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Today July 2022

just got this random suggestion in my FB feed. I think some of us here can relate. I certainly can ;)

American Council on Science and Health

An Airbus 380 is on its way across the Atlantic. It flies consistently at 800 km/h at 30,000 feet, when suddenly a Eurofighter with a Tempo Mach 2 appears. The pilot of the fighter jet slows down, flies alongside the Airbus and greets the pilot of the passenger plane by radio: "Airbus, boring flight isn't it? Now have a look here!"

He rolls his jet on its back, accelerates, breaks through the sound barrier, rises rapidly to a dizzying height, and then swoops down almost to sea level in a breathtaking dive. He loops back next to the Airbus and asks, "Well, how was that?" The Airbus pilot answers: "Very impressive, but watch this!"

The jet pilot watches the Airbus, but nothing happens. It continues to fly straight, at the same speed. After 15 minutes, the Airbus pilot radios, "Well, how was that? Confused, the jet pilot asks, "What did you do?" The AirBus pilot laughs and says, "I got up, stretched my legs, walked to the back of the aircraft to use the washroom, then got a cup of coffee and a chocolate fudge pastry.

The moral of the story is: When you're young, speed and adrenaline seems to be great. But as you get older and wiser, you learn that comfort and peace are more important. This is called S.O.S.: Slower, Older and Smarter. Dedicated to all my friends who, like me, as seniors, we now realize that it's time to slow down and enjoy the rest of the trip.
 
Hey @luka , now that you're Slower, Older and Smarter, how about joining me (Slower, Older, and Dumberer) in a bike ride down Kazahari some day? Saddle not obligatory!

NB we'll have to go up to it before we go down from it, but it's not a dizzying height.
 
now that you're Slower, Older and Smarter, how about joining me (Slower, Older, and Dumberer) in a bike ride down Kazahari some day?
I think I'd need to add retired to that list first haha

the stand-up bike would not be the best tool for it, going up or down. and that's a considerable understatement. even on the flats, I'd be considerably slower than the slowest road biker. I also hate this heat of course, and it's just so far out of my way really. I quit public transport cold turkey 2+ years ago, and once in a while when I'm forced to take it, I am always painfully reminded of why I'm staying away from it (even without an additional hassle of a full bike in tow).

if I lived in akiruno or similar, and kazahari was basically on my doorstep, the equation would be different perhaps... again meaning: maybe when I retire! ;)

in the meantime, I'm grateful to be able to have all this inside my home, and maintain and develop my mobility and strength with minimum additional effort or risk - like going to the gym or something would mean. 16 sets in total in four different exercises for the legs today, and I'm pretty spent. full range of motion, full pause squats shown here are among my favorite movements. no time wasted on transport, no risk of infections, no inconveniencing or being inconvenienced by other commuters, just pure quality time where each second counts. I'm too old for anything else I think (but apparently not yet so old that the world would allow me to retire in relative security and convenience, unfortunately!)


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So many times I marvel at the complete lack of situational awareness.
They were probably genuinely confused - because they didn't pay any attention.

I think a lot of motorists equate

road bike = mamachari = pedestrian on two wheels

and all their speed-based driving choices are based on that mistaken perception.
 
I think a lot of motorists equate

road bike = mamachari = pedestrian on two wheels

and all their speed-based driving choices are based on that mistaken perception.
Oh yeah, I have had that happen many times. One of the closest calls in my life (two lane road and some butthole insisted on overtaking me when there was a car parked on the road and another car was passing him — 2 lanes for 3 cars and 1 bike. That was one of the few times I lost my cool afterwards. What's funny is that the driver seemed genuinely confused why I was really angry, he apparently hadn't noticed that I had centimeters on each side at speed. For reference, the speed limit was 40 and I was going with the flow of the traffic, maybe 35-37 km/h.

A few times I almost "got turned left", too, like @Forsbrook, when some energy efficient light bulb overtook me (and my riding buddies) only to brake abruptly and turn left into e. g. the parking of a konbini. Especially on the flats, road bikes can be as fast or nearly as fast as cars. And especially if you drive an anemic kei car (nothing against them personally), overtaking can take ages.
 
I think a lot of motorists equate

road bike = mamachari = pedestrian on two wheels

and all their speed-based driving choices are based on that mistaken perception.
I've had so many close calls over the years where I'm sure this is the problem. They have a quick glance at you and see a cyclist and do the mental calculations based on what they know as mamachari speed.
 
Especially on the flats, road bikes can be as fast or nearly as fast as cars.
Not when the engine is me. Yesterday, on Yamate-dōri I was overtaken by all the cars, trucks, motorbikes and whatnot, and also by a "Mate" brand papachari. I presume it was a bicycle because it didn't have a license plate. Yet mysteriously the (unusually voluminous) rider never once turned the cranks. I can only infer that he was propelling his chari via his Paranormal Powers. Anyway, paranormally powered vehicle and rider must have totaled over 150 kg -- more than I'd want to go into me, even at 24 km/h, let alone at paranormal speed.

I don't suppose lack of a license plate concerns the fuzz. After all, even when license plates haven't been bent so they're horizontal, spray-painted white, etc, and are instead displayed as openly as the authorities presumably intended, they seem perversely designed to have as illegible a mess of kanji and hiragana as possible. (Plus Paranormal Mate could always try 「運転ではなく旅行している"独立市民"だぞ!」)
 
I think a lot of motorists equate

road bike = mamachari = pedestrian on two wheels

and all their speed-based driving choices are based on that mistaken perception.
I think you're too kind to motorists, Joe.
My guess is that any type of cycle doesn't come into the average motorist's equation until there is a bicycle annoying them in some way.
 
So, taken advantage of, ignored/bumped out of the way (busy station), walked/driven thru on occasion, cut in front of, generally treated as an inferior, ...

Cars and trucks are men, cyclists are the women of the road.
 
So, you're getting slower, older, and saintlier, or whatever it was; and you're using this as your excuse not to HTFU.

There's adversity and adversity. Deal with it.

it_was_much_harder.jpeg
 
Another day at Fujiten today... and I got a bit muddy.
2 PRs set in the rain and I found some alternative lines that are allowing me to carry more speed in a few areas.
I am parking the MTBs until I get back from the US. It is now too close to flying to risk injury.
The only issue I had today was early on in the heavier rain, I went to do a meter drop and the trail builder was working on the trail just around the corner - maybe 6m from me. I saw him as I was about to drop - but could not stop, so I steered wide and raked a root accross my shin. Aside from that - incident free!
Next MTB ride with be XC in Virginia!
 
Yesterday i went for a quick spin on Ogose, but got a broken spoke in the middle of the climb to Kaburi Toge. I tried to mess a little bit with the tension on the other spokes, but couldn`t do much without twisting them, so the wheel was kept out of aligment.
I though i`d go back home slowly, but the tire was rubbing against the frame and eventually my tire exploded.
Eventually, after some walking and a lot of cursing, a car stopped and offered me a ride back home (lucky AF i`d say). So it`s all fine now.

But what would be my options in this situation? Would Taxis usually accept to carry a bike?
 
But what would be my options in this situation? Would Taxis usually accept to carry a bike?

I've never been in that situation (see below) but it might help if you happen to have a rinko bag so you at least can wrap the bike such that it's not going to leave grease stains in the trunk of the cab and will be less likely to scratch it. In my experience cabbies usually carry a bungee cord to hold the trunk shut even if the luggage is too bulky to close the lid.

As for broken spokes, I haven't had one in 83,000 km of cycling over the past 11 years:
  1. I am not a big guy
  2. all my wheels have 32 spokes and (maybe most importantly)
  3. my wheels are hand built by Tim Smith of GS Astuto
 
I have been in a similar situation. I wish cab companies had large cars being able to handle bikes or whatever large item.
But when I see the old cabbies making no effort to take the suitcase, I believe they are not ready for more service.
 
I have been in a similar situation. I wish cab companies had large cars being able to handle bikes or whatever large item.
But when I see the old cabbies making no effort to take the suitcase, I believe they are not ready for more service.

The old Crown Comfort taxis (pre-2018) have a trunk that is larger than it looks for a sedan, even though the LPG tank does take up some space. I have never used any of the new JPN taxis yet, that may have a bit more space because it's a van.

When I was in the UK last month I was surprised how spacious the current generation London cabs are. The passenger compartment there is like riding on a bus. You can just stand your suitcases next to your seat, no loading in the back required.
 
Arent there 2 sizes of cabs in japan? Never transported a bike in one but my guess is the larger ones are more rare.
 
Maybe a prius taxi--bike in back (seats down), pax in front?

When I was shopping cars years ago, a threshold factor was if it'd fit a bike in the back. There was one prius model that would've been fine. Back seats down, big entry with the back up, a bike would lay in there easily.

But whether a driver would be willing to take you like this...?
 
But whether a driver would be willing to take you like this...?
I think that`s the biggest problem.
I`d say everything else would be "doable". If i take both wheels off, i believe the bike would fit most cars.

One of the main advantages of living where i live is that i don`t need the rinko bag to get to interesting places, so i don`t even consider bringing it with me (1hour ride got me to the Kuroyama waterfalls).
Haven`t the guy stopped the car that time, i was considering asking the wife to bring me a rinko bag (and then facing the 2hour train ride back home). But then it got me wondering how would that be if i were somewhere further away where she wouldn`t be able to reach...
 
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