February 2012
14 posts
7 tags
Red Bull, Red Meat, and Febreeze.
Our last night in Tokyo was to be spent back in the hip Shi BOO YAH neighborhood. We were to meet Tim’s Red Bull Athlete Manager in Japan, Arnie Ueno, at the Hachiko Dog statue again and we would be heading to dinner somewhere in the neighborhood.
When we got to the statue we immediately heard Arnie calling for us and he introduced us to his co-worker, Ai, pronounced “Eye.” ...
7 tags
Rice Balls, AKB48, and Raw Coffee.
After an awesome morning spent betting on bikes, we got back in the Cannondale van with Hiro and Ichi.
It was lunch time, and we would be eating on the road.
“McDonald’s or Rice Balls?” Hiro asked.
Tim and I both replied “Rice Balls” without hesitation.
Hiro shook his head and said, “Crazy Americans. They eat squid but not McDonald’s.”
...
5 tags
Betting on Bikes
The day before our trip to Tokyo ended, Hiro and Ichi surprised Tim and me with a trip to Keirin racing in Omiya.
Ichi was pretty pumped for the trip.
But Tim was concerned for his health.
It was close to a one hour drive, and from what I could tell, the Japanese were not accustomed to driving such a long distance. Tim and I didn’t care, as we just tried to repeat the Japanese...
6 tags
Eat the Head.
After our visit to Bonsai Cycle in Sendagaya, we made our way to the train with Kaiko Shimura, better known as the girl who is polluting the internet with images that would best be kept off the internet.
Thanks, Kaiko.
The train was crowded.
And unbelievably quiet! Seriously, no talking. Silence. Except for the click of my camera shutter. Whoops.
We got off the train in the hip...
3 tags
Crazy Americans
One thing we vowed to do while in Tokyo was to eat as the Japanese eat.
So far, I have shared Hotel Breakfasts, Sushi, Shabu Shabu, and now it’s time for a meal from Osaka called, “Okonamiyaki.” They call it the “Japanese Pancake,” but I can assure you, this ain’t your standard breakfast dish.
Yaki, in Japanese, is Grill. So when we were brought to our...
7 tags
How About Some Hardcore
Before the Cyclo Cross Tokyo 2012 race on Saturday, we were introduced, by Daisuke Yano, to the owner of Bonsai Cycle, a special bike shop in Tokyo.
Upon meeting the owner, he told Tim Johnson he made “replica helmets.”
“This one?” Tim asked, pointing to his Red Bull helmet?
“Yes,” he replied, “This one is very difficult.”
We were...
4 tags
Cyclo Cross Tokyo 2012 GoPro
Some video from the handlebars of Christian Heule during Cyclo Cross Tokyo 2012.
11 tags
Cyclo Cross Tokyo 2012
I didn’t realize this, but this was the first ever Cyclo Cross Tokyo, and to say it was a success is an understatement.
We all woke up early to be at breakfast in the hotel by 7am. We were at the course with bikes, wheels, trainers and other supplies by 8 for the 40 minute course inspection, since Tim and Erik had not yet ridden the course.
There was still roughly 1.2km of sand on the...
5 tags
Dinner Before the Race.
Back to chronological order, here…Friday.
On Friday, the rest of the racers arrived in Tokyo: Ben Berden, Tim Johnson, and Eric Tonkin.
Christian, Jamey and I were passing time in my hotel when Berden arrived at the hotel in Daiba late Friday afternoon and stopped by our room to say hello.
Ben’s most pressing question was what we were going to do at night.
He was welcomed...
Tokyo at Night.
I am going to step out of chronological order on posts here. I have to. Racing cyclocross is, well, racing cyclocross. You can imagine what it was like and I will definitely share my photos and video soon, but right now I have something more interesting to share.
After Saturday’s race, our Champion Systems hosts threw a party and fed us all we could eat. We can’t thank Ryoji,...
5 tags
Wait up, #Japandler
You saw Christian Heule pre-riding Koksijde behind Sven Nys.
Now you get to see him pre-riding Cyclocross Tokyo behind me…notice how natural I look in the Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld Pro kit. I could get used to wearing those colors…hopefully Team Director, Stu Thorne, will take notice.
If you’re looking for some analysis on this course, here goes:
The stuff in the...
6 tags
Cover the Plate.
Earlier this year I waged a bet with a kind gentleman from Canada.
The contest was a head to head battle at the Grand Prix of Gloucester in the Men’s B Race and to the victor went a hefty supply of Pure Maple Syrup from the loser’s region.
Long story short, I won the bet and received my winnings at the NBX Warwick Race in early December.
That weekend, Christian Heule stayed with...
4 tags
Sushi in Tokyo
After leaving the airport, Shinya brought The Dangler and me to meet two more Champsys hosts, Chiharu and Ryoji, at a local Sushi eatery, not far from our hotel.
Bear with me on these next photos because, like I mentioned, I would prefer to not have to think at all when using a camera and it stresses me out having to do so. As a result, Todd edited these remotely and did what he could to fix...
6 tags
#Japandler
A few months ago, I got an email from Tim Johnson saying he had two options for after the World Championships in Koksijde; A race in Costa Rica or a race in Tokyo, Japan.
My response to him was something along the lines of, “Is it even a question?” While I’m sure Costa Rica is beautiful, Japan has always seemed, well, like JAPAN.
Shortly after the email exchange, Tim asked...