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Possible ride Sat July 19th

leicaman

Maximum Pace
Sep 20, 2012
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This is a long shot, but I'm thinking of trying another attempt at the "Crazy ride" this coming Saturday (that I failed to complete a few weeks ago). If anyone is willing and able, it would be nice to have some company along the way. Please note however that this ride is not for the faint hearted. The route out and back from my house (Asaka,Saitama) is around 360km with almost 7000m of climbing. The middle section from 110km to 260km is either constant climbing or descending but the scenery is breathtaking.

Here is the route






If I do go this Saturday, I'll be leaving around 4am.
If someone didn't want to do the whole route, perhaps they could catch a train out to either northwestern Saitama or Gunma and/or finish in Enzan.
Please note, due to time constraints, there will be limited stops and no prolonged WATT. Eating will be mainly done while riding. As I said before, it's not an easy ride, but a lot of it will be around the 1000-1500m range so quite a bit cooler than down in the Tokyo basin.
Ps. Rapha gear isn't essential, but it'll sure as hell help.
 
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Holy bib shorts, Leicaman! I'm interested in doing something like this but won't be able to do such a long 'un until next month, when I've got some time off during the week.
 
I will study your route and possibly think about maybe doing it over a week or so. Thanks!
 
I'm in. The weather forecast is rain, but hey, it'll make it all the more challenging. Get back to me with the details. Cheers, Pete
 
Updated with the route.

@Pedro Nice to hear you are onboard. Not sure about the weather yet. If it does rain I probably won't go as the descents are barely used and could be a little dangerous in the rain. Plus, doing 350+km in the rain doesn't sound that tempting to me at the moment.

Please note, RidewithGPS calculates the elevation gain at over 8000m but it will be more like 6500-7000m only. Where do you live @Pedro ?
 
Houston, we are a "Go"
@Pedro
@saibot
@WhiteGiant

I'll send you a PM soon, so please check you inbox ( I need to go for a run now so it will probably be in an hour or so.

Here is the final route. Please note , we will be meeting at the conbini just off the Arakawa at 4:00am.

Total distance is actually "only" 354.4km" with around 6500-7000m of elevation gain.



 
Boom!

Wish I was able to try this.

Best of luck to all of you. No furniture shopping this time, Mark!
 
Boom!

Wish I was able to try this.

Best of luck to all of you. No furniture shopping this time, Mark!
Cheers mate. Yeah, I've learnt my lesson regarding furniture shopping. That, and nature's 2 hour sound and light show mean finishing a 350+km ride pretty difficult.
 
Just to clarify, won't do any silly 350km ride that's for sure!
If I'll go I'll use those locomotives up to chichibu.

What your estimate on arrival in chichibu? @leicaman
 
@saibot check your inbox you nincompoop
I'm gonna guess around 7:30am but if route master @Yamabushi could have a quick look at the route and give an ETA at the 79km point, it would be very much appreciated.
 
Crazy ride 2
Mark 0

So I just got back from another failed attempt at the Crazy ride. This time the weather was to conspire against me , again.
The weather had always been touch and go this weekend but after a bit of umming and erring, we decided to give it a go. Leaving the house at 3:45, the weather wasn't so bad. When we met at the conbini it started to rain. It rained lightly all the way up to Shiraishi. The temp was pretty cool down in the flat lands but when we got to the top of Shiraishi, it was pretty cold. We headed down the descent and half way down I was shivering. We held an executive meeting in the car park of a 7-11 in Chichibu and decided that it would be rather foolish to continue with our original route. A new roué was drawn up and we headed up to the green line. It was pretty damn cold all the way along the green line. I've never climbed in July with my jacket on before but today I needed it. I still ended up with 173km and back home for 12:30. The crazy ride is still on the cards.

Thanks to @Pedro and @WhiteGiant for their company. Was great meeting Pete. Very strong rider. We'll get one up on the crazy ride next time (on a nice sunny day).
 
Mark & Travis,

Today was a privilege & an honour riding with you both. The master plan didn't pan out, but maybe it was the precursor to the REAL ride in the coming weeks! The weather sucked, but the company made up for it! Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and drop me a line when you re-schedule.

Cheers,

Pete
 
Huge thanks to Mark & Pete for doing all of the work at the front - both ways along the river.
Sorry I slowed you guys down a bit (lot). I'll endeavour to be more prepared for that kind of pace in future.
As Pete mentioned, it was the company that made it a great ride.
Cheers guys! T
P.S. Thanks Mark, for the great pictures!
 
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