ET still hasn't gone home

自転車 (bicycles) in Japan are an interesting thing. A very different beast to those found in Australia. Most everyone has them, they rarely have gears and possessing brakes that squeal and shudder doesn't seem to be a major cause for concern. They generally possess a front basket, and sometimes a rear. A bell can be useful but don't expect anyone much to pay attention to it. Oh, you don't have to wear a helmet . . . but hey! They ride on the footpath which is so safe!!　ね？

My old steed, Misty, was no top gun （no offence, Misty, you got me around) so I'm used to bikes of mediocre standing, but really, just a few gears would be nice! It's amazing what people here are prepared to do on their bikes. I find it terrifying enough just to attempt riding, with all wits at the ready, along the decently sized footpaths negotiating all of the pedestrains and other cyclists. However, I regularly see schoolgirls dinking their friends, boyfriends dinking their girlfriends, students emailing by phone whilst riding, mums riding with kids and talking on phones . . . I have yet to encounter a phone-using, umbrella-wielding cyclist but I have been assured they exist.

Gangs of uniformed young schoolboys seem to delight in riding three and four abreast in what appears to be a determined ploy to run you into the street or nearest wall or pedestrian. I don't seem to have acquired the adequate gumption for dealing with this yet.

Julie has seen two accidents involving bikes hit by cars in the past week so I'm keeping my hands on the handle bars and my phone in my pocket.

When Dan visited last week I saw an example of someone taking their life in their hands! What he was prepared to do with a bike in a crowded street defied . . . well, my imagnation, at least. They have laws about that sort of thing, don't you know?! He was far more daring than I, but maybe that's 'cause he's tough and braved cycling in Kyoto . . . The baskets on the bikes eventually meant that he put his hoodie up and started quoting ET but this led to a near-miss crash so he settled for doing crazy jumps and weaving between traffic going in the opposite direction. (Now, my reputation, so long sullied, is salvaged and my riding can only be called sane by comparison!)

Whilst he was here we had some fun cycling adventures - it's great and crazy that you can feel so safe wandering around a town in a foreign country late on a Saturday night - it's so country-town in feel. At one point we discovered the start of a bikeway that followed the river near my building (one of the many here - the town is built on a delta, so what can you expect). Therefore on Sunday when the weather was so entrancing that I shunned work of any kind for the day, in the afternoon, I took Sir Gearless for a near two-hour bike ride. It was great! Especially on the way out, the way back was something of a hell-ride when I turned only to realise I'd had a tailwind which was now to become a headwind - lovely!

During this escapade I did see a number of people on fancy-arsed bikes with helmets on, kitted out in oh-so-fashionable cycling lycras. Thus I surmise that should one feel compelled to do cycling trips around Japan there are ways to obtain the appropriate machines for approaching the frequently mountainous terrain . . . No-one locks their bikes here so stealing one should be a cinch!!