A Long Bike Ride

Yesterday I repaired my bike. They finally had tire levers at Royal Home Center. Although I found out later I don’t need them. My bike only needed a patch, not a whole new tube like I thought. I got it repaired on the first try, on my own. First time I’ve done that, so I felt pretty proud. Then I decided to break in the new patch by going for an 80 kilometer bike ride. That’s 50 miles. The Tsukuba Rinrin Road is an old railroad that has been converted into a bike and walking path. It runs from the Tsuchiura train station to Iwase town. Since the weather was so beautiful, I decided to spend the afternoon attempting the whole thing. It was the most gorgeous bike bath I’ve ever been on. It started out in Tsuchiura, which is a big city, but soon turns into country-side. With the warm sun and a cool breeze, the temperature was ideal for biking. The road is nicely paved, and there are no cars to worry about, except when crossing roads. Every once in a while there are rest stations, usually by the old railway platforms. The path winds through dark bamboo forests, fields of tall, bright wildflowers, past looming green mountains, and acres of green and gold farmland. Sometimes the road dipped down, and I couldn’t see anything past the tall weeds and flowers. Then it would rise up and I was stuck with an incredible view of the mountains, with the sun and moon on opposite sides.

I made it the whole way, and made sure to snap a picture of myself at the end. I Then I headed back. The sun sets really early here, so it was dark by 5:45. I didn't get back until 6:15, which is later than I expected. It took me a solid three and a half hours of biking. But I was wearing a backpack. I’m going to have to install a water bottle rack so I don’t have to carry my backpack when I bike. As soon as I forget about how much my back and butt hurt, I’m going to bike along Kasumigaura Lake. It’s too far to go all the way around, 25km is too much for me. I did have a lot of fun on my bike, but I’m definitely a runner. Sitting down for that long was rough. When I showed my host father the picture I took, he read it and was like, “So?” Then this look dawned on him. “Wait, you biked the whole way? There and back? Whoa! Next time take my children.” That was the response I was looking for.

Today was a testing day at school. I took the English and math tests. I was pleased with my performance, we’ll see how the grades turn out. There were only a few questions on the math test I couldn’t answer, and that was because I couldn’t read the question. There were more on the English test. There I knew what I needed to do, but I couldn’t translate the English into Japanese. I aced the listening portion though. It’s interesting to see the passages they read. They learn a lot about Martin Luther King Jr. They have a book on him and they learned the “I Have a Dream” speech. Then today there was a passage on him. If you’re going to learn about important figures in American history, I’m pleased they’re learning about King.