Japan rides...今のところ

While not being able to have my own bike on the road yet is a bummer, having a motorcycle license sure helps.  I have been able to make 2 rides so far, first was to Kanazawa for Golden week.  We rented a little teeny tiny Suzuki 125 and rode it from Kanazawa to Wajima and back.  Also got to ride it on the beach by 日本海 (nihon kai, Japan sea).  This ride made me realize that once you get past the paper work, Japan has some really nice things to see and actually its very unrestricted once you move out of Tokyo and metropolitan areas.

Second ride was yesterday to Izu Penninsula "伊豆" where we rode the Hakone skyline.  My friend John was nice enough to borrow my his kick ass KTM for the day.  This bike really opened by eyes about what I like in a motorcycle.  This thing has power like no harley ever will (by a long shot)...you flick the throttle and you are gone!  It handles the curves well, it's comfy、tells you what gear its in, shifts tight and clean, brakes are awesome, and has accomodations to take 2 up on a long Journey no issue.  To me it was like the quick revving 4 stroke of  an MX bike multiplied many times.  I guess this is just one more reason to have multiple bikes! 

Of course none of these rides can compare with the magnitude and scale of the next ride I will take....a little jaunt called the Stampede.  Say a pray for the shovels mechanical well being and the safety of all the other maniacs who do this kind of stupid stuff....

Curent Shaken Affairs

So, first of all, why Freeno?  Well when I was in high school I wasinto BMX bikes. Naturally I hung out with some stoner guys from time to time.  These were guys that some were scared off (some tough guys) but for some reason they liked me.  They smoked pot, I did not.  I was good in school, they were not.  At the time on the 'WB' television network there was a show called 'Nick Freeno Licensed Teacher'.  It was a terrible show and was taken off air quicly.  Naturally enough to them, my new name was Freeno.  To this day, ask anyone from high school what my nick name is and they will know.

Why the blog, aren't there enough already?  I am American, my girlfriend is Japanese.  We both speak some of the others language (her far better than I) but sometime we have disagreements caused by language.  Also, she want's to know my 'gaijin' opinion on matters because it's not normal for her to think like me.

Main posts here will be about travel but mainly about my adventures with motorcycles in Japan and the overall love of motorcycles.  When I moved here in September 2010, I thought I'd be on a bike quickly.  Well, through getting a license, buying the bike, fixing the import issues....its been quite a challenge.  All I have left (I think) is to get "high gas" or smog check and finish the actual Shaken.  We'll see how it pans out.  Here is the bike in question and the import document which Maiko san used her awesome negotiation skills to finagle with the Yokohama customs house yesterday.　Now that I have this little piece of paper I am unstoppable!

麻衣子チャン　ほんとにありがとうね！