Month: March 2020

  • Yesterday my skies were blue

    Yesterday my skies were blue

    Yesterday the weather was beautiful, warm with blue skies. Unfortunately I had other things to do. Today was very mild, but the skies were grey and occasionally threatening. I’m happy to report I only noticed a drop or two of rain as I was riding, and later the sun peeked out from the clouds. At…

  • Hotel options for rides

    Shimanami Kaido 竹庭 清正乃湯 4km from the end of the route in Imabari, very flat Kasumigaura 潮来ホテル 500m from Itako Station

  • Windy and flat(s)

    Windy and flat(s)

    The day dawned clear and warm, and the Halfakid and I decided to visit Otarumi Touge, a mountain pass near Mt Takao, for the first time this year. I rode up to the pass at least three times last year, but I’ve never reached the top without stopping for a breather. (The Halfakid goes right…

  • Tsukuba-Kasumigaura Ring-Ring Road

    I’ve been planning a ride with friends this summer in Ohio, but I haven’t booked anything yet given the current state of travel and restrictions brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. In case things fall through, I’d like to have a back-up plan. Assuming things don’t get dramatically worse for us here in Japan, one…

  • Someone forgot to tell 風神

    Someone forgot to tell 風神

    I was off to a late start this morning as I waited for Nana to wake up, but mostly I was watching the weather and hoping for the temperature to come up a bit. It was just 2C when I first checked, and when I finally set off about 9:20 a.m., it had risen to…

  • The postman always rings twice

    The postman always rings twice

    I checked the mailbox when I got home from work today and found a delivery notice from the post office. I checked the time on the notice: 16:32. And then the time on my phone: 16:39. I’d just missed him. (I’d stopped on the way home to shop for toilet paper, and I’m happy to…

  • Discretion

    Discretion

    Following yesterday’s tune-up I was really hoping for a mechanical-free ride today. Things didn’t go exactly as planned, but I nearly got my wish. Busted As usual after a maintenance session, I carried Kuroko from the Workshop in the Sky to the elevator and hence down to the bicycle parking in the basement. From there…

  • Working from home

    Working from home

    I’m working from home today and taking advantage of the slow trickle of work e-mail to get some bike maintenance done. (It’s a beautiful day and I’d love to be out on the bike, but I’ve already had one phone call from the boss asking where I was … ) The first order of business…

  • I’m back in the saddle again

    I’m back in the saddle again

    After nearly a month passed since my last ride, I finally got back in the saddle this morning. In the meantime I’ve been busy, including a three-day trip to Kyushu, but the main thing keeping me off the bike was pain in my right knee. After a few weeks of nursing the knee (including hobbling…