Entries this day: Bike Work chezzzz

Bike

1:03pm JST Monday 07 March 2005

TJ Bike and I went to Higashikanagawa today; it took about 1 hour each direction. Tsunashima Street (Highway?) goes all the way to Highway 1, which (at that point) runs basically along the train lines that are vaguely near the coast (nothing like Highway 1 in California).

I arrived at that intersection (Tsunashima Highway and Highway 1) after having climbed and descended a big big hill (I dunno how many meters tall) and went right (southish) along 1 until I got to Higashikanagawa (not too far) at Highway 12.

Looking at the map, I saw 12 goes right along Tokyu Toyoko line (my line) which is basically flat, given that it's a train line. I guessed correctly that 12 would be less steep than Tsunashima Highway had been, and I didn't really want to go up that hill again. Going down would have been fine.

Jen called and invited me to lunch with her and Dan just as I had begun my trip back, which allowed me a pretty good gauge of how long it took to get back. Just as I arrived 1 turn from my house, I caught up with Jen and Dan who were just back from lunch.

Dan had a spin on TJ Bike.

Work

7:28pm JST Monday 07 March 2005

It appears that I've got a noshow this lesson. That suits me; I am content to write or study, and I don't know who the student is; when I had her last time, I wrote in my personal notes "did well" According to the history of the final student I'm scheduled to have today, she will probably noshow as well. Awesome.

- - - -

I got a little sense of what it would be like to ride my bicycle around Japan, occassionally squeezing between guardrails and light posts, occassionally zooming between traffic and the curb. I don't really get an adrenaline rush from it anymore, or at least I didn't today. Or I didn't crave doing it, though I did enjoy zooming down hills, which often happened while I was in well trafficked areas. (what areas aren't in Tokyo?)

I have now ridden as far away from Motosumiyoshi as Kawasaki, Yomiuriland (with Hitomi! great job to her, cause she was on Mimibike, which is not a long distance bike!), Yoyogi, Shinagawa, Higashikanagawa station, and two unnamed places on Tamagawa (Tama River). I'm interested in plotting these places on a map. Automagically. With GPS or something. Gotta get data cables (to connect GPS to my computer), which Hitomi will help me with soon.

And a solar panel to keep my GPS batteries from getting chowed. Maybe I can zip out to Akihabara on Wednesday before meeting Tomoko; that would be cool. I will mount my GPS on the new-to-me handlebar extension that I got from Andrew. With a securely mounted thing to which the GPS can be mounted with a thumb screw. Awesome. Solar panel on a ball socket bracket so it can be pointed at the sun. Shweet!

Tomorrow I will affix to TJ Bike the stickers Tomoko made for me. Killa.

Need to replace the back wheel on Mimibike; I bent it (badly) when I showed Jen what I meant by kickout. Oops. That reminds me of the time I tried to impress Lucy cause I could spin a plate on my finger, but the plate had just been in soapy water so it was wet and soapy and immediately fell and broke in the sink. Impressive.

chezzzz

1:51am JST Tuesday 08 March 2005

Super falling asleep, but super yay thank you to Chez for a letter! Card. But yeah.

Dan and I chatted with Jen about her life situation now.

Super tired. Good night.