We’ve had a rainy week, and then suddenly a turn for the better yesterday which left me reeling with sinus pressure. There was some improvement this morning, and I determined not to let it stop me having a good ride.

I departed at 9 a.m., by which I mean I kissed Nana at 9 a.m. and then got to the bike parking garage to discover I’d forgotten the bags. After a quick elevator jaunt to sort that out, then I realized the front tire was very soft. This was a chance to try out my new Silca Tattico pump. It worked great for making a positive seal on the valve, while the hose allowed me to fill the tire without putting pressure on the valve. The only shortcoming is low pump volume: it took at least 120 strokes to bring the tire up to pressure.

In the process, I noticed the valve core was bent, or perhaps misthreaded. That explains the slow leak since I first mounted this tire. Rather than fix it today, I decided to ride it as is, knowing it would hold sufficient pressure for today’s ride.

After that, the ride to Tamagawa was uneventful — just lots and lots of traffic. It was worth braving the Tokyo drivers though as the cherry blossoms emerged the moment I got to the river. This of course meant more pedestrians on the path, but they presented hardly any challenge compared to the automobile traffic I’d come through.

Nana hadn’t made any of her world-famous onigiri, so as I neared Persimmon Park I stopped at a convenience store. Just about everything fit in the bags. I could probably have got the Pokari fully in the bag, too, if I’d wanted to spend some extra time jiggering it. Instead I made haste for the park and tucked in.

I’d set out in the morning with the intention of getting to the end of the cycling course at Hamura, and to visit the shrine there to purchase an omamori for Hornsby. But as I took stock of my condition while eating lunch, I decided against going further — this despite knowing a few good patches of sakura would be along the route to come. I was still fighting the sinus pressure in my forehead, and I’d used up a fair bit of the juice in the legs as well. Without much regret, I headed homewards.

There’s not much more to note about the trip back down the river, except that my bum was starting to feel the effects of sitting on the saddle. I made more frequent breaks, including one standing in the gravel off the path under the shade of a major overpass. I did pass an ojisan homie who was riding a flatbar bike wearing a baseball cap and with a corncob pipe clenched in his teeth (unlit, as far as I could tell).

When I got back to the park that marks my departure from the river back into traffic, the waterfall had been turned on. At 12:40 I messaged Nana I would be home by 2, and set out again.

On the first of two notable climbs out of the river valley into the city, I struggled along in the lowest cog, failing to cover myself in glory but at least making the top without stopping. I had a running start on the second one (which is less steep but twice as long), and had no trouble. But after that I knew I’d used up all the gas, and I just concentrated on spinning the pedals the rest of the way.

I messaged Nana I was home at 1:46. I’d been feeling some rumbling on the way home so I checked the tires were spinning freely before putting the bike away — they were, so it was probably just the rough pavement I’d been riding. Apart from the soft tire and crooked valve core, there were no mechanical issues on this ride.

On a moving time of 3:26:05 I’d averaged 19.0km/h. It’s apple and oranges to compare this with last week’s ride on Hornsby, which was entirely in traffic, although the distance was similar. Nevertheless I was pleased to see a better average time today.