testing the water

I love this time of year. It's sweltering in the day. But the days are long. A perfect summer's day is bookmarked by an early asaren morning and an evening dip in the sea. No asaren today. Keeping to my “two days off” promise.

In the evening I enjoyed a dip with Luke. Last summer we were down there every evening before a bath and dinner. A good routine to fall into for sure.

There are a few beaches to choose from in Kashiwazaki. I prefer Banjin with it's sheltered cove, long sandy strip, rocks and pools and views of Mt. Yoneyama.

At night we went to Enosan's and finally got the bike in running order. A new chain on worn cassettes (I tried my 23, 25 and 27) was the problem just as Andrew had suggested. I dug a 9 speed cassette out of the parts bin. It worked perfectly. A 34 × 27 set up, so no excuses for not getting up the mountain!

Weather looks a bit dodgy for a course reccy tomorrow. Fingers crossed for better weather on Sunday.....

Another couple more early nights and hopefully I'll be firing on all cyclinders again.

Friday's training: rest day