Shattered! Bye-Bye Belladonna

Beautiful Belladonna

Calling Belladonna the love of my life would be going a bit too far.

But only a tiny smidgen.

And she is waaaay up there.

But, the beautiful Belladonna is gone.

A cracked frame means this carbon bike is now an accident waiting to happen.

She is irreparable.

And it happened the very day after finally being given an all-clear to ride again following illness and injury that have been another plague to cope with since January.

Despondent is not the word.

But I cannot thank this beautiful bike enough for the sheer, unadulterated joys she gave me.

She has made it hard to ride another bike, though.

But, it’s a great chance to grow and learn.

My deepest thanks go out to JD for enabling Belladonna to come into my life.

Cop A Gander At These Rippers Too...

  • MAMILシーズンがやってくる!

     約7年目の2011年に、カデル・エヴァンス氏が世界で最も有名な自転車レースであるツール・ド・フランスで初めてオーストラリア人として総合優勝者となったことを機にオーストラリアでMAMIL族が大幅に増えた。  MAMILはMiddle Aged Men in Lycraの頭字語であり、全身にスパンデックスを着る中年おっさんという意味だ。  今、オーストラリアをはじめ世界中に慢性している。  エヴァンス氏が優勝した時は34歳で、第二次世界大戦後の最長年齢優勝者であり、準おっさんとも言えるかもしれないので、多くのオーストラリア人おっさんも自分が自転車なら行けるんじゃないかと思ってMAMILブーム現象の一助となったじゃないかな?  MAMILの特徴がメタボ体系でむちむちに高級レースチームのユニフォームを着て、超高い自転車を持つがゆっくりと走る。  中年の危機の一種の現れなどで小ばかにされることが多いが、心理学者などが多くの中年男性がMAMILになったことによって運動ができ、他人と社会的に接するので極めて肯定的な現象として見ている。  そこで、オーストラリア人の映画監督が世界中のMAMILについてドキュメンタリ映画を製作し、今米国で絶賛上映中。その中に登場するMAMIL一人がうつ病の真っ暗中でのサイクリングが人とつながせて、運動でエンドルフィンを分泌したので間違いなく自分の命を救ったという。  MAMILの他、英語圏のサイクリング・スラングや専門用語が豊富であり、面白いかもしれない。奥が深い世界。言われてみれば、日本語のサイクリング・スラングもたくさんあり、日本の自転車関連世界も興味深いと言える。それがまた今度にしよう。  とりあえず、冬の終わりが見え始まって、春が来るとMAMILが続々と近所に表れてくるだろう。見苦しいところではあるが、肉体的にも精神的にも健康的であることを考えて寛容的に見てみよう。 MAMIL – Official Trailer from Demand Film on Vimeo. The Ultimate A to Z Guide to Cycling Lingo

  • Unearthly

    This morning’s ride was like being on another planet. For a brief instant, it seemed like I was riding into one of those scenes of other worlds in outer space that used to be depicted on the covers of pulp sci-fi books. Unseasonal warmth continues and I still manage to wear a summer kit in the pre-dawn hours one third of the way through November: a time when I’m usually in full-fingered gloves and with at least a vest or long-sleeved summer jersey. Nice! Bring on the global warming (with apologies to the younger generations who’re gonna have to deal with its effects). Mind you, it’s supposed to return to…

  • What a Gift!

    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…

  • The Lady In The Lake

    Not much has been going on recently, but just living life has kept us busy. During a quick lunchtime ride yesterday, the skies and setting gave me a ripper chance to take photos of La Cangura in the shallow waters of a wading pool in a park beside the Tama River. I’ve been cycling a little bit every day, but not as much as I would have wanted, and certainly not with the types of elevations I should be aiming for. But you deal with your hand, and the clouds made for a moody atmosphere that I appreciated. I’d been lucky to get some dynamic skies during rides over the…

  • |

    Going Out To Lunch With Godzilla

    I’m fortunate enough to work within a short stroll from Godzilla, the (sometime) scourge of Japan and frequent destroyer of Tokyo. I took advantage of my lunch break to head down to visit Japan’s most famous monster. Of course, it’s not the real Godzilla, otherwise I probably wouldn’t get much work done. It’s a statue of the monster located in front of headquarters of Toho Co., Ltd., the movie studio that gave the world Godzilla. I also got to look at a quaint little garden filled with Aussie plants. Then, this morning, amid an ongoing period with a heavy workload, it was nice to get back on the bike. Even…

  • |

    (Aussie) Black Swans Give (Japanese) Koi Fish a Decent Feed

    Black swans are endemic to Australia and symbolic to the country, particularly Western Australia, where the avian beauty is almost synonymous for anything Sandgroper.  黒鳥は、オーストラリア国有鳥であり、州の象徴である西オーストラリア州では特に称えられている。 Koi fish, meanwhile, play a similar role for Japan, immediately evoking an image of the Land of the Rising Sun.  鯉は、言うまでもなく、超日本的であり、日本のシンボル一つと言っても過言ではないはずだ。 This clip could be called a cute view of Australia-Japan friendship.  なので、本動画が日豪友情の表れとも言える。