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Today - March 2011

As happy as I am to go back to work on the 9th floor doing the very improtant work of translating algebra worksheets for my students, I still refuse to take the elevator.

37 flights today. :p

@ikeda they will be better next weekend. Go! Do you need a map?
(I didn't take many pictures)
 
Ume

I live on the Tama River near Nikotama and have ridden out on the bike trail as far as it goes that way and then continued on near Oume, but have not made it to Okutama yet. Depending on the nuclear situation I may make it out on the weekend then. I assume the flowers on on the river, if not, a map would be a big help. Thanks.
 
Had my first commute of the year. I won't wait for a 9.0M till my next one.
One of my cycling team mates also commuting along the Edo river together with me and he also will be doing it more often.

The hay fever though is much worse than the radiation.

Cancelled my afternoon jobs due to possible electricity outages which reduced my commute to only 55kms.

Have a 90km commute at the end of the week and today was a good warm up.
 
Watch out for the rusty chains

Be careful out there folks, on my ride home from the hospital, I had three close calls, three times I had to hit the brakes hard and take some evasive maneuvers :eek:

Two cages, and one ped.

People just simply have their minds elsewhere, be extra careful out there...... :eek:uch:

Monday evening and this morning there were probably 5X the normal cycle commuters on my route. The newbies (Tom excluded) are a dead giveaway -- watch out for the bikes with rusty chains.

Last night while I was waiting at a light someone passed me on the cross street with no lights, and with his eyes and one hand on his iphone, earplugs in his ears, no helmet. I almost jumped out and tackled him since I figured I might save another cyclist or pedestrian. This morning I had a guy with umbrella in his left hand (he could use his rear brake only) but zooming in the street at full speed, a woman in high heels and winter coat on bike with partially flat wheels, descending Komazawa Dori toward Yamate Dori (Nakameguro) holding up a line of traffic and cyclists, and later someone who came at me the wrong way on Hibiya Dori, swerving into the middle of the road at the last minute to avoid me as I screamed at the top of my lungs.

So far, way more dangerous than any radiation leaking at Fukushima Daiichi.
 
Monday evening and this morning there were probably 5X the normal cycle commuters on my route. The newbies (Tom excluded) are a dead giveaway -- watch out for the bikes with rusty chains.

Last night while I was waiting at a light someone passed me on the cross street with no lights, and with his eyes and one hand on his iphone, earplugs in his ears, no helmet. I almost jumped out and tackled him since I figured I might save another cyclist or pedestrian. This morning I had a guy with umbrella in his left hand (he could use his rear brake only) but zooming in the street at full speed, a woman in high heels and winter coat on bike with partially flat wheels, descending Komazawa Dori toward Yamate Dori (Nakameguro) holding up a line of traffic and cyclists, and later someone who came at me the wrong way on Hibiya Dori, swerving into the middle of the road at the last minute to avoid me as I screamed at the top of my lungs.

So far, way more dangerous than any radiation leaking at Fukushima Daiichi.

I had the best photo op of the year yesterday but didn't take the opportunity.

A salaryman with a broken leg in plaster... pedalling with his right leg, holding his crutches with his left hand only one hand on the handle bars.
Very determined to get to work. Plus his briefcase slung over his back with an umbrella wedged in there somewhere as well.
:eek:
 
The newbies (Tom excluded) are a dead giveaway -- watch out for the bikes with rusty chains.
So far, way more dangerous than any radiation leaking at Fukushima Daiichi.

Thanks David :D ...had a great commute again this morning - luckily for me no dangerous situations like the ones you described. It is a pretty mighty feeling cycling past Omotesando Hills and other major urban landmarks - a bit different from the weekend toges.
 
A salaryman with a broken leg in plaster... pedalling with his right leg, holding his crutches with his left hand only one hand on the handle bars.
Very determined to get to work. Plus his briefcase slung over his back with an umbrella wedged in there somewhere as well.
:eek:

I saw something similar the other day - a guy who had a damaged left foot was cycling using his right foot to pedal (right hand on handlebar) and his crutch (via his left hand) like a walking stick to help propel him.
 
My friend in the states saw on the news that on friday there was a big run to buy bikes, so even if someone is on a new 300,000 yen bike doesn't mean that they aren't a total newbie.
:bike:
 
Preparing the new commute bike!

E.D.C.B. = Every-day-cyclo-bomber!

EDCB.JPG


Some of you may recognize this as Thomas' ex-all-round steed from years past.
After finding he had no space for it, Thomas bestowed it upon me as a "wedding gift" ... 2 1/2 years ago. It has been sitting in my "bike-room" ever since, biding its time, waiting for the day when it shall finally run free again!
That day is not far off! The only thing needed to make the beast fully operational is a set of brake & gear cables!

The "Gun-Metal-Gray-Giant-With-Yellow-Bits-On-It", having been shortened to "Yellow-Giant", thus lending its name to both author and rider, will hereby summarily be put out of commission!
In short, the Giant, my trusty steed, and long-riding, long-suffering two-wheeled companion will be scrapped :eek:uch:

Race-Grey.JPG


R.I.P
Yellow(ish) Giant, 2006 - 2011

I write this with as much humor as I can muster, as revealing my true feelings would likely leave me a sobbing mess, the likes of which my wife would not have time to clean off the floor - But in my heart .... :cry:

There will always be another bike! I just hope my next bike lasts as long as this one did.
Travis
 
...the Giant, my trusty steed, and long-riding, long-suffering two-wheeled companion will be scrapped.

So sorry to hear that, Travis. To me, you and the Giant always appeared to be an inseparable unit. I want to count the hours I spent behind the two of you. May he rest in peace...



I'm glad you put the Eros, pardon me, the EDCB into good use! Here's a pic from our legendary trip to Hakodate in 2007. :)
 
16 March

Had a chat with the LBS guy. Only stopped by because he was open - unusual for a Wednesday. He's sold out of bikes, and so many people have brought their clunkers in for repair (think 5-year old rotten tires and have never seen a drop of oil).

I suggest he sell rear lights to EVERYBODY, esp. as more blackouts are forecast.

Meanwhile I spent a good percentage of my rides to and from work with a smug sense of superiority :angel: as I glided past either queues of gasoline addicts desperate for a a fix or newly-converted cyclists with their saddles all at the wrong height wondering why they're finding it so difficult.
 
I had the best photo op of the year yesterday but didn't take the opportunity.

A salaryman with a broken leg in plaster... pedalling with his right leg, holding his crutches with his left hand only one hand on the handle bars.
Very determined to get to work. Plus his briefcase slung over his back with an umbrella wedged in there somewhere as well.
:eek:

I thought Yair was out of traction already!
 
Elevator ABC

Greetings from Bremen. I hope that everybody is all right and the situation is not too unpleasant right now. Our thoughts are with you.
It is hard for me to do something meaningful far away from Tokyo. Some of our German friends have left the city and are back here to wait what will happen. I put pressure on the German-Japanese associations I am a member of to ask there members to donate money and supplies. Although not for the TCC members, in order to avoid misunderstandings.

I thought about what else I could do and perhaps I can provide some piece of useful information after having read Koris post about fear of using elevators. Not many members of the TCC know that some long time ago, Ludwig and me worked for a Swiss elevator company in Japan. In order not to compromise our integrity, I will not reveal the name. So we know something about elevator technology and what will happen in case of emergencies and earthquakes. Here are some basic infos which could be useful.

# 1 Generally, which elevators are safe, which not?


I would consider three things to judge general safety level:

1. How old ist the elevator?
The newer the better. In particular because of changes in safety legislation, elevators installed after 2005 are the safest (stronger fire doors). But after 1995 is OK as well. You can make a judgement by the look of the car. Typical signs of old elevators are: mechanical push buttons, LCD displays, smell of electrical fires.
But careful, sometimes old elevators are retrofitted with new cabin interiors
and operating panels. So the best bet is: new looking building plus new looking elevator.

2. Who is the manufacturer?
Larger Japanese manufacturers have the highest safety and quality standards in the world. There might be not such a big gap, but I would rather trust a Mitsubishi, Hitachi, Toshiba, Fujitec or National-Otis (JV) elevator than other brands, in particular smaller Japanese brands (beside a Swiss company there are hardly any foreign made elevators in Japan anyway). The big Four provide anyway more than 90% of all elevator installations.

Besides that, they also have more maintenance crews on the road so in case you are trapped you will have a better chance to get out quick. Of course they also need to serve more elevators but these companies do also a lot of other technical building maintenance such as HVAC (heat, ventilation, air conditioning), so they are better equipped for emergencies.

3. How many floors servers the elevator?
Japanese standard elevators are regulated up to 15 stops with somehow relaxed safety standards. If an elevator serves more than 15 floors, the elevators are better equipped, provided they have been installed after 1995. So an elevator serving 20 floors is normally better equipped for emergencies than one that servers three floors.

Conclusion:

A new Toshiba elevator in a new building serving 20 floors is much safer than a 20 year old Chuo elevator serving 4 floors.

# 2 Which earthquake-relevant safety equipment have elevators?

1. Earthquake Sensors
An earthquake sensor is not compulsory for elevators in Japan. However, most non-regulated elevators over 15 stops have one, only a small portion below has one, my guess would be 25%. There are two types, S-wave and P-wave. The later are the better ones. Sometimes a sticker in the cabin shows if an elevator is equipped with an earthquake sensor. If there is one, good.

In case of an earthquake, the elevator if equipped with S or P sensors, moves to the next stop in driving direction and opens the doors, so that the passengers can evacuated. The door is kept open and the car will cease operations until the earthquake lock is released by maintenance personnel.

None of the above will happen, if the elevator doesn't have an earthquake sensor, so there is a higher chance that you will get trapped. But it is still unlikely that the car will fall down.

By careful of shuttle elevators. Shuttle elevators are those that connect for example the 1st floor with floor 40 - 50. There is no stop between the 1st and the 40th floor so the car must travel longer to reach the next stop.

2. Emergency Power Supply (UPS)
Because the batteries takes much space and are expensive, this is a rather rare feature for <15 stops elevator (perhaps 5% are equipped with a UPS system). However, most high-rise elevators have one. The purpose of the UPS system is not to keep up operations. It only serves to move the car to the next possible floor and opens the door to allow passengers to leave the car. Nothing more.
So, in case the building power is cut and the building has no emergency power system (like most bigger hospitals have) and the elevator is not equipped with an UPS, you will be trapped with very high probability.

3. Speed Governor
This is a mechanical safety system that prevents the car from falling free in the shaft in case the ropes are cut are similar incidents. The car is moving in rails (guide rails) similar to a train. If the car is travelling at a faster speed that the maximum designed speed, something similar to brake calipers will interact with the guide rails and stop the car. There is no electricity required to activate the system, so this will always work even if there is no power in the elevator.....

4. Oil Damper
... but it takes time to brake the car. So if you are very unlucky and the car picks up speed from falling freely close to the ground floor, you might just hit the pit below maximum design speed. In order to prevent this, there are springs or oil dampers installed in the pit that will help to prevent a crash.
I am not that comfortable with the system, but again, this is also a rather unlikely case.

Conclusion: It is rather unlikely that an elevator car will fall down during an earthquake (unless the building starts to disintegrate), but there is a good chance that you will get trapped in the car. In particular in low rise buildings.

(Part II will follow-up on trapping)
 
Elevator Trapping

Part II of the elevator emergency briefing:

3. What can happen when I am trapped in an elevator car?

OK, first things you would do is to communicate via interphone. Every elevator has an interphone by law, but: Some or connected via fixed line to the maintenance center in the building, some are connected via telecom fixed line to a national service center (of the elevator manufacturer or service company) and some or connected wireless to a national service center. So if telecom is down, if mobile com is down, you have bad luck. But you can also have bad luck if there is nobody in the building. So it is always a good idea to have a mobile phone with you and, if you use the elevator regularily, to check if you can pick up signal. So you have a least another option.

Air Supply
You don't need to worry about oxygen deprivation. Despite the look, elevator cars have openings to allow the exchange of air between the car and the shaft.

Fire and Smoke
Most elevator control systems are connected to the building fire alarm system. So in case there is a fire alarm, the elevator will move to the next stop and open the doors. I am not 100% sure, but in case of older elevators this might have the unwanted option that the car will stop in the floor where the fire is.

Smoke is a more dangerous and important issue. If you are trapped in an elevator car above a fire and the smoke spread through the shaft, that will cause a serious problem. But, the building and elveator design is done in such way to prevent the influx of smoke in the shafts as long as possible. This is common sense, because one want to avoid that the fire and smoke spreads
through the building quickly. Thus, elevator shafts and staircases are the place in a building with the best fire and smoke protection.

Emergency Lights
All elevators in Japan are required to have emergency light in the cabin, operated on batteries. So you will have light for a period in the car, even the building is cutoff from power supply.

Emergency Exit
Most elevator cars and for sure the ones which serve more than 15 floors are equipped with emergency exits. In most cases they are integrated in the ceiling (you don't want an emergency exit in the floor for obvious reasons),
sometimes in the side panels. But, the emergency exit can only be opened from the outside by maintenance staff. If you have some tools and force you might be able to open one.
Larger cars that operate in groups have the emergency exits integrated in the sides. That allows for one car to move to the same height as the trapped car, to open the exit door, to built a "bridge" to the other car and open that door from the outside. Passengers can be evacuated to the other car, there is no need to reach the next landing.
Careful, some smaller cars, actually those for 9 passengers, have a half height door in the backwall. This is not a door to the outside, this is a door to a "trunk" which is required to transport people on a stretcher or coffin (so to extend the total depth within the car). So there is no meaning to forcefully open that door.

The normal scenario for trapping is, that you will contact someone via interphone, that the elevator maintenance team comes to the building, and that they try to move the car up to the next floor (by manually pulling the pulley, not by restarting the elevator system) and that they will open the doors to let the passengers. This can take a while, but you will have light and air in the car. This can take very long in case of shuttle elevators stranded in the middle between the 1st and 40th floor.

During an earthquake, many passengers will get trapped. Subsequently the time until the crew arrives will be substantially longer. However, the building owners will also more likely check the elevator cars to make sure that no one is trapped. This is different from. when you leave the office at 1 in the might and get stucked in the elevator due to a system error and you cannot get somebody on the interphone plus you don't have your mobile with you.

So, your chance to survive a trapping, how unpleasant it might be, are pretty good. Your chances decrease with a building fire.

Summarizing my points, you are safe using elevators, if

1. They are new, in new buildings, made by the Big 5 and serving more than 15 floors.

2. If you know that they are equipped with earthquake sensors and power supplies systems.

3. You have your mobile phone with you and you know there is a signal to call for help independently of the intercom.

4. You are not in a shuttle elevator.

I hope that information could help you to judge the risk and make decisions. Needles to say that you shouldn't use an elevator in case of fire and during earthquakes.

Also it might be better for your health to take the stairs.
 
Signed, please.
 
I already have the Chuck Noris and Jens Voigt portraits being flown in, then we have the holy trinity.
 
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