One Wheel

In 1985, I worked in a research facility at IBM. I worked closely with two PhD’s. Both of them were very brilliant. One of them kept a unicycle under his desk.

That may seem very strange, but it was very convenient. Our site had more than a hundred buildings. He would ride the unicycle to get to meetings in other buildings.

Ever since then, for 26 years, I have wanted a unicycle. Finally, this year, Santa Claus brought me a unicycle for Christmas! Now I am learning how to ride a unicycle.

Can you ride a unicycle? Do you own a unicycle?

Rainy Race

Sunday morning I was in a bike race at the Suzuka F-1 Circuit. We use the same course as the F-1 racing cars and the motorcycles. It is really fun to see thousands of bicycles on the racetrack.

All morning it was raining very hard because a typhoon was coming. If you get wet while riding it is easy to get too cold, so I wore a jacket. Sometimes when I race, I overheat. That was not a problem on Sunday.

The race course is 6.6 kilometers for one lap. My team rode 21 laps in 4 hours. That means we traveled 138.6 kilometers at an average speed of 34.6 kilometers per hour.

It felt great to get some exercise. Have you ever been in a bike race? Did you enjoy it?

My First Job

When I was a child I received an allowance for doing my chores. I had to take out the trash, scrub the toilets, wash the dishes, vacuum the floors, clean the roof, etc. It was nice to get an allowance, but it was a small amount of money.

I wanted to make more money so I could buy a nice bicycle. I decided to get a job. My first job was delivering newspapers. Only about one in five houses on my route subscribed to the newspaper.

Every month I had to go out at night and collect money from the customers. I decided to talk to people at every house while I was out. When I visited the houses who didn’t subscribe, I told them all about the newspaper and my good service; and I asked them to subscribe. It didn’t take much extra effort because I had to walk by their house anyway.

Each month more and more customers joined. Soon I had all but two houses on my route subscribing to the paper. Then I could walk the same distance and make five times as much money. I bought a very nice bicycle.

When was your first job? What did you buy?

Beautiful Summer Day

This summer the weather has been very hot and humid. It has been very hard to sleep.

This week the weather got a little cooler, but it was very rainy. It was hard to get exercise.

Today it is sunny and clear, but not too hot and not too humid. Finally we have a beautiful summer day. We waited until mid-September to get the good weather.

I came to work by train today and rode by bicycle to the school from the station. It feels good to get exercise in the sunshine. After school, I will ride my bike back to the station.

I’m happy.

How was your weather this summer?

Bicycling in Amsterdam

Yesterday I went bicycling in Amsterdam. Near the central train station there is a shop that rents out bicycles. They only cost about 10 Euros for a whole day.

Amsterdam is very flat. There are no hills, so it is very easy to ride a bike. Also, there are bicycle paths near the roads, so it is very safe. The humidity is very low and and there are many trees along the canals, so it is very comfortable.

There are many bicycle thieves in Amsterdam, so I was a little nervous; however, the bicycle had two very strong locks.

I ate Middle Eastern food for lunch. I took a nap on a bench near a pond in a park. I saw many antique shops. It was fun and it was cheap.

Learning to Ride

I want to learn to ride a unicycle. One friend thinks it is not very difficult.

I learned to ride a tricycle when I was very, very young. I learned to ride a bicycle before elementary school.

I have very good balance on a bicycle, so I think I can learn to ride a unicycle.

A unicycle would be very convenient when traveling by train. After getting off the train, I could easily ride someplace.

Can you ride a unicycle?

Weather Report

Yesterday, I drove to work. Normally on Tuesday’s I ride the train and then ride a bike to the school. It is faster to go by train, than to go by car.

When I checked the weather report, it said there was a 90% chance of rain. I drove by car to stay dry. The weather was cloudy in the morning, but it turned Sunny in the afternoon. I can’t trust the weather report.

Today I rode the train.

New Car

In March I scrapped my car. I was sad to get rid of it but, it was very old. I decided to buy a newer and safer car. It has taken a long time, but finally I ordered a car. About the end of January, I hope to get it.

The car is a yellow Honda Fit. I want a color that is easy to find in a parking lot. White or black cars are very common, but yellow is rare.

Soon, I will have a car. The Fit is very efficient. It will be cheap to drive. Also, it will be nice on rainy days and cold days.

What kind of car do you drive?

Paperwork

One thing I don’t like is paperwork. It takes time away from important tasks. It often serves no purpose. Of course, we all have paperwork for our jobs and our daily lives. It is inescapable. So, we have to be tough and just do it.

In August, while riding my bike, I was hit by a car. Because I had many injuries, I have to spend a lot of time at the doctors’ offices. Also, many things in my life have changed. However, what I hate the most is the extra paperwork.

I get many documents from the insurance company. All of the documents are confusing. Often I send a document away and get another document in return. Sometimes it feels like there is no end to the paperwork.

I hope your paperwork is light. Bills, taxes, loans, bookkeeping, … so many kinds of paperwork.

Dinner Invite

Tonight I was invited to eat some very tasty food for dinner. Unfortunately, I will go back to Ise for rehabilition after work. I will have to eat dinner in Ise. I am a little sad.

This morning I rode my bicycle from the station to school in the rain. My hands were very cold and wet. Tonight I will look for my gloves. Now that it is Winter, I need to wear my gloves while riding.