Asaka is a small, carrot-farming town in Japan. It's only a few minutes from Tokyo, but standing there you would never guess it. Most locals consider it the middle-of-nowhere which is fine with me. Clean air, plenty of nature and friendly people; in a culture where there is no friendly chit-chat between customers and employees, here they do it all the time. You back in the West might be annoyed occasionally by "chatty" checkers, but I found I missed it after living a few years in a place where it would be most unusual to ask the guy at the video store, "so what'd YOU think of this movie?"
It's nice, here. I live in an apartment on a ridge cut by several small rivers. Steep embankments and long stretches unbroken by streets. Great for trail biking. It's odd; the only other guy I ever see out on those trails is one of the very few other non-Japanese guys out here. I'd say 'hi' but damned if I can ever get close enough. That guy can really RIDE.
Back in Uni, I was all about the racing bikes. Out here, the narrow streets are a deathwish for riders, and the roads are too craggy for those thin, sensitive rims; I'd be tuning my spokes every night. So I got a trail bike for the first time and within hours I realized I'd wasted many years on a stupid racing bike. Trail bikes are more fun, more technical and require alot more thought and creativity.
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