Today September 2023

[joewein]

I largely escaped the summer heat in August by staying indoors under air-conditioning, due to getting injured Almost no cycling for me but at least I got my Century ride done in the end.

Hopefully this month we'll see fewer of those 35+ deg C days. I will try to rebuild my fitness and ride in the mountains again.

 

[jdd]

Out for my usual morning ride, usual as in every other or every third day... .
(And only five of those in Aug--also hiding from the heat.)

Turnaround point, the slightly higher one right of center, with the wavy top, is hakusan:

 

[Chuck]

I've just about gotten used to the heat, just as summer is about to taper off.

I carry 3 liters of water to keep hydrated (I sweat a lot) and watch my HR carefully so I don't go over my red line and end up with heat stroke. Still...was climbing up around Tochigi on Wednesday, and sweat so much my shoes were soaked and squished when I pedaled. I don't know how folks are able to log such long rides in this heat especially when there is a lot of climbing. Hats off to them.

 

[jdd]

and sweat so much my shoes were soaked and squished when I pedaled.

...paddled?

 

[BeerTengoku]

You know you have a good day when the ride feels amazing, and you keep on going, and going, and before you know it, you've clocked up your best time ever for a 100km+ ride. I could have gone a bit faster if it wasn't for slow traffic blocking the roads around Enoshima, but the bike was fantastic yesterday, the weather in the morning was verging on autumn-like with the low humidity and cooling breeze. The downside? Stupid electric scooters blocking the bike path around Enoshima really so that I couldn't overtake with all the traffic.

Still, with moments like this, and my first 100 km ride since October 2022, it was a great ride and one that I will do again. My aim was to avoid Yokosuka as I don't like riding around that area, but it meant I missed some of the places I like seeing, such as Glass Beach. Still, I'll go ahead and edit my route on Garmin to incorporate it.

 

[microcord]

Yesterday, a "Tokyo Half Fast" ride.

Up and up, past the last house (on the right) with its garden of shrunken heads



and onto Tokyo's most inviting rindō



and so up to the high point (1146 metres) of rides in Tokyo



And then downhill, and then more downhill, and a lot more downhill. Of course pausing at Yakyū-tei. And thereafter taking in various sights, including two ageing suspension bridges, and perhaps my favourite, the inconspicuous



As always (so far), I resisted the siren song of what would have been the perfect finale



and so it was that I got home, showered, and (inspired by @joewein ) filled my face with Nepalese goodies. I slept well.

 

[casualguy939]

You know you have a good day when the ride feels amazing, and you keep on going, and going, and before you know it, you've clocked up your best time ever for a 100km+ ride. I could have gone a bit faster if it wasn't for slow traffic blocking the roads around Enoshima, but the bike was fantastic yesterday, the weather in the morning was verging on autumn-like with the low humidity and cooling breeze. The downside? Stupid electric scooters blocking the bike path around Enoshima really so that I couldn't overtake with all the traffic.

Still, with moments like this, and my first 100 km ride since October 2022, it was a great ride and one that I will do again. My aim was to avoid Yokosuka as I don't like riding around that area, but it meant I missed some of the places I like seeing, such as Glass Beach. Still, I'll go ahead and edit my route on Garmin to incorporate it.

It happens to me too. Some days everything just falls together for the fastest ride ever, leaving you thinking "where did that come from?" Why even bother following a tailor made plan?

 

[BeerTengoku]

It happens to me too. Some days everything just falls together for the fastest ride ever, leaving you thinking "where did that come from?" Why even bother following a tailor made plan?

That was definitely the case yesterday - just peddled and peddled.

I have to say, having the tri-bars on the front of the bike when the wind is head on helped a lot. Felt like I was avoiding most of it. Do need to work on the stamin with them as after around 20 minutes, my forearms get sore, but it's slowly building up the legs again.

Itching to get out today as well, though I know my legs need a rest, so it could just be a day on the sofa with a few beers and snacks.

 

[casualguy939]

That was definitely the case yesterday - just peddled and peddled.

I have to say, having the tri-bars on the front of the bike when the wind is head on helped a lot. Felt like I was avoiding most of it. Do need to work on the stamin with them as after around 20 minutes, my forearms get sore, but it's slowly building up the legs again.

Itching to get out today as well, though I know my legs need a rest, so it could just be a day on the sofa with a few beers and snacks.

It's Sunday, so it's probably good to let all the weekend warriors weave between each other and hopefully not create a large enough incident that causes the police to set up shop to wave us down with their monthly quota of token warnings Beers and snacks sound way better.

I had clipons on my road bike too and I loved them especially in head winds. In tailwinds, being a big sail isn't so bad, at least until you you are riding faster than the wind. Then it turns into a head wind lol. Giving the hands a break was nice, but so was getting the torso leaned over a bit for a boost in speed. I didn't have a power meter then, but based on quite a few rides I found they gave me about 2kph of speed at the same perceived power output and Strava's guestimation. My main problem was that I was on them on every ride for about 2 years straight, and about 10,000km/year. Holding my head up really did my old neck in, and still creeps up from time to time.

 

[BeerTengoku]

So who else went out for a cycle in the beautiful, warm rain today?

 

[nateberkopec]

Anybody have tips for keeping bikes indoors?

Trying to convince my wife to let me bring the poor bastard inside, but struggling to come up with an elegant and "pretty" storage solution she'll like. I thought maybe one of those tension-pole-based solutions in the entryway would be good, but I've been turned down on that as apparently the area is too high-traffic.

 

[casualguy939]

I went out. It was fun going up the river, but I bonked at about 75km. The rain at the end near Ukimafunado actually felt good, but the ride was after an unintentional 4-day taper. I really gotta learn how to fuel properly though.

90km ride - Andrew 🥐's 92.9 km bike ride

-- myWindsock Report -- CdA: 0.199 Weather Impact: -0.4% Headwind: 53% @ 4.5-20.7km/h Longest Headwind: 45m 51s Air Speed: 33.1km/h Temp: 30.5-31.2°C Precip: 100% @ 0 Inch/hr -- END --

www.strava.com

 

[Chuck]

Anybody have tips for keeping bikes indoors?

I use this. It is freestanding so pretty solid. But if the genkan isn't an option probably won't work for you unless you have a room you can put it in.

@BeerTengoku No outdoor ride today. Just an indoor trainer session. But the weekend is looking good and temps are coming down a bit.

 

[Kangaeroo]

Anybody have tips for keeping bikes indoors?

Trying to convince my wife to let me bring the poor bastard inside, but struggling to come up with an elegant and "pretty" storage solution she'll like. I thought maybe one of those tension-pole-based solutions in the entryway would be good, but I've been turned down on that as apparently the area is too high-traffic.

Maybe you can convince her by pointing out that it's much cheaper to keep a bike inside as it makes maintenance much easier, avoids exposure to the elements and virtually eliminates the threat of vandalism and theft.

 

[joewein]

My September Century is done (171 km, on Strava). It went much better than the drive in the car that left the burn marks with melted plastic on the road in the picture below:



If you were wondering why @microcord strictly avoids this road, now you know!

I went back to Tomin no Mori, returning via Okutama and Ome.



It rained for the first two hours. When I reached the Tamagawa, I changed into my rain gear and considered my options, while having a chat with another cyclist waiting for his ride mates. He was very interested in my bike, a theme for this ride as I had two more conversations with other cyclists later.

I decided to at least go to Musashi-Itsukaichi and then decide whether to come back or continue. 12 km later I took off my rain gear again because I was feeling too warm. At the small park where I did this I met two cyclists, one an 80 year old in a Kappelmuir jersey, the other on a Trek with Di-2 which had stopped shifting. The senior cyclist studied my bike in detail and we discussed the component choices.


I did a conbini stop in Akiruno where another customer smoking a little cigar studied my bike. He used to ride a Miyata Pro when he was younger.

In Hinohara I stopped at Cafe Kana Kana, a cafe and camp site a little before where RT 206 splits off RT 33 (tunnel to Uenohara). The cafe operates in old Airstream trailers. The owner showed my his vintage roadbike (ca. 1970s). He is also smith and created the above art installation about Russia's war in Ukraine.


The climb to Tomin no Mori was hard. According to the Fitbit I wore my heart rate was near its maximum. I rested at Tomin, had some coffee and ice cream and washed my face.

At 1000 m I was now in the clouds, with no views of the valleys below. After a picture stop at the Toge marker I descended to the parking lot where normally stop for pictures. There I saw a guy in a randonneur vest with FRANCE written on the back. So I addressed him in French and we started talking about randonneuring (we did switch to English). It turned out we had some friends in common and after I recognised a reference to David (@dgl2), with whom he was riding frequently, I blurted out: "You must be Jerome!" I knew him from years of blog posts on POSITIVO ESPRESSO and many adventures written down by David there This was a really nice surprise.

I descended to the lake, on to Okutama and then down to Ome. Helped by drizzle and clouds, temperatures were very sensible all day, almost always between 19 and 24 deg C.

I had dinner at Sherpa and got home after 23:00. It's a relief to have been able to do one of my usual courses without any unusual discomfort. I spent a lot of time talking to people that I met at various stops and that was the most fun part of this ride.

 

[BeerTengoku]

Thanks to the England vs Argentina rugby game, I was up early to watch it. Then I was bored so out I went for a ride around the block before it got too hot. Let me tell you, that time from 6am to 9am right now is perfect - the wind is chilly enough to cool you down, but the skies are blue enough that you can get some fantastic pictures. As soon as it hits 10 though, the heat ramps up somewhat and the wind become warm. Was a nice jaunt around the block to get 69km (hehehe) but Mt. Fuji was still a bit shy today.

 

[joewein]

Anybody have tips for keeping bikes indoors?

I have a Minoura tension pole, springloaded to jam itself between the ceiling and the floor tiles in our genkan (safer in an earthquake than the freestanding version in my opinion). My wife is fine with it. It keeps the bike off the floor so our electric assist mamachari also fits underneath (a win-win). Indoors you'll have a much lower risk of theft, fewer problems with corrosion and less UV damage of tires, all of which saves money.

 

[microcord]

If you were wondering why @microcord strictly avoids this road, now you know!

Or rather, I'm very wary of it. Actually I enjoy it, going up it perhaps twice a year and down it rather more often. But of course the petrol-powered sociopaths we share it with are worrisome.

But they don't seem as deranged as they did three or more years ago (when I vowed I'd never go up that road again, other perhaps than on a weekday). A few months ago, I even advertised a ride up there on Half-Fast, and it got two takers (both of them new to me).

I'm looking forward to late October, when I hope to go up via the mushroom centre.

One day, I might even do what I've never done and no cyclist I know of seems to have done: go to Tomin-no-Mori. I mean, the actual place, not just its unremarkable parking lot.

 

[joewein]

On Sunday when I rode to Tomin no Mori I saw a sign announcing that there will be a race on that route on Sun, Oct 1. It's the "11th Tokyo Hill Climb Hinohara Stage" (第11回 東京ヒルクライムHINOHARAステージ). The course starts from near the Tofu shop on the right fork of the Hinohara T-junction and goes up to Tomin no Mori (RWGPS). You may want to adjust your riding plans if you were thinking of riding there that weekend.

 

[joewein]

One day, I might even do what I've never done and no cyclist I know of seems to have done: go to Tomin-no-Mori. I mean, the actual place, not just its unremarkable parking lot.

A year ago (September 2022) my wife and I went hiking from there to Mito-san, leaving the car in the trail head parking lot.

12 years ago I also hiked with some friends from Tomin no Mori to Mito-san and then down to the floating bridge (Mugiyama bridge) across Okutama-ko, starting with a bus ride from Musashi-Itsukaichi station and later taking a bus from the lake to Okutama station.