rockmoose
his flabber is totally gastered
Spooning on a poma?
The hams plan to ride in japan.
- Thread starter Spanky_Ham
- Start date
pink poodle
ここには見るべきものは何もありません
I wouldn't even consider getting the todger out halfway up a Japanese mountain in the middle of winter on a chairlift.
The coldest I have ever been on snow was here in Australia.
T-bar! The lifties look at you funny when you load up back to front, but it's the only way to ride with your special someone.
Spanky_Ham
Porcinus Slappius
We sat down last night to type up the day's adventures, the hostel was really quiet....
Got two lines in and two Japanese guys arrived and all that went out the window. We chatted ( using the pigs crap Japanese, and google translate { it produced some well messed up translations both ways- which made us all laugh like we were drunker than we were})
Both the Japanese guys and I had never met before, one was a truck driver, the other worked in construction..... We all shared the same group bedroom ( different beds of course, but shared those snores and farts)
Back to the where I left off...
The final assault on the Tonegawa cycle path.
Since we had booked another night at the hostel, we left the bags and headed out..from from our ( apparently shit calculations) we had a 100km to go and it should be all uphill. Channeling all the hill training we did with @rockmoose we set out to fooking smash it.....
Only to come to a sign in the middle of the path that said....
End of Tonegawa bike path.....
Fook
It had a little thing to use your phone to record this momentous occasion and we did.... Then, well..... Ate a banana and thought..
That was anticlimactic
Then an old mate rocked up and we started chatting the day away....so, after a bit of learning about the local mountains and weather.... We meandered up to a waterfall that google said was ok.....
It was pretty freakin nice, so peaceful and relaxing... Then an old guy with a mid 90s Sony camera appears out of no where.... Fookin mountain goat! He was here there everywhere... At one point he climbed down to a place that I thought.... If he slips, do we just run and pretend we never saw anything?
Crap, phone's about to run out of juice.... We'll charge for a bit and come back......
BRB
S
Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk
Got two lines in and two Japanese guys arrived and all that went out the window. We chatted ( using the pigs crap Japanese, and google translate { it produced some well messed up translations both ways- which made us all laugh like we were drunker than we were})
Both the Japanese guys and I had never met before, one was a truck driver, the other worked in construction..... We all shared the same group bedroom ( different beds of course, but shared those snores and farts)
Back to the where I left off...
The final assault on the Tonegawa cycle path.
Since we had booked another night at the hostel, we left the bags and headed out..from from our ( apparently shit calculations) we had a 100km to go and it should be all uphill. Channeling all the hill training we did with @rockmoose we set out to fooking smash it.....
Only to come to a sign in the middle of the path that said....
End of Tonegawa bike path.....
Fook
It had a little thing to use your phone to record this momentous occasion and we did.... Then, well..... Ate a banana and thought..
That was anticlimactic
Then an old mate rocked up and we started chatting the day away....so, after a bit of learning about the local mountains and weather.... We meandered up to a waterfall that google said was ok.....
It was pretty freakin nice, so peaceful and relaxing... Then an old guy with a mid 90s Sony camera appears out of no where.... Fookin mountain goat! He was here there everywhere... At one point he climbed down to a place that I thought.... If he slips, do we just run and pretend we never saw anything?
Crap, phone's about to run out of juice.... We'll charge for a bit and come back......
BRB
S
Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk
pink poodle
ここには見るべきものは何もありません
Such slander! The off topic section is not poisoned...and it's more blown off course than off topic.
This is one of the things I love about minshuku and ryokan travel. The Japanese can be very sociable of an evening. A few sake and a translation device can be a lot of fun. Last season there was also an evening of guitar and empty sake bottle based rhythm and blues. Oh baby baby!
I do better with my pidgin Japlish that using those fucking translators though I guess things have improved. I recall early days asking the mama at a mama bar if her @#%%$% was tasty... I have no idea why it substituted the Japanese word @#%%$% for yakiniku but there you are. Though I should have realised that asking it to translate a Japanese word in an English phrase into Japanese in a Japanese phrase was prone to error. Earlier that trip it had explained that a cat's meow sounds in English like hospitalize hospitalize which was far less of an issue.
Spanky_Ham
Porcinus Slappius
Well, after returning to the hostel and the above mentioned hilarity occurred, we hit the shared sack early and snored and farted the night away...
In the morning we woke up to discover someone sleeping in the shared kitchen with a great snore going on...
The previous nights new friends were up early as well and after an exchange of social media/ Strava details the pig loaded up and headed....
Back along the path he'd just been...and it was glorious.... Until, there was a part where we thought.. haven't seen this before and the quick glimpses of the river running beside us showed we were going upstream....
Fook, that wasn't in the plan... No stress, no real plan... Just roll.
Then puncture three made it's appearance, the front felt a little.. apongey, then we pulled over ( out side a bicycle store) and repaired a tiny hole in the front tube. For those playing at home, yeah, tubeless is awesome.... Tubes.. simple as Fook.
On we rolled with no real final plan....
Then we noticed a reptile.... place. Now, the pig and his ( massively supportive wonderfully accepting wife) do WIRES rescue and rehabilitation for lizards and frogs.... So, visiting one of these places will always leave the pig sad... There's no two ways about it....
But....
With nothing else on the plan we stopped by ( they have a good YouTube following apparently) and talking to the staff, they did have the animals best interest in heart.
They had some Indonesian blue tongues and when I showed them pictures of wifey with out two wonderful kids.... They shared knowledge and their love of all things reptilian.
Still, maaaaaaa prefer them in the wild....
We tried to stick to the arakawa cycle way, but fooked up again... Leading to a less then happy experience.
We got a message that there would be two social rides with friends in Tokyo, Saturday and Sunday..
So we hoofed it back towards Tokyo....it was glorious.... Good speed ( The Crystal Method playing on the aftershockz) and a new goal.
Then, at 2:45, the fookin wind hit.... Gusting headwinds / cross winds that when your on-top of an exposed river levy that's narrow and has narrow gates to get through....
We "just" avoided running over a little danger noodle who stood their ground and had a little go at the pigs sleds tyres.... Can help but smile at that....
But.
Pig got a little angry... The mental game was on. Then we got to a choke point (Japan is full of them, river crossings, mountains, road works).. and google maps was just pissing us the fuck off... The new construction has is take a massive route change. And google wasn't helping..
A few times we were talking back "turn left, then turn left" Aahhhhhhh fuck off you stupid fucking phone..And the only options from google were to teleport through a rice paddy or along a non existent path.
While a constant headwind just fucked us up...
Finally, we made a really old, cheap hotel where we are loading up with calories, electrons and beer..
Let's hope tomorrow is worth the pain
And yes, it is worth the pain...
S
Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk
In the morning we woke up to discover someone sleeping in the shared kitchen with a great snore going on...
The previous nights new friends were up early as well and after an exchange of social media/ Strava details the pig loaded up and headed....
Back along the path he'd just been...and it was glorious.... Until, there was a part where we thought.. haven't seen this before and the quick glimpses of the river running beside us showed we were going upstream....
Fook, that wasn't in the plan... No stress, no real plan... Just roll.
Then puncture three made it's appearance, the front felt a little.. apongey, then we pulled over ( out side a bicycle store) and repaired a tiny hole in the front tube. For those playing at home, yeah, tubeless is awesome.... Tubes.. simple as Fook.
On we rolled with no real final plan....
Then we noticed a reptile.... place. Now, the pig and his ( massively supportive wonderfully accepting wife) do WIRES rescue and rehabilitation for lizards and frogs.... So, visiting one of these places will always leave the pig sad... There's no two ways about it....
But....
With nothing else on the plan we stopped by ( they have a good YouTube following apparently) and talking to the staff, they did have the animals best interest in heart.
They had some Indonesian blue tongues and when I showed them pictures of wifey with out two wonderful kids.... They shared knowledge and their love of all things reptilian.
Still, maaaaaaa prefer them in the wild....
We tried to stick to the arakawa cycle way, but fooked up again... Leading to a less then happy experience.
We got a message that there would be two social rides with friends in Tokyo, Saturday and Sunday..
So we hoofed it back towards Tokyo....it was glorious.... Good speed ( The Crystal Method playing on the aftershockz) and a new goal.
Then, at 2:45, the fookin wind hit.... Gusting headwinds / cross winds that when your on-top of an exposed river levy that's narrow and has narrow gates to get through....
We "just" avoided running over a little danger noodle who stood their ground and had a little go at the pigs sleds tyres.... Can help but smile at that....
But.
Pig got a little angry... The mental game was on. Then we got to a choke point (Japan is full of them, river crossings, mountains, road works).. and google maps was just pissing us the fuck off... The new construction has is take a massive route change. And google wasn't helping..
A few times we were talking back "turn left, then turn left" Aahhhhhhh fuck off you stupid fucking phone..And the only options from google were to teleport through a rice paddy or along a non existent path.
While a constant headwind just fucked us up...
Finally, we made a really old, cheap hotel where we are loading up with calories, electrons and beer..
Let's hope tomorrow is worth the pain
And yes, it is worth the pain...
S
Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk
pink poodle
ここには見るべきものは何もありません
I rely a little too often on the body language as I was never a good language student...but I can copy the body language of a Japanese man who is really into a conversation well enough to deceive myself way past my spoken language level.
fjohn860
Alice in diaperland
Loving this journey @Spanky_Ham with all the updates and experiences.
I've learnt one surprising thing I had no idea about and that is that Japan has venomous sneks. Amazing.
I've learnt one surprising thing I had no idea about and that is that Japan has venomous sneks. Amazing.
Spanky_Ham
Porcinus Slappius
Well, today was a 'day off'
We rode a little bit into central Tokyo to meet with friends and have a social ride.
After a week of cycling alone ( and we did meet people and cycle with them during that time) today was another chance to cycle with a close group of friends, have a laugh and not think to much about it.
Don, the Don of half fast Tokyo took us all on a wonder ride around Tokyo, with a stop so we could all wave at Paul who is still in hospital, and grab a few beers before we went out separate ways.
Met some new members, saw a pinion gear boxed - gates belt drive awesome touring cycle that one of the riders was piloting.
We got to 'drive' Japan for a short time and for a day off, clocked another 90 odd kms.
Sorry, that's not as exciting as usual, but even the pig needs some.... Time off....
We have another social ride tomorrow then... Well, not too sure..
Where to go next with only a few days remaining?
Suggestions will be seriously considered.
S
Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk
We rode a little bit into central Tokyo to meet with friends and have a social ride.
After a week of cycling alone ( and we did meet people and cycle with them during that time) today was another chance to cycle with a close group of friends, have a laugh and not think to much about it.
Don, the Don of half fast Tokyo took us all on a wonder ride around Tokyo, with a stop so we could all wave at Paul who is still in hospital, and grab a few beers before we went out separate ways.
Met some new members, saw a pinion gear boxed - gates belt drive awesome touring cycle that one of the riders was piloting.
We got to 'drive' Japan for a short time and for a day off, clocked another 90 odd kms.
Sorry, that's not as exciting as usual, but even the pig needs some.... Time off....
We have another social ride tomorrow then... Well, not too sure..
Where to go next with only a few days remaining?
Suggestions will be seriously considered.
S
Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk
Matsushima? Onagawa? If you train to Sendai?
pink poodle
ここには見るべきものは何もありません
Train to Yudanaka and then ride up through Shiga Kogen and Jōshin'estu national park and across into Gunman over Yokoteyama. You may wish to make a stop over in the Shiga Kogen Plateau for a touch of luxury and an onsen. It is very high altitude (you'll ride past the highest chair lift on Japan, along the highest road in Japan, which is closed for winter and a few more months on top) and received the first snow a few weeks ago.
Spanky_Ham
Porcinus Slappius
Well aren't we fookin stupid....
Woke up to a wonderful day, the weather was perfect... A quick trip through Tokyo following Brian (80 year old cycling nutter) up to roppongi for the start of our last Half Fast Tokyo ride for a while..
It was fantastic, a low effort social ride with beer at the half way point and a great day overall.
After we all went our separate ways, we stopped in to have a quick look at wifeys apartment before heading off to Brian's house for dinner with his wife....
A great meal, a glass of nice white wine... Wonderful conversation....
Then, Brian asked about our departure date.... I told him not to worry, but, being Brian he made the meat sack check his ticket and well fook the pig... In our brain we had loads more time...
We do not....
Might try to hit up Kamakura for a day or two bumming about before heading back to Tokyo, packing up and heading home....
It's all ending wayyyyyy to quickly, here comes reality you fat fook....
S
And yeah, we know we ain't no content creator.
Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk
Woke up to a wonderful day, the weather was perfect... A quick trip through Tokyo following Brian (80 year old cycling nutter) up to roppongi for the start of our last Half Fast Tokyo ride for a while..
It was fantastic, a low effort social ride with beer at the half way point and a great day overall.
After we all went our separate ways, we stopped in to have a quick look at wifeys apartment before heading off to Brian's house for dinner with his wife....
A great meal, a glass of nice white wine... Wonderful conversation....
Then, Brian asked about our departure date.... I told him not to worry, but, being Brian he made the meat sack check his ticket and well fook the pig... In our brain we had loads more time...
We do not....
Might try to hit up Kamakura for a day or two bumming about before heading back to Tokyo, packing up and heading home....
It's all ending wayyyyyy to quickly, here comes reality you fat fook....
S
And yeah, we know we ain't no content creator.
Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk
Last edited:
rockmoose
his flabber is totally gastered
Losing the wheel through the labyrinth raised my anxiety.Well aren't we fookin stupid....
Woke up to a wonderful day, the weather was perfect... A quick trip through Tokyo following Brian (80 year old cycling nutter) up to roppongi for the start of our last Half Fast Tokyo ride for a while..
It was fantastic, a low effort social ride with beer at the half way point and a great day overall.
After we all went our separate ways, we stopped in to have a quick look at wifeys apartment before heading off to Brian's house for dinner with his wife....
A great meal, a glass of nice white wine... Wonderful conversation....
Then, Brian asked about our departure date.... I told him not to worry, but, being Brian he made the meat sack check his ticket and well fook the pig... In our brain we had loads more time...
We do not....
Might try to hit up Kamakura for a day or two bumming about before heading back to Tokyo, packing up and heading home....
It's all ending wayyyyyy to quickly, here comes reality you fat fook....
S
And yeah, we know we ain't no content creator.
Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk
pink poodle
ここには見るべきものは何もありません
So no time for route 292 @Spanky_Ham ?
Been superb piggy backing (!) your trip.
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Spanky_Ham
Porcinus Slappius
Sorry poodle, has to wait for next time.... We cannot believe how badly we mixed up the flights home in our heads.
Not only did we have the wrong day, but the wrong time.. so essentially we really only have two days left.... Which, once we've booked our final hotel ( flight out is 8am, so have to be at the airport early with all our shite) we're heading to the beach for a day or two to just chillax....
Then pack up and back to reality.....
Sad pig
S
Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk
pink poodle
ここには見るべきものは何もありません
Please tell me you are staying at the robot hotel in Hamamatsucho???
Heart broken about 292. It's something I doubt I'd ever ride (too much road), but this is the perfect time of year for it. There's been some light snowfall up there a few times, amazing wild flowers and autumn colours, the highest road in Japan, an active volcano (maybe 2), a few closed (ghost) ski fields, some abandoned chair lifts (partly a result of that volcano), onsen onsen onsen, the "flood plain that kills the creatures of the forest", monkeys, bearmanpig, and on on on. If there isn't already I'm investing in a solar powered vending machine and viewing deck at the upmost to really mooch in the cycling dollars.
It looks pretty awesome up there in winter...
Heart broken about 292. It's something I doubt I'd ever ride (too much road), but this is the perfect time of year for it. There's been some light snowfall up there a few times, amazing wild flowers and autumn colours, the highest road in Japan, an active volcano (maybe 2), a few closed (ghost) ski fields, some abandoned chair lifts (partly a result of that volcano), onsen onsen onsen, the "flood plain that kills the creatures of the forest", monkeys, bearmanpig, and on on on. If there isn't already I'm investing in a solar powered vending machine and viewing deck at the upmost to really mooch in the cycling dollars.
It looks pretty awesome up there in winter...
Spanky_Ham
Porcinus Slappius
Oh, we did that hotel....
Did we not tell Yall... Where you get checked in by an animatronic dinosaur!
Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk
Spanky_Ham
Porcinus Slappius
Well, the end is nigh.... We rode down to Kamakura from Tokyo and spent the night somewhere......
And in the morning we had a swim in the ocean, with a bunch of really hopeful surfers... Though their paddling was making bigger waves than was on offer naturally... Though the pigs fat arse made some supreme ripples...
We munted around the peninsula, on an aimless cycle through tunnels and looking at the sea. We did see a sign pointing to a park and thought... That'd be cool.... Then sitting in a line of traffic
thinking.... Not moving too fast... Only to look down and see a blue line across the road proclaiming this is an American military area... Do not Cross... So, we didn't...
Nice area, lots of art and a kick arse bmx / skateboard/ basketball area.... Where we washed the sled in a .... Water refill area ( Aus customs are coming up soon)
A really slow cycle back to Tokyo where we are currently on the 12th floor of a business hotel... So if it collapses, we're surfing corpses all the way down....
It has been a blast, thank you to everyone who has posted in this thread, it has been a massive ... Well, life changing experience to do this... And everyone who's commented, read or just thought... What a freak, I hope you get eaten by mothra and not Godzilla. Thanks.
If anything comes from this thread, we hope we can encourage anyone to think "well if that fat f#cker can do a month cycling Japan ,maybe I can do something that's going to make me smile"
Then our job here is done....
We are tired, we are broken, we have reconnected with old friends, we have made new friends. We have done shit we never thought possible, we have seen shit that most will never see.... We are very lucky. We do know that, out lovely wife has supported us in every way.
We are smiling, with a slight tear in the pigs eye as it comes to an end....
We hope you'll all push the pig to do more of this, and join us. Cycling (however you do it , is amazing ) We're already researching trails in Aus to ride....
Thanks for coming along for this ride
Spanky_Ham, the Meat Sack and all the little voices in our heads
S
Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk
And in the morning we had a swim in the ocean, with a bunch of really hopeful surfers... Though their paddling was making bigger waves than was on offer naturally... Though the pigs fat arse made some supreme ripples...
We munted around the peninsula, on an aimless cycle through tunnels and looking at the sea. We did see a sign pointing to a park and thought... That'd be cool.... Then sitting in a line of traffic
thinking.... Not moving too fast... Only to look down and see a blue line across the road proclaiming this is an American military area... Do not Cross... So, we didn't...Nice area, lots of art and a kick arse bmx / skateboard/ basketball area.... Where we washed the sled in a .... Water refill area ( Aus customs are coming up soon)
A really slow cycle back to Tokyo where we are currently on the 12th floor of a business hotel... So if it collapses, we're surfing corpses all the way down....
It has been a blast, thank you to everyone who has posted in this thread, it has been a massive ... Well, life changing experience to do this... And everyone who's commented, read or just thought... What a freak, I hope you get eaten by mothra and not Godzilla. Thanks.
If anything comes from this thread, we hope we can encourage anyone to think "well if that fat f#cker can do a month cycling Japan ,maybe I can do something that's going to make me smile"
Then our job here is done....
We are tired, we are broken, we have reconnected with old friends, we have made new friends. We have done shit we never thought possible, we have seen shit that most will never see.... We are very lucky. We do know that, out lovely wife has supported us in every way.
We are smiling, with a slight tear in the pigs eye as it comes to an end....
We hope you'll all push the pig to do more of this, and join us. Cycling (however you do it , is amazing ) We're already researching trails in Aus to ride....
Thanks for coming along for this ride
Spanky_Ham, the Meat Sack and all the little voices in our heads
S
Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk