I love the tunnel art, especially in the Sapporo cycle path tunnel; so much superior to the brutalist Stakhanovite "art" in the Moscow underground train stations, which is of the same scale.

Who knows, the other decorated tunnel with the small square panels in Ron's set may be equally good or better, but their small individual scale is not conducive to judging on a photograph. You'd probably want to be in that particular tunnel for a few hours to take it all in.

A great pleasure touring vicariously with you, Ron.

Thanks for that Ian. Near the end of the video there is an old coal fired steam locomotive in front of what looks to me to be the cooling tower for a nuclear power plant. Would they have existed at the same time?

And that list of songs brought me back to my childhood. There was an American folk trio in the early 1960s called the Limeliters. I was but a pup then, but they were popular with my older siblings. One of the songs I remember was a rendition of Madeira, M’Dear.

Since we’re on the subject of abandoned rail lines, the pictures for today are from my last day on the road, along the Shiroishi cycling road, created from a rail line decommissioned in 1973, near Sapporo.  (I’ll jump back in time with more photos later) It’s a 20 km cycle and pedestrian path between the suburb of Kitahiroshima and the heart of Sapporo. One of the great things about it is that, despite going being in a city of nearly two million people, there are almost no road crossing. It goes over or under every major road, and I think I had only three stop signs, crossing minor streets. It's apparently very well used on the weekends and before and after school, but, on the drizzly midweek morning that I rode it I was almost by myself. It was cycling bliss.

Just an FYI, if you load photos onto this site they have to be smaller than a half meg in size.  I usually post photos that are reduced down to 922 X 691 pixels, that is well under the size limit.  Limit of four photos per post.

Thanks for sharing the update, Dan.
That is good news. I hope Matt’s progress proves unstoppable and the siren calls of his Raven will prove too much to ignore.
Similarly best  wishes to all fellow forumites who also face their own challenges with similar fortitude and optimism.

Hey All!

I am pleased to offer a heartening update from Matt on his condition after surgery for espohageal cancer. At his request and with his permission...

• He's been home from hospital a couple weeks and is receiving ongoing assistance from a dietician. He is progressing toward a fully normal diet and hopes to regain weight soon.

• He's awaiting biopsy results from surgery and will have a better idea of things after discussion with his doctor.

• He's walking and exercising daily within limits and is looking forward to improving core strength and being aboard his RavenTour once again.

So, yay for all that!

Best, Dan.