Kangaeroo

by Kangaeroo • June 13, 2021

Today marks farewell to Premiership Palace.

Kangaeroo is no longer a Kanagawa kenmin (resident of Kanagawa Prefecture) from Kurokawa.

Well, at least not after today.

If nothing else, at least the pandemic allowed Kangaeroo to explore the neighborhood, getting to know what a delightful place it was.

Time in Kanagawa has been very kind to Kangaeroo.

In addition to allowing for a ramping up of cycling efforts, it has also been the place where he could watch his beloved Richmond Tigers become the most dominant team in Australian football.

When Kangaeroo arrived in Kanagawa, the Tigers were something of a laughing stock.

Out of the blue, they won that year’s premiership, were hot favorites but missed out the following year and then won the two subsequent flags.

Things haven’t been too great this year, but the season is far from over yet despite more pandemic pressure.

Eat ’em alive!

Farewell Kurokawa, Kanagawa, I loved you dearly and thank you wholeheartedly. A new chapter awaits, starting today.

by Kangaeroo • May 28, 2021

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, May is, in Kangaeroo’s opinion, the nicest time of the year in Japan.

Having said that, 2021 has been a little out of the ordinary.

Where we are normally blessed with dry, warm, sunny weather at this time of year, but much of the month has been bleak and sodden.

Combined with preparation for a move of home, conditions have conspired to curtail Kangaeroo’s much-loved cycling at a time when it was expected to peak.

This effect was demoralizing, leading to excess eating, dearth of exercise and a downward spiral of mental and physical deterioration. It doesn’t take much!

But it doesn’t take much to bounce back, either, and Mother Nature blessed us with a week’s worth of weather typical of May, inspiring bucketloads of delight.

And little more delight came from the spectacular show that the natural world turned on early this morning. It was a delightful gift and appreciated with heartfelt gratitude.

by Kangaeroo • May 13, 2021

May is Kangaeroo.com’s favorite time of the year.

Normally, dry, warm and sunny, flowers bloom and the month is a visual and sensual delight.

This year has been unseasonably sodden, but that’s good practice for the upcoming rainy season that will begin in early June.

Normally, May is a great time for relaxing and cycling, but this year has also been a bit different.

Kangaeroo is on the move and has spent most of the month getting ready for the shift.

In that regard, the lousy weather has been a bit of a godsend, limiting the temptation to get on a bike and get away from it all.

It might be a while before the next entry, too, but some of the visual highlights of the month so far, most of them from cycling, can be found here.

Early on in the month, concentration was on riding through the mountains, enjoying the warmer weather. Now, moving into the middle of the month, focus has shifted on work and moving to the new pouch.

by Kangaeroo • May 1, 2021

Kangaeroo is easy to be critical and cynical, less so to be thankful.

Today, he is taking a moment to be thankful for life.

Kangaeroo loves life, even though he has largely made a mess of his own until recent years.

Life interrupted this week, preventing any significant entry here, but not stopping time on the bike.

A weeklong festival of cycling drew to a close with series of unexpected bonuses: forecast rain failed to eventuate; an area usually only viewed while frenetically racing along on the jalopy turned out to be filled with delights; and Kangaeroo came to the realization that 100 kilometers is not an impossible distance to cover every day provided time and speed are not needed to be accounted for.

The day was spent with a group of mates, riding through the hills of outer suburban Tokyo, stopping frequently to eat, drink or soak in the scenery.

We each went our separate ways to return home and the idyllic day came to an end, Kangaeroo completing a journey exceeding 100 kilometers for the fifth day in succession, albeit all of them at a snail’s pace.

Reality beckons again tomorrow. Let’s burn that bridge when we get to it…

Scenes mostly from the Istukaichi and Hinohara areas of Tokyo

Strine Sports

More Climbing

by Kangaeroo • April 23, 2021

Continuing on from yesterday, today was another day of climbing through the mountains on the beautiful Belladonna (a Cervelo R5 road bike).

Kangaeroo is too exhausted from the energy-sapping ride and a rush to get out to go into much detail.

But he is eternally grateful to cycling for giving these opportunities that have been unimaginable for most of his life, and to his wife for allowing him to pursue these dreams.

And, of course, to his bikes for carrying him there, and the cycling mates who help and encourage him.

Strine Sports

Climbing

by Kangaeroo • April 22, 2021

Kangaeroo loves cycling.

He cycles a lot. And I mean a lot.

The line between a moderately good rider and a strong rider can largely be drawn at climbing; specifically, how fast a cyclist can make it up the hills.

The best cyclists are all good hill climbers.

The key to strong climbing is having a good power to weight ratio, which basically means weighing little but still having lots of power.

Look at most pro cyclists and they all look like skeletons with disproportionately huge legs.

Unfortunately, the only thing disproportionally huge about Kanageroo is his belly.

He has practised hard at becoming a better climber, but the results haven’t arisen.

Now, he is old and climbing is hard. It won’t be possible soon.

So he is doing it while he can.

And the courtesy of some time off work and glorious weather meant exploring the exquisite mountains on the outskirts of Tokyo and into its neighboring Kanagawa and Yamanashi prefectures.