My new bicycle

My new bicycle, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

I had been eying the bicycles lined up in front of a local bike shop for some time. The hand me down "chari" I was riding had seen better days but it was still functional. The front tire was bent up, the front light worked from time to time, the brakes squealed when applied, the basket had rusted off and the frame had a sprinkling of rust on it. It wasn't glamorous or charming but it did the job.

Last Sunday I pumped up the tires a bit and headed off to the gym. Along the way I stopped at a light and then a loud "Bang!" sound went off. The front tire of my bike had exploded. The sound of it going off was like that of a pistol. I didn't have a patch kit or tools on me so I turned around and walked the bike home.

I carted the bike over to the bike shop to ask how much it would cost to replace the front tire and put in a new inner tube. That was going to cost me ¥5000. I hummed and hawed about it. I checked out the cost of a low end bicycle similar to what I had. The cheapest one was ¥19800 and one with a three speed shifter was ¥22800. I said "What the heck" and decided on getting a new bicycle.

The bottom line is that I can't afford not to own a bicycle (given that I don't own a car). My quality of life certainly takes a hit if I don't have the mobility a bicycle affords me. The train station, the gym, the movie cineplex, Book-Off, and a bunch of other stores I check out regularly are all at least a mile or more away from where I live. Some of the little morning or afternoon shopping excursions I've undertaken would be day long treks without a trusty two wheeled steed.

"Cut Throat 2012"

Gig poster, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

That's the title associated with the concert I went to on Friday, May 4th. I had seen Aiko and Hisae perform previously as 時既に遅し so I went equipped with a pair of foam earplugs. When I met Aiko I explained to her that I was using the ear plugs to preserve my hearing. She was cool with that as she said one can still hear most bands even with them in. How true that was.

Essentially I was treated to a handful of very loud and often fast playing bands. The styles of music ranged from standard punk, fast metal punk to deathcore punk. In other words the differences were there to be found by those who know the genre to some degree. If anything the most fascinating element of the night's proceedings was the youngest member of the audience: a young boy who I would've pegged as being about 12/13 years old. I suppose there wasn't much harm (other than to his hearing) as the deathcore band's vocals were completely incomprehensible. Of course I have no idea what impression he will have of watching a couple of the bands being showered with beer.

Oops!

Oops!, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

The situation was like this: I sitting close to the bicycle parking area in front of Ueno station while drinking the coffee I had purchased at the nearby Starbucks shop. I hadn't been able to find a seat in the store so I went outside and found a place to perch myself. At some point in time I heard a crashing sound in front of me and I looked up to see a scene of a young woman looking at about seven bicycles which had fallen over when she had moved hers. I took a photo of that and wondered what was going to happen next.

The woman was making a call on her cell phone and she started to walk off with her bicycle. I thought to myself "Well there's a sight for those who think Japanese people are so polite and courteous. This gal is going to leave the mess she created behind." As it turned out, that wasn't really the case.

She went around the row of bicycles whilst still on the phone. She stopped next to the first fallen bicycle, put down the kickstand for hers, and then tried to raise the first of the fallen units with her free hand. Nothing came of that. About a minute later a young man came trotting over whom she greeted. He went about righting the fallen bicycles while lightly admonishing the woman for having created the mess.

And that pretty well was the end of that. A small case of "What the heck am I going to do?" solved by a knight in a cotton t-shirt and denims in the middle of one of the world's largest cities.

Cheers!