Big Red Bike Tour

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    Big Red Bike Tour Stage 13: Last Leg On Last Legs

    At long last, the Big Red Bike Tour is over. What a wonderful time it was! Originally, I’d planned to take some time off work and cycle across the Japan Alps and Nakasendo highway. But Dino falling ill put paid to that plan. I needed to stay close to home, but could also leave our rosy faced lovebird alone for long enough to take the short rides that comprised the tour. Even so, over the 13 stages of the tour conducted over the past 10 days (two days, including today had two stages), I racked up 595.29 kilometers ridden, which is about the distance of the original Alps trip. And…

  • Big Red Bike Tour Stage 12: Morning Glory

    With a commitment to mow the lawns at the retirement village where I live and work resuming tomorrow, this morning was supposed to be the end of the Big Red Bike Tour, but I am going to try and sneak in one or maybe two more rides if I can. Despite a late night, I rose as early as usual and got onto the bike. I’m pretty chuffed by the quality of my phone’s camera and the photos it takes in the dark. A glorious sunrise to welcome the day was the highlight of the morning’s ride. I’m not keen on getting out with the weed whacker, but literally cutting…

  • Big Red Bike Tour Stage 11: Mama’s Got A Squeeze Box

    With a return to work–and the commute to the office–imminent, the slow wind down of the Big Red Bike Tour started today with a chance to head into central Tokyo. I was there to catch up with some old mates and ply them with superb brownies Mrs. Kangaeroo baked. I had spent most of the day playing with Dino, who while still ill was in good spirits for most of the time and displayed a voracious appetite for both rice grains and neck scratches. My ride didn’t start until the late afternoon and ended in the evening to the accompaniment of The Who‘s Squeeze Box and other assorted tunes. All…

  • Big Red Bike Tour Stage 10: Washout!

    Raindrops and more kept falling on my head and everywhere else today, putting paid to Stage 10 of the Big Red Bike Tour, which became a washout. Admittedly, I didn’t have anything planned and was just going to let things go as they flowed. And flow they did, thanks to the long-awaited rains. But heavy rains from Tropical Storm Peipah gifted me with a day of rest and slow time to spend with Dino, our rosy faced lovebird. And that wasn’t the only gift the precipitation presented as the garden delighted in being drenched following weeks of searing temperatures and virtually no rainfall. The plants and soil were basking in…

  • Big Red Bike Tour Stage 9: The Knights In White Lycra

    Thanks to my annual leave, and a message from a fine man committed to giving back to society, I got to spend Stage 9 of the Big Red Bike Tour visiting a video night to showcase the 500-km charity ride the Knights in White Lycra made in June. The Knights in White Lycra (KIWL) were formed in 2013 and are a group of volunteers that devote themselves to giving back to society and getting fit in the process. They donate the proceeds of heir activities to Mirai no Mori, an NPO devoted to underprivileged children. KIWL conducts a number of fund-raising events, but those that most attract my attention are…

  • Big Red Bike Tour Stage 8: Mr. Do Little Walks And Talks With The Animals 

    It was a beastly time to kick off the double stage Big Red Bike Tour today. Literally, as I headed off to Tama Zoological Park. The zoo is close by and I made a whirlwind visit before racing home for the day’s second stage and a cycling-oriented event in the evening. The zoo was almost deserted (yet I still managed to encounter some camera-wielding old blokes who refused to yield their good spots despite taking dozens of photos while others waited. I should add that they were probably thinking precisely the same thing about me.) Another notable event was hearing a kookaburra’s distinctive call, which made me feel at home…

  • Big Red Bike Tour Stage 7: Anything You Can Do We Kanda Better

    Despite having literally cycled hundreds of thousands of kilometers in and around Tokyo, I’d never cycled the full length of the Kanda River Cycling Road until the Big Red Bike Tour Stage 7 today, and boy had I missed out. We started at the beginning of the path at Inokashira Park in Kichijoji and pottered downstream at a very leisurely pace amid sapping heat under cloudless, blue skies. Kichijoji has traditionally been rated as the most liveable part of Tokyo, and the area is a delight. The cycling path tracks the Kanda River as it flows through the leafy western suburbs of Tokyo. Eventually, the river flows into the back…

  • Big Red Bike Tour Stage 6: Dino In Distress

    After a brief glimmer of hope, what should have turned into a routine check-up turned out to be a bit of a dire day on the Big Red Bike Tour with Dino taking a turn for the worse. Our rosy faced lovebird had seemed to be picking up last night when she showed signs of once again being able to poop without assistance, a crucial development if she is to survive. She was straining to excrete and tiny amounts were leaving. This was something we had been waiting weeks for, and were delighted. Doubly so as she appeared lively and healthy. And then I may have made a fatal mistake….

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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…

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    Big Red Bike Tour Stage 4: Costcollosal

    Following the previous day’s exertions, Stage 4 of the Big Red Bike Tour was closer to a rest day, albeit with little breathing space as I headed off to spend a collosal amount of money at the nearby Costco. Inflation is hitting Japan after more than three decades of price stability and its effects are compounded by a weaker yen in a country that imports most of its food. Therefore, our regular order from the supermarket now costs almost double what it used to (except Australian-made Four ‘N Twenty pies, which cost 1,248 yen for a six pack, which makes them considerably cheaper than what you’d pay for where they’re…