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Today - August 2012

The second day after my Fuji hike and my legs are still sore. Last year it took 3 days to overcome the soreness of the 1800 m descent. This time it was only 1400 m because of a different route and I was in better shape to start with.

Cycled 26 km to Okubo and back to see Tim (GS Astuto) at the new GS Astuto shop.

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Middle of next week Tim will be leaving for the Haute Route cyclosportive in the alps that begins the following weekend. He will be cycling 780 km over 19 alpine passes, climbing 21,000 m in 7 days, from Geneva in Switzerland to Nice on the French Riviera.

がんばって, Tim! :)
 
Fitted a new fizik ariole seat a friend gave me. I bought a seat post as well so I could keep my old set up intact. I am always nervous about adjusting anything in my set up in fear of returning to the days of knee pain with every ride.

Anyway got it about right and hit the Arakawa TT course for a quick 50km.

Interestingly there was a company graphite designs set up offering test rides on their range of bikes. I stopped for a look but didn't go for a test ride. Why would I? I am on the best frame set around!!
 
Actually yes - I've raced lot of different frame manufacturers with many different geometries, matertials and layouts and you can really feel the difference.

Even between same brands I can feel the difference for example:

Pinarello FP3 - very aggressive frame geometry compared to other brands

Pinarello Prince - FP3 mold is based on the Prince however the Prince has higher grade carbon, more ribbing and slightly different layup in the BB area. Compared with the FP3 there is much less flex in the BB area - very good for heavier riders or riders able to put out higher wattage - although 100g heavier you lose less wattage through flex thus a slightly faster frame.

Pinarello Dogma 60.1 - Next generation with aero seat post, more ribbing and contoured carbon lay up on BB, top tube, down tube and rear stay. Higher grade carbon than the Prince - same weight. Incredibly aggressive especailly if you have previous ridden a FP3 or Prince. A lot stiffer and less forgiving than the FP3 on poor road surfaces - very good cornering and excelleration.

Pinarello Dogma 2 - Only got a short amount of time on this frame but the biggest difference I could feel was on the front braking and cornering due to the new steerer tube and fork layout.

I could list pretty much the whole Fuji range also as well as Canondale - Yamabushi will be able to discribe the difference between his old steed and the latest he has.

As I've said before I do not subscribe to the steel is real fanclub - I've ridden pretty much all materials commercially available, Magnesium, steel, Alu, Carbon even wood but out of all of them the most feeling I've gotten out of a ride is carbon and this is one of the reasons why its used.

Titanium in the form of Titanium alloy is making a come back and Fuji released the Barracuda last year which was a very interesting ride.

But to answer your question directly - yes there is a huge difference and the higher up the product line you go the more so.
 
Interesting!

Quick 90km this morning on Arakawa, I worked hard for a lot of it. As a result I was forced to collapse on the couch for an hour or two after returning.

Interestingly there was a Triathalon taking place on the usual TT course. Judging by the speeds a lot of the competitors seemed to be running on the bike leg (that I saw) The level didn't seem so high. I felt a bit sorry for them all having complete the swimming leg in the Arakawa swamp:confused:
 
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On the third day after Mt Fuji my legs are almost back to normal again :)

Around 17:00 I headed up the Tamagawa, to the Chuo expressway bridge and back. Just before the turn-around point I met Tom, who had just introduced his freshly arrived brother to the Kazahari. A pleasant surprise! I always keep my eyes open for other cyclists in TCC or HFC kit.

Beautiful evening sky with the silhouette of Mt Fuji in the background.

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On the way to Jerusalem

Nice trip yesterday evening in the North Germany Countryside. Sometimes one find strange things out in the plains .... did you know that Adolf's house is only 2 km away from Jerusalem?

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Report (in German) here.
 
as well as Canondale - Yamabushi will be able to discribe the difference between his old steed and the latest he has.

As could I... I went from a CAAD9 to an Evo, and the difference is highly noticeable; The Evo is way stiffer up front, of course a hell of a lot lighter, and the new S.A.V.E. stays are far superior to the hour-glass style of the CAAD9.

So there you go. :)

And yeah, the front braking is way stronger; I guess as a result of beefier design / more exotic materials / my right arm being way stronger after watching the womens' volleyball on the olympics.
 
Took a rest day yesterday and took the family out to Miyagase Dam - actually had a look around the dam complex and also got to witness them open the slues gate which is an impressive sight and air conditioner.

Then we went out to place I was recently shown that is ideal for BBQ and swimming in the river – Kids absolutely loved it, the water was fantastically clean, cool and just utterly refreshing. Even my dog that won't go anywhere near water that could make him clean went for a swim. (he prefers the filthiest, dirtiest mire he can find)

Today I went for a shakedown ride on the new team bike that I will be racing at the JBCF Miyada Criterium this weekend with the Novatec 88's – very fast wheels but sketchy as hell in these winds! Will be taking several different sizes just in case the wind holds.
 
An hour and a half--started off into a mix of light rain/drizzle but that then lightened up.
 
Suffering out of the rain.

I know I should have gone out, but hey, my bike is "WHITE", for Pete's sake!...and it's already been cleaned after the Boso ride.
So instead, I put on the "Sufferfest" DVD, and hit that for the first time!
Absolutely BRUTAL!!!
In truth, you can make it as hard as you want to, but when it tells you to go at 75%, and you know what gear / cadence that relates to on your indoor trainer, sticking with their suggestions is tough.
After I finished, I literally had pools & puddles of sweat all over the floor.
Cheers to James (FarEast) for suggesting that "Sufferfest" video a while ago.
 
Yep - Love them and I'm glad others are enjoying them too! Actually I'm working on my own set of indoor intervals and have some pretty nasty ones that I'm testing out on my classes at Gold's in Yokohama.

Today had another hardcore training session with Mike and this time Fumiki joined us - every climb and certain designated points for sprints. Followed off by a 4 lap mini criterium race that we set up at the end of the ride.
 
Today Mt Fuji kindly agreed to return my legs. It had been 9 days since I climbed the mountain and today for the first time any climbs I cycled up no longer hurt like I was a cycling novice. It felt pretty good for the muscles to work normally again.

I did not expect full recovery to take this long. For two days stairs were painful. On the third day walking was almost normal. It took much longer before my legs were fully recharged.

I am thinking of Tim who for one week from Sunday will be cycling up two to three cols a day, climbing an average of 3000 m day after day.
 
Sunny days up here in Aomori. The son I and went on a couple of twenty km rides these last two days. Had a headwind both days, seabreeze yesterday afternoon and a land breeze this morning (with a two kilometer climb after just two kilometers to warm up). He did really well considering our riding is very sparodic. Then he had a 90 minute soccer training tonight and kept up with the others. I know I wasn't doing that when I was 9.

I also know that he will be leaving me behind in a few more years, I had to tell him to sit down on the saddle as he was standing up to sprint me at 35 kmph. He never told me it was a sprint he just liked the speed.
Not looking forward to that day I can't keep up, actually........... I am!
 
I'm in Trieste, in the far northeast of Italy, on a conference. After some failed attempts I managed to rent a (city) bike for the 8km commute to and from to hotel, which is very pleasant. The weather is excellent between 25 and 30 degrees centigrade and not as humid as Japan. Sometimes I make a small detour through the hills.

Good thing Berlusconi is still around, so there's at least one reason not to want to live here permanently.


This is the view over the city, with the Adriatic sea and behind that Slovenia (which borders Trieste on three sides).
 
Slowly getting my bike legs back after a very long flite to Geneve. Today went out for a Stage 1 recon ride which goes from Geneve to Megeve. I decided to cut short, since I was returning to Geneve and just did the Columbiere climb. Weather was gorgeous and so many cyclists on this famous route! It was awe inspiring to ride over the faded lettering of 'Andy' , 'Contador' , 'Thor' , etc etc. It was really hard to hold back on this climb - but I'm racing this road day after tomorrow , so kept it in check. Fun descent and ride back to Geneve. Ate a yummy panini, liter of fresh Swiss milk and a beer at an outdoor cafe by the lake! Now, that's how I spell 'recovery meal' !!
 
ho hum... All these exotic location reports....

Anyway, not much to report out for a quick run, tried to hook up with the boys heading north on Arakawa but they were nowhere to be found, doubled around and had a go on one of the Arakawa segements, I rode it the other day with Ben 2.7km at 42.9km/hr average. Today i was solo and wanted to see what I could do. I did exactly the same time 3.44sec at a 42.9km/hr average. Only 6 seconds off the KOM will have to have another go next week...:D

Knees are still mildly troubled but I only notice them when I am not really trying... not sure what that means, maybe it means when I am looking for some excuse not to push myself...

Ride on boys and girls...:bike:
 
I did two climbs for the first time today. First, Wada Toge from east side. Second, Kazahari Rindo. Wada was okay, but Kazahari Rindo was a mistake to climb around 1PM in the maximum heat. I'd better be more careful next time.
 
Frustrating day today. Was enjoying an nice, shady off-road descent on my MTB, heard some noise from the back wheel. I slammed on the brakes but it was too late, a big stick had ripped off my derailleur. Now, I usually carry a spare hanger but had foolishly forgotten to put it back in my Camelbak after washing it (the Camelbak). So had to run/push/hobby horse 5 km back to the car and that was the end of the ride :mad:

That'll teach me.

AW.
 
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