The initial forecast had been for rain all weekend and through the following week. Welcome to rainy season! But from yesterday, the forecast for today showed a chance of clearing following rain in the morning, so I made tentative plans for a short ride, perhaps from late morning or early afternoon.

I woke rather early to the sound of rain and an early morning gloom. The situation did not improve quickly — for some time it worsened as the morning lengthened. It wasn’t until 9 or so that I felt confident enough to move Kuroko from the Workshop in the Sky to the bicycle parking in the basement, an operation that includes a half-circuit of the building outdoors at ground level.

Dialing in

I’d mentioned during my last ride that I’d had some shifting issues on the previous ride up the Edogawa. At that time I’d straightened out the derailleur hanger, which was both bent and twisted. I’d also adjusted the derailleur, but on my way to Haneda and back all was not sweetness and light. The derailleur was working and I was not missing shifts, but it was still rough and noisier than it should be.

Yesterday I had Kuroko back in the Workshop in the Sky and ran through the derailleur adjustment procedure once again. Part of my motivation in getting out today was to test the result of that work, and I’m happy to say the shifting is much improved now; sure and silent.

I’d thought to set out between 10 and 11, but Nana remembered at the last moment that she’s asked for cleaning service. I’d already decided on an abbreviated route for the day, and so a bit of delay didn’t bother me. I waited for the cleaning to finish, then had a quick lunch and got on the road at noon. Then the first obstacle I encountered was a massive police presence at Shinjuku Station south exit. There must have been something going on — a demonstration or parade — but the line of three police buses and even more cars taking up a lane in front of the entrance caused more of a traffic issue than anything.

Everything else went well on the ride, including the dialed-in shifting. I was openly laughing at an ojisan who would come up from behind me at red lights and ride through the crosswalk to wait at the absolute corner of the curb. I’d overtake him in the first few seconds after the light turned green, only to have the same thing repeated at the next red light. I finally left him a light behind on the climb towards Aoyama Itchome after passing the national stadium.

After Meiji Jingu it’s a sweeping downhill before the climb up to Geihinkan (the State Guest House). Just as I was trying to judge if I would clear the traffic light at the bottom of the climb, I felt something brush my leg as it fell off the bike. What could that have been? I quickly came to stop and confirmed I had my wallet and phone. I left Kuroko propped against the railing and backtracked on foot, only to find the bicycle lock. I’d left it on the rear rack after removing Kuroko from the parking stand. I’m only surprised it stayed with me up to that point, more than 5km from home!

There were no further surprises on the ride. This was an abbreviated version of my Tokyo Landmarks ride, and I’d front-loaded most of the climbing. When I arrived at Kudanshita, I was still feeling the effects of having climbed from Akasaka Mitsuke up to the palace moat. But it was all good — I had no trouble surmounting Kudanzaka to get the photos at Chidorigafuchi.

I’d only brought one water bottle and that was nearly empty. The time was 1:15 so I messaged Nana I would be home by 2 or 2:15 and set off on the last leg. I had to deal with the typical amount of idiots and missed lights on the way home, but rolled up on the plaza and messaged Nana at 1:46.

I wasn’t racing today but I felt good overall. On a moving time of 1:12:40, I averaged 18.7km/h.