Friday, October 16, 2009

Rights of Passage

So I got signed up for the Tour de Okinawa some time ago, we all drove up to Nago together and it was really easy. Now I just have to wait for the info package to come in the mail, they told me it would come sometime in October. The thing is, it's now the 17th and I have yet to get it. Now I understand that it's going to take a little while because of the whole FPO mailing address and it's quirks (the package will have to go from here to California and then back to here). I'm just hoping that I don't have to go to the Nago office come early November to tell them that I have yet to get my info.

Anyway, on a different note, Bicycling Magazine posted this Rites of Passage blog like thing, and I thought it would be interesting to use it as one of this quiz like things that you always see on MySpace/Facebook and just to sort of catalog my own experiences. So here goes:

01. Realizing that the hill isn’t in the way; it is the way.
  • I commute by (race) bike to work everyday, of course the hill is the way, it's almost a mile long and at a 6% grade for some of it. But I wouldn't go any other way (except maybe the way with the bigger, longer hill).

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Tour de Okinawa - Getting signed up.

A few days ago I found out that the application had opened for the Tour de Okinawa on Aug 1st, unfortunately I will not be back on Okinawa for a few more days. Why not just apply through the website? Well there seems to be some sort of problem with that; I don't know if it's because there are a few more url's that I need to get approved or if the site is set-up for a different format of credit card (I've heard that Japanese Visa cards are numbered differently than American ones). No matter what the problem is, it looks like I'll have to go to the Tour de Okinawa office in Nago and register in person with cash. That doesn't sound like it's a problem, and really it's not, the problem is that I will probably have to ride my bike there to do it. Granted, that's not really a problem, I just find it ironic that I may have to spend the day on my bicycle in order to register for something that involves spending all day on my bicycle.

Anyway, to let you all in on what event I'm interested in entering, it is the "Touring Around Okinawa Island Course" which is 313km (194.5 mi) over two days. The entry fee is 21,000 yen, which is about US$215. There is a limit to 380 riders and all I can do is hope that there will still be room for me by the time I am able to make it up to the office to register.

From what I can calculate using Google Maps, it would be about a 50km (31 mi) ride just for me to get to the office. Not a bad distance really, now the difficult thing is going to be figuring out when to go because of work and because of my wife's friend visiting. I'll have to take the notes with me from the tour's web site so I can get to the right place. They'll probably get a kick out of me showing up in cycling gear too.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Why not open my own blog?

I've been inspired, and I don't think it's that bad of an idea. Kassy and I have our Family Blog and I post on it every now and then, but I thought it'd be a good idea for me to have someplace to post all of my random thoughts and rantings that mostly deal with bicycles and the trips I take on them. I don't know how often I'll end up posting, or how relevant to cycling most of what I say will be, I'm just looking to have some fun with it all and just maybe some people will read it.

So a few things of note, I'm currently on my way back from Australia, I was able to visit a great shop (I could have sent all day there) in Brisbane by the name of Epic Cycles. I picked up a couple bottles to add to the collection along with a t-shirt and a Lazer Blade helmet. No longer will I be that guy riding his road bike with a mountain helmet. I have also found out that I'll be able to be in Okinawa for the Tour de Okinawa, so now I have to get back to training and preparing for it, I'll have about three months once I get back. Of course the most important thing is finding the entry information in English before all the spots get filled up, I think there's only 200 slots in the event I want to participate.