long lost update

Haven't been writing, yaada, yaada, yaada... I suck.

Ok, so anyway, let me preface this by thanking Bi and Jeff back in Austin who after much ado, successfully got my old BMX to me last week. This definitely made my day and really, the whole month. After scraping as much of the rust off the frame as I could with a dinner knife I got it together and purchased a cable lock that in the US would be an open invitation to steal the bike, but here is as strong as kryptonite. Theft is not the biggest concern, or, so it would seem.

Bike theft does happen I've been told, really but I don't think that often. Part of this might be there is little reason to knock off a 50 buck shopping bike but I haven't really heard of it happening too much at all. Anyway, that doesn't stop the eagle eyed police, better to be safe than sorry they think, or at least try to relieve some of their boredom.

So tonight, within the last hour, I go to see if Keiko is going to make the last train. She forgot her phone at home this morning and met some friends after work, warning via email before she left the office that she might be late. Well, after she hadn't showed up I thought I would go see if I could meet her for the last train. I waited, sitting on my bike, going around the station between trains, enjoying the wheels that had been absent the last 2 years. The taxis were clearing out as the last train pulled away leaving me with an entire circle to play around on my bike, absent of cars and with few people. Well, she didn't show, she must've missed the train, stay with her friend from work, it's happened before, life in a huge city where the trains go to bed earlier than the people.

I bike around a bit but start to get a little nervous because I've not registered my bike here and I've been told that you need a light, but I'm still unsure if the last part is really a law. But, I'm still enjoying being out on the bike. Fall surprised me last week and I awoke a bit cold and reaching for more covers in the morning. After a couple of days of cloudy weather the skies have been clear and the weather cool and absolutely wonderful. So tonight, I was enjoying just being on my bike and listening to the new Broken Social Scene album. But, being careful I decide to stay off the more pedestrian paths home thinking that there might be a few bike cops overseeing the stumbling latecomers make their way home. I didn't want to get reprimanded for no light.

I go down this little bike path that is usually pretty quiet at night and within a block have one of those 'ain't that a bitch' moments. I'm already going a little fast and as I do, I see 2 cops on the other side of the divided path. I thought one was on a bike but was afraid that the other had a scooter. I pick up speed and turn off, trying to be natural. I mean, it's a BMX and being quick is just how you ride the damn thing, but I guess I have only seen a few in this area. Anyway, I ditch down some different streets, zigzagging a bit between different alleys. I caught a glimpse of a cop on a scooter a couple times a couple blocks over but didn't think he was following me. Eventually I pull out on the main street near my house, the shopping street, just a block or so from my place, headphones still on. And this damn cop on a scooter catches up with me and gets me to pull over. I'm thinking, shit, I didn't do anything wrong (assuming that light thing is not a law), I don't speak enough Japanese to explain much of anything and my girlfriend's AND my phone are at home (I left it there since she's the only one who calls). He tries to ask a couple questions, being polite and not accusatory, manages to communicate that I was going fast through a mixture of hand gestures and a light bulb remembrance of the word fast in English. In between this, he's on the walkie-talkie, I assume wanting to check the serial number on my bike (I hope).

So he's checking out my bike, and then another bike cop shows up, then a another, then across the street a notice a white van with at least 3 or 4 cops inside it. What the f*ck? Even if this was stolen, what are they expecting? Cops do have guns here although I can't help but think in a very residential area like where I live that they would treat them like Deputy Phife and carry a bullet in their pockets. So the big cop comes over, turns my bike upside down to check the serial, radios it in. We wait for a couple minutes and the other friendly bike cop newcomer asks where I'm from. I'm trying to be cooperative even though they had pretty much ruined my evening ride. My earlier thought of having a drink at the bar near my house is dashed, I'm just want to go home... with my bike.

Eventually they get a signal back, apologize and that is it, they let me go. I'm surprised as I take off, quick again (they need to realize this is how I ride a lot of the time and I live here) and make my way home. I mean, I realize the pulled me over more because I was riding fast and probably because it was night but I guess I'm just so conditioned by how we perceive the police in America that even here I feel equal anxiety. It's not really fair for either, most cops in America are fine and just doing their job. I guess they are here, it's just that they have so little of a job to do so much of the time, it takes an entire police unit to back up a foreigner riding fast on a bike.

I'm registering that damn thing this week.