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Morning Ride.
Once in a while, I feel like riding a bike other than the road bike?so I pulled out my Gary Fisher from the storage for the first time this season. It’s a 26-inch mountain bike fitted with slick tires. In fact, this is the bike I ride the most throughout the year.
It’s an older model, so it’s got a triple chainring up front and a 9-speed cassette in the back. Love it!
Since I had it out, I decided to do a little hill climb and headed for the nearby Minekata Pass (also known as Shirasawa Pass). This place is sacred ground for randonneurs, right? (I miss the days when the tunnel exit was still round…)
I parked my car at the Oide parking area, then hopped on the bike and started spinning the pedals. Passed by the old Minekata ski area?trees are now growing all over the slopes. It’s a ski hill full of memories, so it's a bit sad… but such is the passage of time.
From the fork in the road, the climb begins in earnest?and the light filtering through the trees is beautiful. At this hour, cars rarely come through. So, I don’t bother shifting into an easier gear. I just keep it as-is and climb steadily using a wide, weaving motion up the hill.
I’m actually pretty good at this kind of serpentine climbing. (←Back in the day, I entered a massively over-specced race with no way to escape, so I had to get good… that’s the story.)
When it comes to climbing, a smooth weaving path might even be faster than going straight up. The key is to maintain conditions where the tires naturally want to keep rolling. That’s what this weaving technique is all about.
The essence lies in leaning the bike?not turning the handlebars. Bikes are designed to have the handlebars naturally follow when the bike is leaned. (←It's a real shame that this isn’t more widely known…)
The correct order is: lean → start turning. If you turn the handlebars first, then turn, you just end up with awkward zigzagging?angled climbs with sharp corners.
On the other hand, the image of an efficient climb is like an infinity loop?∞?a continuous, smooth, rolling motion of the tires. There are just two things to focus on:
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Keep your body positioned so the tires can keep rolling freely.
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Keep pedaling in sync with that rolling.
That’s it! Before you know it, you’ve finished the climb without strain.
That’s the power of the weaving technique. (←Downsides: it requires space and can’t be used on roads with much traffic. Fair enough.)
And so, in about 40 minutes I arrived at Minekata Pass. A pleasant, moderate climb. A smooth descent brought me back in just about an hour total. Only an hour… Hill climbs really are time-efficient, aren’t they?
August 1, 2025 ? Postscript:
Actually, I’ve even taught bike school in the past. I’ll attach some related info below. Let me know if you're interested?I'm happy to help.
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