So I decided to buy a bike

Konnichiwa!! This is Josh finally writing something for all you lovely folks to read. Since this little anecdote is all mine, Betsy said I should author the post. Ok, so here goes... I'd been noticing a troubling little problem with the Supra we purchased from some very nice people. The former owner rarely drove it very far, usually staying on base, about a mile or 2 here & there. So I'm guessing he didn't notice what I did, in my adventures around base. Basically, whenever I'd go more than maybe 5 or 6 miles in it, the front right wheel/brakes would start making noises. And they'd be scalding hot. So I finally figured out a good place to take it, Typhoon Motors on Camp Kinser, a Marine base several miles south of our usual haunts. Sure enough, by the time I drove it down to them that wheel was blazing hot. After burning himself, the mechanic that helped me got a brake expert to confirm that the symptoms sounded like locked brake calipers that'd need rebuilding. Ok, so that was cool with me. I just wanted it fixed before I hurt myself in the car! So I left it with them & got to figure out how to make it home. I wandered to the nearest bus stop where 2 young Marines in fatigues were waiting on the Green Line to come by. That is a free bus system that travels around & between the various Marine Bases on the island. Sure enough, only a few minutes later, the bus came by & the driver confirmed that he was headed north to Camp Foster (the direction I was heading). So I loaded up & got that far. I had a few errands I wanted to run there at Foster anyway (bank & post office mainly). So after doing that, I went back to the bus stop & studied the various descriptions of the lines available. Nowhere was one of the larger bases on the island, right in the middle of the rest of them, even so much as aluded to. Kadena is an Air Force base. The Marine buses don't frequent it. Come on, people!! I'm a civilian contractor's spouse. Work with me here!! I don't think they were interested. So I weighed my options: 1) Spend absolutely no money & walk (about 5 miles), 2) spend about $15 & take a cab, or 3) spend $93 for a cheap mountain bike (that I'd already been eyeing) & various accessories. I chose #3 since I'd been wanting a bike anyway & figured it'd come in handy for other things later. I had a plastic shopping bag with the various papers I needed (from my car & from the errands I'd run). I considered spending another $9 for a cheap backpack, but we already own SO MANY cheap backpacks (probably from whim situations just like this one). So I refused. I tucked the bag behind me under my shirt, partly beneath my belt so it couldn't fall out. And off I went in my brown leather slip-on shoes & gray polo-style shirt & dark green cargo pants. Due to heavy traffic & no other bicyclists on the roads I knew, I stuck mostly to sidewalks & parking lots. After leaving Camp Foster (where the streets are wider & less congested than the public streets of Okinawa), the ride started off nice & flat. Sure I was sweating a bit but I was surviving. About halfway, it became an uphill ride. And I started to sweat a lot more. I thought I was never going to arrive at the first gate that would let me on Kadena, but I did, somehow. I finally got home & pulled out my sweaty plastic sack of papers. Only the envelope of the outermost papers actually entertained any of my perspiration, so after it was discarded along with the bag, the rest seemed to have survived in tact & relatively dry. I'd like to say I was then able to vegetate. Unfortunately, I then had to bike to the nearby USO that housed the insurance office where we did our car registrations. They'd told me to come pick them up, so that's what I did. I was pleasantly surprised with some home-made tempura (various veggies & seafood types) that the office staff was unable to consume themselves & were offerring to customers. I scarfed too many of those pieces down before returning to the hotel. Betsy was thrilled to hear that her husband was so adventurous/physically able/completely foolish. She laughed when I told her the story & insisted that I share. What do you think? Did I make the same choice that all of you would have? ;-) - Josh