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3rd Annual SEO Festival November 2008

Edogawakikkoman

Edogawakikkoman

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Jan 14, 2007
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Probably 11/23 but will reconfirm later. If not 23rd will probably be the 30th.

This race is sponsored by our team's sponsor Seo Cycle.

Here are 2 promo videos of last year's race.

http://www.seocycle.co.jp/image-main/07seofes01.asx

http://www.seocycle.co.jp/image-main/07seofes02.asx

Besides being my team's race it has the best prizes of any race I've seen in Japan for amateurs and is a fun day out.

All it is missing is a lot of TCC riders...

I'll add to this thread as more details come to hand but just want to get this up now as the year is motoring along quite fast already....

Held near Narita by the Tone river on Friendly Park in Shimofusa. An easy made for cycles 1.5km easy course. A slight hill at the finish line makes it tough for even sprinters like me. If you've never raced before this is a good course to start out on. I've probably raced here 10 times now....still haven't mastered the course...

The 1st year there were not many participants but last year there were many. I think this year they'll be rejecting entries as the quota will fill up fast.

As soon as they are accepting I'll let you know.

There is a train station nearby on the Narita line between Abiko and Narita.

:bike:
 
Could a mod edit the title to say 2008 and not 2009 and then delete this post too please.?
:eek:
 
I'm probably in...

Anniversary of my first ever race :)

Going to try to make it again this year, I think, even though I've decided I don't like that circuit one bit. It's the closest (and hence the cheapest) race all year, so I kind of have to go.:bike:
 
Entries now being accepted. Mail-in form or Sports Entry:

http://homepage2.nifty.com/randi/race/2008seo/2008seo_race.htm

Classes are a bit different to what I remember from last year, with six "beginner" races, three for <1 year experience and three for 1-3 years experience. 10.5 km for the former and 18 km for the latter. Also ladies, MTB, experts, small-wheel and kids classes.

1 上級者45km
2 中級者（ﾚｰｽ経験3年以上）30km
3 初心者（ﾚｰｽ経験1年以上）18km
4 初心者（ﾚｰｽ経験1年未満）10.5km
5 シニア(50歳以上)12km
6 レディス/MTB女子10.5km
7 MTB男子 10.5km
8 小径車クラス 10.5km
9※キッズ１(小学1-3年)1.5km
10※キッズ２(小学4-6年)3km
11※ミルキーレース 200m
 
You did well to find that so fast Phil, :cool:

Yes, I heard they are making these divisions to stop good experienced riders going in the JCRC like divisions whether they have a poor JCRC ranking or not.
The beginners each year end up racing far more experienced racers which was not fair.
This puts pressure on people to race in a harder race.
What worries me about this is that there may be too many applicants.
for each race.
By the classes shown I should go in the 30km race. 30km on that course is torture. Had it been a D class race I probably would have had a good chance this year.

My philosophy on racing though is 'it is nice to win but it is more important to participate'.

I'll try the 30km race and enjoy the day just the same.
Only 5 more years till I qualify for the seniors...

edit: only 50 per race which is a lot but due to less races this year it will fill up quick. I just registered for the 30km.... :eek:
 
Edogawakikkoman said:
You did well to find that so fast Phil
Click to expand...

Got lucky scanning the cycling bookmarks and R&I had the info up.

I could go either way with the beginners classes, but thnk I'll sign up for the 18 km one, in the vague hope the extra distance will help me. No hopes of finishing high, but need the motivation to train :weight:.

Good luck on the 30 km. That's, what, 20 climbs of that hill? :eek::eek:
 
I found out last night at training that there are already 63 signed up for my race.
1 上級者45km
2 中級者（ﾚｰｽ経験3年以上）30km = 63 riders.....
3 初心者（ﾚｰｽ経験1年以上）18km
4 初心者（ﾚｰｽ経験1年未満）10.5km
5 シニア(50歳以上)12km
6 レディス/MTB女子10.5km
7 MTB男子 10.5km
8 小径車クラス 10.5km
9※キッズ１(小学1-3年)1.5km
10※キッズ２(小学4-6年)3km
11※ミルキーレース 200m

Should be perfect Tokyo Enduro training at least...

Of about 20 of those I know are in my class, I'm the 2nd slowest... :warau:
Get out in front, go hard and then give up when the heart says STOP! is my plan. I don't want to be at the back or middle of 63 on that course....
 
Yoroshiku!

I also joined this race, BTW

初心者（ﾚｰｽ経験1年未満）10.5km

Really looking forward to it!
I guess I need some intense and hilly training...
 
kpykc said:
I also joined this race, BTW

初心者（ﾚｰｽ経験1年未満）10.5km

Really looking forward to it!
I guess I need some intense and hilly training...
Click to expand...

You should easily win that class.... not too hilly. Just make sure you are near the front for all of the last lap. There is a lot of space at the back of the soccer ground (1km to go) where you can move up to the front. After that the course is too tricky to pass safely. Especially if there is a big group of riders.

You could even try escape much earlier if you feel strong. Looking at your Okinawa effort this race will be like falling out of bed. Short and fast (maybe a bit painful)... you won't even realize it went so fast....
 
Yuck, 63 is mad on that course. 20 is too many.

Have been too busy for the bike the last month or two...2 hours a week. Survival will be the name of the game for me. Hang on back for as long as possible.

Sergey, it'll be good to see you there!

(Edit: Hey, I'm on the front page of the link, breathlessly bringing up the rear of the main group in my first race last year...)
 
Now 67.

Going to be some great prizes... I saw a De Rosa frame as one... Don't think I'll be getting any though...

My race is early at 9:25...going to be a long day if I wait till the end.

42 riders 上級者45km
67 中級者（ﾚｰｽ経験3年以上）30km
43 X 3 groups 初心者（ﾚｰｽ経験1年以上）18km
51 X 2, 52 X 2 初心者（ﾚｰｽ経験1年未満）10.5km
35 シニア(50歳以上)12km
26 レディス/MTB女子10.5km
50 MTB男子 10.5km
21 小径車クラス 10.5km
50キッズ１(小学1-3年)1.5km
28キッズ２(小学4-6年)3km
63ミルキーレース 200m
 
See you there?

一年以上３組
14:15
43 riders

I'm planning to come early, but not nearly early enough to catch your race, Pete :(

Looks like you have the biggest field at 67.

Sergey, what gumi are you in?
 
初心者（レース経験1年未満）１組
51 riders
11:25

I didn't find any mention of the registration for the race - will it be earlier in the morning?

Update:
Just received the confirmation letter with all the info about the registration. It looks like we all have 1-2 hour time gap between our races, but with some luck we could meet there for a bee... I mean, for a race or two :D
 
Looking forward the write up on this race guys. Might think about doing it next year, although 67 riders in a bunch on that course looks very scary! Take care and avoid any trouble guys. Goodluck:bike:
 
Just got home from 3 sessions on the course.. 30km, 30km 10km...
I haven't a chance of placing in this race. It will be more survival. As long as I don't come last I'll be happy.
Everybody I know in this race (class) is faster than me... Going to see how long I can last at the front end and hope we lose some people off the back before I get dropped too...

Good of Trucksan Dave to come out and give me a little draft assistance when I was huffing and puffing after our S, A & B class riders....

details on my blog
 
Got called home early by the trouble and strife so didn't get to see Phil's race.
Sergey did well and I'll let him shed some light on how well later.
I, as expected, performed poorly. 30km on that course is a bit too hard at full speed (for me).
The 1st 10km were at lightning speed, close to 44kph and then it slowed down and my heart rate came back down to a comfortable pace. However, I probably burned up too much fuel in the 1st 10km and found it hard to hang on even though my heart was OK and the pace was slowing.
I picked out a few of the Bridgestone Anchor pros (pace makers) and tried to hang on to their wheels. Waiting for them to take me to the front...but they just kept at the back and let people drop off the back in front of them.
At the 19km mark the guy in front of me hit the grass to the left. Then about 500m later he started swerving all over the road with a puncture. I still felt fine but at the 20km mark I got dropped from the main pack.

For the next 4km I battled on alone by myself trying to catch the guy in front of me who had also dropped off the back. Today's rule was if you are 1min 25 behind the pack you have to pull out. At the 24km mark I was asked to get off the track.... :eek:uch:

I came 8th out of the DNF and there were about 20 who didn't finish.

There were 2 or 3 crashes in our race, one with my team mate 20 meters from the goal in the sprint. Looks like his carbon front wheel may now be junk.

The guy who won our race is a freak. He won the over 50's race earlier in the day by a minute...and then also broke away early in ours and finished a long way in front of everybody else. And there were very high level racers in our race too... He is 59.... :eek:

Sergey, Good work.
Phil, I hope you did well too.
 
Pete, good to see you today, sorry I missed your race. It was a shame we were so scattered throughout the day. And Sergey, congrats on the great result.

I had a blast today, really the first time I've thoroughly enjoyed a race while riding it. Although the final results were very average, this might have been one of my better races (Ed: If, er, crossing the finishing line before most of the other riders doesn't matter.) Perhaps low expectations were a factor; going in the plan was to hang on to the group for as long as poss. and make it a training run for the Tokyo Enduro.

初心者(レース経験一年以上)３組
18km, 12 laps
43 riders

Start time was at 14:15, and I lined up at the very back of the pack. This race was a step up in grade for me, and based on what Pete and the Web had told me, I was expecting the pace to be slower at the beginning than the rookie races I'd done before, which tended to be Oh-My-God-The-Race-Is-On-Must-Go-At-Top-Speed sprints from start to finish.

This turned out to be the case, and it was so slow that by lap 2 or 3 I'd moved close to the front and was not feeling pushed at all. I was even making up spots up the hill at the end of each lap...which is how I launched my accidental breakaway. I was fourth or fifth wheel into the hill, but decided to accelerate up the inside to take advantage of momentum and get Isaac Newton on my side for a change. Coming to the top I'd gapped the field by about 10 meters and still feeling good put my head down and sprinted for a bit. I caught the lead motorbike and got a brief pull from him* as he tried to get through traffic, and when I looked back the field was gone.

(*This may have got me disqualified, I don't know. I presume there is a rule against drafting the bike(?), but at the same time there was nowhere else for me to go. It's probably a moot point as I didn't finish anywhere near the podium...)

In any case, there followed two laps of glory as I rode on my own around the course, but when I looked down at my computer and saw I still had over 10kms to go I realized there was no way this was going to stick, so I slowed down and started to look over my shoulder, vaguely hoping someone would bridge up to me. I think if there were 2 or 3 of us we'd have had a shot at it...

But no such luck, so by lap 6 or so I was back in the fold. I stayed near the front for much of the rest of the race. Again, the pace wasn't too harsh, and it was easy enough to move up again whenever I needed to.

Except, of course, on the last lap when it actually counts. The speed had picked up with two laps to go and going into the last lap I was second wheel but panting hard. I knew the moves would begin around the big curve around the soccer field, and sure enough, suddenly, 2, 4, 8, then 12 riders were sweeping around the outside. The guy in front of me (the lead rider) didn't accelerate to keep pace and my path to the outside was blocked. I knew the race was lost at this point, but I tried a couple of times more to take back spots...but either there was traffic, or I didn't have the speed, and by the time we entered the hill I was out of the top ten. Tried to sprint up the hill, no go. Lost a couple of more spots and sat up to cross the line, somewhere around 20th I think.

Didn't stick around to see the results, but I think a Semas guy might have won it. He had a couple of bicycle lengths on the field going around the baseball diamond. The Semas team was definitely working together well... lap 9 in particular they had three at the front and were doing a good job of controlling the field's speed.

Anyway, glorious weather, a truly fun race, no crashes, and hooking up with Pete and Sergey makes for a great Sunday. Can't wait for the Tokyo Enduro...
 
6th out of 51

I was testing my forces in "10.5km under 1 year racing experience race" (7 laps)

Great weather and a very nice event in general (a cycling festival indeed)! I was glad to meet Peter (at last) in 5 minutes after arriving to the park (thanks for all the advices and the race background - it was really handy as I didn't even know the route). Finished with preparations, I moved to the start. Our category was allowed to do 1 test lap to "feel the field" - and it turned more technical, than I thought when looking at the map - a one big turn.

Start - everyone starts very fast and keeps going fast for 2 or 3 laps - a fast going bunch is formed and the slower bunch is nowhere to be seen. I am sticking with the fast guys, trying to stay as close to the front line as possible. After 3 laps everyone seems to slow down a bit and I find myself in front with 1 guy constantly overtaking me and trying to escape (or so I thought), so I spend most of my energy trying to catch the bastard and reel him in :) (as Peter enlightened me after the race - the guy was not one of the racers, he was a "pacemaker", a high grade racer going in front of everyone to keep the pace of the race fast, come to think of it - they were telling something about Anchor-senshu going in front of everyone...:))
Well... on the final lap I am in front (with the Anchor going back and forth), but approaching to the final couple of turns and an uphill, I feel I've been going too fast and have no energy left to accelerate... couple of riders pass me, but I can hardly keep their pace, on the uphill I see one more trying to overtake me from the right and decide to at least fight for a higher position, so I squeeze out all energy I have left and for the first time riding a bicycle I feel my muscles burn, as if I spilled some hot water on my legs - I didn't overtake him, but secured myself a place on the podium (6th place) and a bag of goodies - tissues, degreaser can with tools, flashlight, tool bottle, cycling socks, "fizik" cap, "gerlosteiner" t-shirt and an apron(? it looks like one :))

Pretty happy with the result but - with wiser approach (read - save energy) to the race and better sprinting technique - it could have been better, who knows.

my stats:
time - 16 min 9 sec (2 seconds behind the winner)
avg. speed - 38.97 km/h

PS:
Phil, your race was a great sight! I was speechless, when I saw you in the breakaway ("this guy packs some power!" I tought :)) - it's a pity there was no company to support your effort, it'd be an awesome victory :cool:
 
I got a few photos of Sergey and will try and upload them tomorrow.
Sergey was going to ride home to Yokohama but he won so much stuff he couldn't carry it all. Next year, he'll need a car as 1st prize is a bicycle....:D
 
Thanks for your reports and congratulations, in particular to Sergey! Nah, don't get a car: takkyubin your loot and invest in carbon. :D
 
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