Author: kymdt

Cycling Chiba – Part 2

Posted on by kymdt

Our ride in Chiba’s country side continued as we winded our away country paths between farms and adjacent to rivers. Our next stop was the Sakura Lavenderland.

While it wasn’t the season for lavender’s to flower – in the adjacent fields there certainly were some pretty flowers to be seen. Asako-san told us that:

In Japan the lavender fields of Furano in Hokkaido are famous. Therefore, at Sakura Lavenderland soil improvement was carried out to help lavender adapt to the hot and humid climate of Chiba Pretecture, and planting began in spring of 2003. Currently, the 13,600-square-meter farm cultivates tour varieties totaling 13,600 lavender plants.

Our next stop on a Chiba Cycling tour was the former Sakura City Shizu Elementary School (Aosuge Branch). It was designated a tangible cultural property in 2020. Asako-san told us that:

Aosuge Branch School is a single story wooden schoolhouse with a tile roof, built in 1955. (twas preserved even after ceasing to function as a branch school, retaining much of its original appearance.
This small wooden school building features a staff room beside the entrance, with just two classrooms arranged along a single corridor. Despite being a post World War II structure, it incorporates design elements from prewar wooden school building such as clapboard siding and wooden fittings.

We rounded out this part of the ride with a delightful afternoon tea spot at Cafe Hiyori.

Those of you who have followed this blog for while would know that Helen loves to visit a library or two. This visit was no different. Asako-san was prepared to show us the local Yachiyo City Public Library. Fortunately, there is a no photos policy in the library, you only get to see a small number of photos of the outside of the library. Asako-san told us that:

Yachiyo Public Library has over 350 seats. This includes private rooms and study rooms, providing a comfortable environment for studying. Located along the Shinkawa river, it was built as a lifelong learning hub, designed around the concept of “a place for learning, relaxation, gathering, and information.” Its bright space incorporates abundant natural light. Children’s books are placed near the entrance, with general and reference books arranged further inside, creating a layout suited to different age groups.

We would like to thank Asako-san and the kind people in Chiba Prefecture we met on this ride. It was truly an informative and magical experience.

Cycling Chiba – part one

Posted on by kymdt

It’s been a busy few days. I haven’t kept up with my blogging duties as well as Helen has. This one is a little bit out of order. We rode Chiba with our friend Asako-san on the Friday before we left for Kyoto and Nara.

We met Asako-san at Funabashi-Nichidai-Mae Station and rode about 27km the long way around to the Murakami Station. I know my Strava says I rode more – but that’s because the algorithm between Beeline and Strava is a little bit faulty. The route is shown below.

Chiba is a prefecture to the east of Tokyo. It has a population of over 6 million. With its location and population size, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it is an overwhelming urban environment. Our starting point was densely populated area with relatively recent developments – the station opened in 1996. It did not take long before we were riding small roads in a bucolic landscape alongside rivers and fields.

Our first stop involved visiting a friendly Kiso horse called Hii-chan. We were fortunate enough to be allowed to feed Hii-chan some lovely persimmon. It is that season after all. Hii-chan can’t have too many because of the tannin in persimmon. Asako-san told us that:

The kiso horse is the only native bred of Honshu and was used a samurai horse from Heian period through Edo period. [The] Current Population is about 100! With a history of being used for farm and transport, it is characterized by its sturdy build and gentle temperament.

Mr Ohmiya [Hii-chan’s owner]  a horsing racing jockey, and was in the racing industry for over Forty years. He [now] wants to contribute to society through horses. Horse therapy is one of rehabilitation that promotes the improvement or physical and mental function of people with disabilities.

After the delightful stop we continued along the river towards a coffee and lunch stop at a Asako’s local farmer’s market – the Yachiyo Agricultural Exchange Centre. We started off with a coffee from a local coffee roaster – Hira Coffee, strolled through the market (admiring the big daikon and buying some souvenirs for us) and finishing with lunch at “Yachiyo Roadside Station Restaurant” the utilitarian title doesn’t really do justice to the good value food provided to locals by this place.

Just in case you didn’t know… Chiba Peanuts are famous!

What you definitely didn’t know was there Chiba had a coffee plantation. Asako-san told us that:

Japan has traditionally been considered unsuitable for coffee cultivation as it lies outside the coffee belt. However, recent advances in greenhouse cultivation technology have made domestic coffee production possible.

Yachifornia Farm is the first domestic coffee farm in Kanto region, located in Yachiyo City, Chiba Prefecture. Yachifornia is aiming to popularise domestic coffee and create a community for coffee enthusiasts.

Visitors can engage with coffee in various ways, including a sapling ownership program, harvest and roasting experiences with the farm, and purchasing products made from coffee cherry and coffee leaves.

Helen and I were very impressed by the focus and dedication towards making a successful coffee plantation in Chiba. I was equally surprised by the offering of a “tea” made from coffee leaves. I’d love to go back for one of the hands on experiences.

End of part 1.

Tokyo Biennale 2025 inspired ride

Posted on by kymdt

Wednesday’s ride was inspired by the Tokyo Biennale.

Held every two years, the Tokyo Biennale is an international art festival that sets the city of Tokyo as its main stage. The festival aims to dig deep into the city, as it is created together with the area’s local citizens, as well as a wide variety of artists and creators from around the world. The theme of the Tokyo Biennale 2025 is “Wander for wonder.”

It was a loop route of about 20km that started and finished at our hotel in Suidobashi. We took in the sights of Tokyo Dome, Hongo, Ueno, Akihabara, Bakurocho, Nihonbashi, Kanda and Ochanomizu.

The first part of the ride involved visiting Tokyo Dome and then travelling through some small streets with traditional scenes of Tokyo life ending at a Yayoiken a chain store that did provide a lovely breakfast.

We continued on through Tokyo University through some more back streets towards Ueno Park adjacent to Yanaka Cemetery. We stopped of for some matcha and wagashi before arriving at Toeizan Kan’ei-Ji Temple. One of the two main sites for the biennale. There is usually some obvious parking for bikes. But this time it wasn’t so obvious. We negotiated with the biennale staff, who negotiated with temple staff for us. We ended up parking our bikes out the front entrance!

We then headed through Ueno Park towards the second of the two main venues. Etoile Kaito Living Building. This involved 6 floors of art in an abandoned department store building. But my stomach was grumbling for lunch so en-route we stopped off for a quick bite from a food truck.

A bit of holiday fatigue was setting in towards the end of the day. So not so many photographs of us weaving through the busy entertainment district of Kanda. But, I can show the Comfort Stand in Ochanomizu where we had our first coffee of the day and some cheesecake.

Once again credits to the Social Media Manager for the most excellent photos.

If you’d like to do this ride you have until 14 December!

Yoyogi to Higashi-Nakano via Shimokitazawa

Posted on by kymdt

Horray for wi-fi on a plane. I planned this route on the way to Japan high in the sky JL52. I was using Strava to plan this route – but is quite surprising that a premium paid product is almost useless for route planning in Japan. I typed in Tokyo as a location and it kindly offers suggestions of restaurants in the United States. In any case, I persisted using a combination of Google Maps (very useful for street view) and Strava to plan this route. The goal was to start and finish at trains stations along to Sobu line – the line that is literally only a few steps from our hotel.

You can get this route from https://www.strava.com/routes/3419161344007497190

The route includes a the opportunity for many good coffees! We had one from Little Nap Coffee Stand, a ride around Yoyogi Park, Blue Lug (if it’s open!), Planet of Curry, some vintage shopping, great back street riding in some interesting areas, and a afternoon tea at Petite Patisseries Yuki. If you had more time you could add a ride through/to the old Olympics site, visit Harajuku and cat street and Nakano Broadway.

Here are some photos to whet your appetite. I have to credit these photos to our most excellent Social Media Manager!

Riding to traditional breakfast near Yoyogi park

Posted on by kymdt

Tokyo is a big city.. but many of the big cities within a city are actually quite close. Where we stay is about 3km from Tokyo Station and Marunouchi and just over 5km to Shinjuku. After many trips not actually getting to Shimokitazawa, known for its vintage fashion (and perhaps curry shops), we had planned an 18km route from Yoyogi Station to Higashi-Nakano station via Shimokitazawa. Both of those locations were on our local train line.

In the morning, instead of catching the train we decided to use the old “Compass” mode of Beeline with a single location plotted. That location was Tanbo a rice specialty shopping that indeed is closed during harvest time. Not too many wrong turns and few spots that demanded riding on the path.

It was certainly worth it. The rice was great and the toppings grilled salmon, pickles, egg and some nori were top notch. The MISO soup! WOW! Helen loves a good Japanese breakfast and is now trying to rearrange our holiday to visit again!

Just in case…

Posted on by kymdt

you thought this was looking like Weekend at Bernies – the rumours are not true. I am indeed alive and well in Tokyo. I too am enjoying the posts by the most excellent social media manager.

This picture is from an excellent little spot we happened across this morning. A wonderful breakfast with very yummmy rice.

If you are in the area then Tanbo Yoyogi Main Store 田んぼ 代々木本店 is the place to go.

Adelaide – Silver Brewing Co

Posted on by kymdt

Start LocationSilver Brewing Co
200-206 Gouger St, Adelaide SA 5000
Route25km – Adelaide, Mile End, Marleston, Plymton, Morphettville, Marion, Edwardstown, Keswick
https://www.strava.com/routes/3417363352115547378
GPX Route [to be provided]
Coffee StopOaklands Wetlands Reserve
Bring your own coffee in a thermos
Baked goods to be provided (let us know if you’d like to bake some baked goods for us)
NotesLast ridden 23 November 2025 at 11:00am. Details and photos from that ride are available in the Ride Report From the Rear.

Road closes around South Road works are likely.

October Adventure Ride report from the rear

Posted on by kymdt

The October 2025 Adventure ride ventured to the suburban frontier of Mount Barker. It is a ride that lived up to its name as we traversed wild lagoons, new frontiers of development, wagon wheels, forrest obstructions and inappropriately located temporary fencing. In total we rode around 22km and climbed 276 metres on the October Long weekend.

We all congregated in an unsuspecting semi-industrial car-park on the outskirts of Mount Barker, let’s just say the photo opportunities at the start were limited. One challenge all cyclists face when driving to the location of a ride – is remembering to bring everything you need (…I’ve done this myself in the past so I can claim no superiority). While you can probably get by without gloves (not ideal)… unfortunately by South Australian law – a helmet is definitely a required item, and thankfully we all had them! Especially when within the first kilometre we cycled past a Police breathalyser testing station – hooray for being legal.

It all started in 1999 with the construction of the Laratinga Wetlands as part of a waste water solution for the local area…. (thanks Kym for the informational update on Council services) now if this is what a waste water solution looks like – I say bring them on! There was some works underway (temporary fencing blocked our way), and thankfully we were able to still take in this view. We stopped for the obligatory Brompton photo – and it was indeed lovely to cycle through and see many groups of individuals and families enjoying their Sunday.

Rubber Ducks come in many forms and sizes … and this yellow one promoted the Wok the Duck. It’s a Thai restaurant that also does coffee, cakes and snacks. Opening hours are great, and the location was perfect for the ride, and it overlooks a waterway with ducks (no surprises there). As a plus, it was good to get out of the sun/cool wind for a half way stop.. and talk all things Bromtpon and cycling.

No obstruction would stand between us an our goal … getting to lunch! Across the path there was an exceptionally large limb down. Afterwards we did think we should have laid the Brompton’s around this devastation to match one of the riders pose in the photo. Although it’s probably not a good promotional point for future rides!

Earlier in the week we had heard the Council were undertaking some works in the area and some temporary fencing was blocking access for the main path just out the tunnel direct to the town… however it looked like a number of people had the same attitude we did, and went through the gap to reach the tunnel back towards the Prancing Pony for a well deserved lunch!

Puncture – 1 ; Bromptoneers – 11

Thanks to everyone who drove out to Mt Barker for the ride… and apologies for the delay in this ride report.

Unley – Progressive Dinner

Posted on by kymdt

LocationUnley Town Hall
Route20km loop ride through Unley, Parkside, Fullarton, Myrtle Bank, Highgate, Malvern, Unley Park, Millswood, Clarence Park, Black Forest. Everard Park, Forestville, Goodwood
Strava Link
GPX Route
StopsEntree – The Little Neighbour
Main – Reggies Detroit Pizza
Dessert – 48 Flavours
Ridden8 October 2025 at 6:00pm with Unley Bicycle User Group. Original entree location was Kit and Caboodle, which has now closed down. The Little Neighbour is in the same location.

18 July 2026 – Partially ridden – the route is still good! The original route was prepared while the Glenelg Tram bridge crossing was closed. A future update might add that in for a bit of fun.

8 October 2025

18 July 2026

October 2025 Update

Posted on by kymdt

Brompton Adventure Ride in Mount Barker – Sunday 5 October

The route is now available from Strava or as a direct GPX file download. We leave 11:00am from the Prancing Pony car park. If you intend to ride this Sunday, please let us know through the registration link. The route and registration links are available from the 2025 Brompton Adventure Ride – Prancing Pony – Mount Barker post.

Travelling Adelaide Bromptoneers

Adelaide Bromptoneers were in Jeju Island, Munich and Canberra in the last month. Here are some photos shared with us.

Spring Clean

Richard has been having a bit of spring clean to free up some space. If you are interested in any of the items listed below leave a comment on this post and I can put you in touch with Richard to discuss the price etc. He can bring items requested to Sunday’s ride.

  • Superlight carbon extended length seatpost from T-line (will fit all Bromptons)
  • Advance mudguards with titanium stays (non-rack type) from T-line, I believe these will fit, or can be made to fit any Brompton without a rear rack.
  • B&W soft bag (non padded type)
  • 1 x Schwalbe One, 2 x Schwalbe Kojak, all have minimal wear.
  • Brompton beanie
  • Hobby Japan Brompton plastic kit

Favourite Rides

We did so much great cycling in 2024. I think, amongst my favourites were the three days we spent on Fukue Island (one of 140 that make up the Gotō Islands) near Nagasaki in Japan.

The photos show some of the highlights. If you’d like learn more about the routes (including Strava routes) we took you can read our posts about the ride here.

Where would you like to go in 2026?

We have begun planning the 2026 routes for Adelaide Bromptoneering. If you have suggestions about the routes leave a comment on this post. You can do this by replying to the newsletter or leaving the comments directly on this post on Bromptoneering.blog

November Social Ride

The next ride is a park ride along some of the popular bike paths in South Western Adelaide. The ride will be a little longer than the normal Adelaide Bromptoneering Social Ride but very flat!

Start/Finish LocationSilver Brewing Co
DateSunday 23 November 2025
Time11:00am – 2:30pm