This was my 4th Mt. Fuji Hill Climb Challenge and it was the first time I was actually able to enjoy the descent.
Why? I hear you ask. Well, the organisers offer to carry your luggage from the start to the 5th stage on the night before where the challenge finishes and this time I packed my bag more wisely.
A pair of spring/autumn gloves, a pair of neoprene gloves, knee warmers, a Castelli Gabba short sleeve jersey and a Rule 28 windbreaker. I could still feel the cold but it was all fine. There wasn’t any uncontrollable shaking of my forearms and the rest of my body while going down this majestic mountain.
So enjoyable…
Let me know in the comments section what you think and give it thumbs up.
If not, please let me know as well and why.
See you next time.
Stay safe, stay strong.
Get on your bike and be AWESOME !!!
Hi @Sir_Roland! Thank you for accepting my Strava invite. I’m part of the Wahoo Beta community and you were mentioned as a local in Tokyo when I asked for advice. I’m traveling to Tokyo for business and leisure at the end of June and I plan on doing some riding there. I’m looking for some insight tips as it’s my first time there. Thanks!
Hi Sir Jorge,
nice to hear you come to Tokyo.
Where will you stay? And what time exactly will you be staying?
You can also use the STRAVA messanger to keep it private if you wish.
I saw on you STRAVA profile that you’ve been climbing quite a bit recently.
So the mountains in the west of Tokyo prefecture would be a nice target, depending on the time you can afford. In Japan you need to wrap you bike in a bicycle bag if you want to use the train. Very annoying but there is no way around. So all your targets should be cycling distance unless you are willing to buy a bicycle bag. But I do not think that will be necessary.
Anyway, let me know your preferences and I can check my past rides and find something.
But in general, for a first orientation/warm-up you could do some palace loops (emperial palace in tokyo, very famous location for roadies to do some laps in the early morning). And then there is the Arakawa (Ara river) and Tamagawa (Tama river) which are nice to ride. I rarley ride for leasure in the city, only for commuting. So I am not quite sure about ‘nice’ rides at in the city at this time of the year (no cherry blossoms etc). But should be still interesting to just ride around and see Shinjuku and Shibuya (don’t forget, the traffic is on the wrong side here ).
Will you bring your bike or do you want to rent one?
Personally I do not know any places but I know there are of course.
A friend of mine from Taiwan recently visited Tokyo and I think he got his bike here. So I could ask him.
Anyway, happy planning.
Talk to you soon.
I entered this race as reigning champion and work great hopes to defend the title.
All started well but half way through the race I was nearly dropped. Gladly I managed to hand on and recover and actually started to begin feeling very strong.
There have been many attempts for a breakaway many of which I actively disrupted. Big mistake, they would have been caught anyway. Big waste of energy.
in the final lap I managed together with a team mate to create a respectable gap. Unfortunately I dropped him and without his help I could not hold up the power for long enough. Eventually the bunch caught me in the final 200m and I only placed 5th, 3sec behind the winner. Plenty of stuff to reflect on…
Let me know in the comments section what you think and give it thumbs up.
If not, please let me know as well and why.
See you next time.
Stay safe, stay strong.
Get on your bike and be AWESOME !!!
This was my second Tsukuba circuit race. Last year I planned 9th. So, my motivation for improvement, perhaps even the podium, was high. During the race I did everything right but unfortunately I didn’t know when I was in the last lap. I had perfect legs and would have had a great sprint perhaps for victory but certainly for second place. Not knowing it was the final lap I cruised over the finish but still made 5th place. Still podium as a matter of fact for this kind of race. Considering that my strategy came to fruition and also that I improved by 4 places with an average speed 2km/h slower than last year, I still see it, in retrospect, as a very successful race. I was hiding a lot in the bunch and didn’t pull too much. At some point the peloton stretched out and I made the decision to move up. That meant I had to pull more but I kept it very short and also skipped some pulls. Anyway, this way I was at the right place at the right time when the front jumped away. Everything worked out perfectly. I saved a lot of energy. But then…no sprint because for some reason the race organizer didn’t make it clear that we were in the final lap. So annoying. Crossing the line I was extremely angry. This could have been a victory. Anyway, the improvement is obvious. I am looking forward to the next race.
Let me know in the comments section what you think and give it thumbs up.
If not, please let me know as well and why.
See you next time.
Stay safe, stay strong.
Get on your bike and be AWESOME !!!
Good morning Sir @JSampson
I am using Telemetry. It’s not free but affordable and works perfectly well for me:
The race was 99 minutes. It’s actually in the title but only in Japanese.
Thanks for the hint. I’ve updated the title and included the info in English as well
Early morning ride to アブラヤマ (Aburayama) in extreme humid conditions
福岡（博多）での会議出席は、周辺地域を自転車で探索する絶好の機会でした。当初は雨の予報だったので躊躇していましたが、ホテルを出ただけで汗だくになりました。乾いたライドは期待できそうにないので、冒険に出かけることにしました。本当に良かったです。山の道はサイクリストの夢で、完璧な舗装が緑豊かな森の中を曲がりくねり、下には息をのむような街の景色が広がっていました。朝の冒険に追加して、公園の道はまだ閉まっていたので、鍵のかかった門を迂回し、小さなフェンスを登らなければなりませんでした。ポスター発表のために会議に戻ると、朝のライドでリフレッシュされ、元気になりました。
Attending a conference in Fukuoka (Hakata) presented the ideal opportunity to explore the surrounding area by bike. Initially hesitant due to a predicted rainy morning, I found myself drenched in perspiration simply from leaving my hotel room. The prospect of a dry ride seemed unlikely, so I decided to embrace the adventure. I’m truly glad I did. The mountain roads were a cyclist’s dream, offering impeccable pavement that wound through lush green forests and offered breathtaking vistas of the city below. To add to the morning’s adventure, I had to circumvent a locked gate and climb a small fence as the park’s road was still closed. Returning to the conference for my poster presentation I felt refreshed and invigorated after my morning ride.
See you next time.
Stay safe, stay strong.
Get on your bike and be AWESOME !!!
I should have gone to the mountains again. Riding through the city was much less exciting than I thought. Well, now that I’ve made the mistake you don’t have to repeat it
But perhaps you get more out of it then me for I was pretty tired.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the ride.
Please let me know what you think about the video.
See you next time.
Stay safe, stay strong, stay healthy.
Get on your bike and be AWESOME !!!
Preparations for the 荒川放水路通水100周年記念 いたばしArakawa Floodway Opening 100th Anniversary Itabashi
At this time of the year there will be lots of fireworks all over Japan (花火, Hanabi). On top of that there will be the 100th anniversary of the Arakawa floodway (荒川放水路) opening. You can see the preparations for it at the beginning of the clip.
Please let me know what you think about the video.
See you next time.
Stay safe, stay strong, stay healthy.
Get on your bike and be AWESOME !!!
Can I Bike 600km from Fukuoka to Okayama in 34 Hours? A business Trip Turned Bike Epic.
Combining business with pleasure, I seized the opportunity to bring my bike to a Fukuoka conference. Instead of just exploring the Hakata area, I embarked on a daring cycling adventure back towards Tokyo.
My journey began before dawn on a Friday, with the ambitious goal of conquering 600 kilometers. I pedaled through the night, fueling up only when necessary, and finally reached Fukuyama via Hiroshima and the iconic Shimanami Kaido. This grueling 34-hour odyssey, including 22 hours and 40 minutes of pure cycling, was my second-longest ride to date.
Unfortunately, the relentless heat and the looming deadline of my Saturday Shinkansen back to Tokyo forced me to cut my trip short by a mere 40 kilometers. While falling just shy of my target was disappointing, the overall experience was exhilarating. I’m confident I could have achieved my goal under different circumstances.
The initial leg of my ride might not be visually captivating, but the scenery on the Shimanami Kaido is truly breathtaking. I captured these moments sporadically on camera, and I can’t wait for you to experience the magic.
Please let me know what you think about the video.
See you next time.
Stay safe, stay strong, stay healthy.
Get on your bike and be AWESOME !!!
After an early morning workout along the Tamagawa near Haneda airport I initially wanted to ride the “Inagi rolling hills” (Tsurukawa-kaido Ave, route 19). A brilliant 12km stredge of road to work on your 1-5 minute power. However, after the workout along the river I was feeling more like having some ice cream. So I decided spontaneously to ride up the Tamagawa, cross over to the Arakawa via Tachikawa, Tokorozawa and Kawagoe and have some ice cream at the not only amongst cyclists famous Enomoto Dairy Farm (榎本牧場). After completing this task, I rode down the Arakawa back to Toshima city, Tokyo.
Please let me know what you think about the video.
See you next time.
Stay safe, stay strong, stay healthy.
Get on your bike and be AWESOME !!!
Yeah, was actually quite swift!
Should check the speed and power data for this. I haven’t done the overlay because it’s pretty cumbersome when you have several separate video files.
Also, now to myself: add time stamps to the comments section!
Here we go again! 9th (11th at the last race in spring).
Ok, this was only a trainig race since my A-race is next weekend.
But still, being a major player until the last 200m and then failing because my sprint fades isn’t fun.
Anyway, I was feeling good and I’ve met again a lot of nice guys.
Very much enjoyed today’s race except for the moment someone crashed behind me.
Hope he is doing fine.
I think it’s my 1min power. It’s my weakest point and would be extremely useful for those final uphill sprints to the finish. All other aspects of my power profile are actually ok. It’s just this stupid 1min kick which breaks my neck all the time…
第20回Mt.富士 (Fuji 2024) descent 
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