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Saturday ride - 3 Peaks

kpykc

Speeding Up
Jun 13, 2007
805
14
Hi all,
is anyone willing to test their legs this Saturday on the TCC's new classic ride - 3 Peaks - Yabitsu (bumpy north approach), Ashigara (east side), Mikuni :)))?

Official start&finish - Hashimoto st. - roll out at 9.00am

The rainy season is coming and the weather forecast is ambiguous for Saturday - if lucky, we will still be riding on dry roads.

The ride is the subject to cancellation if the weather deteriorates.
 
Sergey, if the weathers good I'm on for this great ride:D I'll be waiting for you and any other warriors at the entrance to Yabitsu (R64/R76). Any chance of an earlier start though as it's such a long one?
 
Sure Mike, 8.30 am from Hashimoto is ok for me (if no one else joins, we might as well change it to 8.00am)
 
Sounds great to me as well. But, I've got a stuff to do this weekend and probably will ride 5am - 9/10am somewhere. Have a fun :rolleyes:
 
Sergey, 8am would be perfect. That'd put you at the Yabitsu junction around 9am I'm guessing:D
 
count me in too - 0830's good from hashimoto for me. I had planned on doing a triathlon this weekend, but now its cancelled so theres more opportunity to have fun on the bike
 
Peter and Sergey, if you guys leave Hashimoto at 8.30 I'm guessing you'll be at R64/R70 around 9.30? Any chance Peter if you guys can make it earlier? I don't want to be home too late....
 
Mike, we'll be leaving Hashimoto st. at 8:30am, and we'll be at the intersection at 9:10-9:20 (it's 20km from the station). Very sorry for the inconveniece.. However, I think we'll make it back at a decent time - there will be only 3 of us.
 
Mike, we'll be leaving Hashimoto st. at 8:30am, and we'll be at the intersection at 9:10-9:20 (it's 20km from the station). Very sorry for the inconveniece.. However, I think we'll make it back at a decent time - there will be only 3 of us.

No worries Sergey, see you guys tomorrow:D

p.s. I'll put your drink bottle in my back pocket so you'll only need to bring 1 drink bottle;)
 
Thanks for a great ride today guys. Once it hit the afternoon the weather was perfect, not too hot and a beautiful tail wind along Doushi Michi and all the way home:D

Yabitsu, Ashigara and Mikuni in one day.....a true TCC classic ride! 195km for me with 3000m of climbing. Thanks for orgainisng this one Sergey and guiding us to Shin Matsuda. A very memorable ride. Now for some sofa time and World Cup Footy:)
 
Mike, Peter - thanks for your company on this brutal ride!

Three Peaks is definitely the hardest TCC ride I can remember, and is the best training I can think of :)
Mike's form was very impressive - enough to mention that he managed to outpower the 6-men-driven BR-1 train on the way up to Ashigara toge :eek: ...and still have energy to try and go for his best time at Mikuni toge :eek::eek:
Looking forward to some great results from you at Utsukushi race, Mike! :thumb:

I felt much better than on the previous 3-Peaks ride, but not good enough to be satisfied with my Mikuni time (42min 50sec).

And Peter, cheers for your after-the-ride treat - it tasted sooo GOOD! :beer: :D
 
Ride Report

I rolled up at the agreed meeting place 7 minutes late which had Sergey smiling after my attempts to get the guys to start earlier, although in my defence Sergey did give me a 15 minute window;) After a few giggles we were away and enjoying the scenery up Yabitsu. The north side is really a beautiful road to ascend, it's just a shame that it's so bumpy and requires constant braking if descending.

From the get go Sergey was at the front punching out a pretty good tempo. My usual pattern on a big ride like this is to sit back in the early hours, conserve and conserve some more and then let it rip in the latter half. However being the competitive fool that I am if anyone puts down the hammer I'll always try to go with them even if goes against all logic. About half way up when Peter had dropped off the back I tried a tactic that often works, make conversation with the guy making me work so damned hard. Thankfully Sergey slowed a bit as we neared the summit and before I knew it we were refilling our bottles at the delicious natural spring. I breathed a sigh of relief....phewww, only Ashigara and Mikuni to come:confused:

Having re-grouped we enjoyed a lovely descent down to Hadano and hit a bit of traffic before Sergey got us on the right road and we once again found ourselves cycling past lovely scenery. In Shin Matsuda we encountered a bit more traffic but after about 10 minutes we turned onto the Ashigara road and were way again. I don't think I saw a single car the whole climb, or was I just so focused on riding I didn't notice? Peter? Sergey?

By this time it was midday, not the best time to be climbing Ashigara as it's a very open ascent with little shelter from the sun and elements. Sergey and I decide to refill our bottles, with Peter going on up the road ahead of us. Just as we saddled up a large group of riders came by at speed and Sergey and I sprinted to grab their wheels. As we made contact they greeted us making them seem like a friendly bunch of guys. My first instinct was to try and assess their ability i.e. to work out if they were faster than us by using the Deej Rider Assessment system , DRAS (patent pending) https://tokyocycle.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=1659

Unfortunately as they were all wearing the same kit 'Team Takeshiba', the DRAS couldn't be used so I was forced to look for other clues. The jerseys were well used, one guy even had a few rips from a previous crash I presumed, and their legs looked strong. Hmm, these guys were gonna be trouble. After a few nods I announced my intentions of challenging anyone who attempted a getaway, a race to the top (What a cocky idiot I am, but I love these competitive moments). After a few minutes a lone rider broke away and I gave chase getting a few howls from his team mates. GAME ON! I grabbed his wheels and sat there for a few minutes before launching my own attack. Somewhere along the way we passed Peter and I managed to say something as I rode past gasping for air. I had a quick look back and to my surprise saw that there were now 2 guys from Takeshiba chasing me. One of them managed to bridge the gap, so I cheekily smiled, put the hammer down and rode away again. A few kilometers later the second guy was on my wheel panting away. These guys were sure putting up a good fight.

I tried another trick from my botomless bag and started telling him how beautiful the weather was, even though I was sweltering in the heat too. It immediately worked and he blew up with a gasp of air and shout of 'Haiyai'. Seriously, psychology can play such a big part in cycling. I was finally free to fly, although in honesty I barely made it to the top and was so happy to see the end of that monster. Not long after they started summiting one by one including Sergey and Peter. As these guys were really friendly we started chatting and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that one of them had ridden the Azami line race in the same class as me and had gotten 3rd place, with a time of 51 minutes. We all laughed wondering why I had beaten him up Ashigara. Perhaps I had been on a bad day? Anyways, they are all racing at Utsukushi in a few weeks so it'll be great to catch up there and race them again. We bid them farewell as they rolled out for the fun descent but it wasn't to be as we met them on several more ocassions throughout the day.

The descent down Ashigara is sublime on a great winding road that has tree coverage on both sides. As we passed the infamous golf course I gripped the bars extra tightly in anticipation of strong cross winds. I was right in doing so, as again it was a little scary at times especially with my 40mm deep rims. Once down to Suruga Oyama we stocked up at the 7-11 and I downed anything I could get my hands on including a caffeine shock/energy drink. I was in desperate need of food and energy after that mad race up Ashigara.

As Sergey will testify, I was riding like a man posessed after my caffeine shot and was licking my lips for a PB on Mikuni. Unfortuantely I blew up about 3/4 of the way up and only managed a time of 34'50, a minute or so off my best. Obviously the Ashigara had taken it's toll on my legs. On the way I up passed a few of the Team Takeshiba guys again, but not the faster ones.

After descending we did the usual TCC stop at the Yamanakako 7-11 and then returned home via R413, otherwise known as Doushi Michi. I love that road, especially if there's a tailwind. I couldn't help myself as I was feeling really good at this stage and attacked Sergey and Peter a few times forsing them to work a bit harder. Sorry guys, I just couldn't help myself. Anyway Sergey, I know you love these kind of games, right:confused:

Anyway, it was a great ride with excellent company. And to meet those guys from Team Takeshiba was really fun also. This is a real TCC Classic ride for sure. I recommend Three peaks to all TCC members.
 
'fun on the bike' - I have to use that term very loosely. I did not know it was possible to exert that many heart beats on a ride !! drink gallons of liquid, pee only a thimble, toast with a beer and still return home a couple of kilos lighter

Thanks Sergey for organising this ride - but next time can we start out a bit more gently ? And Mike your performance up Mikuni was just too impressive (unlike England in South Africa !), good luck with your racing season.

Thanks once again for all the fun and great company, Peter
 
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