Jeffrey E.F. Friedl's Blog, page 5

R.I.P. My Beloved 2½-year-old Rose X-Lite

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Achilles Falls

My road bike, a Rose X-Lite CRS 3100 Di2 that I got 2½ years ago,
suffered a fatal case of death on a ride the other day, when the
derailleur came off the bike, ripping part of the frame with it.

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Inspecting the Damage








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Hanging Derailleur

its mounting bracket ripped in half, taking part of the frame with it

In that moment, the frame was rendered completely useless. A carbon frame is difficult to repair in the best of times, but
damage like this, in this location, means the end of the frame. It could never be ridden again.

No real idea why it would suddenly just give way. It could happen, I suppose, if a stick or something got caught in
the chain, but that wasn't the case. It was at the start of the first steep hill of the day, so it was when I put
in a fair bit of power through the drivechain.

It could have been a slowly-growing crack finally gave way, or that it got damaged during a recent flight. Perhaps most likely is that during a moment of inattentiveness
15 minutes earlier during a stop, I'd let the bike tip over and flop to the ground... perhaps that caused some damage? We'll never
know.

My riding partners, who had a lot more experience with on-the-road repairs, set things up so that I could at least push the
bike along. Luckily, I wasn't too far from a train station, so I walked the 2½km there (thank goodness for cleat covers). The train company wouldn't let me on the train with the bike, so I left it at the station and took the train home myself,
switching to a car to return to pick up the bike.

I left the next day on a trip to The States, so I didn't have time to do
anything further. I'll have to get another frame, a new bike.... or maybe both!

Perfect Itineracy Gets Dorked by Delta, Sort of Fixed; Keeping Fingers Crossed

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Wherefore art thou, Delta 120?

Toyosaki Seaside Park, Okinawa, Japan

( a random sky/plane photo taken during last week's trip to Okinawa )

Doh!

I was supposed to leave tomorrow on a flight to America, but 22 hours before I
was set to walk out the door, I got an alert from Delta Airlines, which I
mentioned last month in “Delta
Airlines: Gauging the Quality of Your Customer-Service Representatives, Done Right”. It turns out that one of my flights tomorrow is suddenly scheduled for three hours later, and that destroys
the whole itinerary.

Their web site said "We haven't yet found flights to reschedule you on, but don't worry, we'll get you where you need to go
with as little disruption as possible." This had the opposite effect; I worried.

I called Delta in The States, and the wait time to talk to a human was “greater than two hours”. Geez!

I hung up and called their number in Japan, and when I selected “English”, I was connected immediately with
someone. Judging from the accent, it was likely a call center in the Philippines. The
first thing he asked after bringing up my ticket was how he should address me. I answered “Well, Jeffrey is fine”, to which he replied “Very well, Mr. Jeffrey, how can I help you?”.

Riding in Okinawa

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“Welcome to Okinawa”

hurry up, this lovely descent's not going to ride itself

As I mentioned in “My Ride to Okinawa”, I'm in Okinawa for a few days
of visiting and riding. It's been a blast, but no time to blog, so for today just a quick note.

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Jason Eisenmenger

my gracious host

( seen recently here and here during a recent visit to Kyoto )









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Yasuko Eisenmenger

his lovely wife








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Hirohisa Nishiguchi

congenial riding buddy











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Calm City Paths








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Brutal Climbs









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Beachfront Riding

photo by Jason Eisenmenger










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Spooky Jungle








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Breathtaking Vistas









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Delicious Lunches













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Dream-Vacation Pitstops

And that was just the first day.

To be continued...

My “Ride” to Okinawa

As I wrote the other day in “Test Ride to Osaka Airport”, I planned to ride to the airport for a trip to Okinawa. I'm happy to say that I made it without mishap.

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Packed and Ready

the backpack is totally packed








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The Weather was Lovely

(though I can't say the same for the quick snaps I took to try to capture the lovely day)








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Hello Kitty Welcomes me

to Itami Airport (伊丹空港)








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Ready to Transform








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15 Minutes Later

Then it was time to step into a bathroom to transform myself from stinky cyclist, to something
minimally-appropriate for flight.

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Fresh and Clean

mostly








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Checked In

At the security station prior to checkin, where they X-ray checked luggage, the lady manning the station wasn't sure what to do
with such a large thing as the bikebag. She asked whether there was only a bike, and I said that there was also my stinky clothes,
and we unzipped the bag a bit to reveal a plastic bag with some of the clothes. She asked, sheepishly, whether I had any air
cylinders, and sort of seemed unsure what to do. I said it'd be fine to put through the X-ray machine, but she worried it would
damage something, so finally she asked whether it would be okay to X-ray the bag of stinky clothes. She did, we put it back into
the bikebag and zipped it up, and they slapped a security sticker on the whole thing.

During checkin, the only question I was asked was whether, if the bag had to be laid on its side, which side would be better.
They never asked about what was in it, to see any form of ID, etc. It was as if I was getting onto a bus, a nice change from the
Security Theater that is the American air system.

On the way through security toward the gates, I did have to take the computer out of the backpack, and pass it and my bottle of
tea separately. That's it.

Because everything went smoothly, I had a couple of hours before my flight, so I grabbed a cup of coffee and got some work done
with the computer.

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Finally Boarding

I was the last to board because I was in row 26, and they'd neglected to change the “Row 30 and after” on the display. I guess most people ignore that, at least in preference to the announcements, which I guess I ignored.

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Full

for the two-hour flight








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My Rowmates

a pair of 19-year-old college students on a vacation trip








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Naha Airport

那覇空港








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Waiting for my Bike








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Here it Is








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15 Minutes Later

the white bag is filled with stinky clothes,

about the same size as the backpack








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Ready for the Short Ride

to Jason and Yasuko's house








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Leaving the Airport








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Evening Rush Hour








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Welcome Note








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Huge Bowl of Curry

that Yasuko-san had made

Here are the activities of the day:

We all did a very nice ride the next day (yesterday) and today, but I haven't even looked at those photos yet, but
I'll certainly blog about them, eventually.

Test Ride to Osaka Airport

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Up Close and Personal

a Boeing 737 lands at Osaka Itami Airport (伊丹空港)

I haven't done much cycling this winter, so I've become slow and lazy and fat, but I'm hoping to kickstart a recovery by
heading next week to warmer climates, to Okinawa (the southernmost prefecture of Japan), to spend a few days riding with Jason
Eisenmenger. Jason was up in Kyoto earlier in the month (seen here),
but a cold kept me from joining him for any rides.

If I were to bring my bicycle on an international flight, I'd have to get a special built-like-a-tank hard case that the
disassembled bike could fit in. It's a huge hassle, but at least then the bike would arrive undamaged.

But for a domestic Japan flight, where everyone who touches your luggage along the way is Japanese raised with a sense of basic
manners and consideration, I can just put the whole bike into a light zippered bag that I pull out of my pocket, and hand that
over to the airline. So that's what I'll do. I'll bring on the trip only what I can carry in a backpack, ride to the airport,
hop on the plane, and when I arrive, ride from the airport to Jason's house.

So, I made a test ride to the airport, to check out the route and the timing. The most-direct route is about 47km
(29mi) of city riding, so instead I took a longer route (61km / 38mi) so I could enjoy some mountains...

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Heading out of Kyoto

taken at 30 kph (19 mph)








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80 Minutes Later

Finally hitting the mountains








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Curvy








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No Snow

there was snow here when I came by a month go, on this long ride








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Arriving at the Airport

Hello Kitty will guide you

Itami Airport (伊丹空港)










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My Stop

I took about two hours forty mostly-leisurely minutes to make the trip.

I got off the bike right outside the entrance, walked in, and immediately found a couple of Japan Airlines staff,
and asked a few questions about how to handle the bike for check-in.

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Surprised

that there are enough cyclists to warrent such a sign.

“Those with bicycles please dismount”

(but why does the sign show someone with a jackhammer?)

I'll carry everything for the trip in a backpack, including “fresh wipes”, street clothes, and street shoes, all of which I'll
use to transform from a stinky lycra-wearing cyclist to a normal hopefully-non-stinky airline passenger....

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Where I'll Transform

After having scoped out a place to get cleaned up and change, I was done at the airport, so thought I'd take a spin around
its edge.

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Artwork

at a tiny park at the north end








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Little Viewing Platform








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Pretty Far Away

upon takeoff they're quite high before they get this far

Continuing on to the side of the airport property opposite the terminal, I was hoping to ride through the lovely
airplane-viewing park they've made there, as seen seven years ago in
“Itami Sky Park, Next to Osaka Airport”,
but it turns out that bicycles are not allowed. )-:

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Denied








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Closest that I Got

the back of the raised berm of the park










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Room with a View








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Just Outside The Southern Edge

perfectly in line with the runway

There's a dirt road running across near the start of the runway, and landing planes pass very closely overhead. In the photo above, with the runway out of frame to the left and a large ditch to the right, the concrete construction
and bridge are in line with the center of the runway, and are part of the landing-lights system.

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On Final Approach








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Having gotten all sweaty on the mountain ride there, I quickly got chilly just standing around outside, so I moved
away after the first plane to the side a bit, for the next one:

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Small Plane

about to pass directly above the people








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Not Much of a Road

trying to complete the loop around the airport

Once I got back to the airport, I headed home on the most-direct (but least fun) city route, which is what I'll take
on my return from Okinawa so that I can get home before dark.

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Fish-Hat Tobidashikun

I didn't see many on this ride at all








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No Fish Hat








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Convenience-Store Snack

Today I washed the bike and prepared my luggage. I leave on Monday.

Delta Airlines: Gauging the Quality of Your Customer-Service Representatives, Done Right.

Wow, this is so fantastic....

I had occasion to call Delta Airlines customer service, and when the representative hung up, the call tripped over to
customer-service survey kind of thing. but instead of the normal banal questions (“Were we able to solve your problem?”, etc.),
they asked just one question:

“

Would you hire the person you just talked to,

if you owned a customer-service business?

”

Wow, what a fantastic question. It concentrates on the person's competency and people skills, rather than the
services and restrictions of the company behind them.

(In my case, I answered an unequivocal “yes”, as the person was personable and competent.)

Jason and Yukikaze at the Kyoto Cyclocross Race

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" GO FASTER! "

(my guess as to what was being yelled)

As I mentioned in a recent post, the local cyclocross circuit came
to Kyoto last week. In the photo above, Jason Eisenmenger is yelling encouragement(?) to rider Yukikaze Ishiyama.

I'd met Yukikaze earlier in the week when Jason and Joey, during their visit to Kyoto, had paid him a visit at his work while
we were out and about.

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Canyon Japan








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Joey, Yukikaze, Jason








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Always a Smile

This is the same race that I wrote about two years ago, in a series of posts starting with
“Watching My First Cyclocross Bike Race”. I'd intended to blog about it right away, but got overwhelmed by the 1,400 photos I took. I hope to slog
through enough for another post soon...

Jason and Joey in Kyoto

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Joey and Jason

visiting Kyoto, Japan

Wow, what a weird bit of scheduling twists and turns...

Cycling friend and fellow computer geek Jason Eisenmenger, whom I met on this
ride last year, had plans to visit me from Okinawa (southern Japan), to do some cycling together here in Kyoto. Then a week
before he's to arrive, he asks whether it's okay to bring a friend, who had a sudden week off to visit him from The States. It was fine with me, except I had to tell him that I had my own sudden change of plans and wouldn't be here: Google had invited me to a
conference in Jakarta whose schedule matched exactly with his trip here. Doh!

So, I thought that at best we'd pass each other in the airport, and maybe I could offer them some ideas for good areas to ride
in.

But, plans changed again as I came down with a cold right before I was supposed to leave, so I had to cancel on Google. (Sorry
Google, I still feel bad to cancel on you like that!)

I didn't get to ride at all, but I was very happy to visit with Jason, and to meet his super-nice friend Joey Bloodworth,
who flies jumbo jets.

Yesterday I felt enough energy to venture out a bit to watch some cyclocross racing (like this, which I'll write about soon), and on the way out took a few quick photos of the pair before they rode off.

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Too Cool for School

Joey always has a smile, but Jason can do the “I'm cool just by existing” cyclist lean perfectly.

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He Even Makes This Look Cool

A Compliment or an Insult? One of the Costs of Apple Ownership….

I normally do all my computer work on a MacBook Pro; the convenience of being able take it anywhere
with me is worth the cramped feeling of having “just” 1TB of disk and
a small screen. Unfortunately, my MacBook Pro, which is about 3½ years old, went south yesterday, and now and it freezes up
after a minute or three. I spent all day trying stuff to fix it, but it seems to be a hardware issue, So
I called up Apple Support to arrange repair.

While creating my repair case, the guy asked whether it was covered by AppleCare, their extended warranty. I'd had the three years of AppleCare, but it expired a few months ago; I replied “Apple products never break down while covered by
AppleCare”.

His reaction was priceless: “I can't tell whether that's a compliment or an insult.”

Hah. I guess it's both.

I'm writing this post on an Apple desktop machine from 2009, which is still humming along just fine. But Apple's cutting edge
products like their phones and laptops squeeze just a bit more out of the space available than anyone
thought possible until they actually demonstrate it's possible by releasing the product, and that kind of cutting edge stuff comes
with this kind of cost of ownership... it breaks down a lost more than a
sturdy old-tech product. In my experience, that's often right after the warranty expires.

Anyway, the delivery service just picked it up. Last time I did this (~8 years ago?) I had it back quickly... maybe three days.
I hope it's the same this time....

Kafe Kosen: Quite the Unique (and Delicious) Coffee Experience in Kyoto

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Unassuming, but Delicious

Kafe Kosen (KAFE工船)

Kyoto, Japan

In the 12 years I've been blogging, I don't think I've ever gone two weeks without posting something new, but today's post is
the first in almost a month, the first this year. The break wasn't intentional... I just haven't felt like writing, I guess. But today I visited a cafe with coffee so unique — I'd never had anything like it — that it deserved to roust me
from my blogging lethargy.

I've been feeling lethargic about cycling as well, not having done many rides since autumn. For months I'd been planning to
ride an hour south to visit Eric Findlay (seen on this ride-report blog
post a couple of years ago), but I finally met him today when he came up to Kyoto and suggested we try this cafe.

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Simple Menu

Let me say up front that I'm not a coffee aficionado, nor a coffee snob. I do drink my coffee black (no cream nor sugar, thank you),
and while I appreciate a good cup of coffee, I never find coffee to be really good. Time and again I'm introduced to
a place that has “amazing coffee”, and invariably find that it's fine, but nothing special.

So it was with surprised that this place gave me a coffee experience like I'd never had.

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Yellow to Red: Light to Deep

choose your level

I ordered “red”, their deepest roast, which surprised me a bit because I don't like espresso at all. It's just hot bitterness
that is gone in two sips. But the thought of “light” coffee just isn't appealing, so I gave their deep roast a try.

It came in a little glass a bit larger than a Dixie Cup, which made me think “espresso”, but wow, it was anything but.

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Unappealing Presentation

It was indeed deeply rich, but without the slightest hint of bitterness. At all. It was almost sweet. It must be what
God had in mind when He created coffee.

It also wasn't scalding hot... it was just pleasantly warm. In this regard it felt odd, since gingerly sipping from a piping
hot cup is part of The Coffee Experience. But the taste was so very nice.

Normally I get a big cup of coffee, because I like volume. I like the act of drinking. So the tiny portion was part of my
initial pre-taste dismay, but I found myself content to just sip slowly as I chatted with Eric. It was quite nice.

Along with your glass of coffee you get a small pot of weak watered-down coffee (perhaps the second pour from the grounds
used to make your glass) that you can use to temper your coffee it proves to be too strong.

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Trying the Weak Coffee

I wanted no part of that watering-down stuff — the coffee as they brought it was perfect as is — but after I was done
I tried the weak coffee as its own drink.

It tasted, unsurprisingly, like watered down coffee, all the worse on the heels of the fantastically-rich cup that preceded it.
Next time I'll try the watered-down stuff first, then the real coffee.

The place is invisible from the road, so you have to know to look for it. (Google Map; Cafe home page)

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Entrance

the white door in the center








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What Passes for a Sign









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Still Doesn't Look Like a Cafe

It's one tenant in a very old building that
had originally, 100+ years ago I'd guess, been a hospital.

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Doesn't Look Promising









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Found It

on the second floor








iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/30 sec, f/1.8, ISO 40 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Not Too Exciting

My first impression of the place was that it was really hard to find, and even when I was there I wasn't sure
that I was there, because there's no sign on the actual entrance. There's the sign at the street door, and one on
the wall at the base of the stairs, but nothing on the door that actually lets you into the cafe. Odd.

My impression went down further as I walked in, because they clearly allowed smoking. Luckily for me, the lady
that had been smoking all morning (as apparent by the full ashtray in front of her) was just leaving, and they had
a good enough air system that I was able to actually enjoy my time there.

iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/15 sec, f/1.8, ISO 80 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Such a Grind








iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/15 sec, f/1.8, ISO 64 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Raw Coffee Beans

waiting their turn to roast










iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/15 sec, f/1.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

The Roaster









iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/15 sec, f/1.8, ISO 64 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Hot

I'll have to go back another time with a good camera, and document how they actually make it. I gathered that it's all done by
hand (pouring hot water through the grounds using some kind of filter), but not knowing how good it would be, I hadn't paid that
much attention.