Ride or Run? Thinking aloud.

I've wanted to achieve a marathon and some brevets in the past few years, and managed just a half-marathon and a few century rides.  Granted I have an infant and a toddler, a job and the like, but it is time to up my game.

There are a few things to lead me to riding over running:

- Riding in Japan is far safer than Canada, so I won’t do brevets in Canada because of it: do them in Japan or never.
- Riding to and from work several times a week I can avoid crowding in with the foetid excuse for manhood that is the salaryman.

- I can take a train or flight cheaply and easily to anywhere I want to ride in Japan.  In Canada that's twice the trouble and cost.  The scenery is a bore around Toronto: we barely have hills, so much as mountains; roads do not follow the best parts of our lakes, and are arrow-straight.

- I can’t meet the running miles for a marathon, the riding miles to train for brevets, the odd weekend hike and keep my marriage and children.

- Meeting running miles was a slog for the half-marathon, will be much worse for the full, and I can only achieve if I eschew the rides and the hikes.

- I've spent far more on riding than on running kit, as one does, but I can still fit in two runs in the week, and maybe even another half-marathon.

- I hated hustling to the gym before work to get a shower after riding in so much I gave up the rides, and I miss them.  I can do the ‘bird bath’ again if I must: the trick being to have trimmed most body hair, as if you wanted to know.

I should join Audax Japan Chiba, and AudaxJapan itself, but I can still do the rides without joining.  It’s an annoying Japan thing that you have to decide to join any clubs or rides a half year ahead, heaven forbid you do anything spontaneous in this country.  Why Chiba?  Besides the Boso Hanto being great cycling territory, I can actually get to the starting points, at the starting times, by public transit from my NE corner of Tokyo 23-ku; whereas those which start on the other side of the city I cannot.  Paying for a hotel is not worth it.  It’s just unfortunate that I won’t be able to do the Hokkaido 1200 this year: they require a 600 in the year previous.