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Today June 2015

Half-Fast Mike

Lanterne Rouge-et-vert
May 22, 2007
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First cycle commute in June passed without incident, despite the crackdown on cyclists we have heard so much about. In fact I didn't see a single police officer out in the street. What I did see were five TV crews at major junctions - gave them all a nice 'cheese' pose. If this was a deliberate move on the part of the police, it's pretty smart. 'Victimize cyclists? Us?' Or maybe I was just out too early and the mamachari crowd will get it in the next in a couple of hours.

Meanwhile... how about that John Kerry, huh? 危ないよ!

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Woke up still alive, so the assassin has yet to do his, or her, job.

Also realised today how effective painkillers are for training. I banged a load of Ibuprofen yesterday to get home, and held a pretty decent average. Couldn't feel my legs at the end, despite riding pretty hard. This morning I definitely felt the effects of being able to go in harder. It is not doping though, because it is legal. Just like alcohol is not a drug (it is a drink).
 
The poor behavior on bicycle crack down appears to be real, at least for now. Doesn't seem very widespread, last month there was a large show of force throughout my commute but this morning, it was only in the Shibuya area, particularly the Scramble. As blew through with the vehicle traffic, I observed several people on chari stopped and lectured at. Also lots of fake shirobai (motorcycle cops). Fake as in clearly the people standing next to the motorcycle are not qualified. Enforcement towards vehicles as well. Sadly I still had to maneuver by jaywalkers and taxis that have trouble judging my speed.

Couple of camera crews taking b-roll footage. I still haven't bothered to shave my monkey legs. :alien:

Take it easy out there. I'm sure this will blow over in a month.
 
No cycle gestapo at all this morning on either Kasuga-dori or Hibiya-dori. Mustn't be enough insurgents to make it worthwhile.
 
A friend of mine got pinged running a red light this morning. Has to front up to the cop shop later for a lecture or something or another…. Not a cyclist, just a mama chari rider crossing with the pedestrians when the cars had a red or something that I can't quite envision….
 
Do cyclists have to obey car only lights? Ie, not allowed to also cross with a pedestrian green man?
 
No police out here, tho I started at 9 so maybe missed them. At one red with a koban, an older guy on a mama first went thru the intersection properly, but when he got to the other side, with just a glance back he then turned and crossed against the red. Four lanes. There was a cop in the box, but apparently he didn't notice...
 
Today I ordered a second set of wheels as @saibot taught me I definitely could not settle with 35mm rims on an Aero-shaped bike. I am now waiting for my 45mm carbon disc wheels. I did not tell my wife about this though, some things are best not to be talked about...
 
My wife has no interest in bikes so I don't think she would want to hear me talk about new wheels I've bought. I don't want to bore her now, do I !

@Chrisisism what did you get?
 
Yesterday I took the bike through a no-cyclists-or-handcarts tunnel in Roppongi: my last opportunity for that in a month or more, I guessed.

Today I was so nervous about the fuzz that -- no, that's not the reason; instead I realized that I'd have to sit close to seven well-groomed persons for three hours in the afternoon and that they'd be less uncomfortable without the pong of my hours-old sweat. And so I commuted by train. I'm now getting a little out of practice at this, and dozed off while trying to read a book (an interesting one, about bikes).

Tomorrow it's me versus the fuzz. There's no registration label on my frame. (I guess that the man I bought the bike from rescued it from a scrap heap before doing some transplant surgery, adjusting and lubing, and removing the label with a hairdryer.) I'll practise the "polite incomprehension" look.
 
The real news story today is about these rogue TV crews, obstructing street corners and terrorising the public with their 'interviews'. This morning they got friendly poses from me. This evening, digitus impudicus.

I did see some police on the way home. They were motorcycle cops lurking on R246 between Komazawa-daigaku an Komazawa junctions, to catch naughty motorists driving in the "bus lane". As an avid user of said bus lane - between 17.00 and 19.00 only buses, bicycles and 50cc scooters allowed - I am grateful for their mindless diligence.
 
Yesterday I ventured through the newly policed streets. I paid particular attention to the areas around red lights, looking for the fuzz; I saw none. I judiciously went through eight red lights on my way to work and six on my way back (no, I'd never previously counted); photos of these misdeeds may now be in some database but all I know is that no cop stopped me or (so far as I noticed) even waved at me.

Stupidest sights, the kinds of things I'd prescribe crackdowns for if I were a top cop:

1. Some fool making his Porsche RWOAR! from one green light to a red one less than 100 metres ahead. (Does the planet, Japan, or (hu)mankind benefit from the availability of cars of over 100 bhp?)

2. An uninhabited police van with engine idling, parked to the right of a parked car on the hill up from Azabu-juuban toward Roppongi-itchoume. There were (more or less legal) parking places within twenty metres; if it had been placed there instead then I wouldn't have had to wobble toward the rightmost lane. (I find diplomatic vehicles on average uncharacteristically civilized in Japan; are the cops making up for this?)
 
Reviews like this make me wonder about trying a different kind of cycling than I do now.
 
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