It’s now mid-July and I have been training through a left-leg nerve issue. My chiropractor/therapist suggests I keep training up to a point where the nerve behind my knee starts being symptomatic. Luckily I’ve been able to do 0.3 mile swims and 15 mile bike rides recently in Laconia NH and Somerville MA, respectively. But the next couple weeks of training are crucial.

I’ve always been an endurance athlete to some degree. Soccer is definitely a stamina sport in which there are very few stops over a 45 minute period. I’ve raced in the longer distance track events as well. And with the memory of my grandfather, who was a champion bicyclist, I may even have genes on my side! (I hope…)

New to triathlons? Here’s a video of the Kona Ironman 2014:

Below this line is where I’ll record my lesson’s learned about the Triathlon. Of course, after my first race I may find that I hate it (or love it). We’ll see how it goes!

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Beijing airport, busiest in Asia!

For the second year in a row, Beijing Capital International Airport ranked number two in the list of the world’s busiest airports, handling 83.7 million passengers last year and securing its position as the airport with the highest level of flight activity in Asia. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport remains on top with 94.4 million travellers due to it being a major port for domestic flights and a popular connection to destinations in Europe and South America.

Beijing Capital International Airport charges ahead of Tokyo-Haneda (68.9 million) and London Heathrow (72.3 million), UK’s busiest airport and third busiest in Europe overall. Europe’s busy airports list also consists of London’s Gatwick Airport as it continues to expand in various areas from parking options to possibly building a second runway in the near future.

Although the double-digit growth in passenger traffic from previous years indicated that Beijing could close the gap on Atlanta, analysts were surprised to find out that Beijing only saw a 2.9 percent increase in 2014.

Unfortunately, the title doesn’t result in anything really positive for Beijing considering that their airport has been deemed inefficient in terms of time-efficiency. In 2013, BCIA was named the world’s most delayed airport and up until today still maintains that reputation along with other airports across the mainland. In findings compiled by an American-based firm that studies air travel around the globe, it was discovered Chinese airlines and airports were the worst in time inconsistencies, with all the airports in question having less than 40 percent of their flights leaving on time. A big part of these delays is due to flights being centralised to the capital as well as the major cities like Hangzhou, Shanghai and Guangzhou, leading to long queues at check-in counters and immigrations.

The Beijinger suggests that you might want to take the train if you’re travelling domestically to avoid huge crowds, crazy lines, and any airport anxiety. If you’re travelling internationally, make sure you leave for the airport early but don’t expect to board on time.

Mt. Aso from Aso City

After a nice relaxing visit at the Omata’s we had one last big stop on our list – hike an active volcano. Mt. Aso, or Aso San, is known for being a temperamental hot spot that has been smoking for years. At its peak, Nakadake crater, there are about 8 inner craters and a small lake of boiling hot, blue water. The crater is off limits but there are zones outside the most toxic spot with a cable car taking visitors to its edge. Unluckily for us, Nakadake was misbehaving as recently as March, causing the closest safe zone (1 KM around the crater) to be closed off. That, combined with super foggy conditions, made our visit to Aso a somewhat disappointing one.

But before leaving the town of Aso however, we got a chance to ride a classical scenic train that wraps around the southern valley of the mountain. Between the quaint towns of Tateno and Takamori, this hour-long “tour” gave us a glimpse at the communities that live so close to this active volcano.

After Aso, Jake and I were starting to feel a little beat, so we booked a room at a much more comfortable hotel than we had been staying in over the last 2 weeks. We took one last Shinkansen train from Kumamoto to Fukuoka the day before leaving Japan. And if we knew how awesome Fukuoka would be we probably would have scheduled more time there!

Fukuoka is the fifth largest city in Japan population-wise, with a unique blend of Japanese and foreign cultures. The city is known for its warmer weather, fantastic ramen, and beautiful women. But what I noticed most about this city was the Korean and broader European influences on their local cuisine. There was more variety and spice in the dishes than anywhere else in Japan. (It did surprise me how much I started to miss Korean and Chinese food…)

While winding down the trip in Fukuoka, Jake and I made sure to get one last important food tasted: Japanese beef. Although Kobe beef is the most famous internationally, Japan has many regions that produce amazing cuts of meat. After getting wicked over-charged at one executive restaurant (they charged $15-40 per 100g and we had to cook it!) we finally found a smaller local establishment run by a hip chef near the clubbing district. We ordered 4 plates of Japanese beef and he cooked them up so perfectly, I don’t think I’ll ever taste beef like that again. ($12 per 100g, cooked, totally worth it.) Along with the beef we ordered a local sake the traditional way – poured in a shot glass in a wooden box, filled to the brim.

And that was how we ended our trip in Japan – food, drinks, and sleep! We had an amazing trip and will definitely have another adventure somewhere else together soon. And as with all of my experiences in Asia I’ll never live life quite the same as before.

Me at the Sea Hell

The Omatas welcomed us into their home as guests and showed us the most amazing hospitality. Having known Jun and Rika for years in China, and also tutored their kids, I had always promised I would visit their neck of the woods in South-Western Japan. Since this was an opportunity to do that I made sure that our itinerary included a visit to Oita and Beppu, the hot springs capital of Japan.

Across Beppu you’ll find white plumes of steam rising from cracks in the Earth. On our only full day together, Jun and Rika brought us to various jigoku or “hells” in Japanese. These hells were far too hot to swim in but we’re beautiful occurrences in nature. The sea hell was blue and the bloody hell was red. Other hells were different colors, including a white one.

After visiting the hells and having lunch, we went to a hot spring with the whole family. These hot springs, or onsen in Japanese, are heated naturally and provide endless amounts of hot bath water. Similar to the island hot spring, our muscles thanked us for this much needed relaxation.

The Omata’s generosity knew few limits because after onsen we were treated to a very authentic sushi dinner with the family. Not only did we pig out on sushi but we ate a variety of other sushi-like dishes: Pork slices on rice, egg omelet rolls, fish eggs in seaweed, and even straight up sashimi.

Our stay at the omata’s will never be forgotten, especially the kind reception shown to us by Rika’s parents who lived next door. They welcomed us with open arms, praised my teaching of their grandkids while in China and sent us off with parting gifts. The only thing that might have topped their kindness would be Rikas breakfasts! Both mornings at their home we were surprised by omelets, toast, fruit, sausages, juice, and coffee! After a week of backpacker breakfasts this was a much needed (and appreciated) change.

We thank the Omata’s for being awesome hosts and welcome them to Boston and New Mexico when they visit the US!

Shimanami Kaido Bike Path

72 kilometers by bike, in 10 hours. This was the middle point of our journey through Japan. Actually, Jake and I had planned on more hiking and biking than we actually did, but this ride was almost more than we had bargained for!

The bike path starts in Hiroshima prefecture, spanning 6 tiny islands and massive suspension bridges, ending in Imabari city on the island of Shikoku. In order to do it all, we rented 2 bikes for 2 days and stayed at a hot spring beach hostel. Covered by orange and lemon groves, Innoshima was probably the most remote of our entire trip. And we sampled the oranges too as we rode through the little towns nestled in these islands. (See a pic below for the entire route.)

With heavy packs on our backs, we still managed to locate the hostel on day one and get a well-deserved hot spring bath to soothe our aching muscles. I honestly don’t know if we could have finished cycling the other 3 islands the next day if we didn’t have that chance for some deep relaxation.

The next morning we had a very ambitious itinerary. Finish biking the rest of the path (5 hours), hop on a train at noon to Yawatahama port (3 hours), and then take a ferry to Beppu (3 hours). Luckily my good friends, the Omata family, were at Beppu ferry terminal waiting for us. We made it there around 8pm, after starting our bike ride at 7:30am. Exhausted, and ready to die, my dear friends picked us up and brought us to their home in the mountains of Oita.