km and lots of climbing.
2. Saturday — out past Takao/Otarumi, Rte 517, then back over Wada (ura Wada) and home. 135 km and one real climb.
3. Sunday — recovery ride with my son Henry, by train from Chofu to Takao-san guchi, then riding over the hill and back home via Tsukui-ko/Yaen-Kaido („the other Route 20“). 75 km. recovery, true recovery.
4. Monday — Fast afternoon ride to Itsukaichi, up to and through the Koubu tunnel, and home via Uenohara and Takao/Hachioji. 145 km and one real climb.
5. Tuesday — Out early, via Oume into Chichibu as far as Yamabushi Pass, then back to meet Stephen C. near the start of the Nariki/Tokyo Hill Climb, and together via his place (water refill) over Umegaya Pass, and with Stephen showing me the Southern entrance to the Tsuru-Tsuru Onsen climb … before we parted ways and I rode home in gradually increasing rain. 150 km, one climb (Yamabushi) and a fair number of smaller hills.

None of these really worth its own blog post, but still a good set in total.

Henry celebrates at the summit of Otarumi, his biggest climb yet:

Some of you may (or may not) be wondering — where is Umegaya Pass? I was asking myself the same question when Stephen told me it was his preferred route to Tsuru Tsuru Onsen … as opposed to the forest road from Yoshino Kaido that TCC and Michael took (not sure if Stephen knows that way). As for Umegaya Pass, Stephen led the way up a climb that looked quite familiar, even in the darkening clouds. As we approached the top, it occurred to me that this little steep nasty climb from the North is what we call „Jerome Hill“ when approached from the South. Mystery solved.

„Whatever. I mean, I suppose I believe that cyclists should shave their legs, but they don’t have to. It makes massage better, and bandaging road rash is easier, but for most of us even those claims–not to mention the ridiculous claims of better aerodynamics and stuff–are justifications rather than authentic reasons. Leg shaving is closer to taking the sacrament or singing during the seventh-inning stretch. You’re performing an action that helps you belong to something, and at the same time you’re paying homage to whatever that something is. When you shave your legs, you’re admitting something about yourself, and to yourself. But even that isn’t quite accurate.“

Why I Shave – Bicycling.com

I shaved in 2006 – my ‚Etape year‘. Liked it. I haven’t done so since, but am contemplating it again this year. For me, I agree with the sentiment in the linked article. It is a statement to myself that I ‚belong‘ and that I am taking my riding seriously.

What say you all?

Out with Michael, Graham & David today on the same loop that Bryon and I attempted last week before we were so rudely interrupted.

145kms, 1400m of climbing on a beautiful sunny, if blustery, Spring day.

We made good time out of Tokyo, had a pit-stop around the 60km mark then carried onto Wada toge, our goal for the day.

Highlights included a strong climb up Wada by David, meeting Jerome at the bottom of our descent, a cornering of the banana market and awesome ride back along the river with a HUGE tailwind. We were pushing 40km/h+ for most of the river. Has to be record time from the top of Wada to home. After checking my Garmin, we averaged 24.5km/h on the way out and 30.1km/h on the way back. Sugoi.

We met as usual at 7am at Ebisu station and I was home at exactly 2pm with a mildly sunburnt right calf to show for my travails.

Great day on the Cervelo, which yet again performed fantastically. It’s about time the rider got a bit stronger and LIGHTER. 🙂

Normally I am a little bit reluctant to publish something on the Positivo Espresso blog which looks like advertising, but this here is an exception. A friend of mine rents out a vacation house in Maine and when I saw the area, I wondered why I am still living and cycling in Japan.

Funny enough, it is in a town called Bremen, which just by chance is also the name of a German city somewhere in the North and a soccer club which is unfortunately doing better these days than my home team.

http://www.maine-coast-vacation.com/