31 May 2010

Misty Mountains

Today was about training on big climbs, to be more prepared for Mount Fuji next week. Otherwise why would you cycle 1 way up a 1100m climb in the cold and wet with warning signs of brown bears at every corner? I would have changed my original plan if Steve wasn't so keen on joining me for the assault on Ootoge and Matsuhime Toge. Steve is fresh from the ride/race he did last week Tokyo to Itoigawa, which was a mere 300km?!? Very impressive, but this is from someone who cycled London to Tokyo a few years back. Not that he ever mentions it of course :)
It was my first time to climb Ootoge (means BIG mountain pass) as its a long way out, or at least its a long way back home. Also, the north side is closed due to many landslides and so is unrideable.

Leaving Otsuki station at 9.30am, we arrived at the start of Ootoge quickly, and this is also good practise for next week, ie no long warm up, just straight into the climb. The start is around 400m, the summit up in the clouds at 1560m. Its also very cold for the end of May, 13 degrees showing on a sign on route 20.
The climb is very gradual, steady 6-7% for the 15.9km climb. Its a quality road, used by many hikers to get to the start of their walks, but today the roads are extremely quiet.
I summit in 1hr 5min 9sec, a long climb indeed.
We get wet from the low cloud on the climb, but going up is hardwork so we are comfortably warm so far. But the descent is back to winter conditions. We both put are bike bags up the front of our jerseys for extra padding from the cold air, Steve has very lightweight disposable gloves for small protection but I suffer freezing hands until the very lowest part of the climb.

The roads are wet, and this sprays up and soaks our feet, this will be more uncomfortable for the rest of the ride so back at the convenience store near Otsuki station we get some new 350yen socks and buy the usual coffee, onigiri, royal jelly and sugary foods. Feels good to have dry feet again!
So soon enough, we arrive at the start of mountain climb 2 for the day, Matsuhime toge (south). Another brute of a climb, 20.5km long, around 900m of vertical ascent though the first section has some significant drops so the total ascent will be greater. Need to check Steves GPS on this one. Anyway, its another long, long climb and great training. Today the lower slopes were quite stunning, the rice fields are filled with water and have recently been planted, the forests are a stunning shade of green.
After the rolling section, the road reaches a large dam and the road follows the eastern banks. To the west, the unpassable north approach to Ootoge tempts cyclocross adventurers and mountainbikers, maybe one day we will cycle past the "danger - bears" signs. It would make a great route, dropping down to the dam instead of all the way back to Otsuki.
Once past the dam, the climb really begins. Soon enough we head up into the clouds. Visibility drops to around 50m, but the effort of climbing keeps us warm in the cool damp air. Theres one 360 degree tunnel on this climb, its like the PS2 game Wipeout if you're descending.

After 1hr 6min 40 I reach the top, take a few photos of the fog and when Steve arrives we descend as safely as possible to Okutama lake, a reservoir and the source of the Tamagawa river. Steve spots a monkey by the roadside on the descent, but its gone by the time I arrive.
We are glad to arrive at the ramen restaurant by the lake in short time. A usual resting place for weekend cyclists and motorbikers, today there are only 2 cold cyclists foolish enough to be out in the mountains in such poor weather. The friendly owner knows us well now, and she adds bread rolls, coffee sweets and tea to our order of mountain vegetable ramen, and puts the heater on by our table. Again, wet socks from the descent and with no shops in these parts, we take to roasting socks on the gas burner! Works a treat and soon toasty socks are back on our feet.

The original plan was to climb a 3rd mountain pass at this stage, but its just too cold and we've climbed enough so the ride around Okutamako and down to Oume will be enough for me. Spot another monkey near Okutama dam, this one is not so camera shy.

Of course, when we reach Oume, Steve has had his second wind and continues on to ride home to north part of Tokyo. Why stop after a mere 110km ride?

Great hill climb training despite the weather, hope we get some sunshine next week, or we're going to be toasting socks somewhere in Kawaguchiko.

15 May 2010

Tokyo Islands Series 2010 - Niijima


The Tokyo Island series kicked off on Saturday in cool but sunny weather on the island of Niijima. The series is 2 standard distance triathlons on Niijima and Oshima in May & June, then a 4.5km open water swim on Niijima in July and finally a 1.5km swim,10km run aquathon on Shikinejima in September. I'll just be doing the triathlons, its a long way and expensive trip just to go for a swim in the sea.

The ferries for the Izu islands leave Osanbashi Pier, Tokyo at 10pm every night and its an impressive sail out under the Rainbow Bridge to see the city by night, especially the Odaiba area. Its worth starting from Tokyo for the view, but you're better off starting from Yokohama an hour and a half later and nearly a thousand yen cheaper, if the ferry timetable allows.


After leaving Yokohama, the ship sails out of Tokyo bay and onwards to Oshima. The beer vending machines make a heavy profit at this time, and the decks are full of surfers, fishermen and tonight triathletes enjoying the ocean air. Except its cold tonight, anyone who can has retired to the seats/cabins below. Only a few Namban Rengo triathletes brave the open top deck as we were quick to grab the only raised and sheltered area on the deck.  Here I met Bevan and Vanessa, they're both Ozzie physios who live in Niseko, Hokkaido where they have a practise (?) as well as one in Setagaya and train for Ironman events in their spare time. Really nice couple, and tomorrow I discover just how fast they really are after their modest talk of various triathlons they've competed in recent years.

The ferry arrives at Oshima 6am, then stops at Toshima before we all get off on Niijima after 8am, feeling surprisingly refreshed and all slept well after a smooth sailing. 

All credit to Phil as hes sorted out a great minshuku for around 24 people near the center of town. But on this island, anywhere is near the center of town. Breakfast is waiting for us, then theres no time to relax before we get all our gear together and rollout to the start/finish area.

Niijima has the best of the beaches on the Izu islands, and the swim area looks impressive with the clear water, sheltered by beach breaks on 2 sides. A quick practise swim is essential, mainly to let you get over the shock that the water is still cool. Its so important to get into the water before the swim start, otherwise the shock of being in cold water together with hundreds of other swimmers can be too much, some people pull out triathlons at this stage due to the quite rational fear of "what am I doing here" taking over.

I initially make a bad start with goggles filling with water, (I must put the goggle straps under my hat for the next tri) and the usual mass start panic, but this only lasts to the first buoy and theres plenty of open water from this point on. 2 laps * 750m, and as always it takes me a long time to get into a rhythm swimming so my second lap was much smoother. A second wave of athletes started 4 mins after my group, and I saw one female yellow capped swimmer sail past me. She was probably the fastest swimmer, 19mins for the 1500m is pretty fast, if only she could ride a bike and run as well....

Transition was smooth, then onto the bike. 3 laps with hairpins, tight corners and a gentle rise over the the island from west coast to the surf beach on the east coast and back, but the wind was strong and unfortunately the section which should have been tailwind was in dense forest which was at least a welcome shade from the sun. I made the most of this bike section, and just went as fast as I could. Not a real course for the tri bars or disc wheeled tri machines, instead my road bike with mavic carbone wheels was about perfect for this course. I was 15th fastest on the bike, but this time includes both transitions, so I could possibly claim a few more places here.

The run was hilly, immediately out of transition it climbs up a hill I would guess 6% gradient with short level sections before reaching a mud running track up in the forest, it was a surprise to find this here where we did one lap before descending back down past the famous glass museum and even more famous outdoor onsen. One more lap to follow, and this descent was great to have at the finish, down hill all the way except for the final 500m. Its tough for everyone, but this makes the course more interesting. Kimm who is a really nice bloke from Korea was doing his first triathlon, and he even ran the second 5km of the run bare foot as his shoes were hurting too much! Theres been lots of talk about barefoot running recently, and Kimm has been practising a lot so his soles are used to it, he said climbing uphill was much easier barefoot than with shoes on. I can believe it, but for now I'll be running with fully clad feet.

Once everyone had finished, we all had a dip in the open air onsen which is a highlight of the island. Its open 24hours a day and is completely free. Overlooking the ocean, its the perfect place to relax after the afternoons exertions. Many small rock formations jut out into and way beyond the shoreline here, to make the scene spectacular. Nice in the evening as well, under a starry sky.

After that, back to the hostel, then down to the town sports hall where the prize giving and part was taking place. Taiko drums were played as we tucked into the fresh ocean food and beer. Everything was quickly consumed apart from the kusaya - fermented fish which is a speciality of the island. I had some on my plate and thought it was tasty, but I couldnt work out where the terrible smell was coming from before I realised.

Vanessa was the fastest female, and Bevan was 3rd although up until the point he went up to the podium we all though he was second. Turned out that a guy in the second wave who started 4 mins later had beaten him by a second into 2nd place! They all received trophies made from Niijima glassware, the special glass is only made here and in one place in Italy.


After the party we managed to do a deal with a dodgy pub-snack type place, which was large enough for us all to allow for karaoke and drinks for 3000yen. The usual songs came up, I selected bicycle race by Queen and by that time I'd had quite enough shochu before the tab on the bar ran out.

Sunday morning our activities continued by cycling to the highest point on the island (over 400m) then going for a swim in the surf beach. Lots of surfers out today, and it was fun swimming through the waves. The swimming wetsuits are great, they almost feel as if you are a small boat, its so easy to paddle away and cut through the water.

In all, it was a great weekend on the island and the standard distance tri was so different to the Miyakojima strongman event. It was nice to be able to go flat out for a decent distance without having to worry about conserving energy. I almost see the ironman events as a power bar picnic on wheels now, but both are enjoyable in different ways.

Now I have 4 weeks to improve my run time before Oshima....

Full Results

5 May 2010

Golden Week 2010

It was the 4th bank holiday in the last 7 days and the last official holiday of Golden Week 2010, although many people will be taking Thursday and Friday off as annual leave. The weather has been great, sunny and warm and today I encountered a mini heatwave in Otsuki - officially 29.5 degrees but I read a thermometer at a ガソリンスタンド saying 32 degrees, summer is on its way.

Its a great time of year to be cycling, as the koinoburi (flying carp wind socks) are out for childrens day on May 5th and make the scenery even more colourful. Often many flying carp are strung from long ropes tied across narrow valleys.

Also the rice fields are now being flooded with water for the first time, and this is good news for frogs. The sound of the frogs croaking in the rice fields is a distinctive sound of this time of year, late spring.

Most of the TCC regulars have taken off to tour parts of Japan over this holiday, but as I was recently in Okinawa I've been based in Tokyo and used the holiday to explore more toge in the Tokyo/Yamanashi/Kanagawa prefectures. Toge means mountain pass, and the kanji 峠 has the components mountain, up and down which is a very iconic representation of the word for mountain pass, and sums up the 3 rides Ive done over the last week.

The first ride was based around Takao san and featured closed road sections east and west Jimba onsen as well as Wada toge north. Small mountain roads are often closed due to landslides, but its easy to get around the gates on a bike and often the roads are in excellent condition and of course traffic free. You often see monkeys on these roads, and some people have encountered wild boar on the deserted roads. Ive done this circuit before, its only 75km but theres no flat, and with 2000m of ascent its an excellent training route which can be done in a morning then get home early.

The second ride took me to new passes, and started with one of the toughest climbs in Tokyo, Kazahari rindo. Again, this rindo is closed to traffic, but several walkers are about on this climb. The main road climb passes Tomin no mori parking area and both routes meet at the top, around 1150m but the rindo route is much steeper, must be over 14% in places I'd guess. Being so high, the cherry trees are still blossoming up here, the mountain tops are dotted with sakura for miles around.

The northern descent of Kazahari toge is my favourite descent in the area. About 15km descent down a smooth, wide road with great views over Okutamako lake below. But it does attract many motorbikers, racing up and down the hill, so its quite scary at the same time. Okutamako is a reservoir, and is the source of the Tamagawa river which flows out to sea beyond Kawasaki and Haneda airport. Below the dam theres a series of long tunnels, I would never cycle up these but downhill is fine. In the photo, just over the bridge is our favourite ramen shop, a great stop to warm up in winter (before the snow) or shelter form the sun the rest of the year.

The target for this ride was Yanagisawa pass (1472m) and Daibusatsurei Toge (1600m) Yanagisawa is the high pass on route 411 continuing west from Okutamako towards Kofu. Its not a steep climb, but it goes on for mile after mile, plenty of traffic but maybe this is holiday traffic for people avoiding the 45km tailbacks on the main highway. At the top you can see Mount Fuji in the distance, and in the soba shop theres a picture of the old 500 yen note (no longer in use), which has a scene of mountain Fuji taken from this mountain pass.  The descent is fast, and passes over some new extremely high flyovers which have scary drops either side, so I just rolled onwards, trying to admire Fuji san straight ahead whilst not going over the edge.

Daibusaturei toge is a tough climb, over 700m straight up with several steep sections. The summit of Daibisaturei is over 2000m and the pass at 1600m  is full of hikers refilling water bottles with mountain spring water and eating at a lodge ready to set off for the summit.

After a very long descent southwards the road eventually reaches route 20, and the choices here are go through a 3km tunnel, climb another 400m pass to avoid the tunnel or get the train back from Kaiyamoto. It felt great to have been over the 3 big climbs, and to save more for the final golden week ride.

So today was another day of exploration starting again in Musashi Itsukaichi with the ascent of Kazahari rindo. After the lake the route was Matsuhime toge, from the north. This climb is relatively easy if long and the shade of the tall pine trees was very welcome. The 18km descent down to Otsuki is very slow at the top as the road has many hairpins, blind corners and narrow sections so it not until below the large dam that the road widens and you can stop worrying about the brakes overheating.

At Otsuki, I was so tempted to take the train back as Id already done 85km and the temperature was around 30 degrees. But after some glucose and caffeine from the combini, and a rest in the shade I summoned up enough strength to head south another 10km then over the final major climb over route 24 out of Tsuru town and over to the Doshi road. This was a nice easy climb, again very long but Id do this one again.

To have the koinoburi pointing your way along the Doshi michi is all you can hope for, as this route drops from Yamaguchiko in the west all the way to Sagamihara, on the foothills before the Tokyo plain. So its downhill with the wind behind, and the total 185km for the day was large, but thoroughly enjoyable, scenic and great to explore more of the distant hills before the summer arrives.