Don's Half-Fast Flash-Mob

[WhiteGiant]

Meeting other cyclists...

I went to the July 4th celebrations at the "American Embassy Annex" on Saturday.
While I was there, I met some other cyclists, and was invited along on a ride the following day. When I was speaking with them about TCC, one of the guys said, "Oh! You know 'Todor' (Trad). Apparently, he's been on a couple of your
rides".
I said that I knew him, and was looking forward to riding with "their" group.

The group dynamic was very similar to TCC - always with one guy in front, to lead the way; and one guy at the back, to make sure nobody is left behind.
I was impressed!
I liked the way everyone rode together - there were the obvious "fast guys", as well as beginners & ladies.
It's called "Don's half-fast", and is advertised in the back of the free "Metropolis" magazine. Check here:

http://www.fitnessjp.com/025_10_half-fast+cycling+at+full-throttle

Don (the leader/organizer of the group) may have felt I was trying to "steal" his riders, but there are more than enough "gaijin" riders to go around.
And over-lapping between groups is inevitable…

Pete "Edogawakikkoman" comes on our rides, but he's also part of another group called "Semas" – actually his shop's name – for his Sunday rides.
"YellowGiant", "SHIBAGON", "Taro" and a few others are also members of "AlpenMarker" (the group we went to Kusatsu with).
Todor "Trad" already rides with Don's group regularly…

The point is, no matter what "group" you belong to, it's all about cycling! And besides the excitement of "friendly competition" along the way, the safety of the others you ride with is also paramount.

Sunday's course:
We all met outside the Hyatt hotel behind Roppongi-hills at 11:00.
From there, we went down some narrow-ish side streets towards Ebisu and Kan-nana-dori to pick up some other people.
There were 14 of us altogether.
We headed down towards Tamagawa, and then turned left on the cycling road, heading towards Haneda airport. We didn't go the whole way to Haneda, but cut off on a side-street, through a really nice park on the way to a beach north of Haneda. We stopped there for lunch (and a few beers) at about 1:30-2:30, and then everyone rolled out for a late lunch / early dinner at Zest in Roppongi.
I had some other arrangements, so I had to leave early with one of the other guys after we got to Tennnozu-Isle.
I rolled home from there at 4:00 with 91km on the meter.

The bottom line is, I had a really enjoyable day with those guys (& gals)!
It was really fast only in a few places along Tamagawa, but generally it was an average-paced sociable ride with people who share the same hobby.

Hopefully, some time in the future, we can arrange a joint "TCC / Don's half-fast" ride together.

Travis

 

[trad]

Half fast newbie

I'm by no means a Half Fast regular, but fully agree with Tora-san. Don and crew have developed a VERY interesting and diverse set of rides throughout Tokyo, and the rides are always inclusive, beer-centric, and fun.

Don and team have been perfecting the routes over many years (with the help of Google maps, I'm told). I am constantly amazed how intricate and "vehicle-lite" the routes are. I think most of the routes are posted on bikely.com (look up Japan or Tokyo).

Don tells me that his mailing list is now up to the "hundreds". Its a real special group.

 

[thomas]

Hopefully, some time in the future, we can arrange a joint "TCC / Don's half-fast" ride together.

Sounds as if you have had a good time with Don's troupe. I've subscribed to their mailing list ages ago, but haven't had the chance yet to join them for a ride.

Travis, did you spread the message of TCC?

Anyhow, I hope we can arrange for a joint ride once.

 

[Edogawakikkoman]

Meeting other cyclists...

looking forward to riding with "their" group.

The group dynamic was very similar to TCC - always with one guy in front, to lead the way; and one guy at the back, to make sure nobody is left behind.
I was impressed!

And over-lapping between groups is inevitable…

Pete "Edogawakikkoman" comes on our rides, but he's also part of another group called "Semas" – actually his shop's name – for his Sunday rides.
"YellowGiant", "SHIBAGON", "Taro" and a few others are also members of "AlpenMarker" (the group we went to Kusatsu with).
Todor "Trad" already rides with Don's group regularly…

There is no reason why TCC can't be a hub of many overlapping clubs. It's the best English site on cycling in Japan and there is room for improvement and involvement from more riders and clubs.

The more rides available to us all with our busy schedules the better....

Our own club is a club within a club....

No stepping on toes. No us verses them.... (only in races)

We often split our teams with other clubs and race under double names....
No skin off my elbows, knees or buttocks...

 

[WhiteGiant]

Sat. 30th! Miura-Hanto ride!

Now things might get REALLY big!
>Thomas: Yes! I was spreading TCC's name everywhere I could.
>Edogawakikkoman: Thanks! Your opinions & replies regarding overlapping between groups were very insightful, and helpful – You're absolutely right;
There is no reason why we can't all ride together!
>Todor (Trad): What can I say? I'm glad we had (have) mutual friends from different parties on the same rides!

Don has been working on this riding group for over 6 years, and it's "his baby", so I understand his perception of not wanting to lose it, whereas, TCC has only been going for about 2 years.

Group-membership is very similar though: Don has about 200 on his mailing list.
TCC has 200 members now!
The actual number of people who come on rides is also not so different: About 15-20 people.

All I was thinking was that if each group can get together (without competing – Thanks Edogawakikkoman) and come up with an arrangement to combine rides whenever possible, we can just ride together – ie. We are not competing!
Each "group" retains it's own identity, but rides along-side the other, whilst maintaining congenial relations.


Don's next ride:

As far as I can tell, the next ride that Don is organizing will be a trip around Miura-Hanto - similar to the Tohoku-Training ride – This Saturday, June 30th.

I don't have the complete details yet, but if anyone is interested, the first meeting place is Shinagawa station at 7:30am, then catch the train to Kurihama.
From Kurihama, we'll ride down to Misaki, and then around to Hayama - Don said they usually spend about 3-4 hours there, just hanging out & socializing.

Again, the "groups" don't really matter - what's important is the ride...
Fast / slow; experienced / beginners; male / female...

And to Thomas & Don: In one move you can both double your membership – All members from each group may probably join the other – and vice-versa.

Thomas: your (our) membership can go from 200 to 400 overnight!
Don: Your mailing list can also double itself!

Anyway, the Miura-ride is still on for the 30th.
I will not be the leader – Don's rides are Don's responsibility – I don't have to do anything.
Any interested people, please reply here!
Travis