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Today June 2017

theBlob

Bokeh master
Sep 28, 2011
3,014
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The sweat is really starting to roll on my morning training sessions, And getting close to getting through a full water bottle. In winter I might do my morning 40km with only taking a single sip.

Anyway this morning I was hammering down that back straight at Saiko when i saw what looked like a stick up ahead, I was on it pretty quick and as I got close i realized it was a 4 foot snake lying across the road.

Swerved at the last minute narrowly avoiding it. Luckily @Mlac Peek wasn't out this morning or his chances of survival would have been much slimmer.

In other news the mulberry trees that line Arakawa are all in fruit. Mulberry jam anyone?
 
I had my first snake of the year earlier this week. Despite an overnight spray I have only managed to get one peddle off my MTB for the new bike. Maybe take it to the tech thread.
 
It must be the time of year. 2 or 3 snakes per ride this week.

I came across this little fella today.

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A bunny hop is the best way to clear them. I've mistakenly gone straight over them in the past. I reckon they can handle it though...

Andy

www.jyonnobitime.com/time
 
This month I started a new job.
The good news, no more 0400 starts to my day. The bad news, no more 1300 rides.

The salsa has been brought back to life to be my commuter.
Coffee in the front, some water and misc in the frame bag and a change of clothes in the panniers on the way to work. A 12 pack in the pannier on the way back.

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The first week of June want even better than the last week of May, 300km on the clock. I'd be happy if this would continue like this. But I'm not so sure about that, seeing all that work coming up in the next weeks and months.
I hope for everyone to enjoy safe and fun rides also this month in Japan. I'm already looking forward to be back some day.
 
A first for me on the mtb yesterday…… broken rotor.
Absolutely no idea how it happened and I was following someone with someone right behind me. It was a moss covered rock section, so almost no braking since that will make you slide out the first moment you touch the brakes.
All seemed normal when my bike suddenly and violently turned on me.
My handlebar hit a rock hard enough to break it, I was able to get behind the seat as the bike was sliding, so I only make contact with the bike more or less.
Shooken up a little and confused, I straightened my bars and realized I had no pressure in my rear brake lever. I pumped it up just a tad and everything felt fine. Then I tried to go. The rear wheel wouldn't move.
I hop back off the bike and look. A 3cm section of my rear rotor is folded over 30 degrees outward.
The outward is the baffling part. If inward, maybe I made contact with it during the crash, but outward?
If my foot went behind it, my foot would have gone in the spokes, so that didn't happen. I looked around and didn't see anything that could have hit it.
Pulled out a pair of pliers and convince the rotor to fit though the caliper and finished out the ride.

Sore and a little bloody, the ride back was still fun.
 
(andy--I really like that pic!)

Cheers, it's a local pass "小村峠" . A gateway to bigger mountains. But a great climb in itself.

The view is splendid all the way up.

Especially with the sun coming up.

We make use of it all year round.

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Here's one from a similar vantage point as we snowshoed up enroute to Mt. Yoneyama earlier this year...

Andy

www.jyonnobitime.com/time
 
With tsuyu coming on and more work coming my way in the next few months, I subscribed to trainer road last week. and it is kicking. my. ass.
Having the squiggly line show me exactly what effort to hold on any particular interval showed me how easy it is to let up when I just work on perceived effort.

I can't speak for anyone else but the objectivity of structured power based training and seeing my (very low) numbers help motivate me to work harder, hold on that much longer on the next interval.
 
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Pedal problem sorted. I met my hiking friend on saturday to show him the new bike. Ages ago he had intended to change from toe clips and straps, but for whatever reason clip less didn't agree with him. I was happy to receive an unboxed set of pedals amongst other things when we stopped off at his place for tea.

No more snakes for me this month, just monkeys, hornets and quail. Nothing positive to report (honest). Today I hit a few dead ends when leaving the road. I also found a trail that started out as interesting, then the aspect became quite scary with a vertical drop on one side, then the descent became too steep and technical. Wrong bike and wrong rider. As I don't take my reading glasses with me when I ride I have no idea what my cell phone camera is doing when I push the buttons. I have only managed to save the pic below. Pity. I found a nice scenic hilly loop beyond Shonandaira.

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As I don't take my reading glasses with me when I ride

I keep some ¥100 shop reading glasses in my tool kit, home centers have slightly pricier ones--I just got a different set from there for ¥800.
 
I have switched jobs and been commuting via Fargo.
There is little to report with it since most days my round trip commute is only 6km.

This weekend I was able to get out on the bike prior to doing some trail work. One of my buddies snapped a random shot while Mattieu and I climbs to the summit of Toneyama to start working.

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Overall the weather has been great lately, so little complaints.
 
I ordered a new campagnolo rear sprocket and a 130mm 3T stem from merlin recently. Waited the usual two weeks. Last night they arrive, open the package. The stem plastic is all ripped and although the packaging says 130mm the actual stem is a 120mm(it's printed on the stem) The Sprocket has arrived in a plain cardboard box without labeling. The cassette doesn't fit in it properly so its bulging at the top and the teeth have gone through the side. Add to that it has clearly been on a bike, you can see marks on the inside of the tightening nut and what looks like some slight chain marks on the largest gear.

I'm thinking they have taken the gear off a built bike, maybe from a display model or something.

Either way very disappointing, I had been doing all my buying from merlin. I'm actually pretty fed up with online shopping for bike stuff. You would think there was no way they could fuck up a cassette and stem order. But Merlin have found a way.

If only the LBS's weren't a 200% mark up on the big online vendors....
 
That is really a dumper, I would definitely go to LBS's if the price were 10-30% more, but they amount the ask is almost robbery. Does anyone knows why is so much more expansive? I don't think it is a tax issue, but I am don't have lots of knowledge about JP tax system.
 
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