Tag: cycling

Strine Sports

Enjoying the Cycle of Life

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Kangaeroo is not a young marsupial.

He is old, fat and lazy.

Exercise is not his thing.

Yet, thanks to the humble bicycle, this exercise-averse old codger can enjoy a relatively healthy lifestyle.

Every morning, almost without fail, Kangaeroo wakes, dresses, has a cup of joe and gets on his bike.

For the most part, it’s not a long ride, but it’s a ride.

Kangeroo has got a lot of cobwebs in his head and these rides usually help to clean them out.

They’re back soon after the rides are finished, but even so, they would be much worse without them.

Kangaeroo got into cycling well into middle age, but it has become an increasingly central part of his life.

Things would have been much easier had it been a bigger player further back in time.

So it goes.

Every ride is special, but the past week has been a little bit more so than others.

The weather has been exceptional, especially on the cusp of deep autumn.

The mornings have been crisp, but not too cold, hovering somewhere from 8-10 degrees, making the first few minutes of a ride a bit of a trial, but easily accommodated thereafter.

Skies have been clear and stars visible. Although the morning ride generally heads in a northeasterly direction, the rising sun provides radiant heat from behind.

As the light broadens, the days have soon warmed up.

The warmth combined with the lingering cold of the night brings dawns where mist rises up over the river.

Being a river rider for the most part in the morning, Kangaeroo is then blessed with the delightful sight of mists rising over the greenery of the Tama River parks and riverside and, upon rounding and turning for home, the rising sun.

They provide priceless views.

It’s not just the mists, though.

Starting the ride downstream at this time of the year opens up the opportunity of getting a glorious view of the sunrise.

The sun seems huge heading over the Tama River.

Turning back also offers a few wonderful sights.

Gates along the river provide wonderful backdrops for a quick photo.

And not far from the river are plenty of wooded areas and parks offering delightful views of autumnal leaves in their burning red and yellow hues.

It’s worth rising early to get to see these views.

Strine

There And Back Again: Oz 2022

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Kangaeroo made it back to Oz for a while in 2022.

The circumstances behind the trip weren’t the greatest.

But the time spent Down Under was fruitful and poignant.

Kangaeroo got to catch up with lots of childhood friends.

And deeply explored the places that had played an enormous role during the formative years.

Thanks to an enormously kind and helpful seller on gumtree, Kangaeroo also got to move around outer eastern Melbourne on a Malvern Star!

In many ways, the time spent in Australia was magical and Kangaeroo extends his deepest gratitude to all the friends, family, people, places, critters and creatures that made it that way (even the swooping magpies).

But there was also the realization of coming to a close.

It seems unlikely that Kangaeroo will ever return to his homeland again.

That was an understanding arrived at before heading Down Under, and proved to be a driving motivator to make the most of any opportunity to cherish Australia while there.

It’s fair to say that Kangaeroo pretty much fulfilled the role expected of him (except in his sister’s eyes), and had an extremely enjoyable stay in his homeland.

Thanks to all who made that possible.

Heat map of cycling in and around Melbourne

Strine Sports

New Roads

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Kangaeroo won’t be doing much riding along the Tama River for a while.

For the next few weeks, it will be back in the homeland again.

Riding will be a bit of a challenge while there.

But also a bit exciting!

Oz is far stricter on policing road rules than Japan.

It will be interesting to see whether Kangaeroo can adapt to the differences.

Kangaeroo grew up in the Dandenong Ranges, which are apparently a cycling Mecca for Melburnians, though it wasn’t the case back in the day (at least to the author’s knowledge).

For the time being, though, it’s ta-ta to the Tama! And what a way to say bye!

Strine Sports

Tripping on the Tama River

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Kangaeroo cycles pretty much daily.

Due to a number of time constraints, nearly all the rides are along or near the Tama River. This river is one of the main waterways in Tokyo and has been supplying the city with water for centuries.

River-side cycling is on bike tracks and really isn’t demanding (except for the requirement to be constantly wary of pedestrians). But it’s still great fun.

Being able to wake up, get on the bike and shake off the cobwebs and let life rip is a blessing for this old man.

And Kangaeroo is even luckier by being able to ride the absolutely gorgeous La Cangura, who heads the fleet of Roo movers.

Strine Sports

Shattered! Bye-Bye Belladonna

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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.

Strine Sports

Enough Of The Cold, Already!

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May weather is generally the best of the year in Tokyo, by Kangaeroo’s reckoning, and though it looks like it’s gonna shape that way, it would be nice to say “bye” to the cold until at least the late autumn.

The first weekday of May greeted early risers with a delightful sunrise over the Tama River.

Rain started falling around midday the previous day, rendering riding as a bit too tough.,

The rain persisted overnight and into the early hours of the morning.

The forecast was for the weather to clear and become sunny by the end of the day.

Roads were still wet and slippery, though, so care was required.

This is a strange day, being a one-off work day in the middle of a period of potentially close to two weeks’ off for some.

Unfortunately, Kangaeroo has to work, which meant waking in a downbeat mood.

Nature had a nice way of making the early rise worthwhile, though.

And Belladonna appreciated the morning, too.

She certainly got the chance to look resplendent.

And put on a fine show.

The outlook for the rest of the time off is pretty promising.

Strine Sports

Bloody Beauty! Back on the Bike!

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After months of near inactivity, Kangaeroo was finally able to indulge regularly in the pursuit that brings probably the greatest pleasure in life: cycling!

So far, 2022 has been a series of calamities in terms of cycling, starting with poor weather then moving on to poor equipment, poor health and poor luck!

But things slowly slotted back into place and have finally allowed for a week on the bike that is as good as it gets now!

And some of the results were stupendous, as can be seen in the gallery.

What sheer delight!