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31st October Mikuni Loop

AlanW

Maximum Pace
Jan 30, 2007
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For any speedy gentlemen or ladies* not heading up to Hotaka this weekend...

I'm going to do the KT7/Mikuni loop from Odawara. Meet at Odawara station east exit; ready to ride at 9am.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/japan/odawara/860687720

Let's make the most of this weekend! The conditions look perfect. :cool:


*need to be reasonably speedy to finish in daylight
 
Sounds good, but I have to be back in Tokyo earlyish for the rugby game tomorrow afternoon, so I'll just be doing a short one.
... I'd be up for a ride on tuesday (the public holiday) though...
 
The dreaded Mikuni

Thanks for posting, Alan. Given that the Hotaka ride looks like a no-go this weekend, I will probably be joining you on this sufferfest. See you at Odawara!

Deej
 
Given that the Hotaka ride looks like a no-go this weekend, I will probably be joining you on this sufferfest.

Yes Deej, it looks as if we won't see Hotaka this year.... well, next Saturday would be our last chance.

Anyhow gentlemen, I'll join in tomorrow. See you in Odawara.
 
Hi folks,

Would love to join you, but Odawara is a bit too much of a hassle - takes about 1 hour 30 mins from Tachikawa :warau: Will ride some local hills instead.

Have fun!
 
Guys, thanks for the wonderful time yesterday. The weather was perfect, the company excellent, and the scenery beautiful.

A special thanks to Alan, who organized the ride and served as our guide, leading us from point to point.

Peter, it was a pleasure meeting you and riding together (and enjoying a beer together at the end). I think I called you "Pete" a couple times, mistakenly thinking that your TCC name was "Pete C." It wasn't an attempt at U.S.-style buddy-buddyism, but rather an error of recall. But it is true that I get a bit frisky when I'm riding, and as you probably observed, I'm capable of saying things that I would otherwise keep to myself. It's the endorphins.

Thomas, as always, it was a pleasure hitting the mountains with you. The train ride with you back from Odawara was entertaining -- though disembarking from the packed train at Kyodo was probably the hardest part of the entire day!

My legs were surprisingly fresh yesterday. For the first time ever, I didn't suffer on Mikuni. To my surprise, I was able to establish a rhythm and keep it up to the very end of the climb. I kept waiting for my legs to go lactic or cramp up, but it just didn't happen. I ended up with my best time, at 36:27 -- one measly second behind Mike's best time. So close!

Thanks again, fellas. I'll post a couple of pics soon.

Deej
 
One measly second? Hmm, where have I heard that before? Ah that's right, Frank Schleck when missing out on the yellow jersey to Cadel in TDF 2008! Better luck next time Deejinator, although that time seems a lifetime ago given my poor form recently.
 
Thanks for organising the route Alan , a real "fun" day out, I only have one suggestion to improve the ride- why cant we take the photos going up Mikuni - theres some great places to stop on the ascent; besides ringing out the sweat from my jersey could have refilled the water bottle.
 
Alan, Deej, Peter, thanks for the ride, a sufferfest it was! I wanted to bail out after Akigara-toge, Mikuni-toge killed me, with quad cramps almost making me fall over on the concrete circles. Your encouragement kept me going. I only recovered in the afternoon, with Alan dragging me up the last hill.

Deej, thanks for the company on the train, I really enjoyed our conversation! :)

Oh, and Peter, you can upload your pics to the gallery.
 
Thanks for coming on the ride guys :)

After an enforced layoff because of a business trip overseas, this was a sure way to wake up my body! This was my 'revenge' ride over Akigaratoge and Mikunitoge after cracking in the heat of the Threepeaks ride earlier this year. With the temperatures a bit more reasonable, and depite not turning a wheel for 3 weeks, I still felt a million times better than last time!

By the time we arrived a Yamanakako, I had completely forgotten about the 3rd pass of the ride...until Thomas reminded me :confused: But the gradient is nowhere near as steep so it wasn't so tough. The descents were, as usual, extremely good fun and very spectacular. Fuji-san, its upper slopes covered in snow, was rising out of the haze in the valley.

Peter, we never stop on Mikuni for fear of not being able to get going again :D
 
Better luck next time Deejinator, although that time seems a lifetime ago given my poor form recently.

Man, my goal was simply to get up the mountain without blowing up. We did Ashigara-toge first, and I was in the red on the final quarter of that climb, so I thought Mikuni would kill me. But for whatever reason, I felt really good on Mikuni. Still, I wasn't trying to set any records (Clay's 32 minutes is an impossibility, so second-best is my goal). Near the top, I looked at my time for the first time on the climb, and it said something like 34:15, and I was like, "Whoa, if I give it some gas, I might have a decent time here." I had to laugh when I checked the Hall of Fame and saw that I was one second behind you.

As for you, I wouldn't worry, man. A couple solid weekends on the bike, and you'll be back in fighting form.

Deej
 
Mike, if I were riding your bike I'd be getting 36 min times up mikuni as well. As I've told you guys before, it's all about the bike! ;)

Anyone up for a blast in the mountains for the public holiday tomorrow?
 
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