Edogawa Ride

I decide it is imperative to get in a long bicycle ride prior to the looming Suzu Triathlon and set out on a 120-kilometer ride along the scenic Edogawa River, thinking it will boost my confidence for Suzu's 100k of cycling.

But instead the Edogawa ride leaves me a broken, exhausted shell of my former self with my hopes for Suzu shattered and reduced to simple survival.

The first 60k of the ride upriver is fine thanks to the strong tailwind. But when I turn into the headwind I know I am in trouble. The 33 degree heat, sore quads, and overall fatigue bear down on me. My speed soon drops from 28k/hour to 13k/hour. Soon I can hardly pedal at all.

When another cyclist goes by me I try to jump in behind him and take advantage of the draft, but I don't have energy to keep up. Later I come upon a young schoolgirl riding a little pink bike with a flower basket, and draft off her for awhile, but she provides little shield from the headwind.

I abandon my initial plan to ride back to the Bay and stagger onto a train at Matsudo where the other passengers look upon me with mixture of concern and disgust. Upon returning home I weigh myself and am a shocking 57kg (126 pounds), my lowest weight since around the age of 14.

I run with our Yoga Master, Michael Glenn, after the ride, but I am so spent that I repeatedly implore Michael to stop and walk