Hello, heat...

Rode a quick, early morning loop with Grecia this morning, then decided to carry on for a bit because it was a glorious day. After dropping in to Otsu over Hieizan (one of my favourite 'test' climbs) I decided to head south and do the East side of the Omine Forest Road climb, the other side of which we did on February's Rapha Cycle Club ride. Turns out it's less steep from this side, and the descent is absolutely stunning. I'll try to record it sometime. Definitely one of my favourites now!

Hot day...

The heat started really messing with me a couple of hours into my solo venture. I was trying a new hydration approach but it's just hard to drink enough when it's this hot. I tried bringing one bottle of pure water, which I would drink from frequently and could easily refill, and a bottle of super (x3) concentrated energy/electrolyte drink, which I would drink from about every 15 minutes and wash down with water.

Labelled bottles: left, water (W); right, electrolytes/energy (E)

My scheme seemed to work well and I stayed feeling relatively good right up until maybe the last hour, but my performance on the climbs wasn't great. There's only so much you can drink! Not sure what else to try - I'm thinking that riding in these conditions is just going to be more endurance than KOM-grabbing...

Cold coconut milk with tapioca beads - really good mid-ride refreshment!

Top of the Omine Forest Road climb.

Uncontrollable sweating makes for the best photos, I find.

We're just getting to summer. It's only going to get worse from here.

God help us here in Kyoto...

Hello, rain!

Well, June is officially the 'rainy season' in Japan. It seems to have come a week or so early this year, because this last week has been terrible (and by comparison, this week looks great!). It's also hot (up to 30C already) and humid (80%, ugh). Rides now have to start at 7am to avoid the worst of it...

Last week I got one single ride in, on Sunday. Short (well, around 70km) but fairly intense, and a new route that turned out to be very nice. Nice group ride too, with quite a few people, including a few new faces.

Steve leading the charge up the final (steep!) climb

Peter (in white) and myself (in blue/black) coming up the same climb

Solomon (in bright colours) pulling up the hill on a fixed gear - maniac!

Grecia (in red) leading Matty to the top

Here's to a busier next week... if I can fit in any riding around my work...

Castelli Challenge: Failed

Yeah, it wasn't happening. Didn't even reach the 2/3 mark (quite), which I'm a little disappointed about. I got screwed over by the sudden increase in temperatures, really, leaving no time to acclimatise. Completing a challenge isn't worth the risk of wrecking yourself.

Did get some good riding in, though. Lots of quality time in some beautiful places - I could probably have completed this if I just did lots of flat rides but I decided to head into the mountains instead. Since it was a challenge designed to commemorate the pivotal climbing stages of the Giro d'Italia, I feel like I did it some justice even without finishing it.

Meanwhile, last Saturday we all got together to watch the penultimate (and final mountain) stage of the Giro, accompanied by lots of quality cheese (a rare treat in Japan) and beer/wine. Good times with a lot of very good people.

This week looks rather rainy (today is foul and it's set to get worse at least through to Thursday) so I'm not hopeful of much good riding before the weekend! Oh well, let's see what happens...

Roadside Veterinary Assistance

Have you ever seen a man trying to resuscitate a flattened roadkill snake with a bicycle pump?

You have now.

Sadly I think there is as much chance of that snake coming back to life as there is of me completing the Castelli challenge (which ends tomorrow): absolutely zero. It just hasn't worked out time-wise and the sudden temperature rise has totally screwed me. A shame, although I have been getting some quality miles in, which is also important.

Ugh.

I'm going to try to get one more ride in tomorrow to at least hit the 2/3 mark. Let's see.

Casually Deliberate

As per The Rules:

Rule #80 // Always be Casually Deliberate
Waiting for others pre-ride or at the start line pre-race, you must be tranquilo, resting on your top tube. This may be extended to any time one is aboard the bike, but not riding it, such as at stop lights.

If you are caught in a photo, you'd better look pro...

Nailed it.