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Today January 2022

Maybe that was too opaque... :oops:

Once upon a time "step out for a pack of smokes" meant to abandon/walk out on your wife/kids.

I was meaning that one of these days I'll just get on a bike and see how long I can stay gone--spur of the moment touring.

Got a wife and kids in Kanazawa Jack, I went out for a ride and never came back, like a river that don't know where it's flowing, took a wrong turn and just kept going...

Kinda thing!

Gotcha!

Andy

 
made it a point to ride both the road bike and the mtb on the first day of the year; from where i am from there is a superstition that if you ride / drive a car/vehicle on the first day of the year, there will be no problems with the vehicle. oddly enough, the dropper post on the mtb is stuck on the down position, i think i broke the hydraulic barb and let the air in so it got stuck. time for a bleed and i hope this won't be a continuing theme for the rest of the year :)
 
I remember racing XC in the 90s and being happy with my 200 lumens.
Today I was just putting around with 2,750Lumens.
This area has problems with Boar, and since I am playing at night, it is a little bit of a concern.
But with my lights and my bell... I have been lucky to not encounter one in this area yet.

Tochigi is a different story.... and those guys are FAST!

This guy here turned 200 years old in October of 2020. Due to Covid, there was no celebration as was originally planned.
This is part of my local trail system and the area I maintain after the bigger storms.

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Seems like a slow day here, so here's a question: Is it okay to charge an electric bike at a conbini?

I know, technically it's stealing. How about if you'd bought something there (stopped for lunch or snacks)? Or how about if with a purchase, you'd asked the counter person? Or do you need them to clear it with a manager?

This was asked over on the japanlife subreddit, and the response was universally 'no'. Taking something without payment. (tho I've also used the restrooms, even without buying anything)

What would you say?
 
Seems like a slow day here, so here's a question: Is it okay to charge an electric bike at a conbini?

I know, technically it's stealing. How about if you'd bought something there (stopped for lunch or snacks)? Or how about if with a purchase, you'd asked the counter person? Or do you need them to clear it with a manager?

This was asked over on the japanlife subreddit, and the response was universally 'no'. Taking something without payment. (tho I've also used the restrooms, even without buying anything)

What would you say?
If you have been here a while, I personally wouldn't use the gaijin card anymore. In Japan usually the rule is "if in doubt, say no", so I'm not surprised the answer is no. I don't think I have ever seen someone charging their e-bike at a konbini.

You can still try it. But I'd definitely ask. And expect a no.

PS While not exactly the same, I once ran out of battery on my phone. I asked them if I could charge my phone in the store if I bought something. The staff kindly directed me towards some overpriced battery bank ;)
 
Went out for a long cycle today - bloody hell, the wind was stupidly strong. Took about 5 hours to do a 4 hour ride. Had two pairs of socks on and shoe covers, but feet felt like two lumps of ice. And the Garmin just didn't work either - strange as it was fine on the other bike yesterday. Never mind - managed to see some sights, pick up some Burnt Mill, and now sitting at home with aforementioned beer and nothing else to do but rest.

Life, my friends, is good.
 
Seems like a slow day here, so here's a question: Is it okay to charge an electric bike at a conbini?

I know, technically it's stealing. How about if you'd bought something there (stopped for lunch or snacks)? Or how about if with a purchase, you'd asked the counter person? Or do you need them to clear it with a manager?

This was asked over on the japanlife subreddit, and the response was universally 'no'. Taking something without payment. (tho I've also used the restrooms, even without buying anything)

What would you say?
What would I say if I worked there? It costs pennies. I'd say yeah... generate some goodwill. Does anyone carry their e-bike charger around, though?

At my office, we allow staff to recharge their bikes, phones, and everything else. Even EVs - although we wouldn't pay for a staff member's private car's petrol.
 
What would I say if I worked there? It costs pennies. I'd say yeah... generate some goodwill. Does anyone carry their e-bike charger around, though?

At my office, we allow staff to recharge their bikes, phones, and everything else. Even EVs - although we wouldn't pay for a staff member's private car's petrol.
A nationwide convenience store that was once a client had a declared policy of carrying out society-oriented activities (lending toilets, deliveries, checking up on elderly customers, etc.) as part of its CSR, so I would imagine it would probably not object to charging an e-bike here and there. Mind you, this was in the days before covid and battles between head office and franchisees over operating hours and the like, so I don't know now. I did notice another prominent chain has shut off access to toilets and rubbish bins at various times since the start of the pandemic.
 
I'm so jealous, @bloaker. I'm still sick and the snow is mostly gone. Just patches of ice are left, ugh.

Riding in the snow is super fun, especially if you go slowly in the snow and are less afraid of serious injury.
 
I'm so jealous, @bloaker. I'm still sick and the snow is mostly gone. Just patches of ice are left, ugh.

Riding in the snow is super fun, especially if you go slowly in the snow and are less afraid of serious injury.
My wife is not amused with my decisions.

Things Wifey isn't a fan of...
- Me riding in the snow
- Me riding in the snow in shorts
- Me coming home wide awake cold AF and hugging on her as she is just getting out of a warm bad.
 
My wife is not amused with my decisions.

Things Wifey isn't a fan of...
- Me riding in the snow
- Me riding in the snow in shorts
What's wrong with both? If the cold is dry, shorts can be just fine. Perhaps better if you fall a lot (pssst! I won't tell) and your hypothetical leg warmers get wet from melted snow.
- Me coming home wide awake cold AF and hugging on her as she is just getting out of a warm bad.
Hahahaha!
For the sake of your marriage, perhaps you should consider getting a denki mofu instead … ;)
 
For the sake of your marriage, perhaps you should consider getting a denki mofu instead …

As the happy owner of a now four-night-old electric blanket, I warmly [yes!] recommend these things. They don't cost much to buy; and if their packaging is to be believed, their power consumption is trivial.
 
As the happy owner of a now four-night-old electric blanket, I warmly [yes!] recommend these things. They don't cost much to buy; and if their packaging is to be believed, their power consumption is trivial.
I bought one as a gift to my wife 2 years ago. I'm such an idiot, I've been in Japan for many years at that point and it didn't occur to me to buy one earlier. We currently sleep on top of it. This way I can crack the window open while being warm.
 
The gravel bike morning meanderings...

In Yamate there was a black Vellfire that made multiple attempts at hitting us.
We were at a park taking in the view. We got to the light and waited for the crosswalk. A few minutes later while following a bus and just waiting our turn to try and get around, he came up from behind me, got next to me then came straight over on me toward the curb.
I yelled to get his attention, initially thinking he just didn't realize, but he took it as an insult and rolled down his window and yelled back.
He then ran red lights to continue trying to either hit us or intimidate.
He would pull up next to us, yell some gibberish, then swerve at us. We went around a bus on the sidewalk to get space, he bullied his van into oncoming traffic to pass the bus and then ran a red light to catch back up to us... This is the most ridiculous thing that has happened to be in 9 years in Japan.
Ultimately we got to where we wanted to turn - the light was red, so we made like we were going to run it, and he ran it to try and swerve again, but as he caught us, we hit the brakes and made the right turn we wanted last second without giving him any shot of making the turn.

Aside from that....

Beautiful ride!

Now that I am home, all I can think is he is either an *******, drunk, or mental - yet in charge of a vehicle that could kill us on bikes.
The only thing we didn't do that we could have - was turn around. However I am not sure he would not not done a 3 pt turn in the road.
It is just amazing that all the places we rode today - this happened in Yamate.

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@bloaker great photos, but there are some people here who need a good beating since they think they are the emperors fart or something. Lots of people here in shitty jobs and bullied every day that want to take it out on someone who perceive they are weaker, since it's all they know.

Previous weekend I had a guy take a swing at me while riding along Tamagawa, lots of people around since it's midday, I hit my brakes and I was going to turn around before I remembered that I would be the one that gets deported.
 
Bloaker: Best you can do to protect yourself is take a picture of his number plate, do it visibly so he can see you and then just stop or u-turn on the sidewalk. Was a time I used to push back but with a family at home counting on me to actually return, it is never worth it. Winning against a moron is a shallow victory anyway and most times it's the foreigner that gets into trouble if thinhgs escalate. Last thing your base commander needs right now is more stress.
 
@bloaker great photos, but there are some people here who need a good beating since they think they are the emperors fart or something. Lots of people here in shitty jobs and bullied every day that want to take it out on someone who perceive they are weaker, since it's all they know.

Previous weekend I had a guy take a swing at me while riding along Tamagawa, lots of people around since it's midday, I hit my brakes and I was going to turn around before I remembered that I would be the one that gets deported.
The frustrating part is the lack of sense. We even stopped at one point while he was in front of us... he stopped.
We were assuming he would get bored... guess not. Had I been solo, I would have probably antagonized him a bit, then shot down some steps or something eh couldn't follow. But I feel responsible for the safety of those I ride with, so I legit holding back.

In retrospect I just should have sat there longer. But for whatever reason I kept assuming he would just go away.
I suppose my lack of apologizing for not being happy he almost hit me repeatedly was keeping him mad at me.

Bloaker: Best you can do to protect yourself is take a picture of his number plate, do it visibly so he can see you and then just stop or u-turn on the sidewalk. Was a time I used to push back but with a family at home counting on me to actually return, it is never worth it. Winning against a moron is a shallow victory anyway and most times it's the foreigner that gets into trouble if thinhgs escalate. Last thing your base commander needs right now is more stress.
No doubt. And had my phone been handy, it would have been one of my first reactions.
I had a goPro on last year and a car started acting a fool, I pointed to the camera and the car took off.
I guess I need to roll with it more often. I dunno - just annoying.
We were absolutely minding our own business and not breaking any written or unwritten rules.

As for my command... well - as you can imagine, things are not good.
 
Lots of people here in shitty jobs and bullied every day that want to take it out on someone who perceive they are weaker, since it's all they know.
Sad but true.

Cycling note : reverb dropper post was stuck in the down position on the mtb, took it off the bike and then tried to release air from the valve; did it and it promptly released air....and some oil into my face lol. looks like it is a failed seal or something, hopefully sico bike can fix it. now trying to figure out how to takyubin this dropper to the shop. if the repair will cost too much, might ditch it and get a brand-x dropper or not run a dropper at all.
 
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