What's new

Race The Training Thread

GrantT said:
Btw, if you don't have much experience racing in a large peloton...
Click to expand...

Cheers! I'll check out SNEL soon. It looks like it's common for "shop" teams to require you purchase a bike through them, eh? That's a bit of a drag when I'm thinking about buying another Canyon...

I did the Walkride race at the Shizuoka Cycling Sports Center in June actually, can't wait to go back in October. I was an active bike racer when I was a kid so riding in groups/pelotons isn't really a big problem for me. Some dust to shake off for sure, of course.

I'm headed to the Watarase crit in September as well.

(Indoor) FTP test today: 3.7 w/kg.
 
nateberkopec said:
Cheers! I'll check out SNEL soon. It looks like it's common for "shop" teams to require you purchase a bike through them, eh? That's a bit of a drag when I'm thinking about buying another Canyon...

I did the Walkride race at the Shizuoka Cycling Sports Center in June actually, can't wait to go back in October. I was an active bike racer when I was a kid so riding in groups/pelotons isn't really a big problem for me. Some dust to shake off for sure, of course.

I'm headed to the Watarase crit in September as well.

(Indoor) FTP test today: 3.7 w/kg.
Click to expand...

I'm buddies with a guy on SNEL, as far as I know he did not need to purchase a bike. There are over 200 teams in the JET ranks of the JBCF and many of them are pretty small. Before I found a team to join for this year I was kicking around the idea of forming my own with my wife. On the registration page it says a team consists of two or more people so that could be one path to racing.

Another possibly easy option is the Rapha Cycling Club Team. I have no idea how it works and I assume you need to be an RCC member but, that's only 11,500 Yen. So if you're looking for a bigger community you may be able to drop by their Tokyo store and ask? They seem pretty active with group rides, etc.
 
nateberkopec said:
Cheers! I'll check out SNEL soon. It looks like it's common for "shop" teams to require you purchase a bike through them, eh? That's a bit of a drag when I'm thinking about buying another Canyon...

I did the Walkride race at the Shizuoka Cycling Sports Center in June actually, can't wait to go back in October. I was an active bike racer when I was a kid so riding in groups/pelotons isn't really a big problem for me. Some dust to shake off for sure, of course.

I'm headed to the Watarase crit in September as well.

(Indoor) FTP test today: 3.7 w/kg.
Click to expand...
Which category are you doing at Watarase? Maybe I’ll join you…. (not sure what day the race is, so depending on my schedule)

One of the local guys here is on the SNEL CX team (he was in the CX junior worlds a few years ago).
 
baribari said:
Which category are you doing at Watarase? Maybe I’ll join you…. (not sure what day the race is, so depending on my schedule)

One of the local guys here is on the SNEL CX team (he was in the CX junior worlds a few years ago).
Click to expand...
Haven't decided yet. The fact that I've only done one other crit this season + this being my first season back makes me think Beginner, but the race is comically short. Like 10 minutes! Sports doesn't look _that_ much faster from previous results and it's still like a 20 minute race. Thoughts? 🤔
 
Tsuga said:
I'll maybe write a longer post about it in another thread, but last week my wife and I completed our summer break tour. From here on the Sea of Japan coast over to Matsumoto and back. 690km, 10,600m of elevation, 30 hours of riding. It was a Saturday - Friday affair with a rest day on Day 5. We beat the heat and a typhoon along the way and made it home without any incidents. Honestly got really lucky with the weather, the riding was incredible. Highlights included seeing Gujo-Hachiman Castle, staying in a house hosted by the 14th generation owner on the Nakasendo, riding along Higashishirakawa's Tea Road (we didn't find any Tsuchinoko), climbing Akandanayama leaving Matsumoto and so much more.

This was my last big block of training / riding before a little mid-year break. Flying back to the USA this weekend to visit family and friends for a couple of weeks and I'm not taking my bike. My old steel Gunnar from now defunct Waterford is with my brother... but I don't think I'll ride it. Planning on eating a lot of bread and good cheese. Hopefully all at once on some days in the form of pizza.
Click to expand...
i also went to matsumoto with the wife during the obon, but it was a shorter trip for us. 2 days only, including the climb up to mt norikura.
solid base hours, specially for her since she doesnt ride that much.
how did you manage your stays? all pre-booked hotels?
 
nateberkopec said:
Haven't decided yet. The fact that I've only done one other crit this season + this being my first season back makes me think Beginner, but the race is comically short. Like 10 minutes! Sports doesn't look _that_ much faster from previous results and it's still like a 20 minute race. Thoughts? 🤔
Click to expand...
At 3.7 watts/kg you will probably enjoy the Sports classes (A or B depending on your age) most. Expert is probably too fast to be fun.
 
Ruda said:
i also went to matsumoto with the wife during the obon, but it was a shorter trip for us. 2 days only, including the climb up to mt norikura.
solid base hours, specially for her since she doesnt ride that much.
how did you manage your stays? all pre-booked hotels?
Click to expand...
Nice, maybe we crossed paths. We arrived there on the 15th, went to Suwa for the fireworks display, and then had a rest day in Matsumoto on the 16th. On the 17th we rode from Matsumoto to Shirakawa-go, it was our biggest day at 152km & 2,732m. I saw that there was a landslide on the Gifu side of the Norikura Skyline, so we went up and over 158. Tons of very chill monkeys on that climb.

We stayed in guesthouses and all were pre-booked. This was our longest trip of this kind, but not the first since living here. I'm not sure why but when we moved here we left all of our camping gear in the US. We'll definitely be bringing it back with us after our visit. So many good and affordable campsites all over Japan that we're excited to get to.
 
nateberkopec said:
Cheers! I'll check out SNEL soon. It looks like it's common for "shop" teams to require you purchase a bike through them, eh? That's a bit of a drag when I'm thinking about buying another Canyon...

I did the Walkride race at the Shizuoka Cycling Sports Center in June actually, can't wait to go back in October. I was an active bike racer when I was a kid so riding in groups/pelotons isn't really a big problem for me. Some dust to shake off for sure, of course.
Click to expand...

You should be okay at SNEL. The shop owner has spent a lot of time in Europe and in my experience is an easygoing guy. I noticed where you ride on Strava and they seemed a good fit because of the English-speaking members and location. But like @Tsuga says, RCC also has a JBCF racing team, a big community with some nice perks, and that membership fee is much lower than I remember.
 
4x4 VO2 interval at Yomiuriland today, pretty sure I saw @GrantT based on his Strava post. Were you wearing a grey jersey, no sunglasses?

I also saw one of the foreigner guys from SNEL on the way back down the river - he was headed the other way and long gone before I realized what had happened :warau:
 
Grey jersey no sunglasses was me. Was also doing some VO2 intervals at Yomiuriland. Good place to go for some climbing when the mountains feel just a touch out of reach.

That was probably Alex. I see him along the fiver there too sometimes. From experience in CX races, he's a difficult guy to catch nevermind hold onto!
 
First team practice with SNEL today. It was great! Thanks to this forum for pointing them out.

Classic group ride stuff, 120w on the flats and then absolutely whack it up every hill. Alex definitely is very quick.

Watarase crit in 2 weeks, should be a blast.
 
@nateberkopec Good stuff. Saw your ride on Strava. Riding is always more fun in a group!

Raced on the public roads of Chichibu yesterday. Seven times round a 10 km circuit with a punchy climb in the middle. This year was the 71st edition of the race, so something of a classic by now. Held onto the front group for the first 6 times up the climb, then made an ambitious (ie foolhardy) move on the last lap and paid for it by getting dropped on the last climb. Oh well :)
 
GrantT said:
@nateberkopec Good stuff. Saw your ride on Strava. Riding is always more fun in a group!

Raced on the public roads of Chichibu yesterday. Seven times round a 10 km circuit with a punchy climb in the middle. This year was the 71st edition of the race, so something of a classic by now. Held onto the front group for the first 6 times up the climb, then made an ambitious (ie foolhardy) move on the last lap and paid for it by getting dropped on the last climb. Oh well :)
Click to expand...
And somehow a guy in his late 40s / early 50s beat guys in their twenties in the sprint? For his first victory in 23 years of racing, apparently. Maybe there's hope for me after all... Hahah.
 
DNF at Watarase. Sport class may have been a stretch :warau: Riding around in the pack was fine but I just don't have the repeatability to do 700 watts out of every corner. Oh well, a learning experience as to to what to work on next.

Looking forward to Walkride WR Road in October and November, where you don't even have to touch your brakes anywhere on the whole course.
 
nateberkopec said:
DNF at Watarase. Sport class may have been a stretch :warau: Riding around in the pack was fine but I just don't have the repeatability to do 700 watts out of every corner. Oh well, a learning experience as to to what to work on next.

Looking forward to Walkride WR Road in October and November, where you don't even have to touch your brakes anywhere on the whole course.
Click to expand...
I didn't finish Watarase when I did it, either, but I entered Expert for logistical reasons (I wanted to wake up later).
Wasn't able to go this time due to other commitments.
 
@nateberkopec Zero braking? Sounds perfect for some of the Uber Easts riders around here.

Nice course though. One of the easiest to train for too. Almost like YomiuriLand was designed for it!
 
Been a bit shy on here of late.

Spent most of August in the UK and did 60km or so most mornings before breakfast. Nice hilly terrain at tempo pace to get a good solid base.

Back in Japan I got back on the gravel bike and focused on descending skills in preparation for Otaki.

Looking for new motivation now. Not sure if I'll do CX this winter or not.

I'm doing guide rides twice a month though.

One is a gravel tour (CX, gravel or MTB).

The other is a guide ride aimed to get people on bikes and enjoying local culture, nature food, onsen etc.

If you are interested in either, give me a shout!

Andy

Adobe_Express_20230913_2023390_1.png
FB_IMG_1690865703316.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom