It's just like riding a bike kids...

Before I came to Japan, I did not know how to ride a bike. That is not to say that no one ever took the time show me - quite the opposite really. When I was in primary school, my family would take me down to my grandparents quiet neighborhood and attempt to get me onto a bike. I even had training wheels on the bike at my home. However, I never quite mastered the concept of balance and when my grandfather finally let go of the bike and I was on my own...I ran into a parked car.

That officially ended my biking career. Sorry Lance Armstrong.

However, the move to Japan has brought up an exciting new challenge: learn to ride a bike to school or leave the house at 0630 hours in order to get there on time. Realizing it is more likely for me to oversleep than get into a biking accident, I was tutored by a very lovely couple who were visiting my RA (who is conveniently located two floors above me). They took the t me to teach me how to balance and by the end of the first day I could wobbly get 2-3 meters. However, as I decided to practice on my own later that evening, I realized that I did not now how to actually stop the bike. Since the wall was fast approaching (since when do parking lots have walls, honestly?) I used the only available resource at hand - my leg. Details below:


It was pretty intense. Anywho. So now it's about building endurance and getting to a comfortable speed that doesn't allow matronly women to pass me by on the sidewalk.

...

The latest biking accident(s) happened two days ago. I arrive in a neighboring town after spending the evening with friends and I was returning to one of their houses to sleep. There were four of us, two men who were both 6'5"+ and two girls who were 5'6"- and only three bikes. I did not have a bike but since I didn't know where I was going and was obviously female (and therefore weaker?!) it was decided that one of the men would give up his bike. Now, just try to imagine getting onto a bike that is adjusted for a man at least a foot taller than you. That's 12 inches or 30cm!!

Since I couldn't readjust the seat, just getting on proved to be a challenge. I teetered after my two biking companions while the other guy just started walking. I was slowly coming into my own when a sharp turn across the street had the bike skid out from under me and I flew sideways screaming (sorry family), "Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

My male biking companion turned around and steadied me back up so I could literally get back on the bike and we started out again. Things were running smoothly (well, I had yet to die) when we came alongside a road that had a very narrow bike path before dropping off into a rice field. A hugh truck was coming and I, being the nervous girl who sometimes leans the wrong way, decided to brake and wait it out. Unfortunately, since I forgot just how high the seat was, I went to put my leg down and it kept going, along with the rest of my body and the bike, straight into the rice patty.

Delicious.