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Ride Sun 27th Sep - Odarumi, Yanagisawa, Kazahari

GrantT

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Oct 2, 2012
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@Deej went for this not long ago. Looks interesting, so I've decided to go for the KOM while the weather is warm enough, and post here on the slim chance anyone wants to try this with me. Getting the train from Sihnjuku to Enzan (塩山), riding the 28-km first climb, then riding back over a couple of bumps to Musashi Itsukaishi Station and home along the Tamagawa. 160 km to Musashi Itsukaichi Station, plus 40 km along the rivers to somewhere in Setagaya-ku.
Meeting time: 9 am at Enzan Station. (There is a direct train that leaves Shinjuku at 7:30 and reaches Enzan at 8:53.) Best bring lights.
The climbs:
Odarumi 1,700 m elevation gain, 6%
Yanagizawa 941 m elevation gain, 7%
Kazehari 579 m elevation gain, 5%
Obviously it's easy to bail after the first climb, but also after the second climb, just ride to Okutama or Ome Station instead of Musashi Itsukaishi.
Descending off the first climb will probably be pretty chilly so bring a jacket. Food stops after first and second climbs. I will be stashing my rinko bag and a couple of other things at Enzan Station before starting the first climb for weight weenie purposes, to be picked up after the descent.
Route
 
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Sounds good to me. Count me in. Just let me know exactly when and where and I will see you there.

Cheers,
Tor
 
What sort of time do you think you will be starting?
 
Ahhhhh, nearly 4 hours on the train... Yeah, not going to do that. Haha. Cheers for the linkage though mate. Will have to come and do it with you another time and book a hotel down near the start, for late night EPO jaggin' followed by a proper sleep and no train mong activity pre-ride.

Big climb that! Give it stick.
 
Ahhh. I hadn't quite realised the logistics involved.... I think I might have to pass
 
@TorC that is the train journey for me, as I live pretty far from the start. Will be easier for you...
 
The quickest way is a direct train from Shinjuku (7:30) to Enzan (8:53). Costs about 3,000 yen. What do you think @TorC?
 
Okay, meeting time set at 9 am at Enzan Station, or at the back of the train that leaves Shinjuku at 7:30. This train does require buying a separate ticket (1,340 yen) from the ticket machines.

I'll be bringing my lights.
 
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Come one, do like the "alphas" and ride out there ;)

The temperature difference can be huge, so pack warm for the descent, me and @leicaman had a tropical 35c at the start of the climb, even with a full sleeve wind jacket a was shaking down to my bones descending. Would rather snowboard in -30c than doing that descent under dressed again hehe.

Shouldn't be any problem for you to snatch that KOM. Looking forward to hearing the report.
 
Nice stuff. Won't be able to make it unfortunately. Shame you're not doing Yanagizawa the other way round - definitely one of my favourite descents:

 
Oh my god, it's that
Come one, do like the "alphas" and ride out there ;)

The temperature difference can be huge, so pack warm for the descent, me and @leicaman had a tropical 35c at the start of the climb, even with a full sleeve wind jacket a was shaking down to my bones descending. Would rather snowboard in -30c than doing that descent under dressed again hehe.

Shouldn't be any problem for you to snatch that KOM. Looking forward to hearing the report.
ah, so it's "that" climb huh. I believe the Strava segment starts a little way up from where the road starts going up so you have one or two km to climb before you hit that segment (what is Strava btw?)
I don't think I've ever been so cold on a bike before. I was friggin' frozen. Have fun.
 
Thanks for the advice. Looks like it will be around 10 degrees at the top based on this site, so I'll take some full-finger gloves as well as the jacket.

The exact point at which that segment starts will be memorized, and a solid 50 watts will be ridden up to that point.

@leicaman Are there steep sections or is it a constant gradient?
 
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@leicaman Are there steep sections or is it a constant gradient
Is pretty solid all the way nothing insane , there's a few rest bites along the way with with more or less flat road and even a short downhill. I think it gets a bit steeper towards the last km's but that could simply be my imagination as I was running on fumes by that point.
Road surface was far from mint at its places so take care descending
 
Thanks for the advice. Looks like it will be around 10 degrees at the top based on this site, so I'll take some full-finger gloves as well as the jacket.

It was 14 degrees of the final Nikko climb on Tuesday. That was cold, but not full finger glove weather... 10 degrees feels about 20 degrees colder than 14 degrees (or something) though, so I don't really know what I am on about.

We should make some kind of auto-formatting system to change 'degrees' to º, shouldn't we...
 
Got it. I'll just take a light jacket and wish for the best.

@TorC Just to let you know the train leaves from platform 10 and is called the "JR特急あずさ3号・南小谷行" or something like "LTD. EXP AZUSA 3 to Minami Otari" in English
 
Last Sunday I did it in full summer kit and was fine -- but just barely. I would have welcomed a light jacket, or even just arm warmers. I don't know what the temperature was at the top, but it was cool, misty and moody -- it's highly changeable up there -- while it was clear and warm at the base. Yes, another layer would be wise.

It was a good outing. I took the train to Takao, then rode out via Otarumi-toge, Tsuru-toge, Imagawa-toge, Yanagisawa-toge, then finally Odarumi-toge. Took the train home from Enzan. I reached the top of that last climb at 2:15. A little over 4,500m of climbing, according to my Garmin.

I had nearly 3,000m of climbing in my legs by the time I reached the grand finale, so my time on Odarumi wasn't anything to brag about. I just slogged my way up. About 3km from the summit, I helped myself to some spring water issuing from a pipe on the right side of the road. Not everyone likes to risk mountain water, but I badly needed some liquids and took my chances.

Next time, I'll tackle Odarumi first and see what it's like to hit that hill fresh.

Have fun, guys!
 
Thanks for the advice. Looks like it will be around 10 degrees at the top based on this site, so I'll take some full-finger gloves as well as the jacket.

The exact point at which that segment starts will be memorized, and a solid 50 watts will be ridden up to that point.

@leicaman Are there steep sections or is it a constant gradient?
Yeah, like @saibot said above.

I don't remember there being any steep parts to be honest.

I do remember it getting easier in the last third but I think that is more due to the fact I wasn't feeling well on the lower slopes, but my dodgy stomach got better the higher we got. Have fun
 
Yeah, it's not especially steep.

The toughest bits are the long, straight ramp at the base as you climb out of town and through grape orchards. Only lasts for a couple kilometers, though. And then there are some steepish sections just past the dam, but they pass quickly.

After that, you'll hit a generally flat section -- 2km? -- where you can really lay down some speed. After that, it's steady but not steep. You'll crush it!
 
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