Every February seems to toss up a fake spring day or two, and I reckon today was the first such day for us in 2026. With more warmth than is customary for mid-February, I chucked on the shorts and vowed to do a long-awaited Tokyo Toilet Tour. It was my first chance to ride downtown since crashing last November, so I was also a little more excited than I should have been.
I had a map from a friend who’d done the tour, so threw it into my Wahoo Elemnt Bolt and proceeded to head into town.
Today’s tour was to be based on The Tokyo Toilet project, which called on experts from throughout Japan and around the world to design and build beautiful toilets in the capital’s Shibuya ward.
I got onto the tour map well into my journey, which is something I have had difficulty doing in the past, so I felt it augured well for the rest of the trip.
The spring-like weather was also delightful, and I had enjoyed the run in to the central Tokyo area in my first full daylight ride for the month.
Along the way, though my lack of planning came to bite me. And I got lost.
I stumbled around for a while, following the guidance on my bike computer that should have led me back to the main route, or even some of the features I was looking for, but it didn’t work.
I was getting frustrated, which was a complete waste of being on a bike in unexpectedly beautiful weather.
Rather than get pent up, I decided to abandon the journey pretty much soon after it started and promised to do it again after I’d done some proper study.
But I wasn’t going to let this opportunity go entirely to waste. I decided I was going to pig out!
For me, the best place to hit when feeling a craving for good tucker is the “Tokyo Tuck Shop” that is Punk Doily.
Once again, the ride to the cafe was sublime. I was wearing shorts, but also had a puffer jacket, so I was sweating despite it still being midwinter.
It was a thrill to stop off at not one, but two, Blue Lug bike stores and find that both had inventory of the blue tires I so love on by Big Red Dinosaur Loader, the sturdy gravel bike I have been riding until I feel sufficiently recovered from my injuries. Until today, the best I had been able to find online was in the Untied States, and I am not buying anything from there for a while, that’s for sure.
Kif, the proprietor of Punk Doily and a good old mate, had prepared a huge array of delights.
Originally, my plan was to only have a cuppa and a bikkie, but Punk Doily had too many goodies on offer.
In the end, I got a flat white, which I used to wash down the simply sublime caramel slice and mango cream cheese slice.
Oh, God! It tasted so good, I could almost have floated home.
I like to think of Punk Doily as being like a tuck shop, the cafeterias we had at schools in Australia when I lived there.
Growing up, they were filled with all sorts of magical treats and mouth-watering delicacies, some of which Punk Doily offers to people in Tokyo, such as the lamingtons that were on sale today.
After scoffing down the scrumptious cakes, I made way for the crowds lining up to get their Aussie fare, and headed back home.
My ride home was uneventful except for being an event in itself as it comprised my longest ride since the accident, and I even had stretches where I felt comfortable and maintained speeds that rivalled what I could produce before I broke my leg.
Getting home I did some work on my much neglected garden, but not too much as I am sure we still have a few icy chills ahead of us before the warm weather arrives.
Today was a tantalizing taste, though, and continues a pretty good year.
My professional goal this year is to feel comfortable about my job. And I will feel comfortable when I realize I am good at it. I’m feeling better now than I was a few weeks ago. What’s different? I am making a concerted effort to be thorough, thoughtful and meticulous. Surprisingly, the harder I work, the more confident I become. I desperately want to be helpful to my colleagues. The best way to do that is to be reliable. I’m going to strive, one day at a time. I am truly blessed by those around me, and my professional situation, and I don’t want to lose that, so I am doing all in my power to move forward with conviction, but also pray for proper humility.
Much of the rest of the week was dominated by report writing. We have our village’s annual general meeting next month and preparations are underway. Add to that the rigmarole of a repair job I am responsible for, but we can’t get done for all sorts of reasons. Facilities are aging as well as our residents, and it shows in all sorts of areas.
I was shocked to see a silver wattle in the neighborhood that I have always loved because it is huge and blooms magnificently every March was damaged in last week’s snow. It looks like about half the tree has been cut down, probably to prevent branches from falling. It still looks like it will bloom well, but not with the magnificence it has in the past.
Our potted hardenbergia both appear to have died after having flourished for a few years. I’m a little sad as I grew them from seed that I brought back from Upper Ferntree Gully. Fortunately, there are a couple planted in the ground, so we might get to see their lovely purple feathers.
Hopefully, Mrs. Kangaeroo and I will make it to Australia this year. I planned an itinerary in English, including what was supposed to be a secret event that I hoped would delight her. I asked ChatGPT to translate the itinerary into Mrs. Kangaeroo’s native language, and gave the AI the strict instruction to avoid revealing any details of the event to Mrs. Kangaeroo in her version. The AI remembered the instructions, as it repeated them almost verbatim to Mrs. Kangaeroo, together with details of the now no-longer secret event, warning her that it was a secret that she wasn’t supposed to know about.
Later in the week, I had better results with trying to design a cycling jersey, but reached my limit of photo reproductions. The AI promised to pick up from where we had left off when my restrictions were removed, but all subsequent work was a terrible mess. It has kinda been my experience in dealing with AI down through the years: it’s absolutely superb until it’s not.
Tomorrow is supposed to be balmy. And I am going to be inside in meetings all day. Urgh.
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