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Wada Toge is mine!

Mike

Maximum Pace
Sep 24, 2007
1,066
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This is just a thread to stir up Deej and to throw down the gauntlet to anyone who dares:)

Today I headed out with my head down, disappointed to be riding alone after such a promising route for HT5. For those of you that haven't heard Travis was in an accident last night and the ride was canceled. It was terrible news and I hope you're OK mate!

As soon as I hit the open road I felt the fatigue in my legs from a pretty hard week of training, and thought to myself that today's ride would be brief. The weather was so nice though that I just kept on going and ended up with 140km on the clock. I took R76 over Sagamiko and headed up to Wada Toge for my very first ascent of the sacred hill i.e. Deej's home turf. To be honest as I wasn't feeling great I thought I'd just spin my my way up and for the first 400m was doing exactly that. I knew that Deej was going to be passing through here at some point today, as it's his stomping ground after all and he has to do this kind of like a Lion protecting it's territory, so I was looking behind expecting to see him at any moment and I saw another rider fast approaching. Well that was it, it was on . I opened up the taps and the new Hed wheels made that sweet sound as I accelerated and he was soon a out of sight falling far behind.

The sign below had read it was 5km to the top so I was calculating everything on this. Little did I know that it's actually 5.9 km to the top and by the time I hit the 5km mark I was in massive trouble and to make matters worse it was getting steeper. Let's just say I was glad to finally reach the top and have a seat at the infamous Wada BaBa restaurant, or at least for a few minutes anyway before she told me to buy something or bugger off.

So Deej here is my time

23' 24 (from the West side)

I started timing from the bottom where Simon pointed it out a few weeks ago, so there can be no disputes there! I'd like to add I was seriously fatigued and it's the first time to do this climb so I'm sure I can only improve on this. Am I the Wada Toge Champ or did you go even faster today?
 
This is just a thread to stir up Deej and to throw down the gauntlet to anyone who dares:)


So Deej here is my time

23' 24 (from the West side)

I started timing from the bottom where Simon pointed it out a few weeks ago, so there can be no disputes there! I'd like to add I was seriously fatigued and it's the first time to do this climb so I'm sure I can only improve on this. Am I the Wada Toge Champ or did you go even faster today?
a witness would help cause at the moment its all hear say. good ride report though
 
Nooooooooooooooooooo!

I'm sorry, Mike, but the data just does not compute. You simply couldn't have gone up Wada faster than me. That's ... just not the way things, you know, work.

Seriously, though, that is a damn impressive time. Very well done! 51 seconds faster than me? The gods weep in frustration.

All I can say in my defense is that my 24:15 best was posted after climbing Kazahari-rindo. Then again, you had a fair amount of riding to do before Wada.

Hmm. It appears a gauntlet of sorts has been thrown down. I'll be back!

Oh, by the way, I didn't do Wada today -- I limited my ride to a 140km jaunt to the top of Kazahari-rindo and back.

Deej
 
Kiwisimon, there's a thing called trust, oh and my Polar CS 400 with the data that has been transferred onto the Polar Pro Trainer software on my computer :D

I am actually starting to see some return of form now, as last week on HT4, although Travis got all the credit for Kazahari Rindo, I was kind of saving myself for the usual Kazahari Toge climb, and exploded past Thomas with 1.5 km to go to take the honours. Thomas, you have to vouch for me here!

Deej, I'm sure you'll be back here on this thread with a new BT soon. Like I said, the gauntlet has been thrown down, now let the games begin....although Alan is probably back now and will come along and do a sub 20 min climb :confused:
 
Congratulations Mike :)

Last year (the only time I have ridden with you) you were in great form. Christoph told me he thought you were very strong - and he has only praised one other person to my knowledge. I am really pleased to hear you are back at the top of your game.

No need for witnesses - you boys can resolve who is the best between you at Hotaka - although I think you should also do the hill climb Mike :p:p:p

Philip
 
Thanks Philip. Wow Christoph said that? Coming from him that is a real compliment:)

About the hill climb, last year I found it was really cold on top waiting for the other riders to finish, and I had lactic acid build up giving me very heavy legs the next day. I'm training for one thing, and that is a faster time on the Giro. I don't know know why, but a Pure hill climb race just doesn't appeal to me at all. It's not the pain or anything like that, it's just that it doesn't include the skills of descending, bunch riding or just drilling it on the flats, all of which I love.
 
Congratulation Mike! Charles, Sergey and I also rode up Wada-toge today. Sergey was the King of the Hill. After two days of commuting to Saitama (186 and 158km) I just couldn't keep up with him at the 13% stretch... :warau:

Btw Deej, what's your official record up Odarumi-toge? I clocked 12'58 this morning, Sergey 13'22 (and there is still room for improvement)... :D
 
I look forward to going back and going for a sub-23 minutes. I think I'm weakest in the approach to the steeper part. I have a hard time finding my rhythm in the undulating hills. That said, if I gun it in the approach, I may have nothing left for the steeps.

As for my form today (since everyone is dying to know), it was so-so. My legs felt strong, but I've been saddled with a cold all week (seems to be going around my kids' school), and I just felt a little off -- headachey, earachey, general funkiness. Still, my time up Kazahari-rindo was only 37 seconds slower than last week, when I was feeling great. I thought I was going to be slower. I think that knowing the climb helped me pace myself better, thus limiting my time losses.

Oh, and BTW, I fixed my front derailleur problem with a visit to the excellent Positivo bike shop, where the owner -- Nagai-san -- was a mechanic for the Fassa Bortolo pro cycling squad at the Tour de France (working on bikes for Fabian Cancellara, among other big names) and other races. The guy is fast and extremely good. And nice, too.

Deej

P.S. Philip, we're overdue for a ride, man!
 
Btw Deej, what's your official record up Odarumi-toge? I clocked 12'58 this morning, Sergey 13'22 (and there is still room for improvement)... :D

Agh! I'm getting killed today! My best time on Odarumi is 13 minutes even -- two seconds slower than you! Though I think you were in the low 12-minute range when we rode up with Tom and his friends.

Has the world gone mad? :D

Deej
 
P.S. Philip, we're overdue for a ride, man![/QUOTE]

I agree completely. When are we gonna see your return mate? And thanks Thomas. Did you guys record your times up Wada Toge tdy? Deej that the world has gone mad comment is hilarious :)
 
My best time on Odarumi

for the first time today was 17:31 which I think is not too shabby for an overweight old fart on meds nursing a hangover. I am extremely proud of this :(

As for Wada well.....I did have to stop and admire the view on two occasions but so what ! I managed to get up the thing which was the main objective.

That is one nasty hill for sure.....

chazzer
 
Philip, we're overdue for a ride, man!

I lost another training week this week (isn't there a more elegant way of saying this in English) - still recovering from my last triathlon :( The feeling of fatigue remains and have done no riding at all. Indeed, today I helped my wife do the gardening :mad: I hope to finally get started training again Monday???

I have entered a marathon next weekend in Niigata. Therefore my earliest ride will be next Monday :confused: I should count myself lucky, at least I am not in hospital like Travis. And, once I do get started my fitness should return quickly enough.

Philip
 
Still, my time up Kazahari-rindo was only 37 seconds slower than last week

What's your total time up Kazahiri Deej? I've only just managed to do it without stopping but would like something to aim for.

Also, where do you begin the timing?
 
What's your total time up Kazahiri Deej? I've only just managed to do it without stopping but would like something to aim for.

Also, where do you begin the timing?

Hey Lee.

I've only climbed Kazahari-rindo three times. The first time I was so out of form that I couldn't do it in one go. The second time -- one week ago -- I did it in 37:21. Yesterday, I did it in 37:58.

I start the clock where route 205 appears to end and there is a little gate by the left side of the road with various signs mentioning how the road ahead becomes impassible for cars. It's before the road becomes really steep. Does that make any sense?

EDIT: When I said "It's before the road becomes really steep," I meant that, after I start the clock, the road doesn't become steep until about three or four minutes into the ride, when the first switchback comes. I forgot to check the distance, but it's about 6.5km.

Deej
 
Toge Baka

For you information, there is a Japanese website where you can register your time for climbing a number of Hill climbs/Toge around Tokyo :

http://wada-climb.s184.xrea.com/index.php?hill=2

You can only register for Wada, Yabitsu, Shiraishi and one more I don't know yet. The navigation is a little bit tricky, choose the hill climb from the right upper corner drop down first, then press the bottom to the right of it and then "Ranking" (second from the left) in the top line. This will bring you to the actual time listing.

The fastest time for Wada is now 13:39 minutes, which I must admit, is hard to believe. But there are a lot of riders who can do it in the 16 - 18 minutes span. For Wada, the start point is at the last bus stop on the Jimba road.

I would estimate a distance of 3.7 km and 346 m elevation difference.
My own fastest time was 21:56 minutes, Tom did it in slightly than 18 minutes, so I believe you should be able to go definitely for times below 20 minutes.

On our POSITIVO ESPRESSO website we have included on the right side a list of so called TOGE BAKA, hill climbs we do frequently. You can find the start and end points, distance, elevation difference and best times of the riders for a number of frequent climbs we do :

Otarumi (from both sides, but we start at the Takao station 7-eleven)
Wada
Tomin no mori
Jerome Hill [The secret hill climb of the Positivo Espresso Team]
Yanagizawa,
Matsuhima
Yabitsu
Hakone
and some others.

If you would like to get your times included, please let me know.

In addition, there is a good list of interesting hill climbs in the area on this site:

http://cchp.dion.jp/cgi-bin/passguide.cgi?area=3&sort=3#areatop
 
Thanks for the great links, mob. For a hyper-competitive guy like me (who is caged in an office all week), this kind of stuff is fun.

By the way, the Wada times that Mike and I are talking about are based on climbs from the west side (where routes 521 and 522 intersect), not the east. Though perhaps you already knew this. I have yet to try Wada from the shorter, steeper side. I must do that soon. Sub-20? Hell, I'm going for sub-17!

Also, I'm curious about why the Positivo gang times the Odarumi climb from the 7-Eleven, as there are a few stoplights between that point and the top of the pass. It seems the need to stop or slow down would greatly affect the times. To avoid this problem, I start the clock from the FamilyMart, which essentially affords a stop-free climb and thus a "purer" time, if you will.

Thanks again for the Toge Baka info!

Deej
 
Sub-17 no prob for you DEEJ...

I'm going for sub-17!

Also, I'm curious about why the Positivo gang times the Odarumi climb from the 7-Eleven, as there are a few stoplights between that point and the top of the pass. It seems the need to stop or slow down would greatly affect the times. To avoid this problem, I start the clock from the FamilyMart, which essentially affords a stop-free climb and thus a "purer" time, if you will.

Thanks again for the Toge Baka info!

Deej

I believe sub-17 is a piece of cake for Philip and Christoph too and of course for Thomas and Travis when they are in their element!

Why start timing from the 7/11? good question...I guess this is part of the Positivo Espresso tradition...some of its more brazen riders like the added thrill and adrenaline rush produced by the stoplights (I'm not saying they are actually crossing them:() and the near-misses with the occasional obasan-driven car exiting the parking on the left. Another reason perhaps is that the selection of rolls, buns and other cyclist feed at the 7/11 is better than at the FamilyMart :confused: !

I fully agree though :cool:, stressfree and safer Otarumi time trials ought to start from the FamilyMart.

(PS: I like to refer to the Takao hill as Otarumi-toge 大垂水峠 - with "t" - as opposed to Odarumi-toge 大弛峠 - with "d" like in deej - the fierce 2360m heigh mountain pass bordering on Nagano Pref.)
 
Sub-17 no prob for you DEEJ...

I like the way you talk, Tom.

Why start timing from the 7/11? good question...I guess this is part of the Positivo Espresso tradition...some of its more brazen riders like the added thrill and adrenaline rush produced by the stoplights (I'm not saying they are actually crossing them:() and the near-misses with the occasional obasan-driven car exiting the parking on the left. Another reason perhaps is that the selection of rolls, buns and other cyclist feed at the 7/11 is better than at the FamilyMart :confused: !

Yeah, tradition often trumps other factors. I agree about the better fare at 7-11. That's why I also stop there for goodies before starting my clock at the FamilyMart.

(PS: I like to refer to the Takao hill as Otarumi-toge 大垂水峠 - with "t" - as opposed to Odarumi-toge 大弛峠 - with "d" like in deej - the fierce 2360m heigh mountain pass bordering on Nagano Pref.)

I've been wondering about that. I've seen it spelled both ways so often that I forgot which is the "proper" one. From now on, I shall fall squarely in the "t" -- like in Tom -- camp.

Deej
 
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