Today the weather has been unstable, with intermittent showers since the morning.
It was cool, though, so I thought I'd have ramen for lunch, but as expected, it was crowded.
I guess we all think alike.
This is the char-siu ramen at Fujimitei, which Jay SyCip of the Chris King Company also loves.
It's delicious, so please be sure to try it when you're in the neighborhood of Circles.
Good evening, this is Nabetaku!
RIDEALIVE 2016 is nearly upon us this weekend.
Are you all finished with your preparations?
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this year's #RIDEALIVE2016 begins at the preparation stage. Let's use the hashtag and build the excitement together!
Also, have you decided on your route to the campsite on the first day yet?
Going together in a group is great, but there's something about the lone wolf type that really stirs the spirit, isn't there?
By the way, as someone who loves to ride, here is my route...
But before that, let me talk about last year.
Actually, I participated in last year's RIDEALIVE as a customer.
Last summer, I was still working as a messenger in Tokyo, and I signed up thinking I'd start camping with RIDEALIVE as my motivation.
Thinking that doing the ordinary was boring and wanting to try something interesting, I—being a fitness fanatic—tried to ride there from Tokyo, but inevitably got a flat and didn't make it in time. That's a good memory now.
Looking back, it was a grueling trip, but it was the most exciting journey I've had in the last few years.
And then a year passed.
Now I live in Nagoya and work at Circles, the company that organizes RIDEALIVE.
It’s no exaggeration to say that last year's RIDEALIVE is the reason I work here. That’s how fun it was. It looks like it will be fun again this year.
However, I never finished that 300km ride with my camping gear loaded up.
That was my only regret, so I'm doing it again this year.
A 320km ultra-long ride from Tokyo to RIDEALIVE!
Starting from Tokyo Station at 10:00 PM, the route follows the Tokaido road, crosses through Hakone along the Hakone Ekiden course, and climbs from Hamamatsu through Shinshiro to the RIDEALIVE venue.
Last time I tried to avoid Hakone by taking Route 246 and failed miserably, so this time I'm hitting the climb up to 800m head-on!
I've deliberately chosen a carbon bike, the GIANT TCR ADVANCED, as it's the lightest and offers the most solid performance.
Of course, it can't take a rack, so everything will be bikepacking gear. I believe that being able to do things like this is the charm of bikepacking.
You can do fast-packing with a bicycle, too!
I'll write a detailed blog post about the equipment after RIDEALIVE is over.
This time, in addition to using various SNS like Instagram, I'll have Garmin's LIVETRACK turned on so you can check my real-time position, so please take a look.
The link will be posted on the Circles Facebook page on the day of the ride.
My goal is 18 hours, and I'll be riding with the target of arriving at the campsite a little after 4:00 PM, so I'd appreciate your support!
Thank you for coming to visit us today despite the poor weather.
We will be closed this weekend on Saturday the 27th and Sunday the 28th.
We hope you understand, but we will be taking some time off to fully enjoy our summer vacation and refresh ourselves!
Tomorrow is our regular day off, so we look forward to seeing you on Friday.