Tamagawa Josui Ride

Just for the record, I've taken five rides since I blogged in last. Most of them have been down to Haneda Airport then up along the Tama River, sometimes only as far as Fuchu, sometimes as far as Hamura beyond Yokota Airbase for a total distance of 120 km. The picture on the left is from one such ride. It's one of the prettier parts of the ride along the Tamagawa Josui. That's one of the old water sources for Edo. It carries water diverted from the Tama River at Hamura, flows southeasterly to Haijima, then turns nearly due east and runs at least as far as the intersection of Ome Kaido and Senkawa Dori. At that point I leave it and head northeast towards Nerima Station then turn north to home in Minami Tokiwadai.

Enough of the routine reportage. I'll be flying up to Wakkanai one week from tomorrow. Many people, including my wife Akemi, have been asking me if I'm excited about the trip. Yes, excited and anxious. It's easy to look at maps and toss the number 3,000 (km) around, but actually riding it is another matter. I suppose it's to the uncertainty of each days' travel that I look forward. There's little that matches the feeling when setting out on the road on a bright morning not knowing what will happen, what you'll find and who'll you meet. May there be many bright mornings!

Cicero on wheels

I left home at 4:10 this Sunday morning, June 6. If I hadn't spent 10 minutes hunting for my coin purse uttering assorted oaths, it would have been the planned 4 o'clock. However, I found it in my back pocket 15 minutes later. After forgiving myself, I decided to call it a good omen for the day's ride.

At 6:15 I reached my first way point. That is where the Tama River meets Haneda Airport. For so early in the morning there were a great many people walking, jogging or bicycling - most of them getting in my way or was I the mad gaijin abusing my privileges as a guest in Japan? Two hours and 30 some kilometers later I was upstream near Fuchu. A perfect day for a ride. Back home just before 11 after a 30-minute rest at Doutor in Fuchu in the company of Stendhal.

What does this rider do for six and a half hours? As enjoyable as cursing pedestrians, truck drivers and pet dogs given too much slack by doting masters is, these are not enough to fill the time. The pleasure of viewing the greenery along the banks of the Tama is genuine and the jumble of homes and shops that is Tokyo is entertaining to see, but I fill the time by rehearsing insightful speeches whose contents and intended audience I find too embarrassing to reveal.

To listen or not to listen

I rode my Tokiwadai-Kiyose-Kunitachi-Machida-Yokohama-Ota-ku Circuit in reverse yesterday, Sunday, May 30. I tried to avoid taking Kan-nana Dori south although early on Sunday mornings it doesn't care much traffic. However, I missed a number of turns on the back streets and so didn't reach the Tokaido (Route 1) until 6 a.m., two hours after leaving home. Lesson: you can't review your route often enough to avoid mistakes. High point: I may have rescued a baby sparrow from certain death by picking it up off a street and setting it among some azalea bushes.

Today, Monday, I did my usual cool-down ride from Tokiwadai to Fuchu. Round-trip was just under 52 km. The extra load was 21 kilos on both days.

To listen or not listen? I'll be riding for at least 6 hours every day. As much as I'd like to stay alert, I'm tempted to get earphones and listen to music while biking. Perhaps I should save the music for long rest spells.

Training continues into May

Since my last post I've done nine rides. The longest were: to Toride (97 km.) on April 25, to Mito (122 km.) on May 4, to Kiyose-Machida-Yokohama-Denenchofu (114 km.) on May 9 and today, May 16, to Kiyose-Machida-Yokohama-Yamate Dori (111 km.). The ride to Mito in Ibaragi Prefecture was a one-way with return by JR. Coming back on the train with the bicycle in its bag plus four panniers was not much fun so I doubt I'll be coming back by train very often.

I've tried to minimize the amount of sunblock I have to put on by wearing a light weight long-sleeve t-shirt, a towel around my neck and long pants. When I start riding in Hokkaido I'll be riding into the westering sun much of the time so I'm thinking of wearing a long-billed cap to avoid using sunblock every day.

As these rides are for training I've been adding a little weight to the panniers. I'm up to 18 kilos now in the form of nine 2-liter PET bottles of water or Aquarius. I'll try to raise the load gradually to 25 kilos. I doubt I'll be pushing that much on the trip.

Back In The Saddle Again

This morning, Monday the 12th, at 6:30 I left home for Fuchu to test ride my new bicycle. The round trip distance is a little over 50 kms. I added 12 kilos of weight distributed among the four panniers. The added weight did not result in added time. I had to put the rain covers on the two rear bags as it started to drizzle less than one hour after leaving home. I wonder if I should replace the rear bags with waterproof Ortlieb panniers like the front.

The bike IS quiet compared to my old one with all its squeaks. My brain map is being redrawn to accommodate the minor differences in arm reach, etc. It went well, however. I experienced only very minor discomfort in my knees. I look forward to the next ride and hope to increase the load by 4 kilos.

I almost decided to stay in bed this morning at 5:30. I must have been really dedicated months ago to rise at 3:15 for a 4 a.m. departure!

The Plot Thickens

I worked on a route plan yesterday. There will be a difference between imagination and reality. I used MyMap on Google which is useful as it displays alot of local roads. The terrain feature is very important as it gives some indication of road grades. However, a 2% grade over 5 kilometers with a load of 80 kilos, including my body weight, will be something to climb no matter how "innocent" it looks. If you want to look at the map, contact me.

I hope to pick up my new bicycle on Saturday and, if possible, get in a short (50 km) ride on Sunday morning.

Bike ordered, course to plot

I ordered Giant's "Great Journey 3" yesterday at Mr. Charley's in Ikebukuro (Tokyo). It's a few minutes from where I work so the convenience can't be beat, i.e. I'm too lazy to go farther. Apart from the forks which don't have braze-ons to support a front rack, it looks like a decent bicycle.

Now I'm using Google Map to start plotting a course. Very, very useful as the editing is simple and fast. I figure that I can ride to Sapporo from Cape Soya in 4 days. If I feel especially good and the weather cooperates, it could take as few as 3 days. However, I'm aware of the value of taking things easy when I set out even if I've been training.

Any suggestions for things to do or see on the way are quite welcome. I know that I'm bound to pass by

Which bicycle to buy?

Right now I've got a 20-year old mountain bike. For the last 6 months I've been riding it in the greater Tokyo area on Sundays and Mondays as training for my summer 2010 ride. I've been doing between 50 and 150 kms. Aside from myself, the only extra weight has been one pannier containing a spare tube, pump and a few tools plus rain gear, Aquarius and a book.

I'm looking at two bikes at the moment: a Great Journey 3 by Giant (of Taiwan) and a touring bicycle by Garneau (of Quebec, Canada). The GJ3 has the Garneau beat by price, 78,000 yen vs. 95,000 yen but doesn't actually seem to be thoughtfully designed for a "great journey" as it lacks built-on hardware to mount a front rack. The Garneau, however, does contain integral points with which to mount a front rack. Will that factor give me greater stability when riding as well as preventing the panniers from dropping off at an inopportune moment?

I'd like to make a decision soon as my old bike is now mechanically unsafe to ride training distances without an investment of 20,000 yen in repairs - money that could be spent on a new machine.

What is the "Soya-Sata Kanreki Bike Ride"?

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Japanese geography "Soya" refers to Cape Soya, the northernmost point on the island-prefecture of Hokkaido while "Sata" refers to Cape Sata, the southernmost point on the island of Kyushu and in Kagoshima Prefecture.

The following is one description of "Kanreki": a celebration "held on one's 60th birthday, which is a great celebration in Japan, not only because the person has lived to be sixty, but also because according to the Chinese tradition, the sexagerary cycle that began in the year of his birth is completed in sixty years, and on sixty-one he begins the cycle over again... and means the beginning of the second life and now returns to second childhood." This really means that I get to wear a smart red cap, spiffy red vest and red socks on September 9, my 60th birthday!

My wife knows that when I depart Tokyo with my bicycle by train for Wakkanai, the nearest city to Cape Soya, on July 15 or so, I won't be going out on one of my typical Sunday morning 4 a.m. "bike rides". In other words, I won't return early enough to help her bring the week's groceries back home from Yoshiya Supermarket by bike. In fact, the nearly 3,000 km. bicycle trip should take about 2 months.