Cycling

New year, old habits

Posted on 2015-03-07 16:21 by rv

Today, for the first time this year and for the first time since almost 6 months, I cycled. I finally put on some new handlebar tape, pumped some air in the tires and tightened the brakes. This is where I went.

I've been coming to this road for quite a while now, ever since I moved to my current place almost 3 years ago. This road is just about the perfect distance; the same as the distance I used to cycle to the seaside back in Japan. That said, the current track is way more difficult because there's some serious uphills and downhills.

Usually I cycle a bit further than this road to end up at the Denham airfield, but I can never find a decent place to have a break there. There's people, planes and horses in the way. So this time I just stopped at this road, put my bike to the side and had a seat in the grass. It was an amazing view, and for once there was no one else around so I could enjoy a moment of peace. The feeling of sitting on top of a hill looking at amazing scenery after a tough workout is one of the best feelings I have ever experienced. Nothing I could experience in a car could come close. It's just an entirely different feeling.

A brilliant feeling. My body hurts like hell. I should do this more often.

Posted in Cycling , Daily Life

The cycling spirit

Posted on 2014-11-12 22:30 by rv

The cycling spirit is gone. I caused it myself, by getting a car. Although I've still got my bike, and I keep it in ready condition, the need to get out there and cycle around is ever decreasing. That feeling I used to have, that of "I can go anywhere by bicycle" is kind of gone. Not completely, mind you. And I'm sure it will come back next spring, but right now I just feel more comfortable in a car. That feeling makes it even less likely for me to go out and cycle, because it somehow feels like a mental betrayal to other cyclists. I'm not 'one of them' any more, at least not at the moment. I still want to do long-distance, fully-loaded cycling touring, but I've gone from being "an infrequent cyclist who does cycling trips" to "a car owner who sometimes does cycling trips". It feels different.

Maybe I'll just give up on cycling for a while. England's not the country for it anyway. England takes cycling way too serious. I miss the casualness of Japanese cycling.

Posted in Cars , Cycling , Thoughts

Finally got hit by a car

Posted on 2014-07-24 19:54 by rv

It had to happen after years and years of cycling: I finally got hit by a car. I went out for a cycle today to escape the scorching desert that is my room, which just can't get enough ventilation no matter what I do. During the hottest hours I go out to cycle, and so it was today. I headed north to Watford, cycled through town a bit and then got to the other side of Watford, where there's a couple of roundabouts where two fairly big roads meet.

I tend to take roundabouts quite fast because I don't want to spend a long time in places where cars are likely to hit you, but today I was cycling for escapism so I wasn't going too fast. There were hardly any cars on the road, and I saw the silver MPV approaching from miles away. Well, figuratively speaking.

The car was already slowing down so I kept going at a reasonable pace (I was doing about 20kph according to Garmin). Things would have worked out fine if the car had kept slowing down, but the driver must have been sleeping behind the wheel because she only noticed me a second before she hit me. No offense, but that's fucking shit driving. I already saw it coming and tried to evade, but couldn't get out of the way fast enough. I was prepared to fall down on to the asphalt after a hard bump from her car, but I somehow managed to skid-step off the bike as it got cobbled up under her front bumper. I magically escaped without a scratch, thanks to the driver waking up in the last second and actually starting to brake.

My first impulse after realizing that I was somehow still standing in the middle of a roundabout was to make sure that this asshole driver didn't try to escape, so I made sure to block her path as I guided her to the side of the road. That's where I realized that she was just this poor Indian woman who totally had no clue what she was doing and was visibly quite shaken.

I tried rolling the bike to the side but that didn't work at all, and you can see why in the above photo. I definitely need a new rear wheel. At first I was worried that the frame was bent and the front wheel was damaged, but it looks like it's just the rear wheel that took the hit.

As we got to the side of the road, I noticed that my legs were actually shaking a little, and I couldn't figure out if it was because of the sudden shock of nearly getting hit by a car, of perhaps a muscle spasm or twitch from the awkward way that I dismounted my bicycle. I've never thought of myself as a shock-susceptible person, and the speed at which I was hit was quite low, but I can't completely rule it out I guess.

A witness showed up who was driving behind the Indian woman, but he turned out to be an acquaintance of hers so I'm not sure that'll do me any good if they decide to make trouble. I don't think they will though, they were nice people. And I'm far more likely to make trouble for them if I claim injuries or psychological trauma. There'll be CCTV footage as well if I need it. But we settled on her paying for the bike repairs and that'll be all.

What a strange day. I nearly committed to renting a new apartment yesterday, but ended up calling it off in the morning after having a second look at the place. Then I go cycling and get hit by a car, yet somehow remain unharmed. Two big things could have turned out a lot worse for me today, but I managed to get through it alright. I guess that makes this a good day.

Posted in Cycling , UK

One with the bike

Posted on 2014-05-25 13:24 by rv

After cycling every day for a month, there's so many things I wish I could convey to others about cycling, and touring in particular. But words don't convey anything, the only way to understand is to do it yourself.

That feeling when you approach a minor hill at speed and manage to use your power to get up it without shifting down.
The satisfaction when you've been going up, down, up, down all day, slowly climbing, and finally at the end of the day it turns into a windless downhill just when the sun breaks through the clouds.
That moment when you reach a conbini after a huge hill, sweaty and tired, and everybody just looks at you in wonder, and you're just too tired to even care.
The feel of the bike when you're nearing a traffic light, and the weight of the trucks has made the asphalt stand up on the edge of the road, and you zigzag on and off it to feel how high it is to decide which side you should be on.
Pulling up to a traffic light and trying to time it just right so that you don't have to come to a complete stop before the light turns green again.
The smug satisfaction that comes from overtaking the same car/truck several times when there's several traffic lights in a row.
The 'brace yourself' moment when it's a windy day on a narrow road and an oncoming truck passes you at great speed, the gust of wind nearly knocking you over.
The reverse moment when the road is wide enough for a truck going in the same direction to pass you at speed and you try to catch as much of its wake as you can.
When you seat yourself firmly in the saddle after a lunch break and realize that your butt doesn't hurt because you've gotten used to your bike.
Quickly reaching under your saddle to turn on your rear light when approaching a tunnel.
Awkwardly reaching under your saddle for five seconds to turn off your rear light after a tunnel.
When it's actually quite cold and windy but your cycling efforts are exactly enough to keep you warm.
When there's rubble on the road and you know exactly which bits not to hit and zigzag around them with perfect timing and confidence.
Checking behind you to see if your luggage is still there, after every minor bump.
Slightly jumping up and down on the saddle while looking down at your rear tire to see if it might have gotten softer, after every minor bunp.
That downhill moment on a relatively quiet road when your speed and concentration suddenly increases and you start taking a wider line to ensure that you have enough space to maneuver safely in case of an emergency stop or evade.
The nod you give to a truck driver for making a very polite pass. You'll never know if he saw it.
The fifth time you hear a truck rapidly approaching behind you on a narrow road, and you decide to take a very wide line to prevent him from passing because the previous four trucks cut you off rather dangerously.
The scenery when you decide not to take a tunnel for a change, and the side road turns out to be beautiful and quiet.
The feeling of being rescued when you're near the end of your strength and switch from progress mode to search mode, and happen to find the perfect restaurant/conbini/camp site.
And my favorite one: the feeling of the warm wind blowing on your face after a huge descent from chilly cold temperatures into a warm summer breeze.

You must cycle.

Posted in Cycling , Spirit of Japan 2 , Thoughts

Evaluation

Posted on 2014-05-03 16:27 by rv

The first few days have been interesting. I had definitely forgotten about two of the most serious problems (for me personally at least) during cycle touring: sunburn, and the incredible stress of random camping. I learned my lesson in a fairly controlled environment, fortunately, still in familiar territory. Which gives me a chance to do things better when the trip begins 'for real'. I pretty much know what to expect for the mainland part of the trip, and I'm guessing the conditions will become somewhat different when I reach Hokkaido. By then I'll have gotten used to things a lot more.

In terms of cycling, there seems to be a balance between power + efficiency on the one hand, and comfort on the other. The higher the saddle position and the more aggressive the angle, the faster you can go and the more power you can put on to the pedals. But that's just not the best thing to do when you're touring. The higher the saddle, the more annoyed you'll get at every street light for not being able to reach the ground with your feet without falling over. You can't balance 20kg worth of luggage on your toes. As for the angle, if it's very aggressive then you'll find yourself not really relaxing when you're coasting, since you'll be exerting a lot of force on your arms and hands to try and keep yourself upright. I also found that the more aggressive angle makes me choose higher gears and lower cadence, since that means I can use my legs to keep myself in position rather than relying on my arms to push myself back. I've obviously over-adjusted it and need to tone it down a little, but it'll be tricky to find a comfortable angle for coasting while still avoiding crotch numbness issues during long rides. It's a process I'll have plenty of time to fine-tune.

I'm back in Atsugi now. The only way I can describe it is 'surreal'. Already when coming to Japan from Europe, everything feels 'gentler', less offensive. Coming back to the life that I used to have four years ago only adds to the fairy-tale-like quality. That said, I definitely don't belong here any more. It's been four years since I lived here, and it's been eight years since I lived here. Atsugi has moved on, and so have I. With that in mind, I'm not feeling as much wanderlust I had during the last trip; I feel more like I want to reach my goal of getting to Wakkanai. Not necessarily in the quickest way possible, but certainly with the intent of challenging myself.

Rules for unexpected camping (perhaps mostly applicable to Japan):

Never camp near people!
No tourist spots.
No urban areas.
Local people always show up even if you think you're in the middle of nowhere. Especially people walking dogs.
Never camp too close to the sea. It's goddamn loud.
Never camp next to a major road.
Never camp in tall grass. Your tent will be damp in the morning.

I realize that most of these are quite 'duh', but they really are rules, not guidelines. Any one of these things could ruin a good night's sleep.

Posted in Cycling , Spirit of Japan 2

Cycling

Posted on 2014-03-27 22:56 by rv

Posted in Cycling , Japan , Spirit of Japan , Spirit of Japan 2

The ones that matter

Posted on 2014-03-26 12:53 by rv

In 2007 I did my first ever bike trip. My friend and I had just bought brand new discount touring bicycles and we were eager to try them out in Kyushu. It being our very first cycling trip ever, we had no idea what to expect. In retrospect, nothing we could possibly have expected would have been as amazing as the actual trip. That's when I knew I was hooked to fully loaded touring.

The years after that I've done some smaller trips, but never anything that had the same impact on me as that very first trip. Until 2010, the year I left Japan. I was determined to go out with a bang, and, not knowing whether to stay in Japan or not, I decided to just go cycling instead and see what I would come up with along the way. It was the first tour I ever did by myself, and it was as novel an experience as that first trip back in 2007. Since then I've done several smaller trips: the Netherlands, Spain, Sicily, and bits of the UK. Most of those were not fully loaded as I wasn't carrying a tent with me, or was carrying it but did not use it.

I have a constant feeling in the back of my mind that I did not quite 'finish' Japan. There's many ways in which you could consider a cycle tour of Japan 'complete'. The most common definition seems to be that of the "一周" (issyuu,): one lap. Traversing the entire coastline of Japan, or as much as is allowable by roads.

I'm not going to do a lap around Japan, but I have decided on something else: this year, I will finish cycling Japan from North to South! I've done Tokyo all the way down to Kyushu, this time I will do Tokyo all the way up to Wakkanai. Fully loaded. I've planned the first few days of the trip but I will let randomness guide me for the bulk of the trip. I'm not planning to know how to get back to Tokyo until I reach Wakkanai. I have my girlfriend to thank for this idea: I was planning to do a two-week trip myself, pre-booking hotels and staying around the Tokyo area. But she convinced me to bring my tent and do some camping, and that made me realize how long it's been since I've done a proper adventure cycle.

One month until the trip. I have a lot to do.

Posted in Cycling , Spirit of Japan , Spirit of Japan 2

Just cycling.

Posted on 2013-10-16 19:13 by rv

I bought a magnetic cycling trainer thing the other day. You attach your bicycle to it on the rear wheel, connect a roller and it uses magnetic resistance to let you work out indoors. It's shit. I gave it a try today and did not like it. It's noisy and does not feel comfortable at all, nothing like real cycling.

Fortunately for me the day's misery ended in the late afternoon when it stopped raining, so I went out for a proper cycle. I did not regret it. I remembered once again that it doesn't really matter how cold it is outside, as long as it's not raining. Just go out and cycle. It certainly made me feel a lot better after being stuck inside with a cold for 2 days.

Posted in Cycling

Bike things

Posted on 2013-10-12 13:14 by rv

Exactly a week from now marks the anniversary of my new bicycle, meaning it's now well over a year since I was living in the crappy overpriced apartment in Ealing where my old bicycle got stolen. A lot has changed, yet nothing has changed. Although I'm still working for the same client, still not quite happy with my apartment situation, my mindset has changed since then. Much like after my first year in Japan I've just gotten a lot more comfortable and confident with the situation.

Back to bicycle things though. The Long Haul Trucker's first year was not too strenous. One multi-day trip to the Netherlands, a couple of day trips and a lot of weekend workouts. I've got big plans for next year though. Canada East to West, New Zealand and the remaining bits of Japan that I haven't done yet. I want to do at least one of those three, although it would be great to do all three.

Keep calm and go traveling!

Posted in Cycling

Public footpath 32a

Posted on 2013-07-24 20:24 by rv

The field kept brushing against my legs as I cycled through it. It felt amazing and very nature-y.

(To HDR or not to HDR? I tend to shy away from it and prefer natural colors, but this image felt nicer in HDR. Perhaps I'll blame the camera this time. Here's a comparison.)

Posted in Cycling , Photography , UK

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