Asa River

  • Happy Riding In More Ways Than One

    Every ride on a bike is a good one in my books (even those that have had wretched outcomes), but I had a few extra happy moments when I went out this morning. Happy is the name of my mate’s pet beagle, and I got to meet them on their predawn constitutional for the first time in months. It topped off a great ride with an otherworldly mist over the rivers I rode and the gradation of color in the skies as the sun began to rise, which was a pleasing sight, indeed. Happy, the dog, barked like crazy, and I don’t think that’s because he enjoys my company. But…

  • Hey, Hey, You, Get Off Of My Cloud

    For a few minutes this morning, cycling along the Tama and Asa rivers in western Tokyo was sublime as the sun started to rise and mists rising up from the water formed clouds. There are a few periods in the year when this phenomenon occurs, usually in the autumn and spring when the water and air temperatures diverge to a large degree. This year had, to me, seemed to be an archetypically Tokyo winter; the first in years. It has been chilly, sunny and windy: all phenomena I associate with the coldest part of the year. It hasn’t happened like that for the past few years, though, especially last year…

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    Big Red Bike Tour Stage 5: Beating Around The Bush

    Considering the Big Red is made to go pretty much anywhere, I shouldn’t have been beating around the bush about going off road. But I have: until today, when we hit the dirt. I can’t go far from home as I need to look after Dino the rosy faced lovebird. But that was fine as my regular route along the Tama River also has many off-road tracks. I can’t say the idea of rough riding is enticing, but I figured I’d give it a try today. I almost immediately regretted it, though, as just minutes into hitting the dirt track, I looked down to my computer device only to discover…