thomas
The Crank Engine
- Nov 1, 2005
- 2,054
- 579
While Travis, Aaron, Paul and Sean were cranking up the hills around Uenohara last Saturday, Philip and I embarked on a swift Yamanakako loop - and swift it was indeed! 
We decided to meet at 6:30AM in Setagaya, but due to a punk near Shiba koen I was a bit late. After pumping up my rear tyre at Philip's place we set out for Yamanashi, taking Routes 246, 16, 412, 517, 35, and 139 (Philip, please correct me - first time I have taken that route). We were really fast and stopped only once at a convenience store along Route 412(?). While we were munching our onigiri we saw a familiar-looking cyclist chasing by - beard, yellow windbreaker, white Anchor bike... Arai-san! Unfortunately, he had passed too fast to notice us.
Roads 517 and 35 were really great! We had sunshine, and the long winding roads with their sharp turns, short yet steep climbs and rewarding descents were truly exciting. The tailwind along Road 35 made us fly with up to 50kph on the flat. We finally reached Lake Yamanaka around 12 o'clock. The last 10km were tough: my derriere suffered from the constant ascent, the numbness made it difficult to keep up with Philip. However, being the gentleman rider he is, Philip waited for me before we triumphantly rode into town tethering our horses right in front of Denny's where we regenerated over heaps of French fries.
We left around 1PM when a light drizzle was setting in. We took Route 413 through Doshi Valley, more or less a constant descent for nearly 40km - fantastic landscape, fantastic speed! Traffic increased in the proximity of Hashimoto: Philip had a close encounter with a car that turned left without warning, I collided with a scooter and got entangled with its rear mirror. Business as usual.
Taking Routes 16 and 246 we reached Setagaya on schedule, at 5PM sharp ending a perfect ride.
Philip, I cannot thank you enough for that textbook tour, it was a great pleasure riding with you!
My stats (door-to-door):
Distance 257,09 km
Av 27,6
Mx 65,7
Tm 9:17'44
We decided to meet at 6:30AM in Setagaya, but due to a punk near Shiba koen I was a bit late. After pumping up my rear tyre at Philip's place we set out for Yamanashi, taking Routes 246, 16, 412, 517, 35, and 139 (Philip, please correct me - first time I have taken that route). We were really fast and stopped only once at a convenience store along Route 412(?). While we were munching our onigiri we saw a familiar-looking cyclist chasing by - beard, yellow windbreaker, white Anchor bike... Arai-san! Unfortunately, he had passed too fast to notice us.
Roads 517 and 35 were really great! We had sunshine, and the long winding roads with their sharp turns, short yet steep climbs and rewarding descents were truly exciting. The tailwind along Road 35 made us fly with up to 50kph on the flat. We finally reached Lake Yamanaka around 12 o'clock. The last 10km were tough: my derriere suffered from the constant ascent, the numbness made it difficult to keep up with Philip. However, being the gentleman rider he is, Philip waited for me before we triumphantly rode into town tethering our horses right in front of Denny's where we regenerated over heaps of French fries.
We left around 1PM when a light drizzle was setting in. We took Route 413 through Doshi Valley, more or less a constant descent for nearly 40km - fantastic landscape, fantastic speed! Traffic increased in the proximity of Hashimoto: Philip had a close encounter with a car that turned left without warning, I collided with a scooter and got entangled with its rear mirror. Business as usual.
Taking Routes 16 and 246 we reached Setagaya on schedule, at 5PM sharp ending a perfect ride.
Philip, I cannot thank you enough for that textbook tour, it was a great pleasure riding with you!
My stats (door-to-door):
Distance 257,09 km
Av 27,6
Mx 65,7
Tm 9:17'44
