New here, and to cycling in general (pics of my sexay bike as well)
 

Hi everyone.

I am an English teacher in Japan. I teach at three different high-schools in and around Iwakuni city in eastern Yamaguchi prefecture (little less than an hour train ride from Hiroshima). Before coming here I traveled almost exclusively by car. I lived in Minnesota, was frustrated by the lack of public transportation, and didn't own a bike (and was too darn lazy to do anything about it).

I live about 4 miles (approx 6.5km) from the school that I go to three times a week, about 13 miles (approx 21km) from one of my once a week schools, and　about 25 miles (approx 40km) from the last one. I have been commuting to the closest school for about 7 months. I go regardless of the weather, though I don't bike when I'm sick. It's actually a lot more convenient than the trains and buses. I am currently thinking of adding the 21km away school as well. I need to plan a route and see if I can do it safely. I will probably continue to take the train to the farthest away one.

I have been really enjoying the independence from owning a car. I do all my grocery shopping and errands either on foot or by bike.

Speaking of my bike, right now I have an old three-speed bike with a rusty basket on the front (steering gets pretty exciting after I load it with groceries :eek:). It also has a light powered by a generator on the wheel that has a nasty habit of engaging after I hit bumps or curbs.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2404/...3d28a1.jpg?v=0

I have no idea how it shifts. I can't see any gears, and... well, I don't know squat about bikes. So, I just chalk it up to some strange Japanese techno-magic.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2255/...ea9d94.jpg?v=0

I'm thinking about getting a new bike some in the months to come, but that's a subject for a different post.

That's about all out of me for now.
Oh, and feel free to call me Matt. I couldn't think of a username and wasn't sure how long I would use this site. I have been really impressed by the site so far. I think I'll stick around for a bit ^_^.

Hi. I'm somewhat new here as well. Public trans in MN- yup- it's a joke.

Hi Matt...stick around, feel free to ask questions, brag about your commute. We like to hear from people! Give us a try...

Welcome to BF!

East Hill

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...a/pinkstar.jpg

Thanks. I have been enjoying reading and posting on this site during these slow days (we're currently between classes, so I spend a lot of time sitting at my desk doing nothing).

Actually, if any knows what kind of shifter I have and/or how it works, I'd appreciate it. I like gadgety things, but I don't know thing-one about bikes.

edit: I can take more photos of the mechanism if that would help. I'm bored at work and took those pictures a little while after I arrived today (I'm at +9GMT, so it's about 11:15am on Friday here)

2nd Edit: East Hill, I am stunned by the frequency and volume of your posts. You seem to always have something useful or at least nice to say to everyone. If you're not some sort of admin/moderator here, you should be ^_^.

It looks as if you have a Shimano Nexus 3 speed hub...

East Hill

Thanks! I just looked it up online and found some great info from http://www.sheldonbrown.com/.

I'm sorry to hear that he died recently this year. He seems like a great guy.

Sheldon Brown was so widely regarded in this community that we have a special way to remember his memory. That bird by the side of my name is Igor, the helmet eagle which proudly guarded Sheldon's noggin. Any one here who donates to a charity in Mr. Brown's name can get that icon next to his or her name.

Yeah, we loved, and still love Sheldon Brown.

East Hill