"See you in Hokkaido this August!"
This was a conversation I had with Hanada-san, affectionately known as "Kiri-chan." She registered for the GIRLS RIDEALIVE in Hokkaido held this summer from Kyoto, and had even ridden all the way from Kyoto to our shop, Circles, in Nagoya just to hang out with us.
It was a farewell greeting exchanged as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I truly believed we would meet again, as a matter of course, in the Hokkaido summer.
But... in late August, as the event dates approached, two typhoons hit the Japanese archipelago.
As a result, Kiri-chan was unable to cross the sea from Kyoto and couldn't participate in RideAlive—a truly frustrating turn of events.
"We absolutely have to go and see Kiri-chan!"
Before the RideAlive, which ended up being a huge success thanks to Hokkaido's grand nature and the warmth of the people, had even finished, us staff members had already set our hearts on that.
Two months later—four months after first meeting Kiri-chan—we were pedaling our bikes on the 100+ kilometer journey to Kyoto.
For me, it was a day of challenge and my longest long-distance ride yet.
The Kyoto RIDE members were Miu-Miu, Aya-chan, Eri-chin, our customer Kyon-chan—who recently started riding an All-City just like me—and myself, making five of us total!
We headed to Sekigahara in Gifu Prefecture by train (rinko), and started with some breakfast. Miu-Miu turned the rice, which Nami-san from Sam's Bike (who served as an ambassador for the Hokkaido RideAlive) had sent as a cheering gift, into onigiri for us!
After fueling up with rice balls made with lots of love, we departed Sekigahara at 9:00 AM. With Aya-chan—our reliable Circles mechanic who is also a very active racer—leading the way, we pushed through Gifu and Shiga, riding steadily toward Kyoto where Kiri-chan was waiting for us.
Of course, for a long ride like this, my Energy Cake was our go-to snack!
Born from the Girls RideAlive, I'm glad this snack provided delicious energy for us this time too!
I just love the smiles of everyone eating it!!
8:00 PM. Eleven hours after starting, we finally arrived in Kyoto!
I’ve been to Kyoto many times for various reasons, but I never imagined a day would come where I’d ride a bike here.
Perhaps when you have people you want to see and who are waiting for you, you can summon tremendous power without even realizing it.
That’s what I felt.
And then, we were reunited with Kiri-chan for the first time in four months.
She hugged us and said, "You made it," and I was simply overcome with emotion.
We toasted to the end of our monumental 100km+ ride at Kiri-chan’s home, where she had prepared plenty of delicious food and welcoming drinks to host us.
To all the members who participated in Girls RideAlive!
I made sure to deliver everything to our 20th companion: the same sacoche as everyone else, the SPROUT & Sam’s Bike drip coffee bags, the candy pouches handmade by Kumi-chan, and the energy snacks from Meg-san and me—plus all the stories from the RideAlive!
Kiri-chan was so happy, and she showed us a lovely, gentle smile.
Next time, let's all ride together!
On the second day, we went for a Kyoto ride led by Kiri-chan.
It was a long-cherished wish fulfilled—a time so full of joy to finally "ride with Kiri-chan."
She guided us from the city, through Arashiyama, and into the Takao area. It was a route you wouldn't easily find on your own—the kind of ride only possible when you ride with a local.
The mountains of Kyoto at that time were beginning to take on autumn colors, with maple and ginkgo leaves starting to turn red and yellow. We spent plenty of time riding through those mountains, breathing in the refreshing air. Kiri-chan was already wearing the matching sacoche we had given her the night before. (She had even eaten my Energy Cake before we set off!)
Watching it sway on her back, I was reminded of those two months ago in Hokkaido, which passed by like a dream.
Joining our second-day Kyoto ride were Hanada-san's husband, and Sai-san, the owner of the Kyoto bike shop Humhumhug, along with one of his customers! Humhumhug is a SimWorks dealer, and they actually visited our pop-up event at SimWorks in September. So, in fact, I was able to have a wonderful, early reunion not just with Kiri-chan, but with Sai-san and his crew as well.
We also stopped by their shop, where we all picked up some super cute reflector keychains to match. Their original goods were so cool, too.
In Kyoto, the mountains and the city are so close. Even though we had been riding through a rural landscape with crisp air and flowing spring water, we found ourselves back in the middle of the city in just a few dozen minutes. And of course, we made sure to eat plenty of delicious food!
Deep-fried tofu, fu-manju, and a handmade hamburger steak at a mountain lodge made by someone's father.
For me, a "delicious ride" is essential!
The time spent with Kiri-chan and the others flew by, but we said our goodbyes with smiles, saying, "I'm looking forward to the next time we can ride together."
By taking on the challenge of GIRLS RIDEALIVE in Hokkaido, I was given the catalyst for my next longest-ever ride: "riding all the way to Kyoto." Through both Hokkaido and Kyoto, I’ve experienced countless encounters and connections, and I feel truly blessed by such wonderful, serendipitous developments. These two days have drawn me even closer to the charm of cycling—the idea that with just a bicycle, you can go anywhere in Japan to hang out with anyone.
Kyoto and Nagoya, Hokkaido and Nagoya—they feel far, yet so incredibly close.
RideAlive is such a wonderful kind of event where, thanks to bicycles, such interesting and transformative experiences just fall into place.
I wonder where, with whom, and what kind of people and things I’ll encounter next time.
-Today’s Rider-
| Rider | KIRIKO HANADA | |
| Frame | Salsa Cycles | Vaya |
| Helmet | Giro | Aspect |
| Sacoche | Welldone | Girl’s RideAlive Special |