joewein
Maximum Pace
- Oct 25, 2011
- 3,532
- 3,693
Having signed up for a brevet ride in May and to celebrate the official start of spring, I am planning a training ride to Tomin no Mori / Okutama-ko for Tuesday, 2012-03-20 (Shunbun no hi / Vernal Equinox Day), assuming the weather will be OK. Right now the forecast is cloudy, 10 or 40% chance of precipitation and I'll decide on Monday night wether to go or not.
Route on MMR:
(EDIT: >> updated latest route 2012-03-19 <<)
I'll be leaving my house in Setagaya at 06:00 (sunrise) to head out from Tokyo on route 7 to Musashi-Itsukaichi (09:00), then climb to Tomin-no-mori, brief stop, over the pass down to Okutama-ko (Lake Okutama) and along the lake shore to find a conbini on the north side for lunch. Then I'll be heading back up to the pass from the lake side, back to Tomin-no-mori, descend to Musashi-Itsukaichi and return to Tokyo the exact same way I came. I expect to be home by sunset.
This will give me 190 km, 2000 m of climbing in 12 hours for the full course, but you can easily vary that to do less.
You can drop in / drop out by train at Musashi-Itsukaichi (for example: 07:44 from Shinjuku => 08:48 Musashi-Itsukaichi) to shorten it by 44 km each end. Or you can go right back down from Tomin-no-mori to skip the lake-side climb. Or you can ride on from the lake after lunch, down to Okutama-station a few km from the conbini to return that way by train or bike.
It's still going to be cold at the top (at about 1200 m), with snow by the side of the road, but I expect the road to be clear. I'm a slow climber just trying to build more endurance on hills. It's not about speed.
Bring:
- warm enough clothes for the descent
- helmet
- spare tube / pump
- wallet for conbini food stops
- bike bag if returning by train
Let me know if you're interested in joining the ride or part of it.
Route on MMR:
(EDIT: >> updated latest route 2012-03-19 <<)
I'll be leaving my house in Setagaya at 06:00 (sunrise) to head out from Tokyo on route 7 to Musashi-Itsukaichi (09:00), then climb to Tomin-no-mori, brief stop, over the pass down to Okutama-ko (Lake Okutama) and along the lake shore to find a conbini on the north side for lunch. Then I'll be heading back up to the pass from the lake side, back to Tomin-no-mori, descend to Musashi-Itsukaichi and return to Tokyo the exact same way I came. I expect to be home by sunset.
This will give me 190 km, 2000 m of climbing in 12 hours for the full course, but you can easily vary that to do less.
You can drop in / drop out by train at Musashi-Itsukaichi (for example: 07:44 from Shinjuku => 08:48 Musashi-Itsukaichi) to shorten it by 44 km each end. Or you can go right back down from Tomin-no-mori to skip the lake-side climb. Or you can ride on from the lake after lunch, down to Okutama-station a few km from the conbini to return that way by train or bike.
It's still going to be cold at the top (at about 1200 m), with snow by the side of the road, but I expect the road to be clear. I'm a slow climber just trying to build more endurance on hills. It's not about speed.
Bring:
- warm enough clothes for the descent
- helmet
- spare tube / pump
- wallet for conbini food stops
- bike bag if returning by train
Let me know if you're interested in joining the ride or part of it.