Arthritis is taking over my body, seemingly joint by joint, with my left foot in particular so painful it’s becoming a struggle to walk, even as the spring makes the prospect of doing so ever more appealing. Arthritis runs in my family and I often teased my mother over her crooked fingers which had been warped badly by the affliction. I’m laughing from the other side of my face now as my digits are pained and twisted. It’s creating something of a dilemma because it has severely hampered my cycling, which had been instrumental in maintaining a semblance of good…
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I’m in a mad rush today because my customary morning riverside bike ride continued for almost twice as long as usual despite being roughly the same length as I was mesmerized by the spectucular blooming of spring flowers, which mostly means cherry blossoms. I was waylaid by the sights on a number of occasions. One beauty trap lured me along a river I rarely traverse. I was rewarded by a whole series of breath-taking views. The upshot was that I was late getting home. And didn’t shower until half an hour or more than my usual time. Which meant I…
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After three days of incessant rain, we finally got a dry start to a morning, which enabled me to get out on the bike and end up being rewarded with the most extraordinary sights for getting out so early. Wet roads are my enemy as I don’t have the grip strength to brake sharply, and using rim brakes on my bicycle means their performance in the wet declines significantly. So I had an added degree of caution as I started riding, but about a third of the way through my customary morning ride, I began to suspect I may be…
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Cherry blossoms have started to bloom in Tokyo’s suburbs. For the most part, flowers have yet to reach peak bloom along my most-traversed part of the Tama River. But in some of the areas where the flowers are at their best, the view is lovely. It was a bonus to be able to see them in flower this morning as I had presumed the entire weekend to be a washout. It rained incessantly yesterday. It gave me time to do some much-needed study for work, which is paying me to take the course I’m doing. I should be putting in…
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For me, riding a Brompton bike is about more than mere cycling. I didn’t realize it when I first picked up one of the prestigious folding bikes a bit over a decade ago. At the time, I just wanted a fold-up bike that wouldn’t break after a few rides as other collapsable cycles I had purchased seemed prone to doing. What I didn’t know was that bikes need care and maintenance. I know, dumb, but that was what I thought. Having spent most of my time until then on ultra-durable mama-chari that are virtually unbreakable, I believed all bicycles were…
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Someone stole my Astuto bike and I’m feeling pretty lousy about it. The bike was special because a lot of people showed me kindness and generousity so I could build it up from scratch. I should have kept her inside the house, but we simply don’t have the room. I thought she was covered by insurance, too, but it turns out not to be the case because the bike was not taken from inside the home. Apart from the benevolence I received, the bike also promised to help me rejoin the cycling community. I was once an avid and highly…
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I’d love to say I’ve done something exciting on my bicycle, but I mainly thought of a snappy word that should go down in posterity as a snappy blog title. I’ve been cycling, but not nearly as much as I would like to have done, but then again, perhaps too much. We have had a really cold snap the past week or so, and getting out and about on a bike while riding into the icy winds is not the greatest fun. But I have been rewarded finely for some of the efforts, with delightful skies and some wonderful photo…
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It’s been a whirlwind week, not because of the speed that it has passed, but the tumultuous time it has been. That’s not to suggest it was a torrid affair. In fact, it was anything but. Work was a generally great time. Monday I had been expecting to receive notice that my trial period was over. It didn’t happen. But I was informed on Tuesday! I’d forgotten that Monday was a holiday in Australia for Australia Day. My boss is based in Melbourne. Moreover, my employer bent the employment rules. Instead of giving me a contract to the end of…
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Some of Japan’s finest cycling handiwork was on display at Handmade Bicycle 2025 held at the Science Musuem in Tokyo on Jan. 25-Jan. 26. Given that I had no other plans, wanted to do something special to celebrate Australia Day and needed to go for a ride with a decent bit of distance, I decided to go. The exhibition was filled with exquisite, hand-crafted bicycle, and there were also complementary events such a talk show, screening of a cycling-themed film and test rides. There were also some sales of parts, bikes and merchandise, so it was a fairly substantial event…
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Plans to write a blog post today turned out to be a bird-brained idea. Our rosy faced lovebird hijacked our computer keyboard because it’s the warmest place in the house. There wasn’t a great deal to write about anyway. So all I’ll be skipping on is the minituae and other space-filling fodder. Work is becoming a little more intense, but also more enjoyable, and each day is a new reminder of how fortunate I am to be there, and to be surrounded with such wonderful and supportive teammates. A downside is that my cycling has been drastically curtailed, but I…