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Rolling, rolling, rolling...
Apr. 28th, 2007 03:26 pmYesterday, I cycled all the way across Tokyo! Go me! I figured that since I'd had my bike shipped all the way to Japan, I might as well use it, right? Well, I hadn't actually ridden it in at least... three or four years. Aside from some rusting of the gear shift (which wasn't working properly anyway, even before the rust), it seems fine. Except what the hell was I wearing when I adjusted the height of the seat, anyway? Platform shoes? It's too high for comfort when I stop (and riding a bicycle in Tokyo involves a lot of waiting around at traffic lights) but I tried lowering it and it seems to be... rusted in place. >_< Seriously, I was leaning my full weight on it and it wouldn't budge.
My excursion yesterday was from my old apartment to my new one, a thirty-minute subway (one line, no transfers) + fifteen-minute walk journey. It took me about one hour and twenty minutes, though that includes waiting for traffic lights to change and a few stops for pictures, since my route took me around the southern side of the Imperial Grounds, which are surrounded my a moat and are quite pretty.
Cyclists in Tokyo use the sidewalks, which is a good deal safer than it would be on the street. The only people you see wearing helmets are very young children or people who are actually cycling for sport/exercise, as opposed to nearly anyone else, who uses it as a mode of transportation. And I must admit, the whole helmet-wearing deal was one reason I sort of stopped cycling (when I was a kid, before helmets became mandatory, I spent an awful lot of time on my bike) because what's the fun of it when you can't feel the wind in your hair, a.k.a. The Taste Of Freedom?
Wow -- the sky suddenly went almost black and it's started to rain. I haven't seen a daytime sky this dark in ages, it's like right after sunset when there's only a little light left. Strong winds, too. Freaky!
Another difference here is that almost everyone has a "girl's bike", with the low crossbar. Mine has a high one, I guess because I thought it was cooler and obviously never intended to ride it while wearing a skirt. Well, I did yesterday and despite the wind, I had no trouble of the skirt-accidently-flying-up variety. Also, everyone has at least one basket, sometimes two (front and back) and a bell to warn pedestrians out of the way. I'm going to have to get myself one of those as well as a basket. Yesterday I had a backpack to carry my things and today, my collarbone is sore. My bum is also sore, though I'm not sure how much of that is due to not being used to the seat and how much of it is due to the seat being uncomfortable. It just makes me remember all those times I'd sit on my father's lap when I was a kid and he'd complain about my "sharp bum bones" and wonder how I could ever be comfortable sitting down. I was perhaps a rather scrawny child.
Ooh, lightning -- and a huge clap of thunder! O_O And another! It's practically right over me now, that was only a one-second delay.
I'm chewing blueberry gum. Yum! What will they think of next? Oh, right, plum gum!
I was afraid I'd never be able to listen to Leonard Cohen again, after listening to him non-stop in the weeks after I found out G was having an affair. But here I am and it doesn't bring up the pain and I'm so glad that experience didn't ruin such beautiful words. I agree with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
krk, "Hallelujah" is amazing, but I also love "I'm Your Man", "Who By Fire", "Take This Waltz" and "A Thousand Kisses Deep". But I think my favourite is the heartbreaking "Alexandra Leaving". It's a rare time when I can sing it and get through to the end without my voice breaking at least once.
My excursion yesterday was from my old apartment to my new one, a thirty-minute subway (one line, no transfers) + fifteen-minute walk journey. It took me about one hour and twenty minutes, though that includes waiting for traffic lights to change and a few stops for pictures, since my route took me around the southern side of the Imperial Grounds, which are surrounded my a moat and are quite pretty.
Cyclists in Tokyo use the sidewalks, which is a good deal safer than it would be on the street. The only people you see wearing helmets are very young children or people who are actually cycling for sport/exercise, as opposed to nearly anyone else, who uses it as a mode of transportation. And I must admit, the whole helmet-wearing deal was one reason I sort of stopped cycling (when I was a kid, before helmets became mandatory, I spent an awful lot of time on my bike) because what's the fun of it when you can't feel the wind in your hair, a.k.a. The Taste Of Freedom?
Wow -- the sky suddenly went almost black and it's started to rain. I haven't seen a daytime sky this dark in ages, it's like right after sunset when there's only a little light left. Strong winds, too. Freaky!
Another difference here is that almost everyone has a "girl's bike", with the low crossbar. Mine has a high one, I guess because I thought it was cooler and obviously never intended to ride it while wearing a skirt. Well, I did yesterday and despite the wind, I had no trouble of the skirt-accidently-flying-up variety. Also, everyone has at least one basket, sometimes two (front and back) and a bell to warn pedestrians out of the way. I'm going to have to get myself one of those as well as a basket. Yesterday I had a backpack to carry my things and today, my collarbone is sore. My bum is also sore, though I'm not sure how much of that is due to not being used to the seat and how much of it is due to the seat being uncomfortable. It just makes me remember all those times I'd sit on my father's lap when I was a kid and he'd complain about my "sharp bum bones" and wonder how I could ever be comfortable sitting down. I was perhaps a rather scrawny child.
Ooh, lightning -- and a huge clap of thunder! O_O And another! It's practically right over me now, that was only a one-second delay.
I'm chewing blueberry gum. Yum! What will they think of next? Oh, right, plum gum!
I was afraid I'd never be able to listen to Leonard Cohen again, after listening to him non-stop in the weeks after I found out G was having an affair. But here I am and it doesn't bring up the pain and I'm so glad that experience didn't ruin such beautiful words. I agree with
krk, "Hallelujah" is amazing, but I also love "I'm Your Man", "Who By Fire", "Take This Waltz" and "A Thousand Kisses Deep". But I think my favourite is the heartbreaking "Alexandra Leaving". It's a rare time when I can sing it and get through to the end without my voice breaking at least once.
