Mt Fuji
Art…
When art expresses your feelings at the beginning of the holiday when you want to do it all… but start to talk about the next trip – and your on day one..
Train trip to Hakone
Saturday morning we met up with longtime Tokyo friends and headed to Hakone, which is just over 1.5 hours by train outside of Tokyo.
First challenge – getting from one side of Shinjuku train station to another… not the easiest station to navigate to get to the meeting spot. Unlike previous times it didn’t take too long and we were able to met up buy bento for the train and get to the platform to take photos of the Romancecar train.
The name comes from the arms rests being omitted in between the seats… which was radical at the time of creation back in 1957. The cars also have large windows enabling passengers great views of the scenery. The train offers a fabulous opportunity to sit back enjoy passing of greater Tokyo as you head to Hakone and eat bento!
Early morning walk..
Woke up way too early… and made the most of the daylight before breakfast..
Flight time
When you’ve got nine hours on a plane during the day there’s a variety of activities to keep yourself occupied… I stuck to watching movies… and Kym planned a couple of our rides in Tokyo.
Transiting with Bags..
Unfortunately suitcases are a necessity when travelling to Japan, especially when taking our Bromptons. While packing last weekend Kym said ‘I just want to travel without this stuff..!’, but I highlighted we would not get the experiences of cycling in fabulous places without the Bromptons so we have to put up with a very short term problem for long term happiness. To be fair I think he would like someone else to do all the packing (don’t we all!).
The Brompton suitcases themselves are large, but small enough to fit within the size requirements for normal luggage by the airlines. They are easy to move… but annoying from the perspective of travelling from ADL to SYD collecting them, getting on a bus to the international terminal side to the hotel and the next day checking in for the international flight to Japan.
In lifts people look at our suitcases with a quizzical look on their face… and I usually pipe up ‘they’re folding bikes’… which is usually met with ‘ah that’s so wonderful… I did wonder what amount of clothing would be inside..’.
Transiting is a necessary part of the journey… but we are always pleased to have checked in… seen off the bags, got through the gates and made it to the lounge… oh and find a seat. With just enough time to ensure there are enough ebooks/audiobooks on my phone for the plane journey.
Ah… here we are – again!
Holidays overseas are a wondrous thing, especially if you’re exploring new places. While we’ve visit Japan many times, we find ourselves returning… and continuing to search out places not yet visited on our bikes.
If you’re new here – welcome! You are either here to live vicariously through our holiday adventures (good and the wrong turns) as hopefully you’ve enjoyed our past adventures, or you’ve an interest in Brompton bicycles and keen to see where we ride in Japan once again.
Now if you’ve followed this blog for a number of years (… at least 20 years of holidays) you’ve probably recently been receiving additional posts about the Adelaide Bromptoneering rides… don’t panic we’re just maximising our online site. Those new to the blog had the opportunity to choose just Adelaide Bromptoneering posts or just Brompton or Bust holiday posts.. so thanks for signing up… and welcome all!
November 2025 Social Ride – Silver Brewing Co
| Time | 11:00am Sunday 23 November 2025 Add all rides to your calendar |
| Location | Silver Brewing Co 200-206 Gouger St, Adelaide SA 5000 |
| Route | 25km – Adelaide, Mile End, Marleston, Plymton, Morphettville, Marion, Edwardstown, Keswick https://www.strava.com/routes/3417363352115547378 GPX Route [to be provided] |
| Coffee Stop | Oaklands 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) |
| Register | Please let us know you are coming… |
October Adventure Ride report from the rear
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.
October 2025 Update
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 Location | Silver Brewing Co |
| Date | Sunday 23 November 2025 |
| Time | 11:00am – 2:30pm |
