Survived Suzuka

Wednesday was the Big Day - the Suzuka 8hour Enduro.

It was my first attempt at the race and I was really looking forward to it. Being part of the D-team made it even more special and fun.

The day started by meeting in Owariashi at 2:30am. That meant I had to ride my bike from Kasugai from 2:00am. We left after loading the bikes into 3 vans and headed for Suzuka. Once there we had to line up to race for a good pit site and put down our big blue sheets.

I then went for a 3-lap practice run as it was my first time to physically get on the track after hours of driving on it on the Playstation. At this stage I still didn't know if I actually had a team or if I would have to ride the whole day by myself. One teammate cancelled, but luckily Mr. W arrived ten minutes before the start of the race, so we had a 30 second strategy meeting - I have to go first.

So we took it in turns to complete the race. One full lap is almost 6km, so we switched after doing 3-4 laps. By the end of the 8 hours my knee was hurting, but together we had done 41 laps - I did 21 and Mr. W did 20. Pretty good for two of us, but well behind the top riders, including the Ono Yoko team who were impressive in finishing 25th out of 330 teams. Well done!

After the drive back home, I then had to ride back to Kasugai which is not so far, but pretty hard to go over that Moriyama hill with a sore knee.

By the end of the day, I had ridden over 150km - that's twice the distance I have ever ridden in one day in my life. It was a hard day, but well worth it and I look forward to doing it again. If you are keen, why not join us next time.

P.S. Hopefully I can post some nicer photos soon - maybe one with me or Mr. N in it.

Kiwi Music

Great to get the comments about music. There are so many styles and varieties, and different songs seem more listen-able at different times. Kenny-G isn't so cool when driving fast, while Blink-182 probably doesn't really go down well when eating dinner with the Japanese Emperor.

As for other good NZ music, I've been a Kasu Guy for the past seven years, so you might want to check out this site for the latest sounds.

http://www.amplifier.co.nz/

Some musicians/bands from the past couple of decades:

Shihad http://www.shihad.com/

The Datsuns http://www.thedatsuns.com/

Steriogram http://www.steriogram.com/

Salmonella Dub http://www.salmonelladub.com/

Supergroove http://www.amplifier.co.nz/artist/2140/supergroove.html?full=1

The Exponents http://www.amplifier.co.nz/artist/14365/the-dance-exponents-.html

Bic Runga http://www.bicrunga.com/

Hayley Westenra http://www.hayleywestenra.com/

There are loads more......

Check out one of the radio stations in the link from the last posting for others and Kiwi-speak.

Take your music wherever you go.

What music are you in to?

At the Wednesday and Thursday classes last week, we talked about different genres of music. There are many different styles and each of us has our own tastes. Although I like most kinds of music, here are some artists that I like and recommend if you don't already know them.

Queen http://www.queenonline.com/home (rock) **My all-time favorite band

Ladyhawke http://www.ladyhawkemusic.com/ (synthpop, indie rock) fresh music from New Zealand with an 80's pop flavor

Sting http://www.sting.com/ (pop, rock, adult contemporary) great voice from the UK

The Killers http://www.thekillersmusic.com/ (alternative rock) UK sound from Las Vegas

Concrete Blond http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_blond (alternative rock) nostalgia from the 80s and 90s

Joe Satriani http://www.satriani.com (guitar rock) one of the best guitarists ever. One of his recent tracks is used as the theme for カンブリヤ宮殿 on Monday nights, 10pm on TV Aichi

Split Enz http://www.frenz.com/splitenz/index.html (pop, new wave) New Zealand's best band ever - and the Finn brothers came from my hometown!

Crowded House http://www.crowdedhouse.com/s_home/index.php (pop rock) Formed by Splitz Enz leading members after the band split in 1984. Probably New Zealand's most well-known band overseas

I could go on, but there are too many.

http://www.nzradioguide.co.nz/

Here is a link to a list of radio stations in New Zealand. The listing under Format/Comments tells you what kind of station it is. You should be able to find one that's cool. Good chance to practise listening to some 'real' English, too.

http://www12.ocn.ne.jp/~usedcd69/

If you are looking for a great selection of music, visit my favorite CD store in Nagoya.

Keep on rockin'!!!!!

In Search of Kiwis

Thanks for the comments.

Yes, Evel's stunts were really dangerous. I'm sure he couldn't get any life insurance. But he did what he loved doing and he always tried to improve on his last performance, although not always successful.

Kiwis.

Kiwis can't fly and are only found in New Zealand (although I did read that there are some at a zoo in Osaka). They are about the same size as a chicken, but have a long beak which they use to search for worms and insects in the ground.

Because they can't fly, they are any easy target for cats and dogs which are not native to NZ, so they are active at night time and sleep during the day. For this reason, unless you go to a zoo or bird park, it would be very difficult to see one in the wild. You can hear them, but you probably need night-scope goggles to see them. Also these days the number of kiwis is falling, so it is getting even more difficult to see them in the wild.

If you visit my hometown in NZ, I recommend taking a short drive to the Otorohanga Kiwi House. http://www.kiwihouse.org.nz/

But if you can't get to see a real live kiwi bird, why not visit Te Puke - the world's kiwifruit capital. http://www.tepuke.co.nz/

Was Evel Knievel Evil?

Tuesday night students might remember I talked about Evel Knievel.

Was Evel Knievel evil? Well, not really.

Rather he was probably the most famous motorcycle daredevil from the late 1960s through to the early 1980s. He made many successful jumps, but he also had plenty of crashes - at times the number of broken bones got his name into the Guiness Book of World Records.

If you have time, go to You Tube and do a search to watch some of his succesful and not-so-successful jumps.

Unfortunately, Evel died two years ago, aged 69. But considering the number of injuries he had, he was probably luck to last that long.

So, evil? No. Crazy? Probably, but sometimes when you want to achieve something you have to be crazy to pull it off.

And for anything you do, remember that it's not important that you land safely, but rather that you have the courage to take off.

Go for it!

Protecting New Zealand's Nature

Here is my mother's blog aboout her latest adventure. This Sunday she is going to Vietnam, so hopefully we will hear about that in a few weeks. Enjoy.

I have just returned from 5 fabulous days, working for the Department of Conservation, on Motuora Island. This is an 80 hectare island 5 kms off shore, on the east coast, just north of Auckland. The highest point on the island is 69 metres above sea level. The only permanent residents on the island are the manager and his wife.
The Motuora Restoration Society work with the Department of Conservation in restoring native values to the island. Each year about 25,000 plants are grown and planted by volunteers. The long term vision is for the island to be an open sanctuary and home to endangered species. Also, to date, there about 60 NZ brown Kiwi on the island, together with tuis, quail and pukeko.
Our job was to plant out native trees, help with weeding, and general maintenance. During our free time we walked round the coast and admired the many rock pools, and the volcanic structure of the cliffs.
The weather was perfect, but the forecast for the last day wasn't so good, so a water taxi was sent out in the morning, to get us back to the mainland before the predicted high winds and stormy weather arrived.
The 4 of us who went on this trip had a great time, and will look forward to returning to the island, at a later date, to see the progress made with all the plantings.

Dragon Boat Racing

As I talked about this week, the Kelowna Dragon Boat Festival will be held this month. It's looks like it will be really exciting, so if you are keen to take part you've still got a couple of weeks to start training,... and find a boat.

If you want to know more about the festival in Kelowna, check out the official site:

http://www.kelownadragonboatfestival.com/

Or if you would rather visit New Zealand, have a look here:

http://www.dragonboat.org.nz/page/home.aspx

Dragon boat racing is held to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival (also known as Tuen Ng Festival). It is immensely popular in Hong Kong and attracts teams from all walks of life, including traditional fishermen. The races are held every year at locations throughout Hong Kong. The main races will be held on the Tuen Ng Festival Day, which falls on 16 Jun next year. Join the locals for a day at the races and you'll see why this is a must-attend event!

Maybe we could start a new tradition for the Kasugai Festival and have dragon boat racing on the lake in Ochiai Park. I'm sure it will make Kasugai famous just like cactus.