Month: February 2021
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Too early for blossoms
… too late for my thighs I set out to do this ride a week ago, then bailed when a late start put me behind the clock. Two days later, I rode again but didn’t even think about Otarumi Touge. Today’s the day! I woke at 6 and, after some dawdling and assuring Nana she…
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Still some cleaning up to do
Since the clean-up following my return from England, the bicycle bag has been sitting in front of the bedroom window under a tarp. We don’t use that window to get to the balcony, so that’s not a problem. But it does get in the way when I’m working on a bicycle in the stand. And…
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Against the wind
Another cop-out Nana asked several times this morning where I was going to ride today. I kept putting off the decision. I’d plotted out a new route I’m eager to try, but at 125km it would be pushing the available daylight today, even with an 8 a.m. start. (Of course, a 6 a.m. start would…
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Cop out
I had a day off work and so I decided to give Otarumi Touge a try. When I told Nana, she said, “Alone?” Why not? I’ve done it alone several times. Anyway, I dawdled around this morning and didn’t get ready until nearly 10. Then when I took Kuroko off the parking rack, the rear…
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Never change, Amazon …
(Replacement for the hex wrench I broke removing Dionysus’s crank)
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Hub replacement
This poor wheel has seen a litany of mechanicals in its two-and-a-half-year life, and it’s all my fault. The trouble started several hundred kilometers into an ill-starred Lejog ride, when the rear derailleur got stuck in the four lowest cogs. In my haste to get the gears shifting again, I backed out the limit screws.…
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Nothin’ but blues and Elvis
I had a late start this morning because Nana’s been after me for a couple of weeks now to have a haircut. I finally got on the road after 11, and immediately I knew I was overdressed for the weather. It was not quite 10C while I was preparing for the ride, but the temperature…
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Shirako Onsen
Shirako Onsen is a small spa resort on the Pacific Coast of Chiba Prefecture, just east of Tokyo, and known for its natural iodine baths. We chose Chiba as a destination for our 初走り, the first ride of the New Year, with the intention of visiting in late January. But our chosen weekend turned to…