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Sunday, Sept. 5th - Higashi Chichibu

Yamabushi

Maximum Pace
Jun 1, 2010
2,335
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I've just returned to Japan and no one has posted any rides for this weekend, and I need to stretch my legs after not riding for two weeks, so here is something for Sunday.

Exact climbs yet to be decided, but from Sugamo Station, ride up Route 17 to the Arakawa, up the Arakawa to Route 16 (becomes Route 15) follow that out to the mountains. To the base of the first mountainous area is only about 55km. Expect 40-55 kilometers in the mountains and a round trip to Tokyo totaling 150km or so.

We'll do some variation of this previous route: http://www.mapmyride.com/route/jp/tokyo/741128162013633138

Meet: Sugamo Station (Yamanote Line)
When: Sunday, August 1st @ 7:45am (7:50 roll-out)

I'll be Sugamo Station (Yamanote Line) at 7:40am and will roll-out at 7:50am.

So far it looks like Tim Smith and OwenJames will be joining the ride.

Also Ludwig, if you are willing to give it a go again, I am open to your guidance and alternative routes both in the mountains and getting there.
 
This looks good to me!
 
Looks tempting...

If I decide to go, I'll meet you guys on the Arakawa CR, just west of Rte.17 (near the Shinkansen & Saikyo lines) around 8:10.
Will you be riding up top along the ridge of the levy (where it's narrow), or down the bottom next to the golf practice ranges (on the wide section)?
I haven't fully decided, but will post a definite "yes" or "no" later this evening.
T
 
The "Spaceship"!

Travis, I am meeting Tim at 8:20am at the big gate/pump station where the river takes a sharp turn northward. It's about 4 kilometers past Route 17. It's located where the green arrow is here: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&q=35.762063,%20139.705002
Cheers,
Pete

I know it! We (me & one other guy I know) call it "The Spaceship"!

4956057253_7cdc5e4a0a_z.jpg

My old steel-frame "Mobius" - Before the yellow"Giant" was a "Giant".

8:20 - All righty!
Travis
 
Yep - I call it the pump station - a small backtrack for me but no worries - I'll drag a tire up there and one of you guys can drag it back! hehe
 
Travis, I am meeting Tim at 8:20am at the big gate/pump station where the river takes a sharp turn northward. It's about 4 kilometers past Route 17. It's located where the green arrow is here: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&q=35.762063,%20139.705002

Cheers,
Pete

Just saw this thread now...Good day to see if I am fit enough to ride along with you guys maybe?
I will try and find this spot and be there 8:20.

/Andreas
 
Thanks for joining us Andreas! It was great to have you along. Maybe you were the smarter one bailing before the big hill - it was a bit epic with the heat involved! Though the soba at the top was really great. Kudos to Travis and Pete for putting together a fun ride and showing some new routes!
 
Andreas, first I'm glad to hear that you made it back safely. That being said, you did great mate... no worries. And, I have no doubt you'll be back stronger and faster! :bike:

Also, just to let you know, I seriously suffered on the next climb! I made it, but I was hurting! I'm blaming it on 2 weeks off the bike (I was in Germany & the Czech Republic) and a tinge of residual jetlag! :D

Tim, your welcome it was my pleasure. It was great having you, Andreas and Travis along!

Travis and Tim, thank you for the help when I was less than 100%! It's great riding with experienced people you can count on. :thumb:
 
Very quick "Thanks" to Pete, for organizing today's ride.
I was nice to see Tim again, and meet Andreas for the first time on his "maiden" TCC ride.
I'll try to write a bit of a report tomorrow. In the meantime, the pics I took are in the gallery.
Thanks again! Travis
 
When I came home I had done 147km's. managed to take a wrong turn on the way back that added to the distance.
I felt really strange on the way home...nothing really seemed to help. I tried to drink water and sports drinks of a few different kinds but all fluid just stayed in my stomach without getting absorbed. I kept going slower and slower.
Even this morning I am down about 3kg's from fluid loss.

I think I need to add something to the water to be able to absorb it in enough quantities.
Any tips on what to get? I guess powder would be best to carry..
 
Full Report

The ride was something different for each of us. For Pete, it was a back-in-the-saddle ride after a 2 week absence (Normally B.I.T.S. rides require a longer time-off, but we'll give you this one). For Tim, it was just another chance to ride in the mountains on a fixie (Go, dude!). For me, it was kind of "warm down" ride after the Rte.299 to Nagano & Fuji trips. And for Andreas, it was his very first TCC ride ever; A chance to find out what kind of people ride and write on this forum, and a chance to test his own legs.
>japanviking: Welcome to TCC!

I arrived at "the Spaceship", actually a sleekly styled water pumping station on Arakawa, about 6km west of Rte.17 and the Shinkansen lines as they cross the river. The 28km journey from my place took exactly one hour, and I was there by 8:10. Tim arrived about 15 minutes later, and we finally saw Pete being followed by a mountain of a man I had never seen before – Andreas, from Sweden.
After very brief introductions, we all set out up the river. We didn't take the usual route, crossing to the other side of the river and riding past Akigase-koen. Instead, we soon turned off the C.R. still on the western side of the river, and put all of our trust in Pete's ability to navigate some of the smaller roads that run parallel to it.
The navigation was good, and we finally turned onto Rte.16, which then becomes Rte.15 and rolls right through the center of Kawagoe, where we had our first break at 9:30. We continued along Rte.15 until we got to Rte.30, on which we headed almost directly north for about 8km to Moro (毛呂). I had 70km on my meter before Pete finally gave the nod to turn left, and onto our first little climb. I think we were a bit worried about Andreas. I think Andreas was worried about Andreas. Not only was this his first TCC ride, it was also his very first real experience at hill-climbing on a bike.

I have to say though I was really impressed with his bike! A FOCUS "Cayo" in XXL size. What an awesome machine, with a massive down-tube. For a bike that size, it really did look incredibly sturdy AND light!

Focus-Cayo-Expert-side-hi.jpg


As Andreas finally hit the summit, we asked him how he felt about continuing. He made the decision to turn around and head back. Chapeau, dude! Don't give up on the climbs either. With each climb you do, you will noticeably see yourself getting faster, and feel yourself getting stronger. Looking forward to riding with you again.
The three of us – Pete, Tim, and myself – continued down and onto the Ogose side of Rte.61, just near "Kuroyama-Santaki" (黒山三滝). I thought we were going to head up the (usual?) route – The same way a certain snowy Shirokuma-pan ride went – but now this ride was about searching for new roads; a reconnoitering ride. We took a different turn-off entirely; one that goes behind the waterfalls. Thanks to Pete for doing the research on this – It was something he'd seen on a map and thought he wanted to try.

The climb hits hard pretty much straight away, and remains in the 8-10% range for a good 4-5km. About two-thirds of the way up though, was what made it all worth it – Fresh mountain-spring water bubbling out of a hose. In fact, I almost didn't stop out of a misplaced sense of, "I…(huff, puff)…will not…(puff, puff, huff)…stop…(puff)…until I…(huff, puff)…reach…(pu~)..the…(huff, puff, huff)…top!" Thankfully, I did stop, because we were all feeling the heat by then, and there was still a fair way to the top (the "Green-Line"). Of course, we still had to get to the soba-restaurant as well. I'd been reading all about it, but had never tried it. Once we all hit the Green-Line, it was the usual roller-coaster up/downs that follow the ridgeline, and we made it to the "Kaoburi-toge Fujimi-Chaya" (顔振峠・富士見茶屋) – That's the name of the soba-restaurant (It's even marked on GoogleMaps), and it IS delicious. Next time, I will definitely take your advice, Pete, and have the "O-mori".

4962866397_aa58ac7863.jpg


By the time we finished lunch, it was getting close to 2pm, and I think we all wanted to get home before dark. We continued around the Green-Line, heading basically S-W, and took one last reconnoitering check of a descent route – Again, Pete's choice – until we found ourselves back on Rte.30. Here's the map, and climbing profile from and back to the Rte.30 turn-offs:

4962942421_7c3168d0be_b.jpg


From there, the home-stretch was fairly straightforward. We had to take it a little bit easier than usual, as Pete was suffering from the same heat-stroke everyone else (Mike?) has been hit with recently, and found it hard to eat anything (despite the delicious soba). On the return trip, we went on the Akigase-koen side of the river, and Tim found himself at the front, doing a good share of the pulling. We made it back to Rte.17 just before 5pm, and said our rolling-goodbyes there!
I made it home at about 5:50pm, with 171km on the meter. Now while it may not sound like much, this was the first time in ages that I have been on a ride (apart from commuting, of course) that started in daylight-hours, and finished in daylight-hours (of the same day). Hence, I was finally able to wear my darker rainbow-mirrored sunglasses.:cool:

A very enjoyable day with three new finds – 1). A new route up to the Green-Line. 2). A new fresh-water source. 3). A nice restaurant for rides up near Kaoburi/Karibazaka toges.

Thanks Pete, for organizing.
Thanks Tim, for the company.
Thanks Andreas, for daring to join us!
 
Heat - Dehydration!

When I came home I had done 147km's. managed to take a wrong turn on the way back that added to the distance.
I felt really strange on the way home...nothing really seemed to help. I tried to drink water and sports drinks of a few different kinds but all fluid just stayed in my stomach without getting absorbed. I kept going slower and slower.
Even this morning I am down about 3kg's from fluid loss.
I think I need to add something to the water to be able to absorb it in enough quantities.
Any tips on what to get? I guess powder would be best to carry..

Hey Andreas,
There has been a lot of good information about this lately.
The first, is a thread on Heat, and has a lot of good suggestions for sports drinks.
The second, by James (FarEast), is more about what Heat Exhaustion is. Pete had a rough time as well, after you left.
Take care! T
 
I think I need to add something to the water to be able to absorb it in enough quantities.
Any tips on what to get? I guess powder would be best to carry..

Actually, just the opposite is true. Your body will absorb water best if you have nothing else in your stomach. Avoid sports drinks and juice, and drink lots of water when you don't have much food in your stomach.

I like to drink quite some juice on my rides, but I avoid them almost completely in hot summer, for good reason.
 
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