Fuji Loop Via Hakone and Fuji Skyline

Having DNF the 400km brevet ride last weekend due to bad weather, I needed a bit of long serious ride as training ride before next month 600km brevet. I decided to do Mt Fuji loop and using first portion of last week 400km brevet course to give my legs that big mountain muscular endurance. 

Left very early around 3:30AM and this should provide the dark/sleepy riding acclimation needed for my next brevet. The weather was forecasted to be sunny, but I didn't get the sun until afternoon. The south side of Mt. Fuji was mostly foggy and cloudy.

The ride was tough but was able to ride almost continously expect for a few hunger pang stops and nature breaks. 

Hope the weather will cooperate on the next big one.

Rare One

I was fortunate enough to be a recipient of a Titanium bike frame from Tom, who owns this famous blog. It is a very nice and well maintained frame but it just need a little fixing!

This was the picture posted by Tom when it was up for grab. It has a narrow clean crack on the outside seat stay. (During welding, it was found to have another small invincible crack on the inside opposite the visible crack).

Before the welding....

I was interested in Tom's frame but not sure if it could be fix and if fixed, is it reliable to ride. I remember there are lots of small specialized shops on one of the small cycling/jogging riverside near my place and I was able to find a small welding shop that does also Titanium. I talked to the shop owner and he said it was fixable but would not guarantee it's safety. I was a bit concerned first but then I figure I can use it as my indoor training bike. I then send a message to Tom and mentioned I was interested. We arrange a pick-up date/time and I got the frame.

I quickly went to the shop for the welding and the owner was very nice and the place looks very professional. He does welding on a lot of different metals and fixes almost anything. Here is the quick video of him working on the metal.

And here is the finished weld. The colour characteristic shows an excellent weld. Well done! I highly recommend this guy.

After the welding: Viewed from inside of left seat stay

After welding: Viewed from outside of left seat stay 

I named the new born again titanium bike 'Rare One'.

I slowly ramped up the forces on the stays and it hold up pretty well. After a few months of testing on different terrains and forces on the pedals, it stood up to the test of time. Now it is one of my stallion and has proven itself and already broken a few Strava segment personal records.

Rare One during one of the Autumn Test Ride...

...at Lake Tsukui. (See no handlebar tape yet!) 

New Spring Look of Rare One with my Old Roses with a gift of Aero wheel.

Front View with my English Roses.

Super Randonneur

Late in coming but well deserved 2012 brevet accomplishment (Yes, the medal says 2011). My first but certainly won't be my last Super Ranonneur medal. Probably becoming harder to get because of brevet popularity. This year, I can't even register for 200km because it's full!

BRM106 Kanagawa 200 Zushi (Shadow Mode)

It was midnight on Dec 7, 2012 as I waited patiently to register for this brevet via SportsEntry only to be refused registration due to full booking. I thought that was fast!  It was confirmed by one of the organiser at the end of this brevet that it just took 3.5 minutes to fill up the slots.

Anyway, I wanted to start the brevet season early and not able to booked didn't discourage me. So I did a 'shadow ride', meaning joined the brevet ride unofficially. The plan is to ride as a real brevet following all the rules (OK, not all traffic rules) except for the reflector vest. I didn't want to be mistaken as a participant but still enjoy the company of them. Without the reflector vest, I have the freedom to take shortcuts, etc and will not be subjected to my fellow official participants scrutiny/complaints. In addition, I will not give the brevet and it's organiser a bad image if I break some of the rules. It is difficult to run the brevet anonymously because I know few people and some organisers. I was recognised too quickly for comfort. 

I was joined by four other riders (Joe W, Elbert Y, Danny A, Yolie V). Except for Joe, the three are members of Tokyo PADYAK cycling group and their first experience to ride a brevet (albeit unofficially).

We started right after the brevet started around 7:10AM. We were greeted by the orange morning sun view of Enoshima. The air was crisp and the perfect view of Mt. Fuji. The pace was civilised making sure that the group stays together. The course is 50/50 split between flat and hilly, with the first 50km flat, the next 100km hilly and the last 50km flat again. 

The group tried to stayed together but from the last 10 km to the turning point (~100km control point), we were split riding our own pace in this hilly segment. We rested at the turning point and had a quick lunch before turning back to Zushi on the same route. 

I was expecting a headwind on the return leg but it was nowhere to be felt! Our ride was timed on the perfect winter day without the nasty North Wind. It was still cold but manageable. The group was still strong on the return leg and was impressed with the pace given that some of the riders are riding this long distance event for the first time! Impressive and I don't remember doing the same pace in my first 200km brevet!

We all made it back to the goal within the official time limit. That was a nice accomplishment! 

We finished with a group Ramen dinner before parting ways eager to have a good bath and sleep.

The group starting from Zushi Station.

A nice morning view of Enoshima.

The Tokyo PADYAK gang.

Castle or fancy hotel? 

2012 Audax SR Application

Finally, I got all my brevet cards needed to apply for 2012 Super Randonneur and applied promptly. I expect the medal to arrive early next year.

 This also means that I have collected the 4 medals, one for each distance event.

My four brevet medals...

Updates from Audax Japan

Few updates from Audax Japan:

1. Application for Super Randonneur (SR) medal

    Application starts from Nov 1 to Dec 3, 2012. Medals to be delivered from end of January. So far, I only got Nishi Tokyo 300 brevet cards. Still waiting for the rest of my brevet card from the organisers.

2. Audax 2013 Membership 

    Application starts from Nov 1 to Nov 30. Cost is 8,000yen and includes insurance.

3. Changes in brevet registrations

    Registration will not be centralise in Sports Entry online application anymore. Event registration instruction will be posted independently for each Audax Clubs. I think the main reason is cost. Aside from the 200yen cost of registration, Sports Entry charges additional 100 yen from the organiser.

4. 2013 Brevet Schedule is now public.

End of 2012 Brevet Season

Last weekend was the last brevet events of the season and 2012 Brevet season is now officially over. Brevet season is from January to October. This is my third year of brevet riding and this year has been the busiest brevet year so far. I have accumulated 2,500 km of official finish this year and DNF three events. 

This year is also the first that I have completed a series of 200, 300, 400 and 600 km brevets in a year and I'm entitled to the Super Randonneur special medal. I will request for the medal as soon as the application starts.

Looking forward for another busy 2013 season and looks like there couple of new things next year, namely:

1. New Audax Club in Tokyo (name is still undecided and branched out of Aoba Velo Club)

2. Super Randonnee 600 évent (this is a new brevet category that are mountainous 600 kilometres with over 10,000 meters of elevation gain). 

One goal next year is to try Super Randonnee 600 and need to think of my off-season (winter) brevet training plans. 

BRM	Elapsed Time	Moving Time	Total Climb	Comment
BRM421 Shizuoka 400 Fuji	23:05	20:09	4,226m	No sleep
BRM512 Aoba 200 Kazahari	DNF	-	-	Mechanical Trouble: Right shifter lever broken at 64 km.
BRM515 Aoba 200 Kazahari	11:32	9:43	2,018m	-
BRM 519 NishiTokyo 300 Fuji	16:36	14:02	2,633m	Evening Start
BRM 526 Shizuoka 600 Norikura	37:02	30:02	7,050m	Two hours of sleep & 40 minutes loss time
BRM 602 Aoba 600 HiekawaToge	DNF	-	-	Over slept
BRM 908 Aoba 600 Utsukushigahara	37:59	<30:00?	6,400m?	-Four hours of night rest/sleep. Lost some GPS data due device not able to continuously log data.
BRM 916 Kanagawa 400 Yatsugatake	26:31	21:20	5,547m	Barely slept, twice. One of the toughest course.
BRM 1006 Aoba 600 Kanto	DNF	-	-	Sick...