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Chuck

Maximum Pace
Feb 7, 2011
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Bought this desk on Amazon for about 5600 yen ("Sanwa Direct 100-DESK044 Laptop Stand").

Does the job nicely for indoor training. Height is adjustable. Wiggle sells the Wahoo Kickr computer stand for 34,000 yen last I checked. The Kickr one is obviously nicer and sturdier, but this one does the job at only about 16.470588% :glasses: of the cost.

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Good idea, I got a music stand for fraction of the cost too, it's also easy to fold it down and put it away, which saves space in my cramped apartment.

Music Stand

I wouldn't recommend putting anything to heavy on it, but it's good enough...
 
Good idea, I got a music stand for fraction of the cost too, it's also easy to fold it down and put it away, which saves space in my cramped apartment.

Music Stand

I wouldn't recommend putting anything to heavy on it, but it's good enough...
That is the exact stand I use as well.
 
Mine looks identical, although it might be from a different brand. It is way bigger and more substantial than I thought, which is nice, because it easily fits my iPhone, a 12.9" iPad Pro and the case for my Airpods Pro. Plus some gummi bears.
 
Mine looks identical, although it might be from a different brand. It is way bigger and more substantial than I thought, which is nice, because it easily fits my iPhone, a 12.9" iPad Pro and the case for my Airpods Pro. Plus some gummi bears.
The above one is good enough for ipad pro 11 and my iphone. Although I do have it in vertical position and I assume if it was horizontal, I could fit more on it.
 
20210301_230845.jpgI was introduced to this my doctor. If you suffer from allergies, it's great to clear your sinuses of pollen and dust. Also good for cold prevention.

I used to turn my head upside down and drink salt water through my nose for this purpose! But this is much easier and the salt powder is ph balanced.

I do it each night and morning and it feels great.

Available on Amazon, just search Neilmed sinus rinse.

Cheers, Andy
 
View attachment 29696I was introduced to this my doctor. If you suffer from allergies, it's great to clear your sinuses of pollen and dust. Also good for cold prevention.

I used to turn my head upside down and drink salt water through my nose for this purpose! But this is much easier and the salt powder is ph balanced.

I do it each night and morning and it feels great.

Available on Amazon, just search Neilmed sinus rinse.

Cheers, Andy
The term "neti pot" is the generic name for searching out these rinses.
I use them when I am not feeling so hot - not every day. I think I last used mine about 2 years ago - but the results are real and when you are stuffed up, you can get that initial 10 minutes of breathing clear..... freaking amazing.
I used one for the first time back in Virginia when I was in my younger 30s. The idea was horrible to me, but I needed relief.
I have not hesitated to use one since.
 
View attachment 29696I was introduced to this my doctor. If you suffer from allergies, it's great to clear your sinuses of pollen and dust. Also good for cold prevention.

I used to turn my head upside down and drink salt water through my nose for this purpose! But this is much easier and the salt powder is ph balanced.

I do it each night and morning and it feels great.

Available on Amazon, just search Neilmed sinus rinse.

Cheers, Andy
I finally got around to getting this. The idea wasn't appealing, but I suffer from lots of headaches especially in the morning, this thing cleared me right up and headache was gone, awesome stuff! I will try to use it at night and it the mornings and see how it goes. It's not as bad as I thought it would be.
 
I finally got around to getting this. The idea wasn't appealing, but I suffer from lots of headaches especially in the morning, this thing cleared me right up and headache was gone, awesome stuff! I will try to use it at night and it the mornings and see how it goes. It's not as bad as I thought it would be.
Still using it twice a day.

I made the mistake off not adding the salt the other day and it was quite painful which proved that the ph balance is not a gimmick.

I visited the ear and nose doctor on Friday and he commented on how clear my sinuses have become. So it's been a good thing for me.

Cheers, Andy
 
I splurged on an espresso machine (DeLonghi Magnifica S). OK, this purchase is not strictly cycling related since at most I can use it before the ride or after I get home, but cycling culture and coffee culture seem somewhat connected.

I have had a simple espresso machine before, which I bought before I moved to Japan. I had to use a big step-up transformer to be able to run it here because of the voltage difference, but it worked well until it eventually died after more than a decade.

Since then I had two different simple coffee makers, one for 2500 yen and one for 7000 yen but always lusted after another espresso machine.

This one does everything at the push of a button, from grinding to brewing to ejecting the grounds. Judging by the first two days, my coffee bean consumption will go through the roof since the whole family likes to use La Macchina. OTOH I only make coffee one mug at a time now, before I brewed a thermos flask at a time, so I personally probably won't drink any more than before.
 
Good stuff: I got my preregistration voucher (接種券) from the city yesterday. Not sure when actual vaccinations will start (mid-May?), but there will be about 150 locations around town.
 
Good stuff: I got my preregistration voucher (接種券) from the city yesterday. Not sure when actual vaccinations will start (mid-May?), but there will be about 150 locations around town.
Vaccinations of residents aged 65 and above technically started in Japan on Monday, April 12, but according to data on the website of the PM's office, not all prefectures had actually started even by Sunday and numbers are very small. I think mostly they are still vaccinating people in nursery homes (both staff and residents).

Numbers picked up a little bit this week, but even so the highest daily total reported so far was 6,605 in all of Japan on Tuesday, only a fraction of the 126,419 doses for doctors and nurses on the same day. This month Japan is supposed to be receiving over 2m doses a week from Pfizer in Belgium.

So far 1.36m out of 4.8m eligible doctors and nurses have received at least one shot and 28,220 out of 36 million residents of 65 and above.
 
Bump...

Got this Restrap handlebar bag and really like it. Just the right size to hold the essentials and a rinko bag. Easy on, easy off so I can easily take pilferable items into the convenience store with me. Has a nice orange interior so easy to see items. Good zipper and sturdy construction. Reasonably priced. Haven't tested waterproofness yet but I usually put electronics in plastic bags anyway if I think it may rain. Only negative is the side pockets made of mesh. I put my multi tool in one and it bounced out somewhere along the road. Had to get a new one. So, now I only use those pockets for my trash or to hold gumi-bears.

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And....

Really liking my Relevate top tube bag. I've tried several others but this is my favorite. Easy to open and shut one-handed. Waterproofness...untested. Sturdy construction. A bit more pricey than Restrap. Interior is orange so easy to find stuff. The attachment straps hold it in place nicely, so if you don't have a bike that has bolt on attachments, this is a good as I've found to stay put and avoid the wobble that most top tube bags have. Great for storing food items or smartphone that you want quick access to.

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And....

Really liking my Relevate top tube bag. I've tried several others but this is my favorite. Easy to open and shut one-handed. Waterproofness...untested. Sturdy construction. A bit more pricey than Restrap. Interior is orange so easy to find stuff. The attachment straps hold it in place nicely, so if you don't have a bike that has bolt on attachments, this is a good as I've found to stay put and avoid the wobble that most top tube bags have. Great for storing food items or smartphone that you want quick access to.

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I have several revelate bags and can vouch for their water resistance. I am not a huge fan of tank bags, but revelate or apidura would be the first two I look at if I were ever to change my opinion of them.
 
Bump...

Got this Restrap handlebar bag and really like it. Just the right size to hold the essentials and a rinko bag. Easy on, easy off so I can easily take pilferable items into the convenience store with me. Has a nice orange interior so easy to see items. Good zipper and sturdy construction. Reasonably priced. Haven't tested waterproofness yet but I usually put electronics in plastic bags anyway if I think it may rain. Only negative is the side pockets made of mesh. I put my multi tool in one and it bounced out somewhere along the road. Had to get a new one. So, now I only use those pockets for my trash or to hold gumi-bears.

View attachment 32678
I am curious what those two grey plastic discs are for. I can't figure it out.

On the subject of wrapping things in plastic bags for rain protection, when I did the recent Otoge ride with @microcord on my Bike Friday, I wore a light string backpack to carry some items that I would normally keep in my humongous front bag on the Elephant NFE, such as my wallet. When I finally arrived somewhere where I could buy food and drinks, I found that all my paper money was soaking wet because the sweat from the jersey had penetrated all the way through the backpack and cloth wallet inside... Next time I do that I'll wrap the wallet in a plastic bag even when it's not raining!
 
@joewein The gray things are cleat protectors for my Speedplay cleats.

I sometimes wear my Camelbak Chase hydration pack when I'm going to be on a long ride in the mountains and I'm not sure a couple water bottles will be enough to get me through till I can find a vending machine (and I've even taken to carrying a small Sawyer-mini water filter with me as well). The nice thing about the hydration pack is that it has handy pockets on the front that you can put a wallet in and it will stay dry. The small Chums wallet is perfect for this.

camelbak.jpegcamelbak front.jpegChums wallet.jpeg
 
Good stuff - I am enjoying cycling. That's it.
That's all I need. I love jumping on the bike and going somewhere different, somewhere new, and being rewarded at the end with something simple but perhaps a guilty pleasure. A double IPA; an amazing banquet of pastries; a huge bowl of a variety of fruits; a warm bath and shave. Makes me happy and the soul feels good. I can honestly say I've been, on the whole, lucky with most of my rides this year and seen way more than I've expected to this year.
Having a bike has meant I've been able to go to places that I could not have done on foot or by car, and I look forward to more rides and finding out new routes to go.
And I found this forum this year, a source of inspiration to see there's people getting out and cycling to places, which in turn, has given me ideas about what to do.
 
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