First ride of the New Year

The forecast was for clear skies with little to no wind today, with a high of 10C, so it seemed a good chance for 初走り, the first ride of the New Year. It took some doing for me to get going in the morning, though, as the temperature was a shiver-inducing 0C when I first checked. When I finally started preparing, I reminded myself to put on the heat tech undershirt before my usual long-sleeved T and winter cycling jacket.

I hadn’t let Nana know clearly that I’d be riding today, so I stopped at a convenience store in Nikotama for an onigiri and some other noshes, before proceeding down the Tamagawa. The tires were making a new and different sound against the pavement following yesterday’s tubeless conversion, and with the lack of wind I was soon making good time downstream.

The cycling path downstream of Futagobashi on the Kanagawa side has been widened further, with smooth new pavement. There’s now only about half a kilometer remaining to widen from the bridge down to the rest point with all the kawazu-zakura. (Glares in [former] taxpayer at Setagaya Ward.)

With the clear, still air, Fujisan was clearly visible in the distance. The wind picked up a bit as I approached Tokyo Bay, but it didn’t slow me down as much as the pedestrians and other bikers out pottering about in the nice New Year’s holiday weather. All along the playing fields by the river, people were flying kites — a New Year’s tradition.

Haneda Peace Shrine was right where I left it. There were a number of cyclists there and we all took turns politely to get our photos. That done, I sat down on a rock under a tree to enjoy my convenience store lunch.

The ride home was even smoother, for the most part. What little wind there was pushed me homeward. The challenge became dodging the others sharing the path: two children in quick succession who were weaving their bikes from one edge of the path to the other while their father looked wordlessly on. A couple riding in the opposite direction who turned across the path immediately in front of me: the man without a glance in my direction, the woman (with a child on the back of her bike) after seeing me but proceeding anyway. The middle-aged woman who, on hearing my bell, crossed from the left edge of the path to the right just in front of me. Several children playing a game of counting down and then dashing across the path, ignoring my bell and in one case nearly broadsiding me.

I saw all these obstacles in advance, slowed (or stopped when necessary) and waited for the right moment before proceeding.

I felt I was making good time despite the moving hazards. As I neared Futagobashi, where I leave the path and head back into city traffic, I was checking the total elapsed time on the GPS. I had just passed 3 hours. Would I make it home within 4? I didn’t let this goal hasten my pace as I dodged the pedestrians on the bridge’s narrow sidewalk, and I waited patiently for the traffic light at the other end. Soon I was climbing the hill out of the Tamagawa valley, not making record time but keeping up a steady pace.

I sat down for my usual brief rest at the top of the hill. I checked the time and messaged Nana that I would by home by 3 o’clock (trusting that I would be quite a bit earlier than that). I was feeling the day’s ride in my thighs and was glad the climbs remaining were brief. With a final slug of water from the bidon, I set off home through the traffic. I continued to make good time, and the ride was uneventful apart from the driver who hung back behind me as I checked twice on his position, and then decided to pass me the moment I put out my hand and moved around the parked vehicle in my lane.

Things were getting close in the final 3 kilometers. With an effort, I peeled my eyes away from the GPS and concentrated on the traffic. I had luck with the lights and a long downhill with no traffic. I rolled into the plaza and hit the save button. In the end: not a record time by any means, but within 4 hours total elapsed time. I was satisfied.

Distinct lack of mechanicals

The first thing I did this morning in preparation was to check the air pressure in the tires. The front was nice and firm, but the rear was completely without pressure. I filled it up and hoped it would hold for the duration of the ride. It did.

I wasn’t very impressed with the factory rim job way they’d laid down the rim tape at the factory on the rear wheel when I received it. If the tire loses pressure again, I’ll replace the rim tape and see if that seals the deal.

Everything else went swimmingly. The new stem, which raises the handlebar about 3cm, was just what the doctor ordered. My neck and shoulders came through the ride unscathed. Ditto the recent saddle adjustment and its effect on my nethers. There was virtually no sound from the disc brakes, and the troublesome front derailleur shifted flawlessly all day. If things continue like this, I’ll have to invent excuses to work on the bike. (Not to worry: I’ve got several in mind already.)