Hello, Nabetaku here, continuing on!
Last Saturday, we held the "Bike to Mori, Michi, Ichiba" event led by Circles, along with our Cycle Cloak service.
I was in charge of the Cycle Cloak, so I didn't join the ride; instead, my role was to go ahead and wait for the riders to arrive.
Cycle Cloak is a bike parking service where we look after your bicycle for 100 yen a day.
We usually set up shop at cycling-related events, but this time it was at a music festival.
We did a lot of promotion, but honestly, I was worried about whether people would actually come.
However, including the participants of Bike to Mori, Michi, Ichiba, we ended up watching over more than 100 bikes, making it a huge success that exceeded our expectations.
When I asked people where they came from, some told me they took their bikes on the train to Gamagori Station and rode to the venue, while others drove partway, parked at a nearby station, and rode the rest of the way. And, of course, plenty of locals stopped by too.
What made me even happier were the comments from the festival-goers.
"I didn't know you could come by bike," "This bike is so cool!"
"It looks fun to come as a group," "Where is your shop located?"
"Do you sell bikes here?"
We heard all kinds of things. When someone told me, "I came by bike because of the Cycle Cloak!", I felt like my eyes were about to well up with tears.
Really, thank you so much!
I’ve always loved festivals and wanted to share that excitement—it was my dream to become an official photographer for Rock in Japan. Even if the means are different, I’m truly happy that I could be involved in the operations to share the fun of festivals through cycling.
It might be greedy of me, but I hope that the fun of cycling resonated at least a little bit with everyone who came to the festival.
I’ve picked out a few of the bikes that came to Mori, Michi to introduce to you here.
An ALL-CITY NATUREBOY, custom-painted silver with a spherical finish and fully equipped for camping.
It’s carrying so much, yet the fact that it’s a single-speed is just incredibly cool.
The rider participated in Bike to Mori, Michi, Ichiba and rode the full 70+ km.
This is a SURLY PUGSLEY, also ridden by a participant of Bike to Mori, Michi, Ichiba.
They were carrying quite a lot of gear, but the bike fully utilized the stability that is the hallmark of a fat bike.
If you compare it to a car, it’s like a Toyota Mega Cruiser.
It’s not a bike that’s built for high speed, but once it’s stable, it’s a comfortable ride.
The high air volume also makes for a smooth ride.
Ride leader HAPPY’s SURLY Karate Monkey. It’s his sidekick, possessing a ruggedness and toughness like an SUV used as a tool abroad. His personal touches include the 29er tan-wall MAXXIS ARDENT tires and yellow pedals.
There was even someone who arrived on a classy EDDY MERCKX. Apparently, they carried all their camping gear on their back (!) to get here.
There are many more bikes I’d like to introduce, but I’ll stop here.
Every one of them was unique and cool.
"When you go by bike, a simple journey turns into a great adventure!?"
I love this phrase.
Cycle Cloak hopes to continue helping with your great adventures at various events.
We’ll let you know about upcoming ones, so when the time comes, why not try attending an event by bike?
We’ll make sure to keep your bicycle safe!