17 thoughts to “MouthCam(tm): Ride to Work”

  1. I am loving the return.
    The new podcasts & videos are great.
    Thank you very much for everything.

    Continue the good “work” !

  2. That was so cool! I am loving the Mouth(tm)casts.

    Its nice to be able to put sight into the freezing cold bikecast that you did earlier. I was kind of confused when you were talking about the bike rack thing, but now it makes a lot more sense. That bike rack building is so neat! I wish we had something like that back in the states. Its amazing how large it is, many people must ride.

    Do you find Japan to be pretty bike-friendly? Generally, trying to bike in the states is a fucking nightmare. Theres usually no bike lanes, no accomodations of any kind, drivers see you as soulless bugs to run off the road… the most thought that officials and administrators seem to put into aiding bikers is “good luck, you are probably going to die”.

    1. The correct terminology is MouthCam(tm) Videocast.

      How the heck can you remember a podcast that I don’t remember doing? I can’t even recall what I talked about that time.

      Japanese towns are bike friendly. Between towns is another story. Most roads other than toll highways are two-lanes, many places having very little shoulder. About 14 years ago I did a three-day bike tour between Koga and Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture. I mentally wrote my last will and testament over and over the whole ride.

  3. Love the vid it reminds me of when i was in Japan. The first thought that hit me about the bikes is that in Japan the bikes seemed to move for you, not you move for the bike like in England

    Also the vid reminds me of this French film “C’était un rendez-vous”

    Here’s a link:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbVPpF9u-IU

  4. wierd. in the us, bicycles follow the rules of automobiles, unless there are bicycle lanes.

    you are obviously going against the traffic and sometimes, in same lane as pedestrians. That is against the law in most of the USA.

    Are you breaking the law, or is Japan different?

    Why are there so few other people in the video when you are in one of the most populated places in the world?

    -bill

    ps. so you have the url for misbehaving’s blog? it just disappeared from my subscriptio
    n list a couple of weeks back, and I have not been able to find it.

    1. There’s a link to Missbehaven’s blog in the rt. hand column of my blog.

      Why are there so few other people in the video when you are in one of the most populated places in the world?

      Your question is exactly the reason why I wanted to start podcasting and videocasting. I assume your perception of Japan is Tokyo, and only the crowded places during rush hour. The rest of Japan looks pretty much like this video. I should ride around Koga to show you what it looks like.

  6. Wow man.. that seemed like a peaceful. You couldn’t ride a bike in my city like that. You’d either get hit by a SUV, or jumped for your bike & money.
    And I love the Bike Building. That’s probably the coolest thing i’ve seen yet in your vidcasts.
    Anyways, great video Rich. Thankyou 🙂

  8. Man, why didn’t you say anything?

    Because I was holding my cell phone in my mouth. I probably could have hummed Flight of the Valkeries or breathed like Darth Vader, but that’s about it.

  11. Mike said:
    Its nice to be able to put sight into the freezing cold bikecast that you did earlier. I was kind of confused when you were talking about the bike rack thing, but now it makes a lot more sense.

    I was wondering the same thing about those bike racks. Now I know. I feel a little more complete now that that mystery was solved, and I didn’t need group of zany teenagers with a talking dog.

    As far as Japan being crowded I kind of thought the same thing before my first trip. It sure can get massively crowded at times. I really enjoyed a morning walk. It was so peaceful in the mornings.

    -Jay

  12. Thanks for the pointer to the link!

    I was only in Japan two days and we toured from Tokyo, where my sister-in-law lives to Yokohama, where a friend of the family lives.

    You need to show three more things that impressed me.
    1. the public toilets (and how to use them – and how an old american can get back up after squatting – and was I pointed the right way – where’s the front?)
    2. the tiny roads and how you have to get the government’s permission to get a car, after you demonstrate you have room to keep it off-road.
    3. the height of the doorways (6’0″) which almost knocked me out on my nightly trips to the restroom, which seemed to be the size of a closet.
    and maybe show some pictures of the minature garbage trucks, concrete mixers, etc., that look like toys, in comparison to their US equivalents.
    -Bill

  13. That was cool – as good as HelmetCam(TM).

    I thought you were going to hit that other girl on the bike as she came around the corner (me screaming “Watch out”) and then it occurred to me you ride on the other side of the road. Been living in Canada too long…

    I too am impressed by your drool control. I can’t even hold a bus ticket in my mouth without getting the damned thing wet.

    Trev

  14. Wow nice bike riding! I hired a bike when I went to Kyoto last year, man was that fun, oh and dangerous but fun 🙂 a great way to get around Japan’s main citys.

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