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Today - July 2012

joewein

Maximum Pace
Oct 25, 2011
3,532
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The first half of the year is over.

I rode 210 km to the TCC KOM and back yesterday and felt pretty worn out on the last 50 km. Then I realized my longest ride in June was 47 km and yesterday's ride was more km than the combined total I managed to fit in during the last 5 weeks, when I was busy with travel and work :)

I cycled to Musashiitsukaichi to meet up with Owen, Tomas and Phil, for a ride together to receive the KOM finishers at the top of Matsuhime Toge. My third trip to Tomin no Mori but the first time I followed the Tamagawa riverside all the way to the R7 bridge. Previously I had taken R7 out from north of my home in Setagaya. I must say, I much prefer the riverside. No traffic lights and nicer scenery.

Of course Thomas & Co. dropped me pretty quickly up the hill. Still, I managed to shave 12 minutes off my best Tomin no Mori time, though it only showed up on RWGPS and not on Strava, which registered my time on the "Tomin Mori Full" climb. There I'm 74/82, vs. 121/122 on "都民の森". Even with 12 minutes off, I'd still be 121/122.

We regrouped at the Soba restaurant at Lake Okutama, i.e. Thomas & Co were just getting ready to pay for their finished lunch as I passed the shop... Then we climbed Matsuhime. It's pretty steep for about 7 km after the R18 turnoff. Later on the descent, my rims were getting pretty warm. Never had that on any descent before.

I returned from Matsuhime to Setagaya via Lake Okutama-Ome-Fussa-Tamagawa, which was not the most interesting route but the easiest, given that most of it was downhill or flat. I was very glad about my dynamo hub-powered Lumotec headlight, as the last 2 1/2 hours were after sunset.
 
My friend invite me to go and have a look at the oifuto course. I have never been there and thought it might be fun.

We had a blistering run from itsukaido to oifuto On Kanana dori with a 40km/hr average taking all the bridges and under passes.:eek: I would normally never do that but that is the way my mate rolls and anyway we weren't really holding up the traffic being frequently in the upper 40s.

When we got there we ran a recon lap, there were a lot of other folks out turning laps.

He then made me run one unassisted, well, he was behind goading me!!
36.8km/hr average over the course, there was a small wind blowing and that slowed me on some stretches and sped me up on others.

I tried to folow him after that but I was toasted, I had put pretty much all I had into it especially the last stretch and out of the last corner.

It is a good course, If it wasn't so far away. Its a 98km day for me. with 2.5 laps.

RIde on boys!:bike::bike:
 
I had the slowest/shortest run of anyone today, out on the rain bike in the rain/mist/drizzle for about 75 minutes.

It was fun, getting all messy, kind of like finger-painting as a kid.
 
Having slept a good deal after yesterday's KOM ride, I felt like taking a short ride. Headed out in the afternoon drizzle towards Tsukui-ko Lake via Onekan and back.
Because of the weather, I was wearing the black TCC kit this time, of course.
 
Yesterday I took part in the Fuji55 at Fuji Speedway with a group of friends from my LBS. This was only my 2nd race and 1st proper road race; I tool part in a duathlon last year. Our 5 member team took part in the 160km race.

We got to the vacinity of Fuji Speedway at about 6AM with the hopes of doing some practice laps, but spent an hour and a half waiting along with every other participant to get into the circuit. The organizers definitely need to do a better job of handling the massive amount of cars. Luckily the start was delayed 45 minutes and we did not have to rush too much. At the start most of the circuit was covered in fog and looked like the sky was about to pour rain.

I drew the short straw and took on the first 7 lap stint. The start was just one massive start with all 3 categories (100, 160, 250) going from the get go and it took me about 2 laps before I had any comfortable breathing space. I have absolutely no idea how good my pace was as there was nothing to differentiate all the different riders except for the motorcycle escort in front of the lead group everytime they lapped the field.

While there was a very light mist from the start, after about an hour and half in a decent rain shower start that lasted to just about the end of the race. I took my first wet lap during my second stint fairly cautiously and felt a bit nervous about just how much braking power was lost. After the first lap I adjusted and felt quite confident, the only issue being the slight sting of the rain slamming into my face.

While I did not see any rider-rider crashes there were plently of people pulled off into the grass with punctures, derailled chains, and other issues.

We will not have any idea how well we did for a couple days. While I felt that I did good given my circumstances I knew right away that I have a great deal to learn in turns of handling and strategy. I am dying to get myself a road bike asap, start training, and do some more races. Sorry for the long rant.
 
Speaking of Fuji55, I seems pretty nasty out there. I just seen the news that there is an accident resulted in the death of one rider.

http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0702/TKY201207020112.html

Yesterday I took part in the Fuji55 at Fuji Speedway with a group of friends from my LBS. This was only my 2nd race and 1st proper road race; I tool part in a duathlon last year. Our 5 member team took part in the 160km race.

We got to the vacinity of Fuji Speedway at about 6AM with the hopes of doing some practice laps, but spent an hour and a half waiting along with every other participant to get into the circuit. The organizers definitely need to do a better job of handling the massive amount of cars. Luckily the start was delayed 45 minutes and we did not have to rush too much. At the start most of the circuit was covered in fog and looked like the sky was about to pour rain.

I drew the short straw and took on the first 7 lap stint. The start was just one massive start with all 3 categories (100, 160, 250) going from the get go and it took me about 2 laps before I had any comfortable breathing space. I have absolutely no idea how good my pace was as there was nothing to differentiate all the different riders except for the motorcycle escort in front of the lead group everytime they lapped the field.

While there was a very light mist from the start, after about an hour and half in a decent rain shower start that lasted to just about the end of the race. I took my first wet lap during my second stint fairly cautiously and felt a bit nervous about just how much braking power was lost. After the first lap I adjusted and felt quite confident, the only issue being the slight sting of the rain slamming into my face.

While I did not see any rider-rider crashes there were plently of people pulled off into the grass with punctures, derailled chains, and other issues.

We will not have any idea how well we did for a couple days. While I felt that I did good given my circumstances I knew right away that I have a great deal to learn in turns of handling and strategy. I am dying to get myself a road bike asap, start training, and do some more races. Sorry for the long rant.
 
Got 4 new tyres for the 4 year old car. Paid as much as for an entry level road bike.

Was supposed to take an hour, so ran a 6.8 km loop to/through Komazawa koen and back (with a bit of walking to cool down) while they were doing the work.
 
Wow, RIP. Only 33 y/o. Just a reminder of the dangers associated with doing what we love.

Yeah, that's rotten to hear. Horrible for the family of course, but also teammates...

I suppose the silver lining (if there is one) is that it's rare enough that it makes the news. Has anyone heard of other deaths in amateur races here in the last five years or so? I'm pretty sure I haven't...
 
No deaths, but an injury--a colleague was over on the Uchinada TT course on the day before the racing, had done his practice and according to his account, was riding slowly and just not paying attention. He hit a ditch and fell against a guard rail slicing his thumb (and hand?) open big time--admitted to the uni hospital there in Uchinada for 4 days while they did surgery.

He now has some titanium bits in that hand.
 
Just about to unleash my first training video on my evening training class at Golds Gym in Yokohama - so there maybe some more death reports in the news tomorrow, possibly mine after they lynch me :(
 
I still think cycling is surprisingly safe , or maybe I'm just lucky. Having ridden and raced in the heyday of zero protective gear (helmet? , what helmet?) , no seatbelts, air bags , whatever , I've actually never seen anyone die of a bike wreck. Personally I've been run over, off the road so many times I can't count, over ledges, into trees, into cars. Even one time I rolled a tire on the last turn of a crit , flew off the road, hit a barrier and catapulted into the back of a pickup truck!

I think it's exceedingly rare for cyclists to suffer a fatal accident while racing or training. Sure, quite a few people get hit or hit something or just space out and crash, but there is quite a distance between 'bruised' and 'dead'. Not saying it doesn't happen, but I am surprised how safe cycling is, relatively speaking when you talk about putting a fairly fragile human body on a machine and roll it down the road.
 
rain, rain, go away,
come again some other day...


At least on this side of the country, I squeaked a short ride in this morning, and tomorrow morning is looking good, too.

And at least, at least, the wx and the power outages are not like in D.C. and surrounding areas.
 
Back on the bike

Well, after my little crash last month, I'm still alive! :)

Thanks to Eugen's generosity with the resistance trainer, Ikeda-Williams help transporting it to my training lair, and the doctor's compliance, I was able to get on my bike for the first time in 3 weeks. 1hr, 3 x 2 min(imum) efforts.

I was also able to test the new kit, it seems faster than my previous outfits. :)

Won't be on the road for a few more weeks though. Bone still fragile.

Dave
 
Well, after my little crash last month, I'm still alive! :)

Thanks to Eugen's generosity with the resistance trainer, Ikeda-Williams help transporting it to my training lair, and the doctor's compliance, I was able to get on my bike for the first time in 3 weeks. 1hr, 3 x 2 min(imum) efforts.

I was also able to test the new kit, it seems faster than my previous outfits. :)

Won't be on the road for a few more weeks though. Bone still fragile.

Dave

Good to see you back on the bike Dave. Have a full and speedy recovery.
 
I was able to get on my bike for the first time in 3 weeks.

Happy to see you're on the bike (although stationary) again, Dave.
Hopefully you'll be able to ride out on roads some time soon!!
 
Well, after my little crash last month, I'm still alive! :)

Thanks to Eugen's generosity with the resistance trainer, Ikeda-Williams help transporting it to my training lair, and the doctor's compliance, I was able to get on my bike for the first time in 3 weeks. 1hr, 3 x 2 min(imum) efforts.

I was also able to test the new kit, it seems faster than my previous outfits. :)

Won't be on the road for a few more weeks though. Bone still fragile.

Dave

Looking good there mate!

How is the kit working out for you?
 
I went out to Yomiuri Land for some VO2 work. 3 minutes x 6.
361W
345
352
354
332
338

My target was 340, but was feeling rested. Probably a bit too hard on the 1st effort. Really struggled with the final run.

Ran in to ZenBiker and he promptly blew by me. Sorry for not sticking around and chatting, but I was time limited.
 
Took the car out of the driveway the second time in three days, this time for annual service. Drove 25 minutes each way to/from the Toyota dealer that I could easily have cycled in 15.

Servicing was supposed to take an hour, so I ran to nearby Komazawa koen and did two loops and back, 6.1 km in total. I am amazed how easy running has become after doing enough cycling :D

I found I had driven a mere 2280 km over the last 12 months, compared to 2743 km of cycling in the last 4 months...
 
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