The first is a long overdue and by now probably unnecessary advisory to any and all Kanto area riders who are keen to get out on their ethanol fueled or biodiesel powered two-wheeled vehicles this Spring, Summer and Fall. 

 

Consider this an INVITATION to join Don Morton's Half-Fast Tokyo Cycling Club (print out a copy of this post and bring it to a ride for a free beer or pretzel. We are a BYOB club so we bring our own ethanol (aka Kirin or Asahi) and bio-diesel (aka onigiri and whatever else people bring along). Plenty of refill and recycling (aka ladies room at 7-11) opportunities along the way. 

 

Provided that you have what it takes: 

a) a decent bike, preferably road type with clip-on pedals and drop down handlebars though not mandatory b) helmet, gloves, pump and tire kit, which ARE mandatory c) enough stamina for at least some of the shorter convivial Odaiaba and Haneda rides d) a decent enough sense of humor to put up with a mixed-company of aging pranksters and a few pitfalls and pratfalls along the way and e) low to zero tolerance for moaning, groaning, "how much further is it anyway" nagging and other forms of disrespect for the soul and spirit of the Open Road. 

In which case, do make sure to contact the Maestro who Moves Mountains and Makes it All Happen, Don Morton, who has an uncanny sense of snow and a finely tuned antenna for the weather, in addition to many other often unappreciated skills notable among which is being one of the 10 best short-comment movie critics on the Planet. He is not always as diabolical as this photo might suggest. Email him at dmorton@attglobal.net to get on his timely and generally speaking reliable ride updates. Many interesting rides on the cooker already.

 

The photo below Don's shows the King of the Mountains, Mike Sims-Williams, holding up the kind of bike that you ought to consider buying - come to your first ride on anything you can beg borrow or steal (metaphorically speaking) and some the Half Fast Riders can give you plenty of low down on the best bike shops and possible second-hand machines someone is eager to offload on a Tokyo riding newbie. It's a nifty new Pinarello. See if you can pick out the best carbon bits - swift, lightweight and eco-logically sound. On the bike, doh-doh, Mike is ALL carbon and eco-logically sound

 

Your humble servant, Piotr Politsky the Leopard Fox