Finally managed to get bagels working!

Extending my reach from Nisshin with a second two-day tour, this time to Kyoto. The first night was a repeat visit to Takatoriyama campground in Taga County, Shiga Prefecture, followed by a hotel stay in Otsu City, setting up a short push on the third day to make a luncheon appointment with an old friend in Kyoto before riding Shinkansen back to Nagoya.

My first solo two-overnight ride from the house. Travelling on the coldest days of the season was a good shakedown for winter equipment and clothing. I packed the wherewithal to have the option of bagging the bike and returning by train, and I used it, for reasons explained herein.

For years I was fascinated by Swedish pastries containing cardamom. When a year-abroad student joined my seminar one year, I finally gave the recipe below a try. While this passed muster as very like the real stuff, it’s quite sweet and not part of my regular rotation.

After months of waffling (according to friends observing my social media posts), on Christmas Eve 2024 I rode to Sakushima, an island in Nagoya Bay. It was a wonderful trip in more ways than one, and I look forward to visiting the island again.

Another exploratory day-trip excursion to a possible route into Kani, linking to the northern route to Gero hot springs. At about 100 kilometers for the round trip it’s a long one, but this one avoids the punishing climbs normally involved in getting out of the city.

2-4 December 2024: A town so nice I went there twice. A second journey to Gero hot springs, this time with no stopover on the way up. A full day of rest before the return offered a chance to explore the town just a little, and failure of my camping stove added to the adventure.

15 October 2024: The town of Kani is the constant waypoint for rides to Gero Onsen from Nagoya. After the western route past Kasugai Country Club proved to include something close to a mountain hiking trail, and the eastern route via Seto and Tajimi proved to parallel speedy traffic over a nerve-rattling distance, this jaunt explores a middle route that merges with the Toki River. A fun ride, but without happy news on that front.

A simple recipe Mieko used early in our marriage, as rescued from a note wedged in one of her cookbooks. The bran readily available in Japan is rice bran, which is bland and dry in baked goods, so this version is jazzed up a little with with sultanas and brandy.