Road Fixie

Since the Kusatsu Hill Climb is coming up fast I figured I better ramp up my effort and start the final micro-cycle of training. Today went out for a morning ‘hiki’ or tire pull. This time I added more weight and gear and did the whole length standing – but never going out of Zone 3 (about 140 for me). This builds up a very deep, slow twitch ‘burn’ but never really gets into LAT or max power threshold. Great for shedding some extra fat and getting comfy with a long slow grind up a hill at 70% or so max power.

Tonite will be the gym. Then tomorrow I get some intervals and high cardio work done. Friday is light recovery , then Sat will do a CTF (Climb To Fail) ride hopefully at least 1400 – 1500 m. Sunday , light recovery then the same pattern all next week as well. Then slack the power rides and just focus on interval sets until 3 day before the event.

I’ve been confirmed entry into the 2010 Yahiko Hillclimb. This will be tough since the category I’m entered is 40+ and there are more than 600 entrants.  You can see more info on this event here: http://www.e-yahiko.com/2009hillclimb.htm It seems have some support by the Japanese Keirin Association – so , I’ll be very curious how many piste riders will be entering? I’ll bet that I’m the only one, again!

Just competed in the Nariki Hillclimb which is a short, 10km roughly hillclimb that consists of an initial 5km of relatively flat or moderate slope up, followed by 5km of 10%+ grade to the finish. This is particularly challenging to a fixed gear rider because there are really 2 distinct gear ratios that would optimally attack the race. However , in keeping with the purity of ‘one road, one gear’ , we choose to honor that by only riding one gear the whole race.

It is settled – the optimum gear is around a 2.0. and I choose a 44/22 as my preferred cogs of choice. Mikio does the same and James is riding a 42/20.

We gotta come up with something a little more to spice this event. Its not enough, for me, to be the first fixed gear rider to enter the Japanese privateer race scene – sooner or later, the masses will follow. Thats great – but I do enjoy pushing the envelope a bit. So, this time we decide not only to enter and ride fixed, but also , wear an alternate kit. James does some quick shopping and its decided. We will all wear ‘man-kini’. Well, the only man kini we ca find is pink – and thats that. So – its on to the race.

My main concern is if the race officials will disqualify us based on our kit. However nothing is stated in the rules except the requirement of helmet and gloves. Good — ammo. We don the man-kinis and tentatively cover with std jersey just at the start. Though Alan offered to model – and hadwe an extra – would surely have worn as in his haste to make the race he forget his proper kit jersey! Alan, who is a damn fast rider, decides to fore go the man-kini for this event . We 3 musketeers forge on and prepare the start. Surprsing, or not, we actually raise alot of very positive attention and have to spend quite some time posing with various riders and guests for pics. This does not affect our serious concentration.

The race is at hand, and I play by a pretty strict strategy based on several recons. I can honestly say that I followed my game book and it turned out quite well. The first half of the race I just spun up to a strong comfort level and held a decent pace without totally spinning out my heart. When I reached the cut-off for the more aggressive 5km, I was at a good balanced form and ready to climb. The last 5 km were as tough as I expected and the 33+ temp didnt make things easier. However, the man-kini really helped as it allowed for maximum ventilation and minimum upper body restriction. Finished the race at the summit to a very welcome respite of watermelon and spring water — yumm!! Plus the photo ops!

Watermelon was the best ever!

Dos tres amigos .

Naomi – master of the hills!

Finish ceremony.

On a side note – I placed in the top 10 for my category (senior) and this is the goal I’ve been striving for in this year! It was great to achieve it on this race as especially it had a serious fixed gear handicap. My trusty Akamatsu served me well, in addition the Chub Hub rear wheel which I can’t imagine riding without. This course was somewhat technical with moss and grates and slippery bits. I feel that the combination of Chub and my steel frame gave me a little advantage to the other riders. I could solidly put down the power and have very good management over the slippage with just enough suppleness and compliance to make the effort comfortable and stress free. In short, i could pretty much hammer and didn’t worry.

The Akamatsu in Nariki trim with Chub rear riding Open Pave 24′s and extended front stem (Cinelli 1/a 130mm) , Fizik Saddle,  44/20 (Surley/ Sugino cog /chain set ).

Earlier recon showed that the guard shack was open from 8am – 5pm and absolutely no bikes were allowed on the road. So , I roused at 5am with the intention to get there before the guard opened. Alas, my morning prep took longer than expected cause I wanted the max spread on cogs so I could get good training action on the way out to the Mountain – as well as sufficient gearing to tackle the 15% grade. To make long story short – I didn’t actually leave the house until a bit past 7am — (ugh)

The way out to the mountain was awesome. Followed the ‘Apple Road’ which winds its way through orchards and offers a nice rolling hills tour. By the time I hit the Skyline guard shack I had climbed about 500m (alot more if you count the ups and downs) and travelled about 25km in just about an hour. So – pushing the tougher gear was perfect choice for this route. A bit stiff on the climbs – but I could really nail it on the flats and downs.

Tried to sneak past the gate (just past 8am) and no luck. The guard chased me down. Not wanting to press my luck, I conceded. Apparently, though, there is a cycle race HC every year here. I’ll definitely be hitting it the next time.

On the way back I checked out Dake Onsen – this is the head of the trail to climb up the mountain. Maybe a good MTB / Cyclocross alternative, though not so great with my fixed gear and 23C Open Paves, plus the skeeters were worse than Alasaka!

I’ll be back for a redux on this climb and general tour around the area. Aomori is a hidden jewel for cycling. And in the autumn you have endless food supply right on the roads (apples and fruit everywhere), plus affordable Minkushan and Onsen Ryokan.

Went to Hiroshi san’s new shop opening last night. It was awesome – pics and blog to follow. With that being said – I was really trashed, but had committed to run out to Nairiki this morning with the fixie boys , James and Mikio. Landed at Takao – hung over, tired and hot. We pedaled over to Ome on the easy route. Still hot. Snagged some really awesome water melon!

I thought this would re-energize me, and it did for awhile. We ran the Nairiki course in 2 parts – mainly to get a jist of gearing, etc. I was running 44/18, James – 42/20 and Mikio a 46/20. So – we could compare notes on all accounts. The first 5km are a gentle climb and while James had to spin like the fast and the furious , he kept up the whole way. Check on the 42/20 – it WOULD be possible to run the first 5km on this.

The second 5km is the hill – and this where things fell awry. At least for Mikio and I. I quickly changed to my 40/20 and then we hit the hit. James took off like a scalded cat – and I mean scalded cause it was like 38+ !! Mikio hammered up and I jumped after. ABout 1/3 into the climb, Mikio was mashing away and slowly dieing. I felt like crap – my heart rate was over 180 and I started to feel really nauseous. I just did this last week – so I knew power wasn’t an issue – but the heat and the night before were definitely at play.

I decided to bail and rest it out. Honestly I was really worried about heat exhaustion and every time I jumped on my bike , my HRM would soar to 170+ at the same pace I was only hitton155 last week! Not good. I just chilled on the way up and tried to keep even pace.  I hung with Mikio awhile then went up ahead – I needed water badly. At the top, met James who had blazed up in about 20min!! Awesome ride. Hit the spring and dunked my head in. Finally cooled down and rehydrated to where I felt alive agani. Short time later Mikio arrived. He was wiped. Pushing the big gear totally mashed him out. He hit the water and also finally came back to life. We bailed on our 2nd attempt – everyone was just too knackered from the heat and the hard effort. Plus I had to get back for a friend’s party. Ate awesome Soba at small spot I know – rejuvenated on the train back.

Always a next time – !! But this will be a nasty event if the temps are typical – its going to be a hard for me, for sure!