The forecast for today was for cloudy skies and a high of 28C. With that in mind, I aimed for an early departure and a short ride, get home before the hottest part of the day. Nana obligingly awoke before 7 and set to making onigiri straight away.

I set out at 8 a.m. and headed for Tamagawa. I felt good — better than I’ve felt on the bike for several months. Traffic was not yet too heavy, and (apart from the usual idiots) the ride to the river went smoothly. The road work between Sakura Shimmachi and Yoga is finally finished (it’s been fucking years), and I flew downhill towards Yoga station, only to be brought up short at the last second by a changing traffic light.

In contrast to the vehicle traffic, the Tamagawa cycling course was packed with riders and joggers alike. I had to slow more than once and bide my time before passing a cluster of joggers or walkers on the path. As I approached the row of benches shaded by cherry trees at the 14km mark (i.e., 14km from the mouth of Tokyo Bay as marked on the course), I debated whether to stop for a rest when I would be stopping again a few kilometers later on the opposite bank of the river. I quickly came to a decision: I was riding for my enjoyment, not racing the clock! I stopped and had a leisurely rest before continuing.

Either watch the sportsball or use the path!

Back on the Tokyo side of the river, I continued downstream. I had to ring my bell or come to an emergency stop more than a few times as I encountered people walking on the path or even cycling while their attention was on the little league baseball game on the adjacent field. And more than once I had to shout at an oncoming cyclist whose attention was similarly engaged.

These idiots aside (and people wearing ear buds who were oblivious to my bell), I kept up a good pace downstream, occasionally reined it by gusts of crosswind. I arrived at Haneda less than two hours after setting out, despite my extra rest stop on the way.

After eating the onigiri and drinking some water, I messaged Nana I was on my way. I expected some trouble from the wind, and was not disappointed. But after some strong gusts across the path in the lower stretches, it was mostly helping me on my way back up the river. After a few kilometers I stopped at a convenience store to refill my bottles with water and Pokari before continuing on. Once again, keeping my enjoyment in mind, I was not sparing with the rest breaks on the return.

Once again crossing the Tamagawa and back in Tokyo, I took my time on the climb out of the Tamagawa valley. I was comfortable on the climb, not feeling at any point that I was going to run out of steam.

There weren’t any benches in the shade at the park at the top of the climb, but I made do. I polished off a bag of apple danishes I’d bought at the convenience store where I’d topped up my water bottles, and checked the time. I messaged Nana at 11:44 that I’d be home by 1. It was 26C, so still a bit below the forecast high.

The return through traffic was (again, apart from idiots) unremarkable. I was still OK on the few remaining ups, although not quite as fresh as in the morning. I was starting to feel a bit of pressure in my seat but was otherwise OK. With less than 3km to go, I was challenged at a crossing by a delivery idiot on an ebike with a throttle control (illegal in Japan). I didn’t even blink, just let the idiot go ahead so I didn’t have to deal with him. I got out of sync with the lights as a result, but just breathed deeply and continued on. I arrived home at 12:35 and let Nana know I was safe.

I’ve done this ride in less than four hours elapsed time, and less than three hours riding time. I’m not trying to challenge those figures again. On a moving time of 3:21:29, I averaged 19.5km/h, and I’m very happy with that.

Maintenance

On my last ride I noted there were some issues with the shifting. Yesterday I brought Kuroko to the Workshop in the Sky to have a look.

After having a review of Terry’s Better Shifting site, I was tempted just to give the derailleur an adjustment. But I prodded myself to get out the Derailleur Adjustment Guide, and I was glad I did in the end. The derailleur hanger was not just bent but also twisted. After a few deft yanks to sort that out, I proceed with the adjustment à la Terry. On the stand, it was perfect.

On the road today, the shifting was very much improved. But from my experience, there’s some way yet to go. Rainy season is upon us, so I’ll no doubt have adequate chance to get this dialed in to perfection.