Photos taken on your cycle.

tampopo · 13-09-2015 2:27pm

Nara, Japan.

Lovely to see such good signage.

Part of a paddy field given over to energy generation.

Distance markers set into the path.

When I was in Kyoto and Nara the hotels offered 2hr bike vouchers. A day of shrine and temple watching ahead, I said "why not give me the four vouchers and I'll take the bike for the day". Which I did. But they are all too small (for a tall me).

This was the keirin track I happened upon. I was heading to or from a shrine in the suburbs and through narrow winding streets. I spotted this stadium roof behind the houses and wondered if there was a J-League football team here. Seemed unlikely for such a small place. Turned out I was right, it was an old keirin track. So I wandered in to the entrance area where there was a girl in a kiosk to the right and two or three security guards sitting around to the left. Having barely any pidgin Japanese, I motioned with my camera to ask if I could go in.

There were a lot of oulfellas sitting around, smoking. A big screen showed an ongoing race at another track.

and the next photo is taken out to the right there...

a row of bookies windows. Felt like an Irish horse racecourse!

It was such a thrill to be in a keirin track that it was only mildly disappointing to see there was no meet today. But still, it was great.

Wonder what it's like to cycle here at night in the dark!

Lots of bike rental places around the place.

On the way back to the Grand Hotel, Nara I saw this.

iwillhtfu · 13-09-2015 4:08pm

Excellent photos Tampopo.

Japan looks like an amazing place to cycle and I can't get over how spotless the place looks.

Is a Keirin track a Japanese version of a banked cycle track?

tampopo · 13-09-2015 5:00pm

Thanks.

It is indeed.

15-09-2015 8:37pm

Making the most of the shrinking evenings.
Three Rock
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SetOverSet · 15-09-2015 8:49pm

A couple of Glenmacnass from during the Mick Byrne, back in May

delynet · 15-09-2015 8:52pm

crosstownk · 15-09-2015 9:44pm

delynet wrote: »

Where's that aircraft graveyard?? The sky, grass & fence look Irish.... (so does the torn bin liner on the barbed wire!).

It also looks like Darth Vader took the photo.

Thargor · 15-09-2015 10:02pm

Fire Brigade use it for aircraft fire training in Dublin Airport.

delynet · 15-09-2015 10:06pm

crosstownk wrote: »

Where's that aircraft graveyard?? The sky, grass & fence look Irish.... (so does the torn bin liner on the barbed wire!).

It also looks like Darth Vader took the photo.

Knock Airport in Mayo

crosstownk · 15-09-2015 10:20pm

Thargor wrote: »

Fire Brigade use it for aircraft fire training in Dublin Airport.

Not the one in the pic above. The one in Dublin is a purple coloured plane.

Thargor · 16-09-2015 10:24am

crosstownk wrote: »

Not the one in the pic above. The one in Dublin is a purple coloured plane.

delynet wrote: »

Knock Airport in Mayo

Ah right thanks, the only time I saw the one at Dublin Airport was on a MTB spin during the big freeze with the brother so that explains the confusion, I was wondering if they'd moved the fence...