Category: The Ride
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Something to do
After finishing two of Nana’s world-famous onigiri, I rose from the bench and started preparing for the remainder of the ride. As I was sorting out bandana and gloves, a young man (American from his accent) asked if he could sit at the bench I was vacating. “Yes, I’m just leaving.” He took in my…
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First Commute of 2025
I can’t believe it’s already 1 May and I’m just now getting in my first commute of 2025. There certainly has been a raft of days with bad weather and days when I had something on which implied a train day (such as a doctor’s appointment after work or a dinner engagement), but to be…
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Too Late, or Too Early?
Sakura season is drawing to a close, with delicate pink petals falling like stock market indices. I thought this might be a good chance to catch the dogwood blooming along the Asakawa, but it seems I was a week or two early. I know they are in bloom when the koinobori are flying over the…
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Teganuma and Back
After working straight through spring break, I took a couple of days off to enjoy a ride with José. Because José had the entire month off, I’d considered a number of options, including a London-to-Paris reprise (which he said he’d love to do). The need for me to work through the spring break put a…
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Doin’ my best to get back to you
Nana asked me last night where I’d be riding today, and I said Kawagoe. When I say that, I mean specifically Koedo, the “Little Tokyo” that I’ve visited on a number of occasions. The ride is generally flat and has a long section of cycling course along the Arakawa river, and the lovely Meiji-era warehouses…
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2024
The Year in Miles After Thursday’s aborted attempt — I’d just made a run to the office when Nana messaged me to come home to help her — I was just a few miles short of my goal of 2,024 miles for the year. I set out Saturday morning hoping for an easy 60 kilometers…
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Stations of the Yamanote Line
I was reminded recently of an event where people walk or jog around the Yamanote Line, visiting each of the stations in turn. I found a partial route online from someone who had cycled it, and I carefully reviewed and polished it. The Yamanote Line is a loop service in Tokyo, operated by the East…
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Rainbow Bridge Ride
Today’s ride was a group event arranged by Grand Cycle Tokyo and took us over two bridges that are usually off-limits to cyclists: Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Gate Bridge. I usually stop for a photo of Rainbow Bridge when I’m doing the Tokyo Landmarks route, and more recently I’ve come up with a route that…
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Windy River Ride
I’d worked late and hadn’t slept well, so I’d put off the decision about whether to ride, and where. At last when Nana woke up and asked (hand not quite poised over the rice cooker to prepare the world-famous onigiri) I said Tamagawa. At that I was leaving myself a lot of leeway, from Don’t-mind-me-just-nipping-out-to-Haneda-and-back…