Tag: Sunrise

Strine Sports

Enjoying the Cycle of Life

by  • 

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 Sports

Enough Of The Cold, Already!

by  • 

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

Stumbling Spectacularly

by  • 

Following yesterday’s lousy weather that curtailed almost all cycling, today shone bright as an opportunity to get back onto the bike.

While the pre-dawn was icy cold, it also showed a glow that suggested the sunrise was going to be a glorious one.

After a series of stumbles that included breaking a coffee cup celebrating the 2017 premiership victory by the Richmond Football Club and forgetting all sorts of thing, Kangaeroo could finally head off.

Wind was debilitating again, as it tends to be in spring. The wind swirls, so just when it seems unbearable, there can often be an uplifting tailwind, so it’s not all bad.

Nonetheless, today’s wind came head on and made for tough riding.

But making it to the Tama River brought wonderful rewards in the form of a brilliant sunrise, highlighted by the presence of many clouds in the sky.

It is an ill wind that brings no good, indeed, as the blustery conditions of the morning ensuring that nicer weather would be ushered in.

Unknown Nichigo

Strange Days, Indeed

by  • 

There have been better days than today, but this one is up there for peculiarity (in a minor sort of way).

The morning ride was nice in spite of tiredness that became increasingly more obvious the more Kangaeroo rode. Not helping was having woken before 3 a.m. again and not being able to get back to sleep.

Sunrise was spectacular, but fleeting, and didn’t really make for the nicest of photos. Still, it is a wonderful time of the year in Tokyo.

Following a morning meeting, there was enough time left before work started to nick over to Costco to pick up some emergency supplies.

But it was surprise that resulted as Kangaeroo arrived to find that the store wouldn’t open for another hour.

Costco came at lunchtime instead.

Most of the afternoon was spent waiting to be given work and looking after the lovebird.

Unknown Nichigo

Glorious Greeting

by  • 

Waking early is never easy, especially as the nights get longer and the temperature cools.

But nature sometimes does its best to reward those who drag themselves out from under the covers as the birds begin to sing.

The photos here come from one of those times.

Strine Sports

Riding Along the River

by  • 

Sunrise over the Tama River

Summer is not always the most pleasant season in Tokyo as it’s stinking hot, humid and frequently raining.

Sometimes, though, nature turns on the charm and you get some delightful goodies.

This week’s sunrises have been precisely that.

Blessed (?) by a series of bicycle mechanical failures, Kangaeroo.com got a day to take it nice and slowly along the banks of the Tama River forming the boundary between Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, resulting in these delightful pictures.