Big Red

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    Tour de Got Lost, Ah, Stuff It, I’m Gunna Pig Out On Cake!

    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…

  • So Cursed Even Its Thief Brought It Back

    In a week where a kleptocrat despot and Dicktator made for one of the most bizarre geopolitical times of my existence, Mrs. Kangaeroo reminded me of a thief much closer to home as I finally got my Astuto bike back home. Mrs. Kangaeroo calls the bike cursed. She might have a bit of evidence to back up her claim, as she pointed out that even when a thief stole the bike in February last year, they brought it back to us again four months later. The bike has certainly had a bit of misfortune since making my acquaintance when I began trying to build it after my old Trek literally…

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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 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 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….

  • The (Ballsed-Up) Big Red Bike Tour

    Had things been different, right around this time I would have been getting ready to go off on an exciting bicycling adventure that I’d named the Big Red Bike Tour. But the trip is off, or at least changed into a different, much-truncated version. Having fortunately fallen into buying an aesthetically delightful bicycle of such an azure hue it could only be given the name Big Red, I was keen on taking advantage of its comfortable riding sensation and ability to go anywhere to head out on a tour. Keeping up the Big Red theme, I promptly went out and ordered a blue Kangaeroo kit (replete with thought bubble to…

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    Big Red Wins The Blue, But Still A Toot For Astuto

    I’ve finally got one of my 2025 goals back on track in what has been my most prolific month for cycling in several years, courtesy of a dry, hot July. This morning I caught up with my target of averaging 1,000 or more kilometers per month across the year. This distance is nothing near my cycling heyday when I would ride almost three times that length regularly, but it’s good enough with all the life circumstances going on. I’m commuting often, going to school, and serving on the estate’s body corporate, all of which are taking decent chunks out of my life on a near daily basis. I also need…

  • Mirror, Mirror On The Paddy, Tell Me Now, ‘Who’s Your Daddy?’

    Tempted by the rice paddies, which now look like mirrors as they are filled with water and the stems planted, I rode through western Tokyo along the Tama and Aki rivers into Itsukaichi to climb and take beautiful photos. It’s been a while since I have ridden in the mountains, but the stars aligned today and I decided I’d try to see whether I could still do it. I’m about 30 kilograms heavier than the last time I rode higher than 400 meters in elevation, which I reckon was about four years ago. And now I’ve just remembered that I rode a climb earlier this year, so I am lying….