We’ve been having temperatures in the mid-30s for a week now, so when the forecast for today was a high of 33C, I decided to get an early ride in. At first José said he would join, but he begged off at the last minute so he could sleep in.

I planned my departure for 7 a.m., and for a change that’s pretty much when I rolled out. I’d already decided an abbreviated route which I estimated at 5 hours and change, which should be enough to get me home before the peak temperature of the day.

From the Imperial Palace I went due east on Eitai Dori until I reached Arakawa, and then continued to Tokyo Disney Resort. By taking the direct route, I arrived at 8:51, even after stopping to refill a water bottle with Pokari.

From Disney, I back-tracked across the Arakawa. I reached Wakasu park about 9:30 and took a break to enjoy a couple of Nana’s world-famous onigiri. There were two benches in the shade, already occupied, and two more in the sun. *Sigh* I sat on the corner of a bench partly in shade and turned my back to the sun as I ate.

After a restroom break at Tokyo Gate Bridge and another refill of Pokari, I encountered an unexpected obstacle: the cycling course was closed for “renewal” from 1 April 2025 (with no mention of when it would reopen). Fortunately I only had to backtrack a couple of dozen meters and then continued through a parking lot that pretty much paralleled the course until I was back on the road.

At Kudanzaka I got off the bike and pushed it up the hill. After getting the usual snaps, I sat down in the shade of some cherry trees to eat the last of the onigiri. At 11:37 a.m. I messaged Nana I would be home by 12:30. At this point the temperature had risen to 31C, and I was getting a headache from the bright sun. Resolving to take it easy and take care in the traffic, I set off home. I didn’t have a lot of power but I made it through the lumps and bumps around Hanzomon without incident. When possible, I stuck to the shade while waiting for traffic lights. It all paid off as I rolled home and stopped Garmie at 12:12.

On a moving time of 3:18:35, I averaged 17.7km/h, which is better than I expected given how easy I was taking it all day. The temperature was still 31C when I got home, so I cleared the goal of getting home before it reached 33C.