Under Construction

January is the coldest month in Shizuoka prefecture, but so far we've had downright springy weather. The days are getting longer of course, but that phenomenon is usually masked by clouds, cold and rain; this year the lengthening is obvious because of the dry sunny weather and the warmer temps. In Japanese custom, our doors and windows are thrown open for the morning hours to allow the exchange of air and to let in the warming sunlight no matter how cold it is outside, and so far we haven't cheated at all, allowing accurate notice of each sunrise.

Last weekend's visit to the local shrine yielded my own photo of the lantern, which I hoped to show an extended dynamic range using a program called Photomatix (from a single RAW exposure). The forest is still green, and this is almost 500 meters above sea level:




















After that visit we took a tight rocky track up the mountain and over to the next prefecture's border (Kanagawa). Tracy was driving and had some fun driving her jeep in 4wd-low range, creeping over ruts and rocks the whole way. The waterfall we found halfway up was beautiful, but it didn't photograph well, so I won't share it here; maybe Tracy caught a better pic.

I have been resting my legs, particularly my knee, after self-diagnosing anserine bursitis:




















I think I seized the holiday break's riding opportunities too hard, and really overdid it. It's been three weeks without riding and two of barely leaving the house (because of the 3 flights of stairs!), but it is getting better now. Inspiration to heal completely before trying again came in the form of an update from the builder making my custom bike frame... a few pix of the progress, this shot revealing the breezer-style rear dropouts (original patent held by the Wright Brothers) and the internal cable routing on the top tube:















I don't know the ETA yet, but I plan to be 'ready to ride' when it does!