Bike Days!

May 10 was Bike to Work Day. Also in some quarters, the entire month is Bike to Work Month. Most of our biking is on weekends as a family fun activity. On a recent bike ride the kids spotted the following: 78 songbirds, 19 robins, 8 dogs, 7 hummingbirds, 3 morning doves, 3 yellow butterflies, 2 geese, 2 mockingbirds, 2 crows, 2 ducks, 1 squirrel, 1 woodpecker, 1 frog and a snake...not to mention all the other bikers, joggers, and walkers.

Photo below from top left corner clockwise: bike rides usually include the obligatory stop at a playground; taking a break on the trail; another playground photo; a snake; and leaving the playground.

Yes, Naomi is starting to outgrow her bike. Ethan is getting there too.

Kids on Bikes!

I think we broke a record for spontaneous bike riding on our street today!  We had kids on bikes with and without training wheels, scooters and even a motorized four wheeler.  This totally unplanned!

After this, our kids got so jazzed we went on a bike ride on the canal trails in our county through Concord and Walnut Creek.  We rode past Heather Farms, near John Muir Hospital, past Arbolado Park and underneath Ygnacio Valley Road before returning home.  The ride included a crossing of one major signalized intersection in a bike lane and two other mid-block crossings.  We even got a complement for safe biking from another biker on the trails.

Shimanami Kaido Bike Trip

Perhaps one day this will be a family trip. Saw this on NHK television this morning on a travelogue. The Shimanami Kaido is the only way (of three options) that is completely traversable on foot or by bicycle from Honshu to Shikoku.

The total distance of this toll road is just under 40 miles. From what we saw on the show, the bike route is well-maintained, well-traveled, has incredible scenery of the Seto Inland Sea, and stations along the way catering to bikers and walkers.

Uncle Mike's Visit

Time for a Family Bike Ride

Ethan spent time this afternoon on our street practicing his bike riding. Within an hour or so he was riding on his own. Maybe this will distract him from his talk about wanting to build a fort in our backyard.

His bike a hand-me-down from Naomi. He agreed to take it if we painted it so we spray painted it from its original purple color to blue. We took off the dog spot decals too. We still have to replace the seat which has the matching purple with dog spots theme.

He's added his own touch to the bike by taping a tissue box to the front of the handlebars so that there would be a spot for his teddy bear.

Bicycling in Japan - Part III

Continuing this series on bicycling in Japan, here's what Cousin Keiko had to add:

There are differences in bicycle parking between a place like Okayama and a larger city like Tokyo. [My thoughts: Let's put this in perspective though. In Japan, Okayama is viewed as a smaller metropolitan area even though the Okayama prefecture area has a population of around two million. The San Jose, California area has a population of about 1.7 million.]

An ordinary bicycle like the kind that you see at train stations generally costs less than 10,000 yen. Below is a picture of such a bike.


When I (Keiko) lived in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo, I paid to park my bicycle at the nearest subway station because parking my bicycle near the station on the street was impossible. The bicycle parking charge was 100 yen per day or 3000 yen per month. Below are pictures of typical bicycle parking areas near stations near my present home town of Kurashiki in Okayama prefecture. The picture in the upper left hand corner includes a sign that basically warns people not to ride their bicycles across the opening to the stairwell to the bicycle parking area.


Office buildings in Japan do not have bicycle parking because there is really no need. People usually bike from their home to a train station near their home. At the other end it's usually a walk trip to the office. In a smaller city like Kurashiki, commuting by car may be more common. My husband commutes to his office by car. When I go to Okayama station, I use my bicycle to get from my house to Kurashiki station and take the train to Okayama station.

Apartments and hospitals in the Okayama area do have bicycle parking as shown below. The first line of photos shows parking at an apartment complex, while the second line shows parking at a hospital.

Bicycling in Japan - Part II

Continuing this series on bicycling in Japan, here's what Cousin Hisayo had to add on the subject:

Public facilities for bicycling in Japan are poor, especially when it comes to bike lanes. Under present traffic laws, bicyclists have to pass on the left side (left side driving in Japan) within the traffic lane. Passing is allowed only when the paved travel way is 2 or more meters in width.

An ordinary bicycle in Japan costs about 10,000 yen (about $80 at 125 yen per $). Many of these lower cost bikes are imports from China. At most, these bikes have 3 gears. It makes sense to use lower cost ordinary bikes for ordinary every day use, especially with the threat of theft or vandalism present. Recently, battery powered bikes to provide assistance on slopes have gained popularity particularly for the middle-aged, older and women crowd.

Parking at stations may or may not be free. Bike parking when in a building ranges from 1500 to 3000 yen per month. At roof covering-only bike stands, parking is sometimes free. However, many people will not use such dedicated parking areas but instead will try to find an open place closer to the station. For many bedroom communities, this is a common problem because often the bike parking area is constructed after the area has been developed. Then the only places available for such bike parking are further away from the station. If the designated location is say more than 100 meters from the station entrance, people are more likely to park illegally closer to the station than to use the designated parking area. The most common place with large designated bike parking areas is a station. Other areas could be large shopping malls or supermarkets.

In some cities, bike rental systems at a reasonable cost have sprung up. The cost for such bike rentals is comparable to the cost for parking bikes.

There really is no need for providing bicycle parking at urban work sites. Most commutes are not conducive for biking to work. The most common commute modes are trains, buses and private auto. [I don't think bikes are allowed in stations and on trains and buses either.] Commuting by motorcycle (50-mL engine variety) may be more common than commuting by bicycle.

Bike parking at the work site may be more common for a suburban office or factory where many workers live nearby.

What is the Cost of a Bicycle in Japan?

A colleague recently asked me if I could find out from my relatives in Japan what a typical bicycle that one would use for commuting in Japan costs. Interesting question.

I went to school in Japan for one year; and actually my bike was my main form of transportation between home and school, between home and store, to the train station, etc. But I never really thought too much about the cost of biking.

The bike was passed onto me from a student who was finishing up his stay in Japan. It was a rather plain lime green bike with a beige colored seat. It had a flat rack on the back where I could bungee my school bag or whatever I needed to transport. It was an everyday bike that I used every day. When I left Japan, I passed the bike onto another foreign student to keep the chain going.

Based on on-line information uncovered by my sister, a good commute bike in Japan probably can be had for about $100. However, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that many of the commute bikes parked at train stations are hand-me-downs or bikes bought on the cheap. It is an everyday almost disposable commodity.