GSAstuto
Maximum Pace
- Oct 11, 2009
- 974
- 253
- Thread starter
- #41
Otuski 9 : 1 , Triplets of Tokyo : 0 . Joe and I drove out (thanks, Naoko) to Takao and rendezvous with Eric there. Then we hit the last train for the coast, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. Well actually just Otsuki, to begin the challenge. Weather was obliging to begin with - a gorgeous super moon and cirrocumulus cloud covers. We rode the first section in the dark - our lights playing an eerie ballet on the abandoned roads. Summit at Matsuhime was welcomed by sunrise. Quite cool and humid meant taking on a chill quickly. Then descend to the second climb. I'll write up in more details - but personally I love this route for the variety of the climbs and beauty of descents. Unfortunately our time was running low at the end and I had to forgo the 2nd loop. Riding with stomach cramps doesn't help either ... but I think our mind is set on this one now.
Many thanks to Eric for organzing and cajoling. Thanks and kudos to Joe for humping out the big hills! We did nail the <real> Otsuki 4.5 and for anyone that hasn't done this route, I highly recommend it. It's a bit of a tapper - so you need to really watch your pacing. Yanagisawa is so inviting to hammer down, but then it's immediately followed by a nearly 12km at average 10% climb, so busting tail here will only leave you begging for mercy later on.
Even with the pace set at 'Otsuki 9' expectations - for me about 60%-70% of 'tempo' , I still finished all the climbs very close to my 'normal' pace and all the climbs I was at 200W or so continuous. 3.2w/kg. I'm not great at starting before my normal 'wake time' , and the climb / descent at Yanagisawa was a bit surreal combined by sleep deprivation and near hypothermia. The short nap helped - but I think next time a full sleep BEFORE the attempt will be better. And definitely a full ferry out to Otsuki.
Many thanks to Eric for organzing and cajoling. Thanks and kudos to Joe for humping out the big hills! We did nail the <real> Otsuki 4.5 and for anyone that hasn't done this route, I highly recommend it. It's a bit of a tapper - so you need to really watch your pacing. Yanagisawa is so inviting to hammer down, but then it's immediately followed by a nearly 12km at average 10% climb, so busting tail here will only leave you begging for mercy later on.
Even with the pace set at 'Otsuki 9' expectations - for me about 60%-70% of 'tempo' , I still finished all the climbs very close to my 'normal' pace and all the climbs I was at 200W or so continuous. 3.2w/kg. I'm not great at starting before my normal 'wake time' , and the climb / descent at Yanagisawa was a bit surreal combined by sleep deprivation and near hypothermia. The short nap helped - but I think next time a full sleep BEFORE the attempt will be better. And definitely a full ferry out to Otsuki.