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Today - August 2013

Is it common for strangers to get a free ride? Personally I wouldn't dream of it. Just seems wrong.

This happens to me almost every single time I ride the Arakawa during summer (rarely have it happen during the colder months). Had some old fat guy tail me for ages this morning until I slowed down and forced him to do some work on his own. I wouldn't dream of doing it to someone I don't know - it's too dangerous and, above all, it's f@@king rude!
 
Went up Arima Toge again, today.
Target was average speed of 11kmh+, which I got. Next is sub 35mins for the main climb, and sub 60mins for the whole Arima Toge East Side segment. (Then, eventually, KOM for both).

Nice and cool, today, which was lucky. Lots of cloud cover. Saw a fair few cyclists going up as I was coming down. Most were plodding along wearing haggard expressions, but one guy was positively sprinting up with a smile on his face.
 
I have to (well, I want to) meet friends this evening and be active and lucid during this, so a long ride was out. But since I woke up early, I thought I might as well join the "Half Fast" crew in going up Tamagawa from Setagaya-dori as far as Mutsumi-bashi.

I left the house too late and therefore had a cruising speed of 29 to 32 to get to the meeting point on time. Incredulously, I got rather close to somebody who was alternating between regular and aero bars (I was careful not to get so close that I'd be drafting). Every time he switched to aero, he'd slow down a bit. (Constriction of the chest?) Anyway, my half-ton bike and I overtook him and (amazingly) stayed in front. I overtook some crabon "Look" bike too, and nothing overtook me, haw haw -- oh dear, is this my second childhood or what? As a result I was already sweaty when I met Jayves, joewein and Half-Fast Mike.

I could keep up with them, but only because I knew I'd soon be making a U-turn. For me, they're seven-eighths fast!

Among the pleasures of Tamagawa are the several cement works situated along it. (That's what I think they are, anyway.) They make my thought-trains go all cosmogenic:



We parted directions near Mutsumi-bashi. I then went up to Hamura, crossed the river, tootled around a bit, crossed back, came homeward, stopped at Daikokuya for noodles, came home, saw that I'd gone 97km, decided to take the other bike to HiRoad and back: total a mostly undemanding 107km.

[message copyedited hours after posting, in the interest of lucidity]
 
This happens to me almost every single time I ride the Arakawa during summer (rarely have it happen during the colder months). Had some old fat guy tail me for ages this morning until I slowed down and forced him to do some work on his own. I wouldn't dream of doing it to someone I don't know - it's too dangerous and, above all, it's f@@king rude!
Absolutely!
If someone who I don't know does it to me(don't know why they do since my pace is pedestrian at best,lol) they end up with the contents of my water bottles all over them!
 
I went up to Hamura, crossed the river, tootled around a bit, crossed back, came homeward, stopped at Daikokuya for noodles, came home, saw that I'd gone 97km, decided to take the other bike to HiRoad and back: total a mostly undemanding 107km.
Tell us about what you learned at HiRoad. If nothing else, it should be good for a few contrasting armchair expert opinions....
 
Tell us about what you learned at HiRoad.

My left arm is the same length as my right. My left leg is the same length as my right. As for me otherwise, I think I'm a bit like this bloke:

lady-from-shanghai--Bannister.jpg


or the bloke on the right here:

bigs05.jpg


(Come on: don't cheat by first looking at the URLs. Rack your brains/memory a bit first.) I'm amazed that I can even swing my leg over my bike, let alone ride it. But bumblebees can fly, and I can cycle (after a fashion).

I should stretch more. By this, Aoyama-san means: more than I do already. The stretching I do already not only is zero, it has amounted to zero since the age of 13 or so, when the PE teacher (graciously and sensibly) gave up on me.

The relative positions of pedals and saddle were just about right. The problem is with the choice of handlebar (a lesser matter) and its placement (a greater one). We know what we're going to try; we have to wait till the parts come in.

I noticed a miniature HF jersey, and asked about it. You're spoken of with awe and admiration: the man who destroyed not one but two aluminium frames!
 
A nice 60km ride, combined with hanabi and a new pair of mavic alpine shoes, heavily discounted from 13.000yen down to only 6.000! All in all a good day!
 
I had a crack at Shiraishi again and with steady pacing and encouragement from leicaman, something to aim for from Yamabushi and the image of the human body doing death defying feats from Aron B I managed to beat my previous best time.

We then lost Mark to a party, had pizza and put the world to rights, and continued up some god awful climb with an average grade of what must be double figures. With descending tips for me and PRs all round Aron left us to cycle home. Pete and I then took on a mellow climb and headed for Honjo station where we boarded a train for Ueno and attended to more of the world's misgivings. -159km - 1749m-

Getting home I showered, changed, and headed to an unknown park near the Edo river to watch the fireworks with family and friends.

Not many better days out there!

rchnobO.png
 
Tell us about what you learned at HiRoad. If nothing else, it should be good for a few contrasting armchair expert opinions....

Ah yes, yes, armchair wisdom. I'm appallingly full of that. But before I open the sluices, let me give you this (Sydney Morning Herald), by one Richard Glover.

(Now, where did I put my pipe and slippers?)
 
I got my 160 km+ ride for August in early, thanks to macrophotofly's Half-Fast Cycling Okutama Boob ride (see that thread for report with pictures).

This ride completes one year of "(at least) one century a month":
  • 2012-09-08: 164 km - Tomin no Mori, Wada
  • 2012-09-30: 185 km - Okutama Boob
  • 2012-10-08: 187 km - Tsuru (BF anniversary)
  • 2012-11-04: 177 km - Nichitsu w/ Jose
  • 2012-12-08: 171 km - Miura
  • 2013-01-06: 210 km - BRM106 brevet
  • 2013-02-03: 176 km - Yamanakako
  • 2013-03-09: 207 km - BRM309 brevet
  • 2013-03-24: 167 km - Kuroyamasantaki
  • 2013-04-13: 213 km - BRM413 brevet
  • 2013-05-18: 360 km - BRM518 brevet
  • 2013-06-23: 210 km - Otsuki 4.5 + Matsuhime
  • 2013-06-30: 183 km - Okutama Boob w/ Mike
  • 2013-07-07: 210 km - Fuji 5th stage (sea level to sea level)
  • 2013-07-20: 190 km - Ome Temple Loop
  • 2013-08-03: 188 km - HFC Okutama Boob
(The cycling term "century" is used mostly in the US for a ride of 100 miles or more, with 100 km called a "metric century").

IMG_0784.jpg
 
I noticed a miniature HF jersey, and asked about it. You're spoken of with awe and admiration: the man who destroyed not one but two aluminium frames!
Good to know that the legend lives on. Y's Road Cheapo Antares Cheapo Cr@p Alloy. It just pulls apart. I should take my Cr-Mo Panaracer round sometime and show him - I abuse it so much and it STILL won't break.
 
Ah yes, yes, armchair wisdom. I'm appallingly full of that. But before I open the sluices, let me give you this (Sydney Morning Herald), by one Richard Glover.
"Plentysomethings do not understand the whole bottled water thing. We come from a time in which people would commonly attempt a 20-minute walk in the park without needing to take the sort of water supplies usually associated with Rommel's North African campaign. It seems remarkable to say so, but in 2003 and 2004, human beings could often go for a whole hour, maybe even two, without what is now called "rehydration". On Sydney's more popular walking tracks, people now take a sip from their multiple bottles every three or four steps. What's going on? Have they left a valve open? Could it be that, in the past six or seven years, the human race has sprung some sort of leak?"

Very, very good.
 
Got a fan for the trainer area. Pretty excited about that, certainly needed something in the summer. I had a biggun' fan that I've moved upstairs, so "had" to get a new one.

This one is fancy, has a remocon. how cool is that.

Got it all set up and ready to roll.....



..... Except my new bike doesn't have the cadence/speedo yet.

FAIL.

If you thought a trainer was boring, try it without any real data at all.

Ended up just sorta riding a bit, messing with the gears (some odd moments trying to adjust to the trainer wheel), moved the saddle up a couple mm. I don't have audio/video sorted, so used to things being relatively dull.

Anyway, gave up after a little while, had other things to do in the house.

CBCAC1C2-1065-4E45-B0A2-1D98FB9880E9-1221-0000015F9E408587_zps037e9dfd.jpg
 
Sunday I went for a quick blast up the Arakawa - just a 55km round trip, early doors, before taking my lass out for lunch. Managed to find the same restaurant Tom (Wexford) and his wife was in, by pure chance.

With this (far bank) upstream Arakawa route I am determined to find the North West Passage - basically an alternative set of routes into the countryside and hopefully one amongst them suitable for a future winter HFC ride. As another idea I also want to get far enough up it, to cross over through interesting countryside to the Tamagawa water basin and then come down that river.

Finally I'd also like to find a way back from the river that after leaving it around Shasiogi takes me back into the centre of town through an interesting route that goes through Asaka/Wako and close to Nerima/Nakano. Just an example -

Am I being overly optimistic? Are there any good cycling routes through that part of town?
 
Lol, thanks for the laugh!

[quote="Akiko, post: 68399, member: 1711]Two unrelated pics
[/quote]
 
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