WhiteGiant
Maximum Pace
- Nov 4, 2006
- 1,233
- 395
This acronym very loosely translates to "Seaside to Seaside; Rte. Seventeen Suicide".
The seaside to seaside part is fairly self-explanatory. And Rte.17 is the chosen method of making one contemplate ending it all. In short: Tokyo to Niigata, via Rte.17 …in one go (365km).
At first, it sounded a little bit daft, but after thinking it through it definitely seems possible.
The main precedent for this ride is the "Tour de Fuji Tozan": https://tokyocycle.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=358 in which we rode from Tokyo to Mt.Fuji and back again, totaling 335km over a 21-hour period (I swore to myself I'd never do anything like that again… but thank God for short memories, eh!)
The second, is a mainstay ride of the Positivo Espresso team – "The Itoigawa long ride", which is 290km at race speeds no less – nearly 30km/h average speeds!
What I'm proposing here, is more like a "brevet / randonnee" or "audax": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brevet_(cycling) . Even at a moderate pace, we should be able to cover that distance in 18-21 hours. Add to that the 2-hour Shinkansen ride back to Tokyo, and we should all have completed the round trip within 24 hours – That is the GOAL!
The other really cool thing about this ride is not that the distance is over 360km, but that because Niigata is almost directly north of Tokyo we'll be covering over two whole latitudinal degrees north! If that doesn't get you excited, I don't know what will! I am NOT a nerd
.
Another thing to note, is that it will include riding at (in fact all through the) NIGHT – sometimes on unlit mountain roads. This means you'll require some serious illumination. (There is a thread about lights somewhere – I will add it when I find it.)
And finally, the timing of the ride is important. I've tried to arrange it so that no-one will have to descend in the dark:
This will mean leaving Tokyo at around 8pm, and arriving in Numata (155km) by 4am.
From Numata, there is a 30km steady climb – not steep at all, but constant enough that even the fastest riders won't arrive at the summit (185km) before sunrise (5:15). That should make the following descent a tad safer. Once at the summit, all riders should continue downhill for the next 70km to a small town called "Horinouchi" (255km) – Following Rte.17 all the way, I might add!
After breakfast at Horinouchi (let's assume 8am-ish), there's only 110km to go on almost completely flat roads; and most of that following the coastal road along the Sea of Japan.
All we need to do to break the 24-hour GOAL is be on the 17:38 Shinkansen from Niigata, and we'll arrive back in Tokyo by 8pm – The exact time we left the previous evening.
Obviously this is not the sort of ride one can do at the drop of a hat, and it's not one I'd like to try in sweltering heat either, so I'm setting it quite a ways in the future. That will give everyone who's interested (assuming ANYONE is actually interested) time to re-arrange schedules, buy lights, get last wills & testaments ready, etc.
How about early-mid September, just after the summer heat has lost its bite?
The other choice, is for a Friday night departure; 9/4 or 9/11? Or, a Saturday night departure; 9/5 or 9/12?
*Note: These options are to allow for the maximum number of riders (actually, "Randonneurs") to participate – I will NOT be doing this ride four timesuch:.
The departure time can also be adjusted slightly – 8pm is the earliest we can leave, or we run the risk of having to ride down that big mountain in the dark. And the latest we can leave is 12-midnight, or we run the risk of missing the last train back to Tokyo (21:31 from Niigata).
Here is the map:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/japan/japan/707124575894576176
*Note: On the elevation guide, ignore the "spikes" towards the end of the ride. It is FLAT!
Oh yeah, this would also be the perfect ride to start off the "Hotaka Training" series – anything after this won't feel "long" at all.
Please reply to indicate your willingness to participate (or your willingness to dispute my sanity).
Rubber down!
Travis
The seaside to seaside part is fairly self-explanatory. And Rte.17 is the chosen method of making one contemplate ending it all. In short: Tokyo to Niigata, via Rte.17 …in one go (365km).
At first, it sounded a little bit daft, but after thinking it through it definitely seems possible.
The main precedent for this ride is the "Tour de Fuji Tozan": https://tokyocycle.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=358 in which we rode from Tokyo to Mt.Fuji and back again, totaling 335km over a 21-hour period (I swore to myself I'd never do anything like that again… but thank God for short memories, eh!)
The second, is a mainstay ride of the Positivo Espresso team – "The Itoigawa long ride", which is 290km at race speeds no less – nearly 30km/h average speeds!
What I'm proposing here, is more like a "brevet / randonnee" or "audax": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brevet_(cycling) . Even at a moderate pace, we should be able to cover that distance in 18-21 hours. Add to that the 2-hour Shinkansen ride back to Tokyo, and we should all have completed the round trip within 24 hours – That is the GOAL!
The other really cool thing about this ride is not that the distance is over 360km, but that because Niigata is almost directly north of Tokyo we'll be covering over two whole latitudinal degrees north! If that doesn't get you excited, I don't know what will! I am NOT a nerd
.Another thing to note, is that it will include riding at (in fact all through the) NIGHT – sometimes on unlit mountain roads. This means you'll require some serious illumination. (There is a thread about lights somewhere – I will add it when I find it.)
And finally, the timing of the ride is important. I've tried to arrange it so that no-one will have to descend in the dark:
This will mean leaving Tokyo at around 8pm, and arriving in Numata (155km) by 4am.
From Numata, there is a 30km steady climb – not steep at all, but constant enough that even the fastest riders won't arrive at the summit (185km) before sunrise (5:15). That should make the following descent a tad safer. Once at the summit, all riders should continue downhill for the next 70km to a small town called "Horinouchi" (255km) – Following Rte.17 all the way, I might add!
After breakfast at Horinouchi (let's assume 8am-ish), there's only 110km to go on almost completely flat roads; and most of that following the coastal road along the Sea of Japan.
All we need to do to break the 24-hour GOAL is be on the 17:38 Shinkansen from Niigata, and we'll arrive back in Tokyo by 8pm – The exact time we left the previous evening.
Obviously this is not the sort of ride one can do at the drop of a hat, and it's not one I'd like to try in sweltering heat either, so I'm setting it quite a ways in the future. That will give everyone who's interested (assuming ANYONE is actually interested) time to re-arrange schedules, buy lights, get last wills & testaments ready, etc.
How about early-mid September, just after the summer heat has lost its bite?
The other choice, is for a Friday night departure; 9/4 or 9/11? Or, a Saturday night departure; 9/5 or 9/12?
*Note: These options are to allow for the maximum number of riders (actually, "Randonneurs") to participate – I will NOT be doing this ride four times
uch:.The departure time can also be adjusted slightly – 8pm is the earliest we can leave, or we run the risk of having to ride down that big mountain in the dark. And the latest we can leave is 12-midnight, or we run the risk of missing the last train back to Tokyo (21:31 from Niigata).
Here is the map:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/japan/japan/707124575894576176
*Note: On the elevation guide, ignore the "spikes" towards the end of the ride. It is FLAT!
Oh yeah, this would also be the perfect ride to start off the "Hotaka Training" series – anything after this won't feel "long" at all.
Please reply to indicate your willingness to participate (or your willingness to dispute my sanity).
Rubber down!
Travis
