I’ve been meaning to get back to Edogawa for a while. It’s a nice, flat ride, although there’s more urban riding to reach it than the Tamagawa and the cycling paths are more iffy. There’s a nice rest area with shaded benches just past the 40km mark, and if I feel strong then it’s still good and flat up to the 50km mark, so I can get in a metric century.

In fact I’d come up this way two weekends ago with the same goal in mind, but on that occasion I turned back at the mouth of the Kyu Edogawa when faced with a fairly stiff wind. (And just looking at that now, I see I’ve chosen the same shot for the featured image. The blue sky on yesterday’s ride makes it a bit more appealing.)

The temperature was hovering around 16C as I was preparing to depart, and the forecast high was 24. After some dithering I decided to put on a light base layer under my jersey, and this was a good decision. I set out just before 9 a.m. under mostly cloudy skies and headed for Shinjuku.

On my way to the palace, I realized the front tire was a bit soft. It would probably be fine for the ride, but I decided this was a good chance to try out my new Clik pump and make sure I could rely on it in an emergency. I got chased out of one park by a polite but firm uniformed worker before finding a bench in another park where I could lean the bike and give it some air. I noticed the Clik valve was slightly loose, so I gave it a twist with my fingers before attaching the pump. And the pump works fine. It takes some effort but all the air goes into the valve, and the valve fitting is simplicity in itself.

Before getting to the Edogawa I have to cross the Arakawa. When I came this way two weeks ago, I’d stopped in the convenience store before the bridge to get some lunch. This time I had plenty of Nana’s world-famous mentaiko onigiri, so I just got a bottle of Pokari. Once across the bridge I enjoyed a couple of onigiri before continuing on my way.

It was windy once again at the mouth of the Kyu Edogawa — enough to nearly knock the bike over while I was taking the photo — but not as bad as on the previous attempt. I was glad for the extra layer under my jersey, though.

Not far upstream, the path runs into some construction. It’s been this way for at least two years now, so I decided to see if the schedule was given on the sign. This notice is from March this year, and it mentions five years, but does not give the date of completion. To be fair, it’s a major dyke reconstruction from the looks of it. Meanwhile the path leading up to this spot was just redone last year, and a bit of decoration has been added just before the barrier.

Not so windy after all

I reached the Edogawa proper at about the 35km mark and found there was some crosswind, but it wasn’t holding me back significantly. The dyke here is nearly double the height of Tamagawa’s, so at each switchback I’d arrive at the top huffing for breath. But I’d soon be speeding along again, passing sports fields below where children played baseball, ran track and field events, and even played cricket. Across the river, some kind of sports gathering was doing their best to blast everyone’s ears with their overpowered PA.

When the Garmin beeped at the 40km mark, I stopped a moment to take stock. It was 11:45, meaning if I went another 10km before turning around, I’d be home well after 4 p.m. I checked the map and saw I had just another 2.5km to reach the Tora-san Café, and more importantly the shaded benches and bike rack outside. (I’ve never actually been in the café.) Pushing on, then, I reached the spot just about at noon and sat on a bench in the shade, happily resting and finishing off another two mentaiko onigiri and the rest of my water.

About 12:20 I messaged Nana I was on my way home. A headache flared up above my left eye as I pedaled, but apart from that the going was easy. I believe I had a tailwind at this point as I racked up a string of personal bests as I continued down the Edogawa and Kyu Edogawa. I stopped at a convenience store on the Kyu Edogawa for more water and Pokari, as well as a package of apple danishes.

I didn’t note the time that I reached the Arakawa again, where I’d have 20km remaining, but I messaged Nana to let her know I was making progress. I’d estimated it was between 1:30 and 2, meaning I had a good chance of making it home by 4. (The image properties tell me it was 1:44.) Once across the river, it would be a pretty straight shot on Eitai Dori to my next landmark, Nihonbashi.

At Nihonbashi, I once again updated Nana on my progress. She wasn’t responding, so I guessed she’d gone to the sauna. Knowing I’d be in a lot of traffic between Nihonbashi and the palace, I tried to relax as I set out once again.

There was. Quite a lot of traffic.

I had no trouble with the climb at Kudanzaka — I just plodded along in the lowest gear as I passed the parked taxis. At this point I usually cycle back to Tayasumon for photos, but the sidewalks were very crowded and so I walked. All the same, I noted a number of cyclists weaving through the crowds.

After getting my photos I settled on a stone wall at the end of Chidorigafuchi (all the benches were taken) and finished off the apple danishes. At 2:55 I checked my water bottles — still plenty of Pokari — and messaged Nana I’d be home by 4. I continued to make good time on the way, despite the best efforts of a couple Shinjuku cabbies, and rolled to a stop at 3:30 on the dot.

I arrived home knackered. The headache that had set in after leaving Tora-san Café was still with me. I took my time putting the bike away, getting showered and so on. When I finally had a look at Strava I was stunned to see so many personal records on the ride.

My pace overall was not bad. On a moving time of 4:36:24, I averaged 18.6km/h. I’d probably have done a bit better if the traffic had been lighter. Kuroko performed well, but I need to have a look at the gears again — there’s some noise in the lowest two, and an occasional momentary skip when moving up from the third or forth gear.