QX100 early review
- Thread starter Gunnstein
- Start date
ReklinedRider
Zen MBB Master
Indeed! Looks like the Cruzbike version of a WW2-era army Jeep! very cool
Gunnstein
Member
Hi all. I'm back from the tour of Japan I was planning. It was fantastic, so many great rides, no technical troubles, mostly decent weather, and more cherry blossoms than you could fit into a barrelful of nostalgic romance movies. Pictures here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gunnsteinlye/collections/72157683192434975/
IMG_20170416_094750871 by gunnsteinlye, on Flickr
I was tweeting day-by-day with photos, anecdotes and my more or less functional sense of humour. I collected it all, here (BIG document): https://storify.com/glye/tour-of-japan-2017
(I had planned to post forum updates during the tour, but between the cycling, eating, tweeting and sleeping there was no time left. Sorry!)
IMG_20170416_131328443 by gunnsteinlye, on Flickr
Short facts:
- 23 riding days, plus rest/rain days, late March to late April
- 1847 km
- Cape Sata to Tokyo (half of Japan), via Shikoku, Kyoto, and Fuji
- Always friendly locals, awesome food, nice hotels
- Good roads when I spent some time planning to get away from the busiest ones
- Zero flats, zero crashes (but a few close calls)
- Happy days: All
IMG_20170402_130254954 by gunnsteinlye, on Flickr
The very best days were perhaps Imabari to Onomichi, over a series of islands and very impressive bridges that connect Shikoku with Honshu, with great bike paths: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gunnsteinlye/sets/72157681337978370/
...and climbing up Mt Fuji from Fujinomiya to Kawaguchiko in perfect weather: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gunnsteinlye/sets/72157681350695660/
So grateful for having the 25 vacation days a year to spend on things like this, and for my employer allowing me a full 5 weeks of absence for this epic tour (3 consecutive weeks guaranteed by law). May be a once in a lifetime experience, that. At least until I retire...
IMG_20170416_094750871 by gunnsteinlye, on Flickr
I was tweeting day-by-day with photos, anecdotes and my more or less functional sense of humour. I collected it all, here (BIG document): https://storify.com/glye/tour-of-japan-2017
(I had planned to post forum updates during the tour, but between the cycling, eating, tweeting and sleeping there was no time left. Sorry!)
IMG_20170416_131328443 by gunnsteinlye, on Flickr
Short facts:
- 23 riding days, plus rest/rain days, late March to late April
- 1847 km
- Cape Sata to Tokyo (half of Japan), via Shikoku, Kyoto, and Fuji
- Always friendly locals, awesome food, nice hotels
- Good roads when I spent some time planning to get away from the busiest ones
- Zero flats, zero crashes (but a few close calls)
- Happy days: All
IMG_20170402_130254954 by gunnsteinlye, on Flickr
The very best days were perhaps Imabari to Onomichi, over a series of islands and very impressive bridges that connect Shikoku with Honshu, with great bike paths: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gunnsteinlye/sets/72157681337978370/
...and climbing up Mt Fuji from Fujinomiya to Kawaguchiko in perfect weather: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gunnsteinlye/sets/72157681350695660/
So grateful for having the 25 vacation days a year to spend on things like this, and for my employer allowing me a full 5 weeks of absence for this epic tour (3 consecutive weeks guaranteed by law). May be a once in a lifetime experience, that. At least until I retire...
Gunnstein
Member
Maps and height profiles of the tour:
tour-map-1 by gunnsteinlye, on Flickr
tour-map-2 by gunnsteinlye, on Flickr
tour-map-3 by gunnsteinlye, on Flickr
(A big erratic jump on that last height profile, due to weather changes while the GPS was switched off.)
tour-map-1 by gunnsteinlye, on Flickr
tour-map-2 by gunnsteinlye, on Flickr
tour-map-3 by gunnsteinlye, on Flickr
(A big erratic jump on that last height profile, due to weather changes while the GPS was switched off.)
trapdoor2
Zen MBB Master
Well, I gotta say...I really enjoyed your story (and I did go thru the whole thing) on a number of levels.
#1. You did a great job of documenting. Enjoyable to view and to read.
#2. Cruzbiking. Gotta love that!
#3. Your trip took you not to far from where I was born (Camp Zama Army Hospital, Sagamihara).
#4. My great-grandfather emigrated to the US from Oslo (in the 1880's). Oslo is a small town in Norway, right?
Thank you!
===Marc
#1. You did a great job of documenting. Enjoyable to view and to read.
#2. Cruzbiking. Gotta love that!
#3. Your trip took you not to far from where I was born (Camp Zama Army Hospital, Sagamihara).
#4. My great-grandfather emigrated to the US from Oslo (in the 1880's). Oslo is a small town in Norway, right?
Thank you!
===Marc
Gunnstein
Member
Thanks Marc! Very glad to hear. I have found that doing everything after I come home from such trips just doesn't work out for me, so this time I spent some time tweeting and sorting through photos every evening. Much better. Less things forgotten, more things done.
Yes, Oslo is a small town, populated by folks who think they live in a metropolis. I have some relatives over in Canada. I think something like a quarter of the population headed over the pond back in those days. We were poor like the Irish, and had even worse potato conditions...
Yes, Oslo is a small town, populated by folks who think they live in a metropolis. I have some relatives over in Canada. I think something like a quarter of the population headed over the pond back in those days. We were poor like the Irish, and had even worse potato conditions...
super slim
Zen MBB Master
Marc, great narratives, great well planned trip, but even better quality, well composed photos!
Gunnstein
Member
Super slim, I'm going to selfishly assume you meant me, and say thanks I enjoy other people's travel tips and photos, glad to give something back.
Yoda has been sitting in the suitcase for 3 weeks. I finally built it up again today and had a ride. It seems to have survived the return trip, yay! Some scenes from my neighbourhood:
IMG_20170514_183205040_HDR by gunnsteinlye, on Flickr
IMG_20170514_184651441_HDR by gunnsteinlye, on Flickr
I enjoy other people's travel tips and photos, glad to give something back.Yoda has been sitting in the suitcase for 3 weeks. I finally built it up again today and had a ride. It seems to have survived the return trip, yay! Some scenes from my neighbourhood:
IMG_20170514_183205040_HDR by gunnsteinlye, on Flickr
IMG_20170514_184651441_HDR by gunnsteinlye, on Flickr
Charles.Plager
Recumbent Quant
That might be the best name for a bicycle ever. (Particularly given Yoda's penchant for talking backwards.)
don't think so. Exactly the same happened to me when I tried to true the rear wheel. It seems to me that the rim might be the reason (wobbly metal).Had two tight spokes that pulled the rim their way, loosened them up just a little . Used the spoke meter checking the remaining spokes, and afterwards tweaked other spokes. Then everything went limp!
