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Kt8 2009

AlanW

Maximum Pace
Jan 30, 2007
1,215
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Fellow KTers,
I hope you're feeling the benefits of all this training. I for one feel stronger on the climbs than ever before. Grrrr!

Kt8 is planned for this Saturday. The route is the Okumusashi Madness run, which I have been wanting to tackle for a while. Here is the map

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/japan/to...kyo)/149475930

Meeting point is Ome station (where there are coin lockers); ready to roll at 9:30am. The distance will be around 136 km with some steep climbs.

You can read the accounts of TCC's last assault on this course here:
https://tokyocycle.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=1099&highlight=madness

Any takers? Let me know if you're coming.
AW.
 
As I haven't done any climbing for almost a month and a half, I had planned on riding in seclusion this weekend to hide my poor form and avoid slowing down the gang.

However, fragile ego be damned! My love for Okumusashi is too strong. Plus, I want to see how my new bike performs in the hills!

I plan on riding at least to Karibazaka, and will decide whether to continue depending on how my legs feel.

Let's see, have I covered all the bases?
1. Excuse for poor form. Check!
2. Reference to new steed. Check!
3. Excuse for bailout. Check!

Sweet. I'm good to go!

Alan, I'll be riding out. On previous Okumusashi Madness rides, we have congregated at the 7-11 down the road from Higashi-Ome. Do you plan on passing the store (on route 28) after leaving Ome Station, or will you ride up Route 53?

Deej
 
Oh Crikey!

As I haven't done any climbing for almost a month and a half, I had planned on riding in seclusion this weekend to hide my poor form and avoid slowing down the gang.
Deej

I'm in the same boat Deej (though I hasten to add of course that there are significant degrees of difference between a "poor form" Deej and myself).

I'll plug this into the Garmin and saunter along the course as a soloist - if I manage to keep up then so it shall be.

Lee
 
Lurking...

Lee/Deej - I am also a soloist these days. Not quite ready for Team Osoi who have a fine mission let it be said, but not anywhere close to fitness and cannot hang with these guys anymore, at least while they are in KT mode.

So I just download the routes to the GPS and take my time. I did the Muira loop with the chain gang and that was enough to tell me that the game was up. I also have family here now so cannot get out for the next couple of weekends.

After that I am looking to following the KT series as a reprise, beginning with Miura again.

I am also enjoying my commute again on my latest beast - the fabulous BD-1 or Birdy folder. Great fun !!

Enjoy the view....

chazzer
 
Hi. I'm new to the club and would like to join the ride from Ome station. If it proves too fast, I'll drop off and do my own ride to avoid slowing the group down. Brett
 
Birdy...

I am also enjoying my commute again on my latest beast - the fabulous BD-1 or Birdy folder. Great fun !!

Enjoy the view....

chazzer


That is so nice to hear ;)!! Yes, you could call her a beast indeed :D!

Just in case you have some more space in your stable: I'm trying to create space now for a new mustang (Neocot RNC7) so I am sending the CLX (480S)and the Onix (48) out in the prairie soon...

Won't be joining Alan's KT tomorrow unfortunately as I already planned a different ride; if on Sunday I would have.
 
Is this an advertisement? :D

That is so nice to hear ;)!! Yes, you could call her a beast indeed :D!

Just in case you have some more space in your stable: I'm trying to create space now for a new mustang (Neocot RNC7) so I am sending the CLX (480S)and the Onix (48) out in the prairie soon...

Won't be joining Alan's KT tomorrow unfortunately as I already planned a different ride; if on Sunday I would have.
 
Deej,
We'll probably head directly up route 53. If you pm me your telephone number, I'll let you know when we leave Ome station.

Patrick, Brett, Andy, Lee and David - see you tomorrow at the station.

AW.
 
KT8 Ride Report

Undeterred by tales of broken chains, crushed spirits, returning home long after sunset, and inadequate gear ratios (see here and here), seven brave TCC samurai met at Ome station with one goal in mind - to conquer the semi-mythical Okumasushi Madness route.
Rendez-vousing at the station were David, Patrick, Brett, Andy, Naomi-san and me, when, with a small hallelujah chorus, Deej arrived on Black Thunder complete with its bewildering array of gears.
After the mandatory new-bike-scrutineering, Deej warned us that food stops would be few and far between, so we stocked up at the 7-11 next to the station and, with our jersey pockets bulging, set off up into the hills. The sun was shining and it was warm enough for the "first ride of the year in shorts" for several of us.
Soon we were heading up out first pass of the day, and this ride had more passes than I've ever covered in a single day before. We were on some fairly narrow back roads when we came to our first major descent of the day, down from the magnificently named Yamabushi-toge (bushy mountain...?!) to highway 299. To add to the challenge of this downhill, there were loads of speed bumps, big square-edged beasties covering almost the whole width of the road. However it was possible in most cases to get around one side or the other, or hop over them.
The highway was busy in the opposite direction, but the downhill gradient meant we could keep up with the traffic and were only passed a couple of times. All too soon we arrived at the bottom of the "big climb" of the day, 650 vertical metres over about 12 km. The start of the climb was gentle, so I wound up the speed of my Cannondale and pushed on up the hill towards Sadaminetoge. As we climbed, the gradient became steeper and steeper, until eventually we hit the concrete circles. Deej put it best; he said that when you see them, you think "Oh, come on....."; it's hard to believe anyone would build a road so steep.
At the top of the steep section, we still had the undulations of the ridge to tackle before reaching several more mountain passes, including the even-more-magnificently-named "Ono-toge". Oh no! Pushing on to the northerly point of the course at Kamafuse-toge we enjoyed some narrow swooping roads, then began the long decent southwards. This was truly fantastic, with set after set of swooping turns and hairpins. I was trying to brake late and hard into the corners and really pushing the limits of grip - it was fantastic.
Just about the 100km mark, we passed through a long tunnel and, before I could lead the group off on a second lap, Deej pointed out that I was going the wrong way! A quick U turn pointed us up the correct road; the last big climb of the day; 400 vertical metres. Our legs were fatigued by this point and it took a wilful effort to keep the pedals turning; but we all made it to the top in good time. A light drizzle began, so we didn't hang around and took of down the hill. Once again, the road surface was super rough with drainage channels, speed bumps, all kinds of grooves cut into the surface and rocks and gravel spilled down from the banks at the side. David fell victim to these towards the end of the descent, with a double puncture. A strenuous fight ensued between the David's tyres, which wanted to stay on the rims, and the TCC members, who really need to get the tyres off and fixed before it rained more or got dark. Fortunately, TCC were victorious, and on we went.
The drizzle turned out to be just local and it dried up again; with one last Combini stop we were ready to finish the ride, with one last climb to attend to. We finally rolled into the station at 5:30 pm; all pretty drained but satisfied at having made it to the end.
Thanks to all the riders! Photos in the Gallery.
AW.
 
A wee bit fatigued

Wowsers. That was quite a challenging back-in-the-saddle ride after 42 days (I just counted) away from the hills.

I'm still pretty drained, though I'm happy to report that my muscles and joints aren't screaming out in too much pain.

Alan -- thanks for the great writeup. And a huge thanks for serving as organizer, navigator and locomotive. Your form was impressive and you will be a force to be reckoned with at Kusatsu!

I clocked 228km on the day, as I rode out to Ome and back, an easy 46km each way along the Tamagawa. The ride home was dark and I hit some light rain from around Haijima, but it was still a pleasant cruise, and -- thanks to some post-ride snarfage of a Filet-O-Fish set at Ome -- I was averaging about 32km, praying there were no rocks or other objects on the path.

To be honest, I was surprised that I was able to keep up, considering my time off the bike. I imagine the regular core training I've been doing, coupled with intense intervals on an anaerobic trainer at the gym, were what gave me the strength to finish. Still, there's no substitute for clocking lots of hours in the mountains.

Kaburi-toge was the killer I remembered it to be. That last 1km is still the most devastating stretch of climbing I've encountered (Mikuni as a whole is still the No. 1 baddie, though). But the whole gang made it over in good time. And Andy did that sucker on a bike that probably weighs twice as much as mine -- kudos, man!

I hope I didn't intimidate everyone too much when I did my brief Cancellara breakaway on the flats coming home. I just wanted to see what Black Thunder was capable of. Yeah, I've been pretty hush-hush about it, but I got a new bike. I was relieved to find out that despite the long, hard ride, I feel fine. The setup worked out perfectly -- no sore knees, back or shoulders. And I really felt the benefits of the vibration-dampening properties of carbon. I am one happy consumer.

Brett, Andy, Patrick -- great to meet all of you! Let's do it again!

David -- It was a pleasure to ride with you again. You have gotten strong, man! You were really generating some power with your out-of-the-saddle attacks.

Naomi -- Wonderful to ride with you again. Wow, you were also impressive, handling each peak with toughness and aplomb. Chapeau!

Alan -- You simply rode away from the bunch on each climb didn't you? And that was after pulling us in between peaks. Bravo!

Thanks again, everyone. I had a wonderful time.

Deej
 
great ride

thanks again everyone for the great ride! you know it was a good when your legs and posterior regions still hurt into the work week....
 
Thanks guys, and I am apologized to have kept you waiting at some of the summits.
To be honest, I can't remember how many times I was thinking to give up and ahead home on the way,at least 10times:warau:, especially while I was struggling to tackle the Kaburi-toge. TCC people who have tried this call it ' madness '. But I think it not enough to describe how crazy it is!!!! That was evil, devil, anyway a kind of killer pass:eek:. Even though I pedaled very hard using whole my muscles and put my whole wight on my foot each pedal.... I could not go ahead:mad:
To avoid my stamina runs out, I kept eating and eating this time, estimated 1500kcal or more I took. That was very effective to ride long and hilly course:).
Unfortunately, the front gear of my Terry didn't work properly, thus I was sometimes required to pedal very quick, like a hamster playing on the wheel:warau:.

When I arrived back to Oume station, I was sooooooooo satisfied with to be able to ride the whole distance including 6 passes.
This should be one of my most unforgettable riding&challenging.

>Deej: Your bike is so cool and beautiful, especially the shape of the frame:). You demonstrated capable riding on Sat. I wish I could ride as fast as you:confused:
>Andy: Thanks a lot to cheer up me on the climbing hill, as usual:)
>David: It was nice to ride with you again. I guess you were sleeping on the air whole way to Singapore.
>Patrick: I can't believe that it took you 6hours at the Hotaka race last year. You are now very strong & powerful enough to beat 5 hours easily, I think;)
>Brett: It was nice to see you. I look forward to riding with you again.
>Alan: I have no idea how to express my thanks to you. You are the best coach for me:) Oh, wonderful husband as well.

Many many thanks everyone.
See you next time.

Naomi
 
Thanks to you all for another epic day in the saddle. It was all thoroughly enjoyable. Somewhat unsuprisingly, yesterday was rather slow and painful for me, but the memory of the ride more than made up for any discomfort.

Many thanks to Alan for his leadership and patience.

Deej - Good to hear that you got home ok. I was sincerely worried, having taken your last spare tube. I shall be eternally grateful for it. If you can post a Private Message to me with your address, i shall put a replacement tube in the post to you later on this week.

Looking forward to the next ride.

Dave
 
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