Just for the record, I've taken five rides since I blogged in last. Most of them have been down to Haneda Airport then up along the Tama River, sometimes only as far as Fuchu, sometimes as far as Hamura beyond Yokota Airbase for a total distance of 120 km. The picture on the left is from one such ride. It's one of the prettier parts of the ride along the Tamagawa Josui. That's one of the old water sources for Edo. It carries water diverted from the Tama River at Hamura, flows southeasterly to Haijima, then turns nearly due east and runs at least as far as the intersection of Ome Kaido and Senkawa Dori. At that point I leave it and head northeast towards Nerima Station then turn north to home in Minami Tokiwadai.Enough of the routine reportage. I'll be flying up to Wakkanai one week from tomorrow. Many people, including my wife Akemi, have been asking me if I'm excited about the trip. Yes, excited and anxious. It's easy to look at maps and toss the number 3,000 (km) around, but actually riding it is another matter. I suppose it's to the uncertainty of each days' travel that I look forward. There's little that matches the feeling when setting out on the road on a bright morning not knowing what will happen, what you'll find and who'll you meet. May there be many bright mornings!
