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'09 - Kt2

Alan,

Sounds good. I shall be aiming for the fロmTokyo and so shall be at Odawara station at 08.51. Will send an SMS if any problems or cannot fix and so shall be at Odawara station at 08.51. Will send an SMS if any problems or cannot fix front mech.
Dave
 
My turn to cancel...

Sorry guys!
I've been quite busy the last dew days, and it hasn't done my health much good.
It's not a cold or anything - I just feel run down.
See you next week!

>Alan & David: Hope you have a good ride.
>Thomas: Sorry mate!:( Maybe you can join Alan at the start of Mikuni.

Gomen ne! T
 
Change of Plan

As David still doesn't have low gears we're going to ride some more gentle hills from Takao station instead.

9am start from the South Exit for anyone arriving by train.
9:05 am start from the Family Mart next to the North Exit for anyone arriving by road.

100km of riding or thereabouts.

AW.
 
Quick Report - KT2 2009

This ride may hold the record for most changes between initial idea and actual ride! After Travis's input went from "yeah, lets do 200km+, bigger, harder, longer, yeah" to "off you go lads, I'll catch you next time" :D we made a few revisions! (No worries Travis, no point trashing yourself by trying to train when your body says no)

Late on Friday it looked as if only David and I would be riding, and as David's bike is still jammed in the big chainring only, Mikune wasn't an option. So I decided to revisit my Holiday Express route, a 120 km circuit heading west from Takao station. I hoped the snow and ice that blocked our way last time had gone.
Just as my train arrived at Takao station, I got a call from Thomas to say that he and Sergey had arrived by bicycle at the meeting point outside the north entrance. I found David already waiting by the coin lockers, quickly stashed my rinko, and we rolled around to meet Thomas and Sergey.
Sergey was on his new beautiful new Soma Speedster, complete with retro down-tube shifters. Thomas brought his "commuter bike" again. We set off west up the first climb of the day at a moderate pace. After 6 km of steady climbing, we reached the summit and began the first decent of the day, where Thomas took off like a bullet down the hill. Of course, I was trying to stay as close as I could, and we had a fantastic run down through the sweeping curves into Sagamihara. We waited a bit while David and Sergey caught us, then rolled through town as a close group of four. As we approached a junction, an idiot in a white Honda decided he couldn't wait the two seconds for us to get past the junction, and that it would be a better idea to pass us all then cut across left in front of us. I saw his indicator come on just before the turn and no more than 10 metres in front of me. I braked hard but didn't even have time to warn the guys behind me. Thomas and David slowed but Sergey went over his bars, and somehow ended up with his thumb wedged in Thomas's back brake. Fortunately, no permanent damage was done and after a few minutes, we continued on our way.
We passed around the south side of Sagamiko on minor roads, popping out onto route 76. Sergey left us at that point, as he had to get home earlier. Thomas, David and I continued on West, enjoying the tailwind that was helping us climb the slope of route 35. A quick refueling stop at the Positivo Espresso Manju Shop was our only break on the way up to the tunnel.
We reached the most westerly point of the route at Tsuru-shi and turned up the mountain pass of route 24 to Doshi Village. This climb took us up to 1000 m; David was rocketing along with only higher gears available. From the summit, it was basically downhill all the way home :) Starting with a steep descent, we soon linked up with the sweeping curves of route 413.
We chased a group of 2 riders for about 20 km, eventually catching them, but we lost them again when we did a short Conbini stop. David decided that only having one chainring available wasn't hard enough, and decided to ride one-eyed as well....(his contact lens fell out...). The lost lens was actually lying inside his glasses, so we were soon able to continue.
From the Conbini, it was just a few km back to Takao, where Thomas turned for home along the Tamagawa, and David and I caught the train.

More KT coming up next week!
 
> Alan, thanks a lot for organising this ride!

> Travis, sorry you couldn't make it, you have certainly missed a lot of drama.

> Sergey, I hope you are alright after messing with my rear brake.

> David, you were exemplary in accomplishing this ride on your large chainring, chapeau! :eek:



Guys, thanks for waiting for me at the tunnel, I had lost all my energy on the climb up R24. All in all, I clocked 240km, arriving at home in daylight by 17:15. Splendid day out!
 
Yes, thanks from me also for a great day out.

Alan - thanks for the last minute route and guiding - it was very enjoyable.

Sergey - a trust that Thomas' third read break block (i.e your thumb) is not too badly damaged.

Thomas - 240km - lunacy

Dave
 
The ride was short (for me) but fun, and a good start for the bike training season.
My thumb is ok - thanks, all :) but the front tyre is torn (i guess, i hit the cassette of Thomas' bike with it) - was going to put some new 25mm anyways.

Looking forward to the next KT ride!
 
Wish I could have joined you guys. Sergey -- over the bars?! Dang, I'm glad you're OK. That must have been terrifying.

Following are bike-dork stats that reflect unflatteringly on my competitive nature:

Actually, I ended up doing my standard Odarumi-Wada route for the second weekend in a row on Saturday. It's a fast 122km loop that reaches its crescendo on Wada, where I do a 6km TT to the summit. This week, I started the TT a little farther out, setting the timer as I entered the tunnel near Fujino Station (32:24), though I also clocked my time from the standard spot. Anyway, from the official starting point of the Wada climb (the 6km version), I recorded times of 26:17 and 26:08, respectively. I can't believe I did that climb in 22:45 just a few months ago! Given the efforts I put in on the last two climbs, it seems almost impossible that I could have covered that ground over three minutes faster. And Alan, you did it in, what, 22:33? My prediction is that your record won't be beaten this year.

Unless, of course, Ironsword is feeling the rage.

ironsword_cover.jpg


Deej
 
Looks like it was an eventful day!

Sorry I couldn't join you:eek:uch:
>Sergey: I hope you're OK after your flip - Just be thankful that Thomas NEVER uses his brakes:p

I'll try to be there for the next few rides, but in the meantime, I may have to pass the "KT" rides over to another manager.

Hope to see you all soon!
T
 
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