Cherry are blossoming quite a bit early in Kyoto this year. I had a shopping errand to do, so I took the long way to check out a few cherry-blossom spots around town. Unlike a similar outing last year, this year I had only a small little camera with me, so the photos aren't too exciting, but they perhaps give a sense for some of the places. Many were at full bloom already.

Each photo has a map link under it.

I swung by the Kyoto Imperial Palace Park (京都御所公園), which has some nice blossom areas in its northwest, and [...]

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." [...]

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.

And that was just the first day.

Continued here...

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.

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

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 [...]

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 [...]