Me and my Bike

Rishiri and Rebun 2013 Going through old files on the computer and stumbled on pictures I had taken with a phone while in Japan in 2013. These are from Rishiri Island and Rebun Island,  both of which are beautiful hikes. I made the mistake of doing them barefoot.... Mt. Rishiri rises out of the North Japan sea. Accessible by ferry from Wakkanai Getting lost... The peace and tranquility of the forests were a very nice difference to the chaos of Tokyo As you get higher the soil takes on a very nice deep red color Above the clouds the summit of Mt. Rishiri It had been a steady downpour for the whole day. I was wet, cold, and exhausted Emergency shelter - luckily I only used it a bit to change my clothes. The hikers behind me must have used it as the weather took a huge turn for the worst very quickly. Yum....2 day old Konbini dinner Beautiful morning after the storm had passed Island hopped to Rebun - breathtaking sights

New Years Teardown Took the time today to tear down the whole bike. Some things need to be replaced or changed. This bike did a good job in 2016, and I'll be pushing it again this year in Japan, and possibly South Korea. Things to fix: - New hoods for shift levers               - MicroShift offers replacement hoods on their website for only $9. You get 2 pairs with that! - New Bottom bracket               - I made a mistake of buying an FSA Crank. The crank itself is great. But the bottom bracket has caused me loads of trouble. I've spent 2 hours before in front of home hardware store in AizuWakamatsu stripping down the bottom bracket and reassembling it. Not fun in hot weather! -New Crank (maybe)               - Instead of buying a new MegoEXO BB I've though of just replacing my whole crankset with Shimano or Sram. The cranksets compatible with the MegaEXO BB are not very compatible with a Shimano BB, without using some force or alteration. This Years Pla