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Today Today - February 2016

Had a fun commute to work today. Left early to go do a quick lap around Tama Lake and at a set of lights in Tachikawa I over shifted and scratched up the spokes on my new wheels ;( The spokes on the drive side should be okay as is but I guess I'll carry a spare just in case. About 1 km down the road my right shift cable decided to give out, which left me riding around on a 3 speed bike to work. So I guess tonight will be a night of emergency repairs. On the up side this gives me some motivation to give my other bike some TLC and use it to commute and take advantage of the clear weather.
 
@andywood that looks like amazing fun. Wish we had that kind of snow around here, although it would make running and cycling pretty much impossible.

I'm hardly on the bike at the moment. I've been mainly concentrating on running as I have the Yokohama marathon coming up but once that is over, I plan to get back on the bike in a big way and hopefully be able to shift some of this running fitness over to the bike. Just a very short one for me today with my dog. She is turning out to be a great running companion. Just wish she wasn't so damn fast. Sub 35min 10k this morning with her and she hardly did more than a trot. She finds it way too easy. Wouldn't like to begin to think what her VO2 Max is.
 
@andywood that looks like amazing fun. Wish we had that kind of snow around here, although it would make running and cycling pretty much impossible.

I'm hardly on the bike at the moment. I've been mainly concentrating on running as I have the Yokohama marathon coming up but once that is over, I plan to get back on the bike in a big way and hopefully be able to shift some of this running fitness over to the bike. Just a very short one for me today with my dog. She is turning out to be a great running companion. Just wish she wasn't so damn fast. Sub 35min 10k this morning with her and she hardly did more than a trot. She finds it way too easy. Wouldn't like to begin to think what her VO2 Max is.

Just got in from a run myself. A sub 35 minute 4km!

I do a couple a week.

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Remove the snow, the boots, the waterproofs and the backpack and I'll be flying come spring!

Good luck with the marathon!

Andy

www.jyonnobitime.com/time
 
I've taken a part on my evening commute on Arakawa to check what it's like at night, turns out - perfectly rideable with volt400 at maximum output. I wouldn't push it, but cruising around 30 km/h is fine. I initially wanted to incorporate this into my commute when the days get longer, but will start as soon as tomorrow - and keep at it as often as I can to add mileage (and stay away from cars).
 
Okay, so today I was commuting on my road bike close to Higashi Matsudo Station and I got pulled over by a young cop for running a stop sign (this is basically in an area with no cars, people, buildings, or anything except farms).
He wasn't pissed at me, but he did explain to me that cyclists are regarded as light vehicles, and as such, I should've come to a complete halt rather than just rolling through it at 5 km/hr.
I told him that I was completely oblivious to that as my wife had told me that there are no rules for bicycle riders in Japan (true story).
He was all cool. We had a good chat, and I even asked him, "If I had been riding a mama-chari, would I still be under the same rule?". He confirmed that with a yes.
I let him know that now that I knew, I would stop in the future.
Trivial, but I thought it was worth a mention on here.
 
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Adding "holding umbrellas" and "not having a rear light on a public road at night" to the list....
 
Adding "holding umbrellas" and "not having a rear light on a public road at night" to the list....
Strangely, you don't need a rear light. Only a red relector to be legal. Those flashing front lights are also technically illegal. Front light should be a solid beam 2 meters ahead.
 
A beautiful day here today but the roads aren't clear for cycling.


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Rollers, rollers, rollers.

Last night I did some high cadence drills.

The theory is that leg efficiency and pedaling technique can be improved.

Like the FTP intervals, I try to make these workouts harder each time. This can be in the number of intervals, length of intervals or pedaling speed.

Last night I did some high speed / short duration:

140 rpm x 30 s x 15

https://www.strava.com/activities/484897798

Above all variety in training is most important as winter continues...

Andy

www.jyonnobitime.com/time
 
Skiing cancelled tomorrow so two bike rides booked in to replace - early morning skip along the Arakawa and then join HFC for a lunchtime cruise along the Tama to say goodbye to one of the guys heading back to the US. Sunday promises to be bike construction heaven with a trip out to Omiya to pick up my new cranks followed by putting all the hydraulics on the new frame. And finally get round to watching Star Wars in the early evening... I have hope for this weekend coming

(only Wiggle has let me down by so far not delivering the bling black and green chain within 10 days - fingers crossed for tomorrow) ....:eek:yes I did say black and green
 
Cake Day

I started cycling regularly on 5th February 2005.

Until the previous day I had been a confirmed motorcycle commuter, but a minor accident put a hole in my BMW's engine casing and there would be a three-month wait for the new part. How shall I get to work every day? So I dusted off my Anchor mountain bike - it was ten years old at that point, and is now 21 - and cycled to work for the first time. It was hard that first day. The next day was easier. The next day it rained but I had my motorcycle waterproofs!

A few months later my behaviour was noted by a colleague who introduced me to the Half-Fast Cyclists. My first ride was an 80-km Arakawa run, and although it was hard work keeping up with their road bikes in the late July heat, I managed it.

The very next day I went to Y's Akasaka and ordered my first road bike. The staff member who sorted me out was Hiroyasu Aoyama now trading as Sports Bike HiRoad. That first bike was Y's own brand Antares aluminium frame, and what a weak piece of pooh it was. Within three months my pedaling tore the BB off. The same thing happened to its replacement. Aoyama-san then banned me from aluminium frames so I paid the extra for my Panasonic steel frame that is still going strong today.

So much has happened, and so much more will happen. Thank you all for being a part of it.
 
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Cake Day

I started cycling regularly on 5th February 2005.

Until the previous day I had been a confirmed motorcycle commuter, but a minor accident put a hole in my BMW's engine casing and there would be a three-month wait for the new part. How shall I get to work every day? So I dusted off my Anchor mountain bike - it was ten years old at that point, and is now 21 - and cycled to work for the first time. It was hard that first day. The next day was easier. The next day it rained but I had my motorcycle waterproofs!

A few months later my behaviour was noted by a colleague who introduced me to the Half-Fast Cyclists. My first ride was an 80-km Arakawa run, and although it was hard work keeping up with their road bikes in the late July heat, I managed it.

The very next day I went to Y's Akasaka and ordered my first road bike. The staff member who sorted me out was Hiroyasu Aoyama now trading as Sports Bike HiRoad. That first bike was Y's own brand Antares aluminium frame, and what a weak piece of pooh it was. Within three months my pedaling tore the BB off. The same thing happened to it's replacement. Aoyama-san then banned me from aluminium frames so I paid the extra for my Panasonic steel frame that is still going strong today.

So much has happened, and so much more will happen. Thank you all for being a part of it.
Happy 11th anniversary.
 
Wow, from BMW to BMX to BMC eh @Half-Fast Mike ? My "regular" cycling only began a year or so ago, when I got my Wilier (Jan 10 it was I think). This Jan I cycled 1,000 km, which would have been unthinkable to me until quite recently actually. With tomorrow's scheduled ride I will have around 300 km for this week alone. As Mike said:
So much has happened, and so much more will happen.
Both this forum and HFC were extremely helpful and encouraging in so many ways. Arigato yo!
 
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Mt. Hachikoku again this morning. All my climbs this year have been solo.

First time to get the chance to climb with cycling teammates.

Like cycling it's really hard on the front. Blazing a trail.

It's easy on the back. If this was a race I'd sit 4th man and then snowball them all in the sprint at the end.

It's not a race though, it's training. We each take our pulls.

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The snow is heavy after a day of rain yesterday. Climbing in knee deep treacle.

I get the youngest guy, Yamada san, on the front when the climb kicks up. He makes the staircase for the rest of us. Keeled over at the top. Like he's just KOMed the local toge. Good training for Tokyo~Enduro!

Niigata champ Adachi san pulls for long stretches. He shows he's got good winter fitness. In the summer it's difficult to hold his wheel. Today it's difficult to follow in his foot prints...

3h and over 100 TSS.

This was a big training week for me this week. I hit my 20h target. Lots of intensity work in there too.

Looking forward to resting up for the rest of the weekend...

Andy

www.jyonnobitime.com/time
 
It is February already? Feck.

January flew by. Work ate all my time. I reckon I've one more day of slogging left and then it's back in the saddle. Can't wait.
 
Surprised myself to find the self-contamination thing around Shimano hydraulic brakes wasn't just something I was dreaming. I was just casually reading a few reviews over the weekend and came across it being mentioned by Bike Radar here in this review of the XTR groupset (which uses the same caliper as the Road 785 system) -

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/c...iew-shimano-shimano-xtr-m9000-groupset-48986/
"...our suspicion is that the pistons seep just enough oil that if left untouched for a length of time will affect braking performance. We say without proof, as removing the pads and replacing them with a bleed block and locking the lever in place over night reveals no sign of leakage. Under regular use, this oil is insignificant, unnoticeable and burns off immediately. However, don't touch the bike for two to three weeks and you return to a noisy and bite-less brake. It'll still stop you, but it lacks aggression.."

Exactly what I've been finding with my 785s for the last year. If I use my other bike for a weekend or two and then come back to my disc bike, the pads seem to have got contaminated; braking is dire and it takes a couple of hours to get them back to a decent level. Obviously with the Neil Pryde sold off now and the new disc bike being built up as my main one, it won't get left as long between rides.
 
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