Alley Cat Race tonight!

Quick reminder. Tonight's NUTs alley Cat Race will start at Shirakawa park at 9PM. Bring your bike and a warm jacket cause I think it's going to be friggin COLD! Click on the Calendar link to the right for more info.

Cycling for Trout

Last Saturday was a picture perfect day for a ride. Our little gang of pedal punks (Me, Lowell, Brian and Blane) met early Saturday morning and cycled through some of the hills of northern Seto City. The ride proved a bit challenging, especially in the area around Nagoya University. But the clear sky and brisk air kept me charged for the duration of the trip. We stopped at a small family owned trout farm and tried our hand at some fishing. I've always had bad luck with fish, so it didn't surprise me that I didn't catch any. The guys caught more than enough for our lunch. The cute Mama san quickly prepared the catch (grilled, fried and the rest sashimi styled). Served with rice, pickels and red miso soup, I must say that it was the best trout I have ever eaten in my life (and I've lived in Japan for almost 20 years). Let's face it: The Japanese know fish. Yes, cycling and fresh trout. A perfect day in my book.



Trout on a stick!

Showing Off

Took my Surly out for a ride today. The weather was superb and I couldn't resist taking a few photos to show off the new Toshio Handlebar leather tape I bought last Saturday. Looks nice huh? Trying to get a couple of the guys together this weekend for a ride in Seto Shi. Hope the weather holds.

Packing your Travelers Check!

When I first decided that I wanted to try cycling through Europe, I knew I needed a bike frame that could travel light and cheap wherever I go. Lo and behold, Surly came out with a new touring frame that promised to answer my needs. The Travelers Check is basically Surly's already popular Cross Check frame but with nice S&S couplers added to allow you to split the frame into two pieces. I bought the Frame and the way over-priced travel case in time for my cycling tour of France. Let me warn you if you're thinking of getting the Travelers Check; packing the bike into the special case is no picnic. It took me a month of trying different variations before I was able to get it all comfortably into the case. Surly and S&S websites offer little or very poor examples on how to pack the bike. In the future, I plan to make a video outlining how I did it. For now, here is a picture of the finished results. A bit of advice if you plan on getting the Travelers Check and the case; you'll need to remove the crank set, back derailers, handlebars and fork. And forget about placing the front wheel on top of bike parts as suggested on the S&S website. It doesn't work. You'll need to shove the wheel into the top half of the travel case as shown in the picture (deflate both tires beforehand). After a few tries, you'll get the hang of it. I can now pack the bike in about 45 minutes.

Cold Alley Cats

The monthly NUTs alley cat race last night started out cold but soon heated up once the pedaling started. I did poorly but had a good time riding around the city. There was a last minute change of the starting location due to some other group meeting there. So if you plan to join the next race on Feb 21st, better confirm it will be at Yabacho and not Shirakawa park. Ride on.

NUTs Monthly Alley cat race

Quick reminder for those in the Nagoya area. Local cycling group NUTs will be holding their monthly alley cat race this Saturday at 8:30 PM at the Yabacho underpass in Sakae. As usual, we'll all meet at Palwr cafe afterwards for drinks and bragging.


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Cycle route: Nagoya to Kameyama

Found a nice cycling route I might try if the weather clears up soon. Can probably do this in one day with time to spare for a dip in a hot spring bath.