It's not fair that it's always SimWorks! (Hmph!)
This is where the spark for this Yamabushi Trail Tour began.
Mountain biking equals JUS, doesn't it!?
"Trail" is spelled T-R-A-I-L but it's read as J-U-S, right!?
Why didn't you invite me!?
WHY!!??
"An Adventure Through Izu" by SimWorks
That took place on Saturday, October 1st—an event later dubbed the "Incident where they didn't invite SimWorker JUS to Yamabushi." (I figure if I keep saying that, they'll have to invite me next time.)
One week later, on Saturday, Culture Club hosted:
"INABU BASE PROJECT 2016 vol.03"
~Two nights of learning about forest utilization and adventure activities through "Mountain Biking"~
A thrilling and super fun talk show by Mr. Matsumoto, the representative of the Yamabushi Trail Tour.
By attending this, the Yasunari Kawabata inside me started saying:
"You should go! You should fall in love with the 'Dancer' (the trail)!"
Ten days later...
We went! Yamabushi Trail Tour!
And with this guy, too!
Do you all know him!?
He was one of the main chefs for breakfast at this year's Gourmet Century, and he really livened up the Ride Alive dinner with the best food and sake at his spot, "Obanzai Engiya"—it’s none other than Mr. Hayashi from the famous Gifu Prefecture Kani City restaurant, "Creative Izakaya Engiya!" (hereafter, Kat-chan)
We drove 4 hours and 30 minutes from Nagoya to Matsuzaki in West Izu, Shizuoka Prefecture. Apparently, it had been raining for a long time the day before, but on the day of the event, it was pure, cloudless sunshine!
Facing the mountains and the sea, Kat-chan and I were instantly buzzing with excitement.
We participated in the Epic Ride course, which is for intermediate to advanced riders within the Yamabushi Trail Tour offerings.
You can choose courses based on your skills and level, such as "Easy Ride" or "Fun Ride," and before the ride, the tour guides provide a thorough explanation of precautions and rules.
Our guide for the day was Heima-san.
Alright, let’s start the ride!
The trails were created by restoring ancient mountain paths that people used for daily life as far back as 1,200 years ago—old carriage roads where trees were cut and pulled by horses, paths that fell out of use in our modern car-centric society. Riding them, I got this strange sensation of being in a museum, or as if I’d wandered right into the pages of a history book.
We stopped at key points along the ride, where we were given explanations about what these paths were used for and how people lived their lives there.
(Kat-chan was listening very seriously.)
This is called a Bato Kannon, a stone monument erected to memorialize horses.
You can really see the relationship people had with horses back then.
"If you see this monument in any mountain, there’s a path nearby," Heima-san said.
I think I’ll try hunting for them, JUS thinks to himself.
From pleasant berm sections to technical courses where one wrong move could mean… well, it was truly an epic ride.
Nice course. Nice volume.
As we cruised along, we found a fallen tree blocking the path.
"Shall we all move it?" said Heima-san.
Whenever you watch mountain bike DVDs, you often see riders building trails in the mountains.
Yes, it’s a mountain biker's dream not just to ride, but to maintain the trails too.
Being able to help out even a little actually makes you feel great as a participant.
"For the next person who rides this."
I reaffirmed how important that mindset is.
(Kat-chan was right at the front moving the tree the moment I got my camera ready)
Who did this, and why, way out here in the mountains?
There are so many places like that here.
You should see them with your own eyes and listen closely to the guide’s explanation.
(It's not like I wasn't listening or anything.)
The collaboration of mountain and sea views that appear from time to time.
Then, the adventure nears its end.
It’s happening again, that feeling.
I don’t want it to end.
I don’t want to go home.
We call this:
"Trail Blues."
The mountain bike I used for this tour was a 650B downhill-oriented chromoly hardtail that I co-designed with my buddy Shin from "Shin Hattori Seisakusho."
Shin drew up the blueprints for the frame I imagined and built it beautifully.
Running the best stage on a bike built with that frame—there’s no more luxurious "shake-down" than that.
I’ll introduce this mountain bike another time.
Regardless, it was the best.
The mountain bike Kat-chan is handling is a
Cielo MTB
He’s got it set up in a dapper single-speed configuration, with a THOMSON dropper post for stress-free climbing and descending.
And he’s rocking Deeper's Wear High-Kick Jeans with a denim jacket made of the same fabric.
The POC Tectal paired with SMITH goggles is a match made in heaven.
This trail style is way too cool!
Seeing the look on the other riders' faces when we arrived at the meeting point—like, "Huh? A denim jacket?? Who are these guys..."—felt pretty good.
Ahhh… it’s over…
The sad parting with the "Dancer" (the trail) has arrived.
The Yasunari Kawabata inside me says:
"You're lucky! You can see her again!"
That’s right, there’s no off-season here. You can enjoy the best trail rides all year round.
Mr. Matsumoto and Heima-san of the Yamabushi Trail Tour! Thank you so much!
Next time, we’re coming for an overnight stay!
Kat-chan drove us almost the entire 4.5 hours back home while we watched the beautiful Izu sunset.
Engiya-san, thanks for tagging along.
Why don't you all fall in love with the "Dancer of Izu" too, where there are no sad goodbyes?
Just kidding.