Kawasaki Monthly Marathon

The Tamagawa river is a great place to run in Tokyo, away from the traffic and road junctions. Just miles and miles of track from almost Haneda airport up to Fuchu. On the last Sunday of each month, the Tamagawa running club hold a very well organised running meet. Its on the Kanagawa side of the river between Gasubashi and Route 1 bridge, the start and finish is on a cinder running track. There are 3 events 3km, 5km and 10km (and a 1km childrens race at 9.15!) starting from 9.30am November-March, an hour earlier April-October. The first time you join, the cost is 1300yen and after that you just pay 1000yen. You receive 2 cotton race numbers, to keep and bring to future races and the new required item is a barcode so that they can quickly record finishing order after the race.

Despite living close by and wanting to join more of these events, I've only managed to attend one of these events in the past year due to other commitments. It was back in July when the heat and humidity had already risen to uncomfortable levels - and for that reason, the 10km event was cancelled on that Sunday as it was in August and September, again due to the heat. I remember the agony of doing the 3km, then struggling in the 5km event wanting it to finish and drink as much water as possible.

This morning the conditions were much more favourable for running, clear skies, temperature between 2-4 degrees. The sun was shining making it feel warm, but running into the northerly wind meant hat and gloves had to be worn. On the return leg, heading south, the hat and gloves came off.

This morning I had the intention of running the 10km event as part of a longer training run in preparation for the Tokyo marathon which is only 4 weeks away now. I ran down to the track and registered, still thinking it wouldn't be long till the 10km start, and I could do some more warm up jogging until the start. It was nearly 9.30, but the 10km wasn't until 10.30, so too long to warm up what else to do but join in the 3km, and the 5km events in the meantime?

I made an easy pace for the 3km as I didn't want to be standing around too long for the next event, then the 5km was another slower than normal pace in preparation for the 10km. They allow all the 5km runners to finish before the start of the final race, so it was around 10.34 before the track was clear and we could get into the main event. Similar numbers of people for each race (about 250?) but most people are here to focus on one of the distances. Not sure how many do all 3, my guess would be about half.

Happy to record 42m 54s, then run back home via route 1 bridge. In the end I think this odd interval training of 5-3-5-10-7 worked out well I was on my feet for 3hrs 20mins and many people say time on the feet is great preparation for a marathon. Doing these intervals made the morning interesting as well, no need to carry an ipod to numb the boredom of a multi hour training run. Hope I can build on this in the next 2 weeks with long weekend training runs.

Hatsumode in Chichibu

Hatsumode means first temple visit of the year, and for Japanese people this is an important ritual. So I thought it timely to try out a ride I'd wanted to do all of last year, but due mainly to training for events and the weather, it never happened.

So today we managed to gather 3 henro who have completed the 88 temple pilgrimage of Shikoku, ready to sample the 34 kannon temple tour of Chichibu. Both Steve and Warren completed the Shikoku tour as their first bike tours, Steve several years ago whilst Warren was fresh from November 2010. Could have been 4 henro, but Gunnar was playing bike polo, as you do.

We gathered at Kumagaya station from 8:15. Quite a distance from Chichibu, but the alternative is another long and expensive train journey which would reduce cycling time so we started with a nice roll out along the Arakawa river. Could be the best section of cycle path around, deserted, new, and with views to Chichibu mountains, the southern Alps and Mount Fuji straight ahead as we cycled west. 

We had to leave the Arakawa after a few km, but route 81 was very quiet and was a decent route out. The original idea was to keep on the 82 close to the Arakawa around the ridge of mountains then down to temple 1. Nice and flat. But after 20km, the itchings to head up something hilly were too overpowering and we went for the 'shortcut'. Initially we found an amazing road, winding its way uphill past frozen rice fields before ending at a quarry - clearly we had made a wrong turn, so we checked the maps before heading back down the hill and on to the correct 'shortcut'. The climb up to 361 was much steeper than expected, a great rindo but open to traffic - not that there was any traffic. We had made it up to the highest point on the ridgeline road which passes over Nihongi pass, and we were rewarded with great views to the west.  It took another steep descent to get back to the 82, a nice diversion but the climb was worthwhile for the views and the exploration.

Finally we reached the Chichibu town sign at the top of a small toge, and from here it was a roll down to temple 1, Shimabuji. Funny thing was the first thing we saw was the familiar face of the small wooden boy holding the name of the temple and temple number. The same little guy who was at every one of the Shikoku temples - he must have the monopoly on temple pilgrimage information boards in Japan.The temple was well presented, and had a shop selling everything the pilgrim would require, from the white clothing and hats to candles, incense and books to collect the stamps of each temple. I bought one as a souvenir, even though I dont expect to complete this meguri.
The 34 temples are spread out over a distance of 100km, but to visit them all by bike would take at least 2 days, longer depending on how long you wish to stop at each temple.

We were getting hungry, but decided to make the short 2km journey up a small valley to temple 2, Shinpukuji, before lunch. The hunger probably added to the pain of this short journey, the climb was very steep (18%?) and sustained right up to the path the to the temple. The temple sits by itself, with no office or shop, the nokyocho is down the equally steep descent back towards route 11.

After a larger than expected lunch, (but polished off without difficulty) time was getting on and we agreed to make a stop at temple 4, Kinshouji before heading for the train. This temple is famous for the statue of a nursing mother Kannon often referred to as Blessed Virgin Mary Kannon, and has a garden with more than 1300 sculptures.
To the right is the entry in my nokyocho for Kinshouji.


Of note for future - the ride back, up and over Sadamine toge was a gentle climb but a very long and fast descent all the (43km) back to Kumagaya, so a recommended end of ride before getting the speedy Shonan Shinjuku line all the way home.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/26831604/

Hakone Ekiden 2011

The Hakone Ekiden is a relay race from Tokyo to Hakone and back, competed by 20 universities in the Kanto area at the start of each new year. Its of great national excitement, like the basketball contest in America or the boat race in UK, and receives live TV coverage both days and headlines in the newspapers after the event. Also, the 108km from start to finish are lined with flag waving Japanese, and the roads are cleared of traffic while the race passes.

Otemachi (21.4km)  Tsurumi (23.3km) Totsuka (21.5km) Hiratsuka (18.5km) Odawara (23.4km) Hakone Ashinoko

Clear roads from Tokyo to Hakone? Sounds too good to be true, and for the last 4 years members of the Tokyo Cycling Club and Positivo Espresso have sought the golden path ahead of the runners to varying success.

The rolling road closure means that the road is only closed up to ~20 mins before the runners arrive, then reopens as soon as the last runner and support vehicle has passed. So the aim of the ride is to be in very light traffic before the road closure, but not so far into the closure that the police (2-3 at EVERY junction) or volunteers ask/force us to leave the road.

This year Ludwig was arranging the meeting times and locations, with German precision and accuracy. Ludwig, Travis, James (fixie) and Andreas began at the very start in Otemachi. I joined at Kamata, and we were sprinting from traffic light to traffic light all the way to Yokohama where we met David and James Machin, ready for more sprints between lights to beyond Totsuka where Mike was waiting to join the TCC ranks.

We weren't the only cyclists on the ride, several groups of Japanese cyclists were ahead of the race as well. Unlikely that many of the cyclists were cycling the whole distance, but some put up a good flight and enjoyed sailing along the roads with Fuji san ahead of us. Along the coast would prove to be our best view of the mountain all day, and as usual Fuji san did not disappoint for providing an impressive and awesome view, now fully covered in snow down to the tree line.

I have to say the roads were not as free of traffic as I had dreamt of, but certainly light and free of heavy trucks so this made for a very pleasant ride out to the coast then along the ocean to Odawara. Here we had a combini stop, and in schedule we departed for the final leg and once rolling we realised that this ride is really a massive hill climb after a long warm up. The road climbs to 864m before descending the final 3-4 km down to the lake. This is where the competitive spirit in everyone was flowing, I latched onto a group of around 12 Japanese cyclists who were travelling at speed up the at times steep slopes, zigzagging between stationary cars. One guy was managing to take his full disc wheeled bike up so fast that he bumped into a mountainbiker, then fell onto a stationary car before carrying on.

We all regrouped (except one) immediately after the finish, and met the PE boys at this point, before heading a few km along the lake to the michi no eki restaurant. I was surprised and then again not surprised at how little interest they had in seeing the runners finish, but it was chilly waiting around so I did not hang around to take any photos and was more than happy to spread out on the floor and sup some hot sansai udon.

After lunch, the PE boys stuck with tradition and sailed down route 20 to Atami ready for a posh ride on the shinkansen back to Tokyo. Ludwig was in a more exploratory mood and so we climbed another 250m up to the top of Toyo Tyres Turnpike, then descended route 75 down to Yugawara and the coast. This was a fantastic road, smooth, not too steep with great views over the Izu peninsula and the ocean, it seemed to go on for ever. As James said, it was almost boring the length of this descent!


Another great road (740) rolled parallel to the main 135 up to Odawara, this was another great piece of road and we were soon back to Odawara and packing the bikes up for the Odakyu or Tokaido trains back home.

A great start to 2011, fast riding on quiet roads with nice folk from TCC and PE, hope to get a few more rides like this in before the heavy snow arrives - or maybe it wont reach us this winter?

Tokyo Bay Enduro

Back in September, Sergey created the post on the Tokyo Cycling Club website for the clubs traditional end of year event and bonenkai (party!) and since that date the riders registered, and even the teams registered have changed many times. I was able to take up the place of Yair after his hospitalization in team C along with Travis of sea-to-summit fame and the more than capable Doug, who I met for the first time on the day.

5 of us met at Kisarazu station in Chiba, for a 9:30 roll out to the new Sodegaura race track, just 17km away. Nice warm up, and by the time we had arrived Doug and his family had secured a nice spot in the pits for us and Alan and Naomi were already there having driven over by car.

The circuit is 2.4km long, a short but noticeable rise after the start to a right hand bend, then downhill to a long right hand bend which came back uphill and would prove to be the toughest section of the course for me, as riders accelerated out of the bend and gaps opened in the pack. After that, long flat bends before a long right hand bend and an uphil sprint past the pit lane up to the long finish straight.

We started off 11:30 for the 4 hour enduro, I was the first to go in TCC-C team. The first few laps were mayhem, I saw several crashes, bikes bouncing in the air and yellow flags waving to warn us of the danger ahead. At one point I thought they were wanting to bring the safety car back, as riders were all over the track to the left of the pit entrance.  Another crash caused meant I was on the wrong side of a small gap, but this was easy to sprint across at this early stage. The trouble is this race is open to all levels. With experienced amateur riders (some had radio back to pit crew!) driving the peloton at 50kph+, suddenly there are small children, large men, anime mamacharis in the midst of the chase. It would be a shame to limit the entry, as its a good experience of bike racing, but I would recommend an 18 certificate for this event at least!

At one point someone took a chunk out of my derailleur with their front wheel. On closer inspection after the event the damage was not much more than a scratch, but it could have been so much worse.

So my prerace plan was going well. This was to stay upright and stay with the lead group for the first 50 mins, then put in some extra effort for the next 30 mins to see what was possible. In fact, all that was possible was to move towards the front of the leading pack, and very briefly ride at the very front. It was clear that after an hour there were fresh legs appearing in the pack, several of these were attempting to ride off the front in pursuit style but none were succseful for long.



I could have stuck with the pace a while longer, but certainly couldnt chase down all these attacks so I was happy to give my 3,2,1 lap remaining signals and on my final lap accelarate up the pit lane to pass the timing chip ankle strap on to Doug. Average speed was 40.1kph including the 2 safety laps, which weren't so slow or safe. I was level with the main pack at this stage, but still a few seconds would pass before Doug could start rolling. He did a great job and sprinted down the main pack, making contact within the lap so all was going well.

Somewhere in Dougs turn the peloton really began to split, and so when Travis went out for the final effort it was difficult to see which group was actually in the lead, who was chasing or who had been lapped.  Still, Travis made a great sprint on the final lap, which proved to be very valuable as he grabbed 8th place for our team, a great result to finish in the top 10. The B team of Alan, Sergey, Gunnar finished 5th and the girls got second place, so a respectable day for the TCC.

After the race, Phil took us on a nice quiet as possible route to Chiba and to some well earned beer and food. Thanks for this Phil, and to all who took part in this exciting, great day out in Chiba.

Kawaguchiko Round the Lake Race

The start of winter for me over the past few years has started with a visit to Kawaguchiko  and the round the lake running race, or for those who insist two laps and full marathon. This year was the 35th event, and its certainly as popular as ever - the race filled almost immediately after internet applications opened back in August. After that, the accommodation fills up just as fast when people realise they have a spot for the race. Theres only a limited number of hotels around the lake, and all within walking distance of the start/finish charge 2-3 times the normal rate.
The first time I visited the lake we hired a car, then I suffered food poisoning and couldnt run and we were stuck in traffic the whole journey home. After that, we travelled by coach with the same problem on the run home, the next year we took the train which of course had no delays but was relatively expensive and took a long time.
So this year would be different, partly as Satoko had decided not to run due to little training. I couldnt be bothered with hiring a car, or being stuck in traffic in a bus again, so it had to be cycle out and back. The weather was looking good, so the grand duathlon challenge was on.
I took the opportunity to ride westwards along route 35, which is an excellent road running parallel and between the bumpy route 20 to the north and the mountainous Doshi michi to the south. 35 is a great road, wide, perfect condition and very little traffic. The one main climb up to the tunnel is extremely gentle, then theres a nice descent down to the Otsuki/Fujiyoshida road. After the distance, the climb up to Fujiyoshida seemed much longer and steeper than 35, and certainly wasnt as pleasant due to the heavier traffic.
Felt good to arrive at the registration, get my number then grab some yaki soba at a restaurant with a great view over the lake.

I'd arranged over a few emails to stay with Mike (Namban newbie) and his friends in Pension Woodstock to the north west side of the lake. They'd arrive by car and train but I couldnt wait around in the cold and arrived at the pension first. Not much to do out here, I tried all the settings on the massage chair before they arrived. Once they arrived, we went out in search of food and found a nice place a short drive away to put away a few unagi don and a few beers.  The game of cards was cut short by the pension owner at 10, very useful as it would be an early start for the race.

5am wake, eat my bento then Mike, Rory and Pete left in the car in search of a car park near the start. As I was on my bike I had the luxury of staying in the warmth as long as possible. I definitely recommend this option, staying several km from the start then rolling in on a bike. Saves a lot of money.

The start of this race has a tight bottleneck between the main start and the larger car parking area. If you're ahead of this bottleneck, you'll be running in no time, but behind this mark will take half an hour to cross the start line. This is the only weak point of the race organization, its impossible for people to line up in expected finish order as there is no space either side of the lining up area. So with this in mind I squeezed in by clambering over the small fence in the middle of the bottleneck, so I could get a speedy start.

7:30 start, and into the first 2km my legs were feeling tire. I was worried at this point, this could be a very long day after my cycle out the previous day. So I made sure to take a power gel early, after about 7km.  I dont normally take these for a run, but as this weekend was a bit more than the average run, I planned to take a couple during the run to keep me going.

The run is fantastic on a good day like this. First you head up directly towards Mount Fuji up a wide dual carriageway before heading back down to the lake. This section is really just about making up the distance. Once by the lake, its either one or two laps of a very flat course. Mount Fuji is visible from about 80% of the course, and the autumn colours of the maple trees here are later than in previous years as its been so warm lately. Before I knew it, the half marathon was up, then there was just another 6km for me to the finish. I said hello to Anthony and Brian from Namban Rengo, they were both doing the full marathon so good luck to them.

So I finished in 2hr 5min, this was a complete surprise as its 10 mins faster than Ive done in previous years, was the ride out a good warmup, or was it the power gels that carried me the distance? Maybe the half marathons Ive done through the summer have helped as well.
I took full advantage of the early finish, and took a bath on the top floor of one of those souvenir shops by the finish. All these shops seem to have a souvenir floor, food floor, general space then a floor with a bath! So no need to stay in an expensive hotel with an onsen, however nice it is. Today was about having a decent bath then getting some dry clothes on before the ride home. Binned my running gear here, that would save me a fair amount of weight.

After a ride up to Fujiyoshida, past the Torii entrance to the Fuji shrines and round the back of Fuji highland, theres a steady climb up to Yamanakako for the final majestic views of Fuji san for the day. After that, the short climb then the long, long descent of Doshi michi all the way home. Cant beat this road when homeward bound, especially with a tail wind.

In summary, this weekend was similar to similar to the sea to summit adventure, yet seemed altogether more civilized and comfortable. Still,  240km of cycling, 27km running for the weekend, will be nice to take a rest in the office on Monday.

Kamakura Trail Run with Namban Rengo

When organising a trail run, its unlikely you would take into account the location of the US president, or the ministers and leaders of any country for that matter. But even with the APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation) in town, we hadn't figured this would affect our run around the hills surrounding the historic and beautiful town of Kamakura.
The first hindrance was the lack of lockers at the train station, none available for security reasons. Lockers were removed long ago in the UK and US, for fear of bombs being planted etc but they're so useful when you're in a new town, for all kinds of travellers. Instead we had to plead with the restaurant owner to the west of the station to leave our bags with them, we'd be eating there later so a safe choice.
After that the APEC leaders decided to delay our run further by blocking the main road up to Tsuruhachimangu shrine. Before they could pass, the police had closed the roads to all traffic. Large crowds of people were standing along the road waiting to see who or what would pass by, was it Obama? Lots of excitement but in the end the 3 white buses with some bureaucrats waving out the rear window was quite an anticlimax, and an added delay to the start of our run.

Heading out east from the main temple, Tsuruhachimangu, to Zuisenji, then the start of the Tenen hiking trail. The trail is steep in places, a lot of the climbing is at walking pace and certainly where there are steps. But most of it is in dense vegetation so it very quickly feels like you're in a deep forest, even though you're obviously only minutes away from a large city.

I've walked this course before on a day with clearer skies when you can see across the ocean to Mount Fuji, but even today its really nice to be able to stop at the several viewpoints and admire the scenery. Lots of other running groups out today, but Namban Rengo have the largest group, 15 rengo out in force.

The tenen trail ends (or starts) at Kenchoji temple, and if you run east to west then this means you get into the temple grounds for free, which we felt was paid for by the hard effort we had put in to get this far. The group split in half here, one group heading back to the station for a 10km run, the other half crossing the road and heading northwards to pick up the Daibutsu trail for a km or so. We dropped down to Zeniarai Benten shrine for a habitual stop. This temple has a small cave at the rear of the ground where people wash money (coins and notes) in the spring water. By doing this, the money is said to pay back more than its face value, so a real bargain if it comes true.
The Daibutsu trail leads of course to the famous big buddha of Kamakura, but the feeling in the group at this stage was to head to the coast and away from the tiring ups and downs of the trails. After the delayed start, it was clear we would not get back to the restaurant for the booked time if we stuck to the hills.
The sea looked so inviting, and Peter took the plunge whilst we continued towards Enoshima and back, Jay wouldn't be happy if we had covered less than 20km for the day.


After a quick sento which was too hot to be relaxing, but at least we were clean, we met the others in the okinomiyaki restaurant. Most of us were pretty tired by this stage, so when faced with do-it-yourself meal we could easily have sat back and let some enthusiastic person do the cooking. Instead, it was left to me to cook and order some food, which was quite a disaster as the other table seemed to have a mountain of food, whilst we had a few strips of meat and some bean sprouts. And with Kylie being a vegetarian, she even couldnt eat the vegetarian omelette after someone sprinkled the dried bonito fish flakes over them. But at least the beers were flowing and it was all good fun.

On leaving the restaurant John was missing his shoes! Never heard of this before in all the places over the years Ive been in Japan, that someone has taken, by accident or otherwise, a pair of shoes from the entrance to a building. The restaurant offered a pair of slippers, several sizes too small, but a spare pair of running shoes was supplied by Peter for the journey home. I wonder if the shoes will one day be returned to their rightful owner, as often happens in this country?

Thanks Jay for orgainising this trail run, it was a great day out with the Namban Rengo running club.

Tour de Nagano

Day 1 Chino to Bessho Onsen, via Venus Line  118km
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/jp/nagano/965128827023978500

I'd been planning this trip for several weeks, missing the previous public holiday with a cold and bad weather so when with the upcoming RIKEN founders day approaching and good weather for at least Saturday and Sunday this weekend looked like the last chance of the year to head for the high mountains before the snow arrives. Yes, the RIKEN foundation day - many companies in Japan will have an extra holiday for their own foundation, some days its good to work for RIKEN.

Steve was keen to cycle the Venus line, and my route to Nagano which was originally planned for the Monday but it made sense to switch days as rain was forecast to move in Sunday afternoon and linger around on Monday.

So we boarded the first Super Azusa from Shinjuku (boarding at Tachikawa) for Chino in Nagano. Theres not much space on these trains for bikes, it was a real squeeze, especially when these early trains are full of hikers with many backpacks.

On stepping off the train in Chino, it was clear the sunny skies would keep us warm today, so no need for leggings and short sleeve would be fine, at least down here. The Venus line starts in Chino, and we had a long but very pleasant climb up to altitude at 1760m for the first pass, the autumn colours were magnificent all the the way up. The route would take us to a height of over 2000m eventually and undulates over many kilometers above the treeline so giving stunning views across to the northern Japan alps, and south to the Yatsugatake range. Its not often you get above the treeline in Japan, so this route is particularly attractive and very popular. For us, traffic was not a problem, we hardly noticed it probably to absorbed in the mountain vistas and concentrating on the steady climbing and thrilling descents.

We passed Lake Shirakaba, a nice spot which has been spoiled to some degree by the sprawling roller coaster and other funfair rides. All lakes in Japan have swan shaped boats, but here I think we found the mother of all swan boats, out of the water for repairs.

The road from here has the unfortunate name Kurumayama - Car Mountain! Besides the name, it was one of the most spectacular sections of the road, we decided to stop at the high point just above 1800m for some soba and a good chance to photograph the panoramic views.

Several more descents at high speed, more climbs before we approached the final climb of the day up to Utsukushigahara highlands. We knew the climb was approaching, but we were descending further and further, it really was one of those times that you didnt want the road to go down any further, as this would just increase the distance and pain of the final climb! It was a stunning sight when it came into view, it really looked more like Alpe d'huez with the number of hairpin bends than the long rolling climbs we had done so far this day. Again, the clear skies and 紅葉(red leaves) took our minds off the pain of the ascent.

At the top, a restaurant is at the southern end of Utsukushigahara highland. To the north is a hotel situated at the highest point, and in between is a stone track. Earlier in the year Mike and Ludwig had cycled this track to connect across the highland, so we took their advice that the path is rideable. In truth it was OK, but I wouldnt recommend it for road bikes. It doesnt get much better after the hotel either, perhaps worse as you're going downhill, and only at the visitors center do you pick up full sealed road again. You'd be better off descending the 464, but then you'd miss the views, the famous cows on the pasture(?) and the chance to descend the full length of route 62, which really was fast and exciting. But sure was cold!

We originally intended to find a small mountain road which would keep us at altitude and climb over the top of the the 254 tunnel, the main east-west road beneath us. Its marked on the map, but its clear that many of these small roads were never maintained and we didnt even notice the start of our intended route, it must have been completely overgrown. Worth noting that other small tracks, which appear as 'white' roads on the normal road maps are just stone tracks, suitable for 4 wheel drive or mountain bike only. Would be very nice to explore this area on mountain bike another day for sure.

Missing the intended route was a blessing in disguise, as we descended from over 2000m which was now feeling very cold and the daylight was fading. Windbreakers, long gloves did the job, but my shorts felt cold on this descent! Still, the temperature rose as we descended. Through one long toll tunnel (¥20 for bikes!) and after that we could smell burning bundles of rice stems, the remains of the harvest, as we rolled towards Bessho Onsen.

We stayed at the very nice Maharoba youth hostel, mainly because all the hotels were full, but this proved to be a very nice location and comfortable accommodation. Internet, washing machines, good breakfast but you will need at least 2 of their futons - seemed to be made of concrete. Also, when was the last time you had starched sheets?

After all that cycling, we relaxed in O-yu, then had some good food at a recommend izakaya, and looked forward to another big day in the mountains.


Day 2  Bessho Onsen to Nagano 130km
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/jp/nagano/790128827066889887

After breakfast we rolled down the road towards Ueda city. Early Sunday morning, but why do Japanese drivers take so much offence at cyclist riding 2 abreast? Its not just the odd driver, all of them sound their horns as soon as you do this, but then they'll still overtake on a bend into oncoming traffic.

After reading Ludwig and Mikes painful description of the tortuous climb of Jizu toge beyond Ueda, we decided to go with the lesser of two evils, the 144 which ended up being a 22km climb up to 1362m, but this still saved us nearly 400m of ascent.  A lovely descent followed all the way to Manza Kawaguchi. Wide roads, low gradient and no need for brakes - the speed was high and perfect riding conditions.

The road from Manza Kawaguchi is an excellent route for cyclists, but when it joins the main road to Kusatsu onsen (292) we were amidst the coaches and heavy tourist traffic for the first time this weekend. The only redeeming feature of this road is the section of musical speed bumps! As vehicles pass over the bumps, the ripple noise creates a short tune. It really works, I guess you'd notice it even more if you're in a car.

Kusatsu is another famous onsen town popular all year round as it has a small ski resort as well. I've been skiing there 2 years ago, that time we were snowed in under a heavy blizzard, luckily today the weathers good. Still, its chilly and we are glad to get into a warm ramen restaurant for lunch.

The climb of Kusatsu is one of the favourite events for Tokyo Cycling Club and one of the first hill climbs of the year. Must be much nicer on the day of the race, as today I noticed the large amount of traffic up the twisting road. Still, its nice and wide and no real problem. You certainly smell the sulphurous gases on sections of this climb, is this worse than car fumes?

After the summit, we turned left on the 466 to pass through Manza onsen. A check of the map here saved us heading back to where we had come from, and instead climbed higher to a long undulating ridge. After Manza Onsen, you lose the traffic as they either head north or south. Virtually zero cars head to Nagano from this point. For undulating, read up and down 150m or so each time! After 11 or so km, we were still above 1900m, and we could see the clouds changing shape, becoming heavier and threatening rain, so keen to start the massive descent down to Nagano city.

It was fast, very colourful, used a lot of brake pad and the rain started when we were on the lower slopes. I was very glad to be off the mountain before the rain set in, so getting wet on the run in to the city didnt feel like a big problem. We checked out Zenkoji at closing time, then Steve head back to Tokyo when I got on the train back to Bessho Onsen.

I slept much better on the concrete-like futons this night!


Day 3 Bessho Onsen to Matsumoto 54km
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/jp/nagano/782128827132665630

The rain stopped at 7am, so I enjoyed my breakfast and strolled around the sights of Bessho whilst the roads dried up. The town has 3 public onsen. They're all quite small, Oyu of course being the largest also has a small rotemburo. The other 2 onsen are too warm to be comfortable.

It has been described as the Kamakura of Nagano, with all its several temples and historical sites. A nice place to visit, I took several photos then headed up the hill side around the back of town on the way to Matsumoto. Really nice mountain road, recommend this section.

I discovered the connecting route from day 1, the route which would have taken us from Utsukushigahara highland - it was another stone track. We'd still have been on the mountain if we'd insisted on finding the planned route!

The 181 started off as a promising climb. Wide, quite well maintained but this proved to be only low down the slopes within the mountain villages. As I ascended, the road gradually disintegrated, the moss became greener and thicker and several streams of debris covered the road. All totally rideable, but certainly the east side is for climbing, I wouldnt have felt safe descending this side.
This climb really reminded me of Otoge near Otsuki, as its buried in forest with no views and is seemingly endless. Also, I was heading up into the clouds. It proved to be that the blue skies of the Ueda valley did not stretch to Matsumoto, where the clouds remained low and the roads wet.

So a wet run in to Matsumoto, but I was very impressed with the run in to town down the 143. Before now, Id always thought of Matsumoto as another sprawling urban city, but this route into town was off the busy roads through rice fields.

At Matsumoto castle, I registered my first 5000km on the NeroRC - not a bad tally for weekend rides since March!



In all, the Venus line is tremendous and perhaps with the Norikura skyline road the most impressive roads I've been on in Japan so far. We were very lucky to have such good weather for Saturday the views were amazing on a day like that.

Super Hill Climb 2010 in Toyo Tires Turnpike

The weather gods smiled on the 1500 or so competitors today who took part in a new hill climb event a short distance from Tokyo. Yesterday typhoon #12 carried on its way out to sea, tomorrow and the next couple of days will see heavy rain so it was great to start the day in clear skies and without the sweltering temperatures of Japans hottest summer ever.

The course was on a toll road which normally takes motorists up from sea level in Odawara to the hills overlooking Lake Ashi and the tourist hotspot Hakone. So a unique experience, noone at all will have cycled this course, but the website for the race is very informative. 13km, 1000m ascent with an average gradient of 7.2% However the final 3km are rolling, the average gradient for 12th km is 0% so the first 10km was where the pain would be on this testing course.

Hill climbs by their very nature are normally difficult to get to, requiring either lengthy car journeys, or expensive train journeys into the mountains. Also, most events start early or at least require registration the day before, so you normally need to book a hotel somewhere adding to the expense. This race couldnt be more convenient for Tokyoites as you just get off the speedy Tokaido line at Hayakawa and the start is only a few hundred meters from the station. And as the organizers had posted our timing chip, jersey numbers and lots of other information we only had to drop off our bags to be carried to the top by 10am, and give our race numbers before the race itself.

After a rambling warm-up on the local roads, any of which are suitable as there's nothing flat around here, and the usual search for coffee/cola before we line up at the start. The race is a large field, and even within the main 8 categories of riders (age, sex, mtb) we are starting in groups of around 30 or so as we line up, then the next 30 one minute behind. This means that on the climb itself, really fast guys fly past but because they started several minutes behind you, they are traveling significantly faster and there's no chance of drafting these speedsters.

In general, the climb a tough test, but no crazy sections, I didn't even use my lowest 25 gear on this climb so the compact 34-23 was enough to power up the steepest sections today.  Lots of shade also, easy to escape the sun if need be. There were a number of high bridges on the climb with amazing views over the Izu peninsula and the ocean, which had been coned off on either side of the road presumably they thought we might somehow be distracted enough by the view to tumble over the 1.5m fence which was by the roadside anyway?

After the finish its a cool 15 degrees at the top, not worth hanging around too long so we descend to Lake Ashi then find some more amazing rindo routes to take us to one of the best descents around back to the train station at Odawara.

The website is one of the slickest for any sporting event Ive done so far in Japan, the results are up only a few hours after the race. Mike had the best time of 47 mins, 21st in age group and as he is very fast and has been training hard all summer, this is shows the quality of the field for this event was very high. I was happy with my effort, 54:08 but just making the top 100 in 94th place is not so impressive, there are some very fast riders out there today.

After a good race in great conditions on a testing course, the chances of getting a place in the ballot for the race next year will be much smaller - we'll need Kimm to find another new hillclimb for us!