Congratulations to David Litt who set the Tokyo Prefecture W-E Self-Support Record in the 60-69 age group on a recumbent bike
Rider Narrative Summary
David G. Litt
Age 62 (i.e. old enough to know better)
Record Attempt: Tokyo Prefecture West-to-East
I wanted to do a ride from the furthest west point (on a paved road) in Tokyo where it borders Yamanashi Prefecture, to the furthest east point (with a bridge/crossing) in Tokyo where it borders Chiba Prefecture. There are plenty of other ways to ride “across” Tokyo that would be shorter, but this is the true “west to east” ride. Few people other than cyclists and hikers visit the far western end of Tokyo, and realize how far it extends to the west. (Tokyo Prefecture also includes a number of islands, but we ignore those as they are a long way offshore – the furthest 1000 kms to the south).
Start. I started at 10:50PM on October 26, on National Route 411 at the Yamanashi border near the far western end of Lake Okutama. There is a small bridge over a gulley with a stream into the river. The Eastern side of the bridge has Tokyo border signs, while the western end has Yamanashi Prefecture and Tabayama Town border signs. I started just off the western end of the bridge inside Yamanashi.
Conditions
The conditions were near perfect for this ride.
I wanted to do this ride late at night to avoid traffic. The main challenge of riding across Tokyo Prefecture – population 14.1 million – is congestion. Many of the most direct routes are no fun to ride during the day, fighting with trucks and cars. The first third of the route to Oume is mostly rural and so congestion is not an issue, absent roadwork, but once you get into the city, congestion would add time to this ride and make it unpleasant. Late at night, with very low traffic volumes, it could be much faster, safer, and a lot more fun.
I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out the best route. In the end, I opted for familiar roads, and I think that worked out well. In town, I could see the traffic lights far ahead, see the walk signal change to flashing green then red, accelerate or relax depending on whether I was going to make it. And when I missed a light, I decided to enjoy the brief respite. The only section where I got really frustrated by the lights and constant stop/start was on the stretch between the Imperial Palace and the Sumidagawa (Sumida River) – the old central Tokyo downtown.
The weather was fine — warm for late October. It was 14 Celsius (57 fahrenheit) and cloudy at the start and this remained nearly constant (12~16 Celsius) even as I rode from the mountainous interior to the plain adjacent to Tokyo Bay. As I planned the ride, I was concerned that it might be quite cold at the start deep in the interior mountains, even this time of year. So I did not want to ride too late in Fall. On the other hand, the Tokyo weather can remain hot and humid into October and I did not want to ride it too early. I ended up with Goldilocks weather – just right!
There was a breeze from the NE at times – it felt a bit as if I was riding into a headwind on Route 20 around Chofu as the road turned from ESE to ENE direction — but the breeze was not strong and never directly in front.
Why This Record
I wanted to do this to “lay down a marker” so that someone else will beat it. There are plenty of Japanese cyclists who could do it faster than I can, some much faster, some in my age group, some who ride recumbents, and many younger road cyclists. I hope this will encourage them to try.
Last year I did the “Across Honshu” unsupported record (1667km), but this year I am not in really strong condition for ultra-cycling. It is the only year since 2010 (other than 2020 during the pandemic) that I have not done an Audax series of 200, 300, 400, and 600km brevets, and much more. Travel, family events, then some weeks off in July with Covid-19, and record summer heat, all have set back my usual training schedule. This shorter ride seemed like an attainable goal for the Fall. (I have one more plan for a 300km+ course that will require a road bike, but that one will need to wait for next Spring).
Equipment Used
I rode my Pelso Brevet “carbon high racer” recumbent. I am slow climbing on the Pelso, but this was a largely flat and downhill course with very little climbing. I now have a 48-tooth oval single front chainring and an 11-50 rear cassette, with a 12 speed SRAM mountain bike derailleur, but it is otherwise set up the same as for last year’s long ride.
Since the ride would be entirely at night I used my SP Dynamo hub front wheel, as well as a Busch Mueller Icon IQ/XS front light and several battery-powered rear lights. I experimented some with LED powered front lights, but could not get any to work as well as the dynamo-powered Icon IQ/XS. So it is a no brainer choice – set and forget – even with some very modest drag from the dynamo.
I rode in relatively leg-hugging running shorts, cycling jersey, wool short-sleeved inner layer, reflective vest and ankle bands, and running shoes with wool socks, with rain/warm gear stowed in my Radical Designs rear seat bag just in case.
Eat and Drink
I left home around 1PM and rode the 89.4kms (and 640m elevation gain) to the start.
I was feeling pretty drained even before leaving home from lack of adequate rest over the past week, and I could feel some burning in the legs at times as I climbed toward the start at Lake Okutama. Doing such a long ride to the start was not ideal … but I had planned to do this effort entirely alone, the Pelso is not easily carried on Japanese public transit, and the logistics of leaving a car at the start and returning to pick it up later were not great, so I just rode to the start and then home from the finish.
I booked a room form JPY3000 ($20) at a very basic inn very near the start. I arrived at 630PM and planned to leave around 1030-11PM. The inn seems to host groups of hikers, who do their own cooking. The inn does not serve food, and most of the nearby restaurants serve only lunch to passersby (including one where my friends and I always stop when we ride nearby). So I knew I could not get dinner anywhere near the start. Instead, I ate (carbonara pasta, a rice doria, etc., etc.) on the way, in Oume and again at the 7-11 at Kori, and took some sandwiches and Japanese convenience store basics with me to eat after arriving at the inn. (The innkeeper and his wife were both in their 90s, and I was their only guest Saturday evening. I was quite impressed with the 93 year-old innkeeper who spryly walked up several flights of steps on the outside of the building to show me my room.) I ate my sandwiches, rested and even got an hour of sleep.
During the ride, I had maybe 4 half-sized “Kind” nut/energy bars, some bite-sized apple danishes, and a Snickers bar, with a bit more in reserve. I carried a 950mm water bottle with a mix of water and sports drink, and another 500mm water bottle in my bag. I felt somewhat de-hydrated from the climb up to the start, so I drank a lot of water at the inn to try and re/pre-hydrate in the 4 ½ hours before the ride. Of course, I wanted to do this sub-4 hour ride without any convenience store or other stop to take on food or drink, and was able to make it. Ideally, I would have had a bit more sports drink with me, but the cool weather and nice downhill section early in the route meant I could manage without. My only stops were traffic signals, plus 2 quick bathroom breaks at roadside (a side effect of having drunk so much liquid before the ride).
Best Part
The best part of this ride was that probably 75% was on familiar roads, ridden in ideal weather and low traffic. I love riding in Japan at night when traffic is low. It helps to have relatively smooth and unobstructed roads.
Hardest Part
The start was really difficult. Lacking adequate rest, I felt drained, even after a couple hours of rest. The first stretch along Lake Okutama had me wondering if I should not just give up, relax, ride home, and try again another time. Every time I pushed it a bit, I needed to back off the throttle. But I recovered on the long downhill and so, by the time I needed to really start to work harder again on the remaining two-thirds of the ride, I felt okay.
Finish. I finished at 2:37AM on October 27, for 3 hours and 47 minutes. I finished just on the eastern side of the Kyu Edo River at the Edogawa Sluice. Tokyo Prefecture follows the Edo River and, after they divide, the Kyu Edo River, and this is the furthest east crossing into Chiba that I could locate. There is a wide cycle/walking path over the river here (on top of the sluice) that is closed to cars but regularly used by cyclists and pedestrians. Even at the end of my ride at 2:37AM on Saturday night, there were 3 younger men fishing off of the sluice and talking.
After the finish, I stopped at a nearby convenience store for some food and a cup of coffee, then rode back to and across the sluice, and home slowly. On the ride home, I went right down the middle of the Ginza — Chuo Avenue — the bright lights of the stores on even at after 3AM. Now THAT is one street where it is impossible to time the traffic lights!
Strava Link
