Ryokou follows the journey of Aussie Cyclist Shane Perkins from his home in Adelaide post London Olympics to taking residence in Japan whilst competing in the 2012/13 Keirin competition.

The sports documentary explores Japanese Keirin cycling as a pivotal part of Shane’s personal and professional growth, in context of some of the major events in his professional and personal career.

Taking a break from writing a report… I present thee Mr. “Super Asymmetrical Demon Face”.

Just a Surly Steamroller, but baskets on bikes can be really cool. I like this one. Seen on Velospace, here.

Enjoy.

On Friday I have been to Tokyo for a quick stop at the German Exchange Students Division or DAAD, in order to discuss an upcoming exhibition I will be doing some illustrations for in early November 2013. I spent Saturday with good people I have been volunteering with in Tohoku in 2011. This weekends Saturday was filled with good memories, good friends, good conversations, lots of wine, coffee and food. Luckily I am able to slowly communicate solely in Japanese, but it is a very long way ahead, still. Also, I am surprised, that bonds formed within a volunteering environment can continue to have such a strong but lasting social impact on you, that even after more than a year of not meeting you feel right at home with old friends. An amazing experience I am very grateful for! Embrace friendship, communication and unconditional help! Now, back to work, back in Kyoto!

I am falling behind on keeping the blog up to date, which tells a small story about my life: it is busy but going well. Last weeks Monday had been the final holiday of the Golden Week 2013 here in Japan. I joined the SKRK aka Shakariki Kyoto Crew for a long ride throughout the mountain ranges north of Kyoto! It’s been a hard and enduring ride, despite taking a lot of breaks in-between, because the SKRK riders pace on ascents is far beyond my abilities. All in all it’s been around 130 km long and about 4000 m up (even though as usual I am in doubt of the correctness of iPhone GPS and Strava). I had my camera with me, and fellow rider Akira-san, who took a break in the support car, as well as photographer Misako-san have taken some really, really sweet photos!

You can see the full set on Flickr, here.

Cherubim Hummingbird, NAHBS2012 Best of Show winner, and a collaboration with Simon Taylor of TOMATO. Small world…

(I like classically framed Cherubim better, but pssshht!)

Conclusions are, that this has been a very enjoyable and swift bike travel, with more free-time I probably could have attempted to return by bicycle as well. I had ordered an Arcteryx Aerios 7L before departure, which has proven very comfortable and useful. Due to its tiny size it doesn’t become a burden to carry even when fully packed.
Apart from the backpack I only used an Ortlieb Saddlebag and my jersey’s pockets, I guess I could have reduced the amount of carried food as there’s been plenty of Conbini along the route. I tried to travel as light as possible, yet also carrying around a Canon DSLR. I imagine for a 3 day plus trip might become a bit more difficult in terms of clothing.
Also, I know most people swear by the properties of the Continental GP 4000, however every single 4000 I used to date has died rather prematurely either by losing his rubber skin and exposing the Vectran Breaker or a cut in the sidewall. Funnily, when it comes to puncture protection they are outstanding. Maybe I am just a bit unlucky, when it comes to using the Continental GP 4000, because personally I swear by the everlasting properties of other Continental tires such as the Attack&Force combination and GranPrix Gatorskin. Next longer trip I am not only going to bring spare tubes, but use a tire with reinforced sidewalls and bring a spare!

What it feels like to destroy a new tubular tire, while out on a fresh and breezy Wednesday morning just to get in a few more kilometres before a weekend solo bike-travel. My tubular rear tire, formerly known as Continental GP 4000 now just “ARGHWDZZ, I just put you on merely a month ago“, lost his skin on an abrupt full stop, because I simply hadn’t seen some tiny japanese car coming from the right. Tomorrows long ride I’ll do on the Eastons, pfah! – The GIF is taken from here.

Kaneda’s infamous motorcycle from AKIRA reimagined as a track-bike. Why the nike-swoosh? Too old to find it out now, lets just enjoy yet another bike.

This is a very impressive little posting about piracy, irony and the small indipendent game-developer Greenheart Games, and simply to informative not to repost it.
The developer had been working on a game, where you are playing a game-developer simulation hence fittingly named Game Dev Tycoon. Their ingenious idea of seeding a “cracked” version alongside the release of their actual game is not only funny but also revealing a sad truth about current computer gaming morals. It is worth a read, if you like games or develop them!

By the way, Gam Dev Tycoon is a DRM free, very reasonably priced cross-plattform game for only 7,99 USD. You can download a demo of the game here.

“There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.” – Original here.

ワー・・懐かしいな！ビデオや音楽がめちゃ好きだよ。僕は2007年に再々このピストビデオを見て日本にピストに乗って夢見たよな！残念ながらこの頃でピストトリックナイトなどをしないらし。

Oh my… what a monster. Should have tried to at least center it within the image, though. >.> Seen here.