This morning reminded me that I am a potentially lethal presence on the Tama River Cycling Road. It was cold, wet, dark and raining. And I realized yet again that I am basically blind in those conditions, being unable to see. I’m not helped by only using an 800 lumen light on the track instead of the 2,000 lumen light I had used up until last winter, but which is no longer financially tenable to maintain. Luckily, I made it home safely and was rewarded to see a lush garden basking in the bath it received in the first rain…
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Autumn is a delightful time for cycling, and unfortunately for running, too, which means almost daily encounters with one of my least favorite Japanese words: jama. Jama, 邪魔, literally translates as “evil magic,” but means something like hinderance, impedance, or, as I prefer, bloody nuisance. Autumn brings out all the joggers onto the Tama Cycling Road and, despite a perfectly good path below the levy on which the track for cyclists has been made, runners take over the path. They’d be fine if they kept to the rules and ran to the edges of the path, but rare is the…
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Don’t be fooled: This post has absolutely nothing to do with birthdays. It’s about doing things again for the first time in a while. The whole day was a series of events reminding me of the past. We started by cleaning the estate garden. We live in what is basically a retirement village that has cheap management fees, and they’re cheap because residents have to keep the common gardens and grounds maintained. When the cleaning was over, it was back on the bike. And I was back with a camera bag on my back for the first time in many…
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Life looks like it’s gonna be pretty busy for the next few weeks, so it might be something of a last chance to post for a while, and fortunately I got to kick off this period with a ride along the Tama River this morning. It’s been a funny rainy season so far; it’s onset delayed by weeks and the consistent rain I expect has been replaced by heavy rains punctuated by long periods of sunshine and heat. The garden loves it! Related posts: Winter is Here There And Back Again: Oz 2022 Glad to be Alive Where’s the Whist…
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Not much is going well (except rude good health), but I got a lucky break today and feel pretty chuffed about it. Following the morning’s customary ride, I got home and discovered the kangaroo badge I had velcroed to my bike saddle bag just two days ago was gone. I kicked myself with the reminder of my incredible propensity for breaking, losing, damaging or otherwise rendering unusable just about anything I ever get my hands on. Then, I happened to look at Strava and noticed that a follower had posted a photo of the lost badge! “You bloody ripper,” I…