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Official Ride Tour de Kusatsu! (13th TCC Tour)

ウソでは困ります。:mad: :mad:
何があってもtour de 宮古島のレポートとギャラリーへの写真のアップをお願いします!!!!!!!!!!


あるのは本当らしいけど、今年か来年かは知りませんよ~:happy:

しかし…大会前なのに…風邪引いた…:cry:
 
あるのは本当らしいけど、今年か来年かは知りませんよ~:happy:

しかし…大会前なのに…風邪引いた…:cry:
そうですか。では一刻も早く風邪を治して、トライアスロンがんばってください。レポート楽しみにしてますよ~。:D
 
Full report - Stage 1: Getting there!

Because this ride was held over two days and involved so many people, I've decided to write this report in 3 parts:

Stage 1: Getting there.
Stage 2: The Race.
Stage 3: A moment of Foolishness.

Before I start writing "Stage 1", here's a quick overview:

This was the first time TCC has had a tour in co-operation with another group/team:
Alpen-Marker (AM) – A group of mostly Japanese bicycle riders.
The previous two years I had done the "Tour de Kusatsu", it was always with these guys – before I joined TCC.
I thought, "why not get everyone together, and share the experience"?
This year, there were eight of their members. Three of them are also TCC members (Four, including me), so there's some overlap starting to happen.

Harada-san
Arai-san
Shimura-san
Hirayama-san
Tada-san
Kanbayashi "Taro" (TCC)
Shibayama-san "SHIBAGON" (TCC)
Yoko Ibe (TCC)

I've known most of them for about 3 years - When I got my very first puncture, they were there to show me how to fix it! As well as teaching me many other important lessons.

Anyway, their 8 riders joined our nine riders:

Thomas
Daan
Sora-san
Pete
Arai-san
Yasuhiro-san
Nobu-chan
Shinobu-san
Travis (Me – Tora-san)

That's it for the introductions. So here's how the weekend went…


Stage 1: Getting there!

We had all arranged to meet at Ueno station by 9:30.
6 people from TCC, along with 5 of the Alpen-Marker (AM) guys/gals.
11 of us altogether; with the remaining six people coming later, either by car or on the next train.
We arrived at Naganohara-Kusatsu-Guchi station at 12:28, where we met Arai-san (TCC), and Pete - they drove up there earlier – Thank you Arai-san, for taking our bags up in your car! That made the climb a lot easier.
The weather was perfect, and the vote was unanimous to ride to Kusatsu from the station – 19km, according to the signs, mostly uphill.
Thomas took off up the hill, so Daan and I had to chase him down and tell him to stop and wait for everybody else (Thank you, Daan – I never would have caught Thomas without your help).
In the group behind us, there was a mechanical problem which the Alpen-Marker guys helped fix. Thomas and I went back down the hill to look for everyone, but I didn't see them and ended up going 1km further down the hill than necessary.
Once we were finally all back together, the rest of the ride was uneventful – slight ups & downs for the last 5km to Kusatsu.
We stopped at a 7-11 in Kusatsu to have a bite to eat, then we headed to our respective hotels to check-in (Alpen-Marker, to the Hotel Takamatsu; And TCC, to the Kouakan).
We rode up to the "Tengu-yama Rest-house" and checked in for the race – picking up our race-numbers & our electronic time-check-chips.
On the way back down to the "Ryokan", we stopped at another 7-11 to buy supplies for the pre-race celebrations – a couple o' beers, etc… You know!

After a very nice dinner at the Ryokan, we moved into the next room (our "living room" as it were) to drink the rest of our hooch, talk about race tactics, and generally have a good time.
Thomas asked to see my map, and came up with the daftest idea ever conceived – read more about it in "Stage 3: A moment of foolishness"!

Anyway, we were all in bed by 12:30am – Yasuhiro & I had to pick a comatose Sora-san up off the "living room" floor and carry him to his bed…
>Yasuhiro: Thanks for your help too! Sora-san is really heavy!!!
Travis
 
Full report - Stage 2: The Race

The race!

The morning started well. We all woke up around 6-6:30, to a beautiful sunny day with no wind.
We had breakfast at 7:00, and then everyone did there own thing for an hour or so;
Some went in the onsen again, while others packed their bags & got everything ready for the race. We put the things we didn't need into Arai-san's car, checked out of the ryokan just before 9:00, pumped up our tyres and started rolling up to the starting area at the Tengu-yama rest-house (where we'd checked in the previous day).

The "champion" category was first to start rolling; right on 10:00!
Of the 17 of us in the combined TCC / Alpen-Marker group, only Harada-san went in that class! Harada is definitely the FASTEST guy up the hills that I know!
Out of 61 starters, he came 14th, with a time of 41:48!!! Only 4 minutes behind the overall winner. Awesome effort, Harada!

Our category rolled out at 10:20; nearly 900 riders heading down into the Kusatsu town-centre very slowly. All the townspeople came out to watch and cheer us on as we rolled by – we weren't being timed yet, so it was nice and leisurely.
From there we rode back up to Tengu-yama on a different road to complete a 5km warm-up loop. Then the race began… After turning right, past our original starting point, we crossed over the official starting line listening for the "beep" that tells you, "The clock is ticking, and you are now being timed!"


There are as many versions of how the race went as there are riders who went in it.
But here's mine:

If I have a motto for how to ride up a hill now, it's this: "Follow your heart!"
I bought my "heart-rate-monitor" (H.R.M.) about 2 years ago, and at first I just used it as toy – seeing how high I could push the ol' ticker.
This time though, I finally figured out how to use it wisely.
It's all I looked at while I was riding.

From all the training rides I did prior to the race, I was able to figure out my absolute maximum sustainable heart-rate over a similar distance, and all I did on the way up was to keep checking to see if it was in that range.
Everybody is DIFFERENT, so these figures are only for me:

Rest: 65bpm.
Walking: 90bpm.
Easy riding: 150-165bpm.
Max: 204bpm.

But, high exertion for about an hour: 174-177bpm. And that's where I was at nearly the whole time. A few times it went up to 184bpm, and I'd have to slow down. Then, once or twice it fell to 172bpm, and I had to speed up a bit.

I crossed the start-line with Arai-san (AM), and Shimura-san (AM), and Arai took off hard and left Shimura & I in his dust! Then Shimura did the same thing, and went up ahead. I could see him up there never more than 50m in front of me for the first 3km, and then I noticed him starting to slow down.
I sat behind him for about 500m and checked my H.R. I was looking good, so I went past him and never saw him again until the top.

After that, I just settled into the grind for the first half of the climb. I passed a lot of people, but I also got passed by some guys who were flying!
There were about 4 or five jerseys I saw regularly on a number of occasions – but they were passing me at one point, and then I would pass them again a little bit later on…(cat & mouse).

On the last half of the climb though, a row of 4 guys came past me, eeeever so slowly, and I thought, "I can jump on this train!" A few times we all had to split up and separate to get through the crowd, but the five of us were all basically going at the same speed, so it was just a matter of going as fast as the lead guy, and not losing that wheel.

About 3km from the top, two guys dropped off and there were only 3 of us left.
The wind was picking up by then, and with all the switchbacks the headwind in some places was fierce! I cannot tell a lie; I sat behind those two guys, and was glad that I wasn't on the front during those stretches.
Hanging with those two guys, my H.R. went up to an uncomfortable 178bpm, but I had to hold it!

About 800m from the goal, the both of them jumped and left me behind – I wasn't going to pick it up until I was within 500m.
But pick it up, I did! I went past about 5-6 guys on the way through to the line on a slight up-hill with a headwind, and hit a reasonable 33km/h.

Average speed: 16.21km/h. Not too shabby. And I ended up being only 40 seconds behind Arai-san (the guy who went hard right at the start).
I was 3rd out of the 17 riders in our combined group, and 129th out of 879 which put me in the top 15%.
I didn't make the 45 minute barrier that I was aiming for, but I can't be disappointed with my over-all effort!
Next year: 45!

Travis
 
Full report - Stage 3: A moment of Foolishness!

The ride back!

It all started the night before the race, in the "living room" where we were all drinking… Thomas asked to see my map (I always carry one).
So Thomas said to me, "how far is it from here back to Tokyo?"
My immediate response was, "You're a bloody idiot! Don't even think about it!"
But Thomas is really persistent….. and in my drunken stupor, I think I committed myself to a suicide run……….

After the race, most of the TCC team headed to the "onsen", and then we all went to a RAMEN shop – Everybody had "cha-shu-men" – Ramen (noodle soup) with slices of pork on top.

Four of us rolled out at 4:30.
Sora-san and Shinobu-san were catching the train, and decided to ride back with us as far as the station, so we headed down towards there – great down-hill.
We said good-bye to them at the station, they got on the train, but Thomas & I kept rolling.
Arai-san came past us (with Pete & Nobu) in his car about 5km later…

62km from Kusatsu (10km NW of Maebashi), Thomas & I finally found a convenience-store and had something to eat. We were both starving!
We had to check the map again in Maebashi (about 8pm), but we were soon rolling again.

We stopped once more for food about 20km north-west of Omiya at about 11:15, but by then we were only 70km from home, and the smell of victory was in the air! There would be no more long stops from there.

We'd had an almost constant head-wind for most of the way, and it was really getting to me – I was starting to snap at Thomas for dragging me into such a stupid endeavour! There were also a couple of very long narrow overhead "by-passes" that we had to take, and one or 2 of the truck-drivers didn't seem too happy with us being there.

However, after Omiya (12:45am), the wind changed directions (or just stopped??), and our speed went up considerably – I work in Urawa twice a week, and usually ride my bike there and back, commuting – so, once we were on roads that I pretty much know like the back of my hand, I was ecstatic!!! – "It's only 30km home from here…"

We crossed Arakawa (the border between Saitama & Tokyo) just before 2am, and continued down route 17, until we got to Sugamo.
We parted company there – Thomas went straight down "Hakusan-dori" towards his place, and I turned left on "Shinobazu-dori" towards Nishi-Nippori, and finally my apartment in Shibamata.

I got back home at 3:15am, with 191km on the clock! (Add 35km for the race and all, and my total for the day was 226km).
The Av.Spd: 25.6km/h is mostly due to the long, fast downhill from Kusatsu.
And I actually had a bigger sense of achievement from the ride back than I had from my race results.

>Thomas: My opinion of you hasn't changed a bit… You're a masochistic bastard!:D
BUT! You are still one of the BEST people to ride with that I know!
That's my round-about way of saying; "Thank you! It was an awesome weekend of riding!":bike: :bike:
UNBELIEVEABLE! But we did it!!!
Next week, we ride up to Aomori; And I couldn't ask for a better riding partner!
Travis
 
Anyway, we were all in bed by 12:30am – Yasuhiro & I had to pick a comatose Sora-san up off the "living room" floor and carry him to his bed…
>Yasuhiro: Thanks for your help too! Sora-san is really heavy!!!

> Yasuhiro & I had to pick a comatose Sora-san up off .......
:eek: :pray: :eek: :pray: :eek: :pray: :eek: :pray: :eek:
 
Thank you!

初めての山登りレースに参加しましたが、すごっく楽しかった!
それに・・・温泉、素晴らしい景色、素敵な民宿、皆さんとの楽しい時間。
癖になりそうです:p
また、来年も!!
 
Thanks!

The reports are all finished, so please read them at your leisure!

A lot of people have written replies to thank me for "organizing" the ride.
But I can't take all the credit!
1. >Sora-san: Thank you for organizing the accommodation - Kouakan!
It was a great place - the food was delicious, and the onsen was wonderful.
2. >Thomas: As far as riding companions go, few are better... Seriously, Thank you!
3. >The Alpen-marker guys/gals: あなた方が我々のTCCの人達と仲良くし、皆さんとお話してくれたりし、お蔭様で皆が楽しみました。本当にありがとうね!
4. >Aaron "Pucci": Even though you didn't join us us for this race, you were my stout training partner for the weeks prior to the race - I did seven serious training rides, and you were there for 4 of them! Any victories I had... Half of them are yours!
5. >God: Thank You for the perfect weather You gave us two days in a row - Saturday & Sunday - It's a small thing, but very much appreciated!

Speaking of weather, we really were lucky this year! I've heard nightmare-ish stories from people who did the same race in absolutely atrocious conditions - heavy freezing rain, with a nasty side-wind to boot!
That sh*t will slow you down!

Anyway, hope to see you all (and maybe a few more people) there again next year!
Yoroshiku! Travis
 
Hi Tora-san and all,

> Tora-san,
thank you for your full reports!
I really enjoyed to read them.:D

> to all,
So I just added header and track to Tora-san's full reports, and make an official report. Check please!
=> https://tokyocycle.com/tcc_tours/12th_tour_de_kusatsu/kusatsu2007_report_web.swf [Report]
=> https://tokyocycle.com/tcc_tours/12th_tour_de_kusatsu/tourdekusatsu2007.htm [Track by Google Maps]

トラさんのフルレポートにヘッダーと地図を追加してオフィシャルレポートを作成しました。ご確認ください。
=> https://tokyocycle.com/tcc_tours/12th_tour_de_kusatsu/kusatsu2007_report_web.swf [レポート]
=> https://tokyocycle.com/tcc_tours/12th_tour_de_kusatsu/tourdekusatsu2007.htm [轍 by Google Maps]



P.S.
This is a message from Kouakan (興亜館):

私共をご利用いただきましてありがとうございました。
皆さんの日ごろの行いの良さからか、とても良いお天気で良かった
ですね。月曜日は雨でとても寒い一日でした。

また来年も皆さんがさわやかなお顔を見せてくれるのを楽しみに
しております。(またご利用いただけるようでしたら、早めに
ご連絡下さい。)

それではクラブの皆さんに、よろしくお伝え下さい。
********************************
377-1711
群馬県吾妻郡草津町大字草津311-4
興亜館
TEL 0279-88-3342
HP http://www.kusatu.com/kouakan/
*********************************
 
Hi Tora-san and all,

> Tora-san,
thank you for your full reports!
I really enjoyed to read them.:D

> to all,
So I just added header and track to Tora-san's full reports, and make an official report. Check please!
=> https://tokyocycle.com/tcc_tours/12th_tour_de_kusatsu/kusatsu2007_report_web.swf [Report]
=> https://tokyocycle.com/tcc_tours/12th_tour_de_kusatsu/tourdekusatsu2007.htm [Track by Google Maps]

トラさんのフルレポートにヘッダーと地図を追加してオフィシャルレポートを作成しました。ご確認ください。
=> https://tokyocycle.com/tcc_tours/12th_tour_de_kusatsu/kusatsu2007_report_web.swf [レポート]
=> https://tokyocycle.com/tcc_tours/12th_tour_de_kusatsu/tourdekusatsu2007.htm [轍 by Google Maps]



P.S.
This is a message from Kouakan (興亜館):

私共をご利用いただきましてありがとうございました。
皆さんの日ごろの行いの良さからか、とても良いお天気で良かった
ですね。月曜日は雨でとても寒い一日でした。

また来年も皆さんがさわやかなお顔を見せてくれるのを楽しみに
しております。(またご利用いただけるようでしたら、早めに
ご連絡下さい。)

それではクラブの皆さんに、よろしくお伝え下さい。
********************************
377-1711
群馬県吾妻郡草津町大字草津311-4
興亜館
TEL 0279-88-3342
HP http://www.kusatu.com/kouakan/
*********************************
Hello all,

I've read all the reports, really really nice!!
looks like you guys had a wonderful ride. :D
 
Thanks to everyone for these fantastic reports! TCC's first Tour de Kusatsu will remain unforgettable.


Thomas: My opinion of you hasn't changed a bit… You're a masochistic bastard! BUT! You are still one of the BEST people to ride with that I know!

Travis, I take your words as a compliment.

I am deeply grateful you have shared that lunacy with me, it was inspiring and rewarding to suffer with you through these nearly 200km. That anko ball you gave me on Route 17 saved my life. I will never forget that gesture.

Any time, mate. :D
 
The ride back!

It all started the night before the race, in the "living room" where we were all drinking… Thomas asked to see my map (I always carry one).
So Thomas said to me, "how far is it from here back to Tokyo?"
My immediate response was, "You're a bloody idiot! Don't even think about it!"
But Thomas is really persistent….. and in my drunken stupor, I think I committed myself to a suicide run……….

UNBELIEVEABLE! But we did it!!!

Tora-san and Thomas

Thank you for the report of stage 3. I knew you would have done it.

I really think you guys are CRAZY. but I LOVE you guys and envy you.:)

What you have done stimulates my bike life. I do not think my age has anything to be excused. I must challenge Kusatu again to get better time. :bike: :bike: Hahaha!

Minoru Arai
 
Travis長文レポートありがとう♪
Sora-さん お会計モロモロありがとうございます。
そして沢山の写真をUPしていただいた皆様!ありがとうございます。

楽しかった思い出も、時間が経過するとどうしても
記憶があやふやになる今日この頃 心から感謝です:D
 
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