Though the day ended up mostly cloudy and cooler than Saturday, it made nice riding weather until later in the afternoon when the wind picked up. I had 120KM on my training schedule today. I had know idea how I was going to get that kind of distance in without knowing where to go. Someone suggested I ride loops around the Imperial Palace, just as I do for running. It's a 5KM loop. That's 24 loops. At least the loops would have some rolling hills. I guess we do what we have to do.
After the 4th loop I had had enough. It may be a 5KM loop but there are 7 traffic lights! In Japan, cyclists actually stop at traffic lights and there seems to be an abundance of police cars traveling around the Imperial Palace so I did not feel like chancing a fine or some sort of international incident. I turned of the loop in the direction of Ginza hoping for the best. I stuck to the main roads thinking they would have less traffic lights or at least longer periods between changes.
A short while later, I was climbing a rather large steel bridge over a river. I happened to look down and saw other cyclists on a paved path along the river. Some were even kitted out in the their colorful spandex finery so I guessed there may be a route along the river and it was worth turning back and taking a chance to find out.
I found ramp that descended to the river, turned right onto the path and flipped into a big gear. The path was wide and not heavily in use so I was comfortable pushing up my speed without fear of a collision. There were people flying remote model airplanes in the wide grassy embankment on the side furthest from the river. In the grassy area closest to river, families were having picnics and others were walking their dogs but still their was no congestion on the path. I was starting to get very excited...and then in 5 minutes riding time the path came to an end.
But I had another direction to try so I wasn't going to despair just yet. I turned around and began hammering the other way thinking if it wasn't very long I was at least going to get an intense traffic free burst in the mix. But this time, there didn't appear to be an end in sight. It was flat but somewhat twisting and after 30 minutes I was still going...then I came across a traffic control person who flagged me to a stop.
I don't know what he said but after a few moments it became clear what was going on, as a car was approached with flashing lights and a clock mounted on the top. It was a race of some sort and the lead runners were coming up the path. As the car passed the clock said 1:10:36 so I guessed that it was probably a 25KM race. After the lead pack ran through the traffic monitor/crowd control officer motioned for me to stay to the left and let me continue.
It wasn't long before another group of runners was approaching. Then I saw a 20KM sign just up ahead. I realized I was on the run course but ahead of the runners on their return route so there shouldn't be an issue because I doubted they could catch a cyclist riding at 35KM per hour.
I was right about them not catching me but wrong about there not being an issue. As I raced passed the speedier participants going the other direction I soon came to the middle of the pack. As far as I could see there were thousands of runners up ahead and the path was full on both sides. Again, a traffic control officer flagged me to a stop and motioned for me to exit the path. I just could not catch a break, especially when I realized it was a full distance marathon. I wasn't certain how far the path went but I knew it would be off limits for the next 22KM.
A little piece of good fortune was that there seemed to be a road running parallel to the river path. In sections it was one way and at times it routed me through winding neighborhoods that brought my pace to a crawl but at least there wasn't too much traffic. Occasionally, I would make my way back to the path to see if I had passed the end of the run course. After about 90 minutes of detours and frustration, I passed the intended finish line and was able to get back on the river path which now seemed to have no end. I was able to pick up the pace again and eventually the number of people around dwindled to a scattered few and I found myself amid farm fields and an occasional little league baseball field.
That's when I realized I was 80KM outside of Tokyo. It was quiet and rural and a lot like being 80KM outside of Chicago, except unexpectedly, Tokyo has significantly more abandoned cars. I saw lots of children playing baseball, maybe 20 or so different children's league games along the way. In comparison I saw three soccer matches in progress - apparently, even the Japanese don't care for soccer. I saw cows and bulls tethered and staked alongside the path. The guys with their remote controlled model planes seemed to be everywhere. Every so often I saw people flying kites. Probably more than 100 people walking dogs. At least a dozen people riding their bikes while walking their dogs.
As I mentioned , the road that mimics the river path was one way at times. On my return, I was forced further and further away from the river path until I lost sight of it and couldn't find my way back. I rode aimlessly winding throughout neighborhoods until I heard drumming. There were drummers spread out along the course to inspire the runners along the way. They fortunately also acted as locating signal for me. My 120KM (75 miles) stretched into 150KM (93 miles) but at least now I know I can ride along the Arakawa river without having to deal with traffic though there may be an occasional marathon. Too bad it is pancake flat. I'll have to figure out how to get my bike to Mt Fuji!
[this is good]
Posted by: robbie1209 | 10 February 2009 at 03:58 PM