Jacked-in || Movie Reviews - Florida Japan Photography - Spontaneous Prose » Cycling http://jasoncollin.org The website for Jason Collin featuring his photography and movie & TV show reviews. Thu, 17 May 2012 18:59:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 A return to semi-real cycling in Florida! http://jasoncollin.org/2009/08/14/a-return-to-semi-real-cycling-in-florida/ http://jasoncollin.org/2009/08/14/a-return-to-semi-real-cycling-in-florida/#comments Sat, 15 Aug 2009 04:09:41 +0000 Jason Collin http://jasoncollin.org/?p=1423 FULL RIDE STATS:

  • Distance: 9.54 miles
  • Time in motion: 34minutes 55 seconds
  • Average speed: 16.7 mph
  • Max speed: 22.0 mph

I have ridden my Trek 7.3FX around downtown St. Petersburg quite a few times already, but since adopting Kiki (who?) a few months ago my cycling has been put on hold.  I was greatly inspired once again by watching the Tour de France.  Now, I have discovered a new 3-lap area of sorts similar in length to the laps I rode many, many times around the imperial palace.  Quick thoughts about riding in Florida?  of course it’s hot, nice to have dedicated bike lanes, basically all roads are totally flat, at least one road cyclist is not elitist and friendly.

I have since refined and ritualized this ride in two subsequent rides.  I got my average speed up to a high of 18.2 mph, which I was proud of.  I only ride in front gear 3 and rear gear 7.  Only.  Even when I make my two U-turns I stay in 3-7 as a sign of not easing up at all.  Maybe I’ll consider dropping it down to 3-8 for stretches?

Of course my new full-time math teacher job is going to put a big dent in my immediate cycling time.  I’ll have to adjust to a whole new schedule again.  I want to soon ride on the Pinellas Trail too, one of the many cycling only roads that stretches for miles and miles.

]]> http://jasoncollin.org/2009/08/14/a-return-to-semi-real-cycling-in-florida/feed/ 3 Cycling to Shinobazu Pond in Ueno for Bird Photography http://jasoncollin.org/2008/12/01/cycling-to-shinobazu-pond-in-ueno-for-bird-photography/ http://jasoncollin.org/2008/12/01/cycling-to-shinobazu-pond-in-ueno-for-bird-photography/#comments Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:34:00 +0000 Jason Collin http://jasoncollin.org/?p=1148 An egret starts to fly south for the winter Boom! Caught a small fish. I felt really bad for this duck with the gimp left wheel. Seagull soars over Shinobazu Pond This white wagtail looks a bit underfed Looks like this duck is swimming in pea soup Egrets don't beg for food, they hunt for their own. This pigeon was stuffing its face in this bush. There are countless ducks standing and floating around Shinobazu Pond A big white mallard tries to nap in the sun. Can it really be restful sleeping with one eye open? A white wagtail stuffs its face. The water looks cleaner here than it does in reality. Sea gulls compete for perches This duck has a pretty badass stare. The turtles to the right were a rare site today Is this duck sticking its tongue out at me?? Gulls really are classless birds. I'm not even sure what this is, but it looks cool.     RIDE STATS: Distance: 12.38 miles Time in Motion: 56 minutes 58 seconds Average speed:  13.1 mph Max Speed:  30.4 mph This afternoon I rode my Trek 7.3 FX out to Ueno for the first time.  I met the Can out there to do some bird photography.  It was a brilliantly sunny fall afternoon in Tokyo, [...]]]> An egret starts to fly south for the winter Boom! Caught a small fish. I felt really bad for this duck with the gimp left wheel. Seagull soars over Shinobazu Pond This white wagtail looks a bit underfed Looks like this duck is swimming in pea soup Egrets don't beg for food, they hunt for their own. This pigeon was stuffing its face in this bush. There are countless ducks standing and floating around Shinobazu Pond A big white mallard tries to nap in the sun. Can it really be restful sleeping with one eye open? A white wagtail stuffs its face. The water looks cleaner here than it does in reality. Sea gulls compete for perches This duck has a pretty badass stare. The turtles to the right were a rare site today Is this duck sticking its tongue out at me?? Gulls really are classless birds. I'm not even sure what this is, but it looks cool.    

RIDE STATS:

  • Distance: 12.38 miles
  • Time in Motion: 56 minutes 58 seconds
  • Average speed:  13.1 mph
  • Max Speed:  30.4 mph
This afternoon I rode my Trek 7.3 FX out to Ueno for the first time.  I met the Can out there to do some bird photography.  It was a brilliantly sunny fall afternoon in Tokyo, so the cycling was crisp but very pleasant.  I wore my winter Pearl Izum full-length cycling pants again and was only slightly warm on the ride out.  Even though I had never ridden to Ueno, I only made one slight wrong turn that was quickly remedied by backtracking.  It took only about 30 minutes to ride from Shinjuku to Ueno station.  There were plenty of ducks and seagulls in and around Shinobazu Pond, but few others of much excitement unfortunately.  


Still, it was at least good practice to try and get some bird shots, and even some practice getting bird-in-flight shots, the trickiest of all.  Other than the ducks and seagulls, we came across an egret and a few white wagtails trying to hide in a bush.


I guess I was expecting a whole range of exotic birds of some kind.  My imagination often doesn’t match reality concerning what kind of wildlife I might see in Tokyo or even the mountains of greater-Tokyo.  


The ride home, as always, was more irritating than the ride out as I always seem to encounter more fools on the road on the way home than the way out.  The fools weren’t that bad this time, still, I had to tell off a bus driver of all people for cutting me off on a left turn where I was clearly going strait and already ahead of the bus.


Nevertheless, it was a enjoyable day of shooting and cycling.


BIRDS OF SHINOBAZU POND UENO TOKYO PHOTO GALLERY:  
]]> http://jasoncollin.org/2008/12/01/cycling-to-shinobazu-pond-in-ueno-for-bird-photography/feed/ 2 Last night time Palace laps? http://jasoncollin.org/2008/11/10/last-night-time-palace-laps/ http://jasoncollin.org/2008/11/10/last-night-time-palace-laps/#comments Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:23:53 +0000 Jason Collin http://jasoncollin.org/?p=1119 FULL RIDE STATS:

  • Distance: 15.87 miles
  • Time in motion: 1 hour 03 minutes 54 seconds
  • Average speed: 14.9 mph
  • Max speed: 26.4 mph

3-LAPS STATS:

  • Distance: 9.40 miles
  • Time in motion: 33 minutes 58 seconds
  • Average speed: 16.6 mph

I am actually writing this cycling report like 10 days later.  That’s how turned off I was by this ride.  I couldn’t even get myself to write about it until now.  It was my first cold weather ride of the year, thus the first time I donned my winter Pearl Izumi cycling pants and full finger winter gloves.  The pants may not have been necessary, but I never actually felt that overly warm.  The gloves were definitely needed.
 
About this ride . . . well, right off the bat once I got to the palace I got totally boned at one of the first lights on the huge decent, which should be the fasted section of the loop.  I had never have to come to almost a complete stop there before.  Usually I just whiz by at 28mph.  This time I was stuck tip-toeing between traffic stopped at the red light.
 
And then it was just a total parade of red lights.  Plus some street lights on the Tokyo Station side weren’t working so it was quite dark.  Then some fool tried to challenge me on the ascent section.  I thought it was a real cyclist on a road bike, so I yielded a bit as I felt they were just shadowing me and I didn’t like it.  Turns out it was just some fool (j-dude) on a not mama-cheri but some slightly better city bike trying to be a hero.  It just annoyed me and I quickly passed him and dropped him.
 
My times were crazy slow for the 3-laps.  Of course the near constant red lights did me in, but also maybe switching to pants instead of my near zero resistance bike shorts slowed me a bit, but basically I was defeated mentally by the whole experience.  It was also a very rare Monday night palace ride, or even the first ever.
 
But what really, really got  me, was this:  Riding back home, behind a cop car going too slowly, a commoner on a mama cheri bike totally coming in from a cross street cut off the cop car!  The cops had to brake to avoid hitting him.  No helmet, no front or rear lights, and he ran a red light making an illegal left turn to enter the road.  Did the cops even blink?  NOTHING.  They did nothing.  Not even a warning.  They just continued to drive slowly.  So finally I passed them (from the right) and cut them off when I re-entered their lane!  Ha!
 
Then in Shinjuku another fool (j-dude again) in a huge black, SUV just randomly brakes in the middle of the road coming to a near dead stop then turning and parking (illegally) on the side of the road.  I was right behind him and he either could have caused me to hit the back of him or more likely sideswipe me as he pulled over without signaling!
 
I had had too much by this point.  I went up to his window and was like what the hell?  He flippantly said sorry, as usual, totally oblivious.
 
I got home in a rage and I still burn to this day.  I may never do the palace laps at night again.  It’s just an exercise in frustration.  Cycling in Tokyo with purpose is a fool’s goal.  You WILL get boned by the city somehow, and you have to know that even the cops will do nothing about it.
 
I will still ride during the day and maybe at night, but not with speed goals in mind.  It’s sad really, but yet another reason why I can’t wait to leave Tokyo.  It’s a totally cycling un-friendly city.

]]> http://jasoncollin.org/2008/11/10/last-night-time-palace-laps/feed/ 0 CYCLE MODE international 2008 Tokyo, Japan http://jasoncollin.org/2008/11/09/cycle-mode-international-2008-tokyo-japan/ http://jasoncollin.org/2008/11/09/cycle-mode-international-2008-tokyo-japan/#comments Sun, 09 Nov 2008 03:13:46 +0000 Jason Collin http://jasoncollin.org/?p=1091 No waiting in lines for us as I pre-bought our tickets in Shinjuku CYCLE MODE international 2008 was very expansive Many bike makers had elaborate displays I wonder how much Cannondale had to pay to be the first site visitors saw? Of course I spent a lot of time in the Trek booth, as a loyal Trek rider of 15 years. Aya wants to get this Trek once we move to the U.S. next year! I really love these curved frame carbon bikes. Maybe I can resume my mountain biking career once back in the U.S. The line to demo ride this very expensive bike was very long. Yeah, this bike only weighs 5.82kg, but how much with pedals on it, yeah? Lance is back baby! (maybe) A good and simple message from Trek timemachine is a great name for a bike. A bike worthy of a placement in a fountain! Many cyclists came in full garb to CYCLE MODE international 2008 I do go much for foldable bikes, but they are of course big in space-starved Tokyo This will get you to the other side of town in no time. Very cool component display, I'd like to have it in my house! It would be cool if they could make them glow purple even while on your bike! The second dude from the right is a famous comedian Aya say, who likes cycling If you ride this--automatically coolest parent on your cell block. I imagine Palin's kids all roll on this bike. Pretty original tire designs, for the flash effect of rolling on Cali boardwalks. I might go with colored tires for my next pair. Look who I found! This fat tire bike was popular with demo riders. Boom, need this wristband to ride at the Mode. Yours truly hops a ¥350,000 Mongoose over the whoop-dee-doos! You could demo ride a whole range of super expensive bikes, there were even jumps! Can you tell this shot was taken of our reflections in a mirror? Yeah, you're feeling this aren't you?     Thanks to a tip from a student semi-interested in cycling, Aya and I were able to spend a very exciting Saturday afternoon surrounded by all things bikes at CYCLE MODE international 2008 at the expansive Makuhari Messe exhibit space.  This even was better than I expected, and I ended up feeling totally stoked after having [...]]]> No waiting in lines for us as I pre-bought our tickets in Shinjuku CYCLE MODE international 2008 was very expansive Many bike makers had elaborate displays I wonder how much Cannondale had to pay to be the first site visitors saw? Of course I spent a lot of time in the Trek booth, as a loyal Trek rider of 15 years. Aya wants to get this Trek once we move to the U.S. next year! I really love these curved frame carbon bikes. Maybe I can resume my mountain biking career once back in the U.S. The line to demo ride this very expensive bike was very long. Yeah, this bike only weighs 5.82kg, but how much with pedals on it, yeah? Lance is back baby! (maybe) A good and simple message from Trek timemachine is a great name for a bike. A bike worthy of a placement in a fountain! Many cyclists came in full garb to CYCLE MODE international 2008 I do go much for foldable bikes, but they are of course big in space-starved Tokyo This will get you to the other side of town in no time. Very cool component display, I'd like to have it in my house! It would be cool if they could make them glow purple even while on your bike! The second dude from the right is a famous comedian Aya say, who likes cycling If you ride this--automatically coolest parent on your cell block. I imagine Palin's kids all roll on this bike. Pretty original tire designs, for the flash effect of rolling on Cali boardwalks. I might go with colored tires for my next pair. Look who I found! This fat tire bike was popular with demo riders. Boom, need this wristband to ride at the Mode. Yours truly hops a ¥350,000 Mongoose over the whoop-dee-doos! You could demo ride a whole range of super expensive bikes, there were even jumps! Can you tell this shot was taken of our reflections in a mirror? Yeah, you're feeling this aren't you?    

Thanks to a tip from a student semi-interested in cycling, Aya and I were able to spend a very exciting Saturday afternoon surrounded by all things bikes at CYCLE MODE international 2008 at the expansive Makuhari Messe exhibit space.  This even was better than I expected, and I ended up feeling totally stoked after having demo-ridden three very expensive bikes on the road and mountain biking mini-tracks the event organizers had setup.

All major cycling companies and bike makers had very large and expensive looking booths on the floor.  Being a Trek loyalist, of course I spent the most time there, and even took out a ¥500,000 Trek Madone 5.5 Pro.  I have to admit this was my first time to ride a real road bike since I was a kid, and it’s a whole other world from my Trek 7.3 FX.  The Madone is just infinitely lighter and more responsive to the slightest movement.  I felt like I could control it just by thinking about it.

I next to out a run of the mill ¥100,000 Jamis mountain bike that had a really poor front fork.  Riding over the mountain biking mini-track was a very bumpy experience.  Not so when I cruised out on a ¥350,000 Mongoose dual-suspension bike next (see top-most photo).  This was also my first time ever to ride a dual-suspension bike, and the verdict?  I like it!  It was like pedaling a Cadillac, a real, real plush ride.  I was just hopping in the pedals the whole time really digging the spongy feel of the ride.  I did three laps of the mini-track on this Mongoose, and went for it on the jumps on the last one (see photo gallery below).  

Aya and I both had a great time at CYCLE MODE international 2008.  The ability to demo ride such expensive and diverse bikes made the ¥1,000 admission cost well worth it.  

CYCLE MODE international 2008 PHOTO GALLERY:

]]> http://jasoncollin.org/2008/11/09/cycle-mode-international-2008-tokyo-japan/feed/ 4