Dino

  • The Lady In The Lake

    Not much has been going on recently, but just living life has kept us busy. During a quick lunchtime ride yesterday, the skies and setting gave me a ripper chance to take photos of La Cangura in the shallow waters of a wading pool in a park beside the Tama River. I’ve been cycling a little bit every day, but not as much as I would have wanted, and certainly not with the types of elevations I should be aiming for. But you deal with your hand, and the clouds made for a moody atmosphere that I appreciated. I’d been lucky to get some dynamic skies during rides over the…

  • Dino’s Might Is Dynamite!

    By all rights, we should have lost Dino months ago, but our rosy faced lovebird is a fierce fighter, and combined with the dedication and devotion of Mrs. Kangaeroo, she is in bright spirits and doing well. Dino still can’t poop, which means that each day is potentially her last. X-rays and CAT scans failed to determine what was blocking her insides. Vets have not suggested operating. Whatever medicine she is taking to help her is not effective, though her steadfast refusal to take the treatment have done nothing to help. It seemed a couple of weeks ago that she may be on the path back to a complete recovery,…

  • Sun Shines As The Sun Goes Down On The Sundance Kid

    Today it’s taking me ages to get anything done, mainly because of inherent laziness, but also a tinge of sadness. Despite being geeted by yet another delightful sunrise, I also learned of the death of Robert Redford, one of my favorite actors whose roles included the younger of the titualar characters in the 1969 movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I woke really early and prepared to get out, but stuck around watching YouTube too long. The upside was getting the sunrise in the form of a big red disc that I like to refer to as an Apocalypse Now! sunrise because of its resemblance to the image sun…

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    Zen, And The Art Of the Brompton Community…

    Or, Fold-ups, Fears, Foul-ups, Fuss, Faffing And Fun… After weeks of sunny weather (and heat), rain and drizzle came as a bit of a shock, but with a packed schedule there was little time to mess around. I slept later than usual and woke to rain, which made me suspect there would be no Brompton meeting at Tachikawa event today. But I checked the Instagram account of the event organiser, and she was keen for it to go ahead. Having yet to visit under her auspices and after pledging to myself that I would make every effort to do so this month, I prepared my Brompton bicycle to take me…

  • Settling Back Down To Being Unsettled

    After a magnificently enjoyable week off that followed a month of working from home with little external pressure, the return to reality has been more unsettling than resuming the settling effects of routine. I guess the passage of time will make things easier. It has been pretty hectic in some ways, nonetheless. Just getting back to commuting, using the sometimes unfriendly ticket vending machines, packing myself into the train carriage with thousands of others, and then the grueling trip downtown where each stop means even more commuters cramming in with us. Getting into the office, I was rewarded with a swag full of company merch! Work has eased me back…

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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 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 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….