May is one of the nicest months in the Tokyo area (when it's sunny, which is far too rarely!!!) and today was the best kind of day. Not too hot, not at all cold, sunny with big white clouds in the sky. And what better way to spend it than on a bike? Actually, the ground was wet from overnight rains when I woke up, and it was overcast when I left the house. Lots of people showed up for the ride today--thirty or more in all, I'd guess, though ten or so went on a longer course. Some new couples and some people I hadn't seen for a long time (have I been in Tsukuba long enough to have old friends?) We started off on a standard course and soon were snaking through the woods on roads most definitely not built with road bike tires in mind. I wished the whole time that I had a proper camera, instead of the one on my phone, as we passed by some welcoming meadows and lots of bright flowers. The pace was relaxed and everyone was in good spirits. And that's the way it was for about four hours (with an occasional sprint). Can spirits be anything other than good when the weather is so perfect?

A few side notes:

- Hello to Miyahara-san if you are reading this!

- Totally random, but useful: Did you know that if you hit Ctrl+Z in most programs it functions as an undo button?

- And some good news for all readers of this blog (except Britta, who's underage!): Beer is good after exercise! I was searching for recovery recommendations and I found this article...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/11/01/scibeer101.xml