Yet another bike trip...

 Went on a bike trip (a who;e notha story that involves several mountain passes and mountain roads) and we stopped for lunch on this faux English style restaurant.  It was equipped with authentic signboards, an overload of various teas, fish and chips, meat pies (which my riding partner abstained from on the assumption that they might be too authentically English, which I am happy to report, they were not, and as such, delicious), a very un-sheered sheep, ducks, rabbits in cages, a carriage and pleasant outdoor chairs for relaxing. 

The weather was perfect.  Not too hot.  And the scenery was great.  I was taking a route and I was very unsure about the roads because many of the roads were twisty and hidden and I thought for sure I would end up lost.  But we didn't.  Which surprised me no end.  It took us all day to complete the route.  It took us all day to complete the route and by the time we finished the sun was drawing down and we were exhausted. 

BIKE TRIP!

Want to put up some pictures of a bke trip I took a while back.  It was a really long trip and it left me exhausted and drained.  Too long.  Too little food.  I crawled to the finish line.

It started out in the morning.  We packed up our bags and drove out.  It was 6 in the morning and I had no idea quite what to expect.  The sun was up and it was warm.  We stood on the shore and soon began a long tour around the outside of the island.  For the first 100k there was lots of ups and downs and overlooks and low shorelines but I had no time to ponder.   Our group sped ahead and I was only able to give a few furtive glances at the scenery. 

Sory for not blogging.....

Hi wonderful world of Arthur's blog fan base (of 3 people not including me).  Got a funny picture that I just had to post.  Dig it.  This guy was trying to drive through a temple.  The place is called 伏見稲荷 and it is basically these orange arches that go along a path.  Every time you pass through an arch you get luck, sort of like Mario gets points every time he grabs a old coin.  Well, some guy just drove his car into the arches and of course he got stuck just because there is not a whole lot of room for maneuvering.  Enough talk.  Her be the pick:

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC!

What an AMAZING EXPERIENCE!  My friend invited me out to see the WORLD CUP BASEBALL CLASSIC.  The logistics of getting out there was quite daunting.  Finding hotels.  Finding transportation.  But we made it out.  My friend came in late and night and we snuck into a corner bar that serves RAMEN, a dish that has put FUKOUKA on the food map.  In the evening we found our way to the stadium.  We stepped inside and it was a huge open space.  Japan and China were duking it out.  There were lots of ups and downs but eventually Japan pulled ahead.  I have never been a baseball fan and the last time I play is back in 4th grade w/my coach who has since been locked in the slammer for being an evil guy.  But the whole strategim of  the game is gambling like.  Subtle too.  Layers of guessing.     

Catching up on my life......

So a lot of you out there are wondering about my life and what I have been up to.  Well here I am to give everyone on the latest.

1.  MEGUMI has been very disobedient.  I sent her documents for an application to print out.  She printed out half the documents and came home with 6 copies.  So I had all these papers and only about 3 of them of any use.  She is the only Japanese girl who can not follow orders.  And only with me. 

2.  Went SNOWBOARDING last week with JOY.

It was the last days and the earth was sprouting out and the streams bounded with freshly melted water.  But my progress on the infamous "S" curve slowly came along.

3.  Did I tell you I hurt my knee and did I post pictures.  Here it is for your perusal...

4.  Every weekend I go on a bike trip with a bike team.  Quite often they leave me behind.  Suddenly I look up and everyone is gone.  So I wonder around on my own and then eventually make my way home. It's a kinda weird thing to be completely left behind.  I never though I was that slow since I have done quite a bit of biking.  On Saturday they do a trip and on Sunday they do laps around a track.  The trip has been the same for many weeks in the row so even though they leave me behind I have been able to mroe or less find my way.

5.  Last WEDNESDAY was a holiday so me and some of my friends took a trip up into the interior and went skiing.  There was still snow on the ground although it wasn't ll that cold.  The trip started in the wee of night and we went out via bus.  We actually slept on the bus, a feat that is certainly not easy.  A girl who we were traveling with handed out these special sleep masks.  You place it on your eyes and they become warm and give a scent of lavender.  The trip turned out well.  And for the first time I really got the S turn down and I was "cutting up the mountain" according to some sources.

6.  Just came back from my friends house.  he lives out in the country.  I bicycled up.  Spent the night.  Then headed back the next day.  it was a lot of fun.  The weather was great and the ride was awesome!

I was in FUKOUKA and I was browsing through the real life reality like thingy (kind of hard to explain to everyone because it was real and not on video) and me and my friend found a Japanese garden.  It was very beautiful.  It reminds me of the time when I went back to SPOKANE and I had such fond memories of the Japanese gardens there that I insisted my friend take his whole family and we tour the park.  We went and much to my sh-grin it was a DUMP! 

This is what coffee and comic looks like in FUKOUKA!

......but the question remains.  Why was ARTHUR in FUKOUKA?!?!?!?  Stay tuned...