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Fuji Hill Climb 2015/06/14 [Fun Ride Version]

wexford

Maximum Pace
Jul 3, 2012
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My co-worker helpfully signed us both up to the Fuji Hill Climb. This will be my first hill climb since a botched hill climb as a 16 year old that saw me head down the general classification the wrong way on a 3 day event where I had been sitting 6th over all. Never been good at hills:confused:

Quite excited. I've no idea what to expect but should be fun. I'll be aiming just to learn from the experience and hopefully I can mark a decent time (for me) along the way. A 75 year old finished last years event in 1h26 minutes or something so I just want to beat that!

Here is a link: http://www.fujihc.jp/
  • スタート:富士北麓公園 (計測開始地点:料金所手前)
  • フィニッシュ:富士山五合目
  • 距離 :25km (計測部分24km)
  • 標高差:1,270m(計測部分1,255m)
  • 勾配:平均5.2%、最大7.8%
Hmmm. max gradient of 7.8%... I wonder how true that is?
 
Hmmm. max gradient of 7.8%... I wonder how true that is?

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Very! Fuji Subaru Line, the route of the fun ride climb (as opposed to the lunatic one over at Fuji Azami Line, which is half as long but twice as steep), is a very enjoyable ride. The grade is pretty constant and not too challenging on gearing. With my ultra low gears I could do it mostly in third lowest and easier. Conversely, when descending on that line you don't have to use your brakes all that much because you won't get up to ridiculously high speeds before curves.
 
Very! Fuji Subaru Line, the route of the fun ride climb (as opposed to the lunatic one over at Fuji Azami Line, which is half as long but twice as steep), is a very enjoyable ride. The grade is pretty constant and not too challenging on gearing. With my ultra low gears I could do it mostly in third lowest and easier. Conversely, when descending on that line you don't have to use your brakes all that much because you won't get up to ridiculously high speeds before curves.

Good to know Joe! I still haven't been near Mount Fuji on the bike so this will be exciting. Thanks for the info.
 
My mate told me that entry is now closed for this event (it only opened for registration Friday night). Wow. He said there will be more than 6000 people participating. That's just mind blowing. At 10,000 yen per entry too its a lot of money. Maybe they have to rent the road or something.
 
Maybe they have to rent the road or something.

Well, it's a toll road :) Not sure how many cars a day would normally drive up there, at 2000 yen a pop. Having said that, even races that take place on regular roads, like the one around Saiko near Mt Fuji, aren't much cheaper. 6000-7000 yen seems to be pretty standard as a race entrance fee here.

Shintaro wanted me to sign us up for this event a couple of years ago and I researched it, but decided to try the ride on a regular weekend instead.
 
Ok... Time to fess up everyone. Who else is doing the Fuji Hill Climb this coming weekend? I'll be there. My start time is 7:35.
 
@wexford the link you posted says the check in is on Saturday. What are your overnight plans? Are you going to the party?
 
Does that mean that you are going @Tanki? I'm heading up on Saturday with 2 work mates. We will be staying at the opposite side of Fuji though. Can't recall the name of the hotel. My awesome work mates actually organized everything... haha. Didn't actually know about any party though - damn! But I suspect an early night will get me a better result. Only problem is that I seem to have contracted my sons head cold. Dry throat and runny nose. Hope that clears soon. What group are you in?
 
No I am not going, but I do intend to try out my new gears on that climb mid-week in the near future. Sundays are for rugby for me. Have a good one. And it's too late to edit the opening post with the sub 1:26 goal.:D
 
Thanks. Wondering how many folks they will let off in one group at a time. It has to be mental with 8000+ people starting. Anyone any tips? I'm thinking of either hanging back a bit at the start as time only starts counting after a bit of a free ride or trying to get to the front of the group. Advantage of the rear guard might be less battling and more targets up the road to aim at. But I guess that could all back fire too.Bit worried about going out too hard if I'm at the front though... No experience here so will have to call it on the day I guess. Best for me would be to settle into my own climbing rhythm asap I guess.
 
Interesting. I was planning on ignoring the HRM and going for it based on what I felt I could keep up for over an hour. If the HR is low, I guess I could tell myself to go faster, but I'm usually border line exploding so was afraid it would get me to back off :) It's a long climb though. I know its very un-modern of me to ignore my data.
 
Based on the way I've seen you attack a couple of the climbs in the morning, my advice is to not go on feel (at least for the first half). :)

I'd say a good limit would be 160. Maybe a bit less.
 
What about renting a powerTap hubbed wheel from Tim? All the work on TR with virtual power shouldn't go to waste. Get it ASAP and see how the numbers match up with TR by using the VP on screen and the power numbers on you Garmin. Then decide on a wattage and stick to it for the event.
I'll be there riding for Rapha starting with the grannies and kids in wave 15 at about midday having to wind my way through hybrids and cross bikes ridden by folk who thought it would be a lark to enter.
Have a pint ready for me when I get to the top.
 
Lol. if it wasn't for seeing you climb I'd still be hobbling up at half the speed. Your advice is usually spot on though regarding pacing. Will review the hrm data a little to see my last long effort.

Based on the way I've seen you attack a couple of the climbs in the morning, my advice is to not go on feel (at least for the first half). :)

I'd say a good limit would be 160. Maybe a bit less.
 
Best of luck @wexford. It would be entirely out of character for you to go out like a bull at a gate and blow your Wada too early. Definitely. No-one will be able to ketchup with you. Pacing is for pansies. Just throw everything you've got at it, and deal with the fallout later, Fukushima stylee.

Get some brown bread down yer gannet

 
I'll probably be home by the time you start. Really need a crank based solution to compare power though as the lemond is a rear wheel off affair. That's also the main reason I didn't go for power tap wheels. I should have power by next year perhaps. I feel if need to have the some history with a meter before I could judge if the power had the same readings.

I'm sure you will carve your way through the carnage up the hill. Hopefully the toilet queue won't spill out onto the road and get in your way too. Lol. I mean who can't hold it for a wee hill like that anyway.

What about renting a powerTap hubbed wheel from Tim? All the work on TR with virtual power shouldn't go to waste. Get it ASAP and see how the numbers match up with TR by using the VP on screen and the power numbers on you Garmin. Then decide on a wattage and stick to it for the event.
I'll be there riding for Rapha starting with the grannies and kids in wave 15 at about midday having to wind my way through hybrids and cross bikes ridden by folk who thought it would be a lark to enter.
Have a pint ready for me when I get to the top.
 
I did that one with a mate about 5 years ago. We were going to camp nearby but the campsite charged ¥8,000 per person per night..... We ended up staying at the hotel literally opposite the park/ start zone for about ¥10,000 each.
Massively surprised it wasnt fully booked.
In the race, there is a neutral zone of a couple of km.... only it isnt neutral.. You will need to gun it from the go!
The last km is slightly downhill.... you will enjoy this part of the race.
 
Thanks @zenbiker. Yeah. I ran a test run a few weeks ago. That fast part was fun. Trouble is it is followed by a wicked up hill to the finish. Lol.
 
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