Creeping Ever Closer

I’m leaving for Japan on the 6th May and I am starting to ask myself whether I’m doing enough training. I find myself nervously checking the elevation profile of the harder days and comparing them against my current training. On Tuesday, I was supposed to climb a col but for one reason or another – a shortage of time, inclement weather, a lack of bottle – I decided to to do a flatter, longer ride that passed three of the local lakes, Biel, Murten and Neuchatel. I have a bit of history with this route.

I did part of it with a friend who comes from one of the hottest regions of Portugal. It was minus 2 when we set out and he insisted we stop and hunker down behind a tree on a river bank out of the wind which, admittedly, was extremely cold. I took a photo of the tree and tormented him with it this morning.

On another occasion I did much of the route at night, and watched the sun set over the Lac de Biel. I was still 130kms from home. On that ride I saw a man steel himself to walk alone into the forest, watched deer jump out of my path, and saw owl take flight from a fence post. I gave up 40kms from Lausanne and took the midnight train home. I have no idea why I wanted to ride all night but I’ll keep those memories for a long time.

On Tuesday, I rode 130kms, but I left the ride pretty disappointed. I had worked in a couple of climbs, one of them 2km long and an average of 9% and I really struggled up it. While I know that last year I would have barely made it to the top, I made a bit of a meal of it and got home aching and spent. There are even harder climbs waiting for me in Japan.

I made other mistakes. I adjusted my saddle height and wore a backpack, either of which may have lead to the painful back. I should have done one and then the other, now I don’t know the cause. I was in a rush and went out far too hard, didn’t stop to enjoy my favourite views or even take photos, and blew up with 10kms to go. So, rather than finish the ride with more confidence than I started with, I’m left with questions I won’t be able to answer until the next time out.

There are positives. I can start earlier than a leisurely 10am. I know how to pace myself. Experienced bike packers say you get fitter as you go, which I believe. Another rider overtook me on the climb and didn’t say hello. I found him at the summit, dead over the handlebars, as the French say. He wasn’t being rude, he just didn’t have enough breath to greet me and we congratulated ourselves on making it to the top. It’s Thursday now and I’ve recovered my usual zip.

I am going to write a long post, even several posts, about Japanese travel literature, but I’ll finish with a quote from the book I am currently reading, Essays in Idleness by the Japanese monk Kenkō, translated by Meredith McKinney.

“Do not wait until old age is upon you before taking up religious practice. Most graves of the past hold men who died young.”

The ride by the numbers: