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Today - July 2011

onm

Sep 2, 2009
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July then!

Working all day today, and in the middle of rolling out a new project which is going to be good when finished.

Riding; if I finish my work, I am going to head out at night tonight.

Been getting more into night-riding recently, which is good, as it is slightly cooler than being out at 3pm now that things have hotted up.

Looking forward to the Tour De France tomorrow too!
 
Happy Canada Day eh....! :D
 
65km ride up and down the Tsurugawa.
 
65km ride up and down the Tsurugawa.

have they finished the 'construcfion' work on the paths? It used to be a lovely river to ride, but constantly having to figure out which side to be on did my nut in.

Same was true of Sakai river up unitil midway point between Machida and Fujisawa - something of an obstacle course.
 
70km in the heat. Wicked tan lines and loosing weight at a crazy pace.
 
120km with Serguei over Odarumi, Red Chilli, Hashimoto & Onekan. And the silliest tan lines around the neck where I forgot to apply sun screen.
 
have they finished the 'construcfion' work on the paths? It used to be a lovely river to ride, but constantly having to figure out which side to be on did my nut in.

Same was true of Sakai river up unitil midway point between Machida and Fujisawa - something of an obstacle course.

The path on the right side is finished and incredible. I've been using it for sprint training since Jan.

The best way to do it is from Route 1 stay on the left side of the river until the you come to the works just before Tsurumi then cross over to the right side. Follow all the way to Shin Yokohama. There is a section of about 200m of gravel but then it goes back to amazing smooth surface then keep on this side till Tama City.
 
Thanks :)

In fact I live at the other end of the river, and at my closest point it is only 0.5 meter wide! ~ Gates and construction scrambled my brains on my last foray down to the sea (some time last year), but I will certainly have another stab at it soon.

The path on the right side is finished and incredible. I've been using it for sprint training since Jan.

The best way to do it is from Route 1 stay on the left side of the river until the you come to the works just before Tsurumi then cross over to the right side. Follow all the way to Shin Yokohama. There is a section of about 200m of gravel but then it goes back to amazing smooth surface then keep on this side till Tama City.
 
Snoogly..... so you're basically in Tama City?

Basically stay on the left hand side all the way down to Shin Yokohama and then switch sides. You'll have some gravel as you go through the parks on the right side and once cleared you can drop down next to the river and it will take you all the way down to Route 1. I've never ventured further as I always ride the super loop which basically means you then ride route 1 to the Tamagawa at Kawasaki and then ride the river up to TamaShi up over Yomuri Land and back down to the Tsuru and home
 
Actually I am in Machida, very close to where One Kan meets Tank Road. The Tsurumi, or a tributary, is no more than a trickle down the hill from my place.

I used to do my own 'super loop', which involved riding over to Tama > Haneda > backtrack a little and down to Tsurumi (forgot which road ... Maybe 15?) > Tsurumi to home. I will certainly try it again, now I know the Tsurumi is a better prospect :)

A strange thing about where I live is that following a river from my home to the coast, and then home again, is always precisely 52 miles. It doesn't seem to matter which river ... Tama, Tsurumi, Sakai ~ it's always 52 miles!
 
Back in the saddle ride for me today.

Did a 65km loop this morning and it felt pretty good. Some discomfort in my right wrist and some expected general weakness after all the time I spent traveling and healing after my crash.
My training plan for this year went to crap a long time ago.

Looks like I will be spending the second half of July and all of August in Stockholm. I am currently trying to sort out how to get another roadbike back there.
I would be looking at a 100km roundtrip if I commute in Stockholm and the Hybrid bike I keep there doesn't feel very tempting for that.
 
Nice Day!

88 km with 1860 m climbing

Rode out to where the Shine On! "A" group will meet and eat with the "I" group. Going over the Gombei tunnel was nice, but there was alot of branches and rocks strewn about. Saw a baby bear and probably the same one on the way back, it seemed much more scared of me though! Glad momma didnt see me. The ride was fantastic and the heat wasnt so bad, not as bad as yall have in Tokyo! I am pleased with my self as I really wanted to take the tunnel downhill back, but forced myself to go back over the mountain again. Contemplated puting my triple back on my bike....
 
Matsuhime

135k and 1670m climbing. I`ve never done Matsuhime before so it was good to add to the list. I rode up from Kosuge and down to Otsuki; I guess the reason it doesn`t attract so many riders from Tokyo is that it takes ages to get back if you take the train...Otsuki to Shinjuku is over an hour and a half, so a real schlepp, and I was not at my most fragrant after the ride. Super ride up and down, though I wouldn`t want to do it next month...there is no vending machine or water options for miles. What a nice day it was today, just that bit cooler than earlier this week so perhaps the last chance to ride in under 30degrees for a while, it was 22 degrees at the top there.
Graham
 
About 140km over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Pretty good pace on the first two, at least for me, but I took it easy on the way up the canyon cycle path today, came back on the road.

Washed the bike a bit ago, will do the chain & lube stuff, and some other details, later.
 
180km today.

Yokohama up the Tsurugawa toTama City
Up and over Yomuri Land
Tamagawa to Takao
Up and over Takao in 11:54. No records but fast in this heat.
Back roads to the Chilli and then up that nasty 12% climb to Miyagase
Stop for a snack then up and over Yabitsu.
Train from Hadano to Kawasaki to drop something off then a nasty head wind home and back upthe Tsurugawa.

Great ride but Im toast!
 
I've been really enjoying reading Laurent Fignon's biography. The other day I read about how he prepared for his two consecutive Milan~San Remo wins. He basically turned himself inside out on the Wednesday before the race. Mountains in the morning. Motorpacing in the afternoon. Total rest on Thursday and Friday. The body is so shocked that it recovers better than normal. The over compensation theory.

A week before Norikura and I'm looking for a similar thing. Two climbs of Ogami Dake yesterday and the always grueling Happodai HC and Yamakoshi "race" today.

I left Kashiwazaki at 5am and rode in the rain to the start. I did a few digs on Sochi Toge. I have a bit of niggling cold which makes breathing difficult. I won't be lighting up the climb today.

At the start area, others are taking it more seriously. Rollers. Race wheels. This event is really growing. The level of competition is astounding. Difficult to find a tougher hill climb field in only 30 entrants.

I'm not up for the slow / fast aggressive attack, counter attack, style of racing which I know will happen. The first couple of kilometres are fast drafting before the climb steepens. I have a plan to attack from the gun and see how far I can make it. I ask Oono san if he is interested. He thinks we should wait till the climb begins in earnest. I tell him he can have my wheel for as long as I can hammer it and then he should go alone....

Race start. Wait a few moments. Attack. Full gas. Look back. Oono san is on. The gap is growing. A fork in the road. ! Which way is it!? No glasses for hill climbing. Close in on the sign. Take the left at the last possible moment.

The gradient is picking up. I watch the speed drop, 40, 37, 35, 33. It's not fast enough. Look back and can see the pack coming.

"Oono san best go now!"

He goes but the group is too fast.

The pack is being driven by Watanabe san. Fresh from an excellent 55 min time at Tsugaike. He usually makes up ground later in the race but he's flying from the start today. I latch on. Next to Tazaki san on the back.

"Nice attack!"
"It didn't work though!"

Then as his team mate Oono san is caught, Tazaki san makes the inevitable move.

I can't follow. Need time to recover. It takes a while but eventually I find my rhythm. 80 cadence. 180 HR.

Two strong riders to share the work with. The right turn. The road steepens. I can't follow these two pure climbers here. Best to pace myself. On the limit all the way to the finish.

A time of 26 mins. Not my best but not bad considering my condition and the attack.

I realised two things about Norikura:

1.I need to use the compact crankset
2.I need to rest up, time off the bike and time in bed

Two young guns pushed Fuji HC champion Tazaki san into 3rd, which tells you something about the competition.

Next up, the Yamakochi "race". Fast from the gun. I can do a bit on the flat but just don't have it on the two big passes. Too hot. Too tired.

Back down out of the mountains and I have a chance to show my strength. On the flats. Its attack after attack after attack. I can follow the attacks and ride over the top each time. I can't go for long but I can go fast, bloody fast. No-one can beat me on this terrain.

This season I feel I'm evolving as a rider. I always considered myself to be a good endurance rider who could do a bit of damage in the hills. This year though I seem to be more at home making short aggressive attacks on the flats. Maybe I should try a few criteriums instead of the usual hill climb circuit.

Each attack I was scraping the barrel of all I had left. I went so hard on the last one to the car park that I snapped my crank arm.

I never like to brake parts. Especially not my beloved 180 mm cranks. But I'm happy to join the Kashiwazaki Crank Breaking Group, whose only other member is Muruyama san!

Fantastic training today. I need to be careful this week so I can go to Norikura fresh and raring to go.

Sunday's training: Happodai HC (130 km, 1700 m climbing)


A few photos on the blog.

Andy

www.jyonnobitime.com/time
 
July 4th

Waiting around for builders, getting one step closer to sorting out my termite problem. Nevertheless today was mostly about bikes; serviced the kids' bikes, got the insurance creep over to check out my Felt's accident damage, put new silver Conti 4000s on the TimTanium, took some bike photos, generally spruced things up, and then stripped everything off the Felt.

So... anyone want a lightly trashed carbon frame? Free to abusive home! Otherwise it goes in the gomi.

 
Waiting around for builders, getting one step closer to sorting out my termite problem. Nevertheless today was mostly about bikes; serviced the kids' bikes, got the insurance creep over to check out my Felt's accident damage, put new silver Conti 4000s on the TimTanium, took some bike photos, generally spruced things up, and then stripped everything off the Felt.

So... anyone want a lightly trashed carbon frame? Free to abusive home! Otherwise it goes in the gomi.


I'd hang on to that frame until after you get your money out of the insurance guys Mike, just in case! :eek:uch:
 
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