New Year, New Groove

I looked at my Strava account yesterday and realised I hadn’t been on my bike for nearly 2 months. TWO MONTHS. Why? I have no idea. Maybe the weather, maybe a bad back, probably a combination of laziness and my camera obsession.

Anyway, that has to change. Recently I went for a yearly medical, which I always skipped in the past. This year I decided to go, mainly because 2016 sucked!! Influenza A and B, a huge back issue, plus other ailments. What I really wanted was the flu jab. Yahoo, with a slight cold after, I have skipped the great flu epidemics that have swept through my school a couple of times.

So off I pedalled to a couple of shrines nearby. Just a gentle 25km to get back into the flow of things.

The first shrine I visited had a very friendly cat. Actually, it was a fertility shrine so there were massive phallic symbols around. I chose that one because it might remind me to stop being such a dick about my health.

The next shrine was completely new to me, it was getting ready for the new year celebrations. It was lovely. I think I will go back in spring.

So, a lovely ride to get back into the groove, pity it is winter and I might be tempted to quit due to the weather.

Here are my stats.

https://www.strava.com/activities/811412120/embed/a8f82a8986b2f1eeb846a1e8744b417a12fd45cc

Back to cycling in Japan’s heat

My summer break is almost over. I have returned to my current home in Ibaraki. Practically as soon as I got back to my home I was out on my bikes. Though I did buy a cheapo run around in the UK, I missed my regular bikes. So I went out on both as soon as I could.

The regular – I call kendama – I used to go to the shops on a 20km round trip to pay bills.

The giant – I used for a jaunt along the river route, which is my go to route when I just want to get out without going far away. I am not uploading route maps or pictures as I have already talked about these routes. This is purely a blog blog post.

When I told a friend I had cycled 40km that day she was amazed as the weather here is hot and humid. A real feel of about 35-40 celsius. But I believe if you are prepared it should be ok, no silly stuff allowed. I have suffered from heat stroke in the past and it sucks. So, I am cautious now.

I bought a new water bottle to make sure I had two good, clean ones for the bike holders. They get dirty you know. Plus I bought a helmet inner cap with a removable neck cover. Plus a neck water cooler, they are about $1 and awesome. The neck coolers do dry out quickly, but there are plenty of places to resoak them here. Here are some good points about the caps from Amazon.

I also have a bladder pack for longer jaunts, but I am not feeling the urge to do that in the heat yet, maybe next weekend when I have recovered from jet lag and before school starts. Here are some websites with more information about cycling in the heat. Why write about it if others have done all the work. Thanks though 🙂

4 keys to cycling in the heat
Protect yourself in hot humid weather
How it affects you and what to do

I really want to focus on getting fitter, lose weight, and getting up that damn hill. Over the summer I found out I have high blood pressure so losing weight, exercise, and better eating habits should help bring that under control. I bought a wrist monitor to check my readings and usually they are between above normal to high. The good news is I had an almost normal reading this morning after returning to cycling most days. Yeah. If it is not under control by the winter break I will see a doctor. No need to panic right now.

Keep calm and carry on cycling.