Special Thanks / Photo By Kenji Muto a.k.a @muto_photo
Special Thanks / Photo By Ryota Kenmochi a.k.a @ryota_kemmochi
Special Thanks / Photo By Toyoshige Ikeyama a.k.a @4ge0404
Hi everyone, it’s Uno-chan!
I recently visited the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse in Kanagawa Prefecture to participate in and exhibit at a huge event called "JCMC 2022 Yokohama" (Japan Cycle Messenger Championship)!
Visiting Yokohama after all this time brought up a lot of thoughts for me, but personally, I realized that "the food in Yokohama Chinatown is just so good!" (lol). Putting that aside, I hope you’ll enjoy reading about this racing event focused on messengers, and I’ve put this article together with the hope of gaining even one more fan for messengers, so please stay with me until the end!
Just do me one favor: don't accidentally walk right past the Red Brick Warehouse and end up in the culinary paradise of Yokohama Chinatown. (lol)
Exhibiting Brings New Insights
We set up an exhibition booth at a major event for the first time in a while.
I’m grateful that Circles, SimWorks, and Culture Club were each able to bring what they wanted to highlight and introduce it to everyone who attended.
On the day of the event, many people visited, and while we communicated with those involved in the bicycle industry from all over the country, we maintained our own unique style as exhibitors, and I believe those who came by really enjoyed it.
I noticed there were still many people who didn't know about Circles. It was a fresh experience, and at the same time, it was a place that motivated me to get out there and promote ourselves even more.
There are plans for "JCMC" to be held continuously, and our goal is to continue building close relationships with all kinds of people, regardless of whether they are in the bicycle industry. Any type of bike is welcome—kids' bikes, mamachari (city bikes), or sports bikes. I hope everyone will come and fill the bike cloak with a diverse range of bicycles!
Delivery & Cargo Bike Race!!
The job of a messenger is a test of physical strength, but it also requires the brains to figure out how to complete deliveries without wasting any time. In these races, the participants had to clear various tasks, competing to see who could handle pick-ups and deliveries at each checkpoint most reliably and quickly. Please take a look at these passionate messengers in action!
The biggest name to watch was Kohei Miyamoto (messenger name: Chikappa). He’s the guy who took 1st place in the world at this year's "CMWC" (Cycle Messenger World Championship)!
So, did anyone with enough "power-brain" appear to overtake Chikappa?! Check out the whole story!
It looks like he’s doing some serious deliveries, as if to say, "First things first, it's gotta be a cargo bike!"
Akira Saruwatari (known as Saru-san) from “DAISY MESSENGER” in Shin-Sakae, Nagoya, is full of delivery spirit (and yes, he’s serious). I wonder if he’ll leave his mark here in Yokohama.
Saru-san, ignore the sea breeze of Yokohama and knock out some great deliveries!
To all the other riders, the road surface at the Red Brick Warehouse is slippery, so please be careful and stay tough while making your deliveries!
Cargo bikes are a world apart from your average bicycle. As you can see, they can transport large items, and as the name implies, they are specialized for "cargo" with a load capacity that rivals a small trailer. Some of you might not see them much in Japan, but they are bikes that perform to their maximum potential in all kinds of situations, for example, those equipped with seats for carrying children or those with electric assist functions.
Next, let's watch the delivery race!!
There are many participants in the delivery race, which is a blast for us spectators to watch, and since there are so many rivals among the riders, when eyes lock, things get intense. (lol)
Besides the racing itself, another interesting aspect is checking out the fashion styles and the worn-out messenger bags of the messengers who gather from all over the country—seeing the personality in each one of them might be one of the highlights!
And as I mentioned earlier, the world champion’s performance is something everyone is curious about! But in a 3-hour endurance race, you never know what will happen until the end, so I want you to watch the messengers all the way to the finish line.
They just keep going non-stop, combining their physical strength and their minds to complete their manifest by cycling around to every checkpoint! Each rider has their own delivery strategy: "Where should I pick up the package?" "That point is swarming with other riders, the queue for pick-up will be crazy," and so on.
Unlike daily deliveries, maybe the key is how much you can stay calm under the pressure of a time limit??
Watching them race, seeing how each rider thinks while they ride, it all looks so brilliant and beautiful.
There’s only a little time left! Let's see some beyond-the-limit deliveries!! Keep it fast and safe!
YOKOHAMA CRIT!!
On the day of the event, I said to Kodama-san, "I'm already nervous. But I think it’s going to be fun." He replied, "Man, it’s gonna be wild today. Yeah, let’s go and enjoy it." Just a word or two was enough to set the stage for the final act of the race.
For the YOKOHAMA CRIT, the lights came on at 6:00 PM for a night race!
Whether men or women, everyone was a rival—take a look at how they all gave it their all and had a blast taking on the race!!
The course was about 550m per lap and felt quite technical. The corner waiting for us at the home stretch caused one rider after another to slip, and even I had a hard time and struggled on this mischievous course. (sweat)
But if I blamed the course, I wouldn’t be able to call myself a “sfiDARE CRIT” rider, so I was determined to give it my all and show what I've got!
After passing the home stretch, there was a long straight, and I guess that’s where you see the power struggles.
It was also a place where you could see the rankings shift.
But the biggest source of energy is the cheers from the audience!! As the laps went on, it got tougher and the power in my legs started to fade, but hearing the cowbells ring and people calling my name at the top of their lungs motivated me more than anything else.
Surprisingly, we riders can hear the cheering loud and clear—thanks for the Uno-chan calls too!
Sorry, I realized I’m turning this into a "Best of YOKOHAMA CRIT" collection. (lol)
But since it’s fixed-gear, you can’t stop pedaling, so I’m going to go ahead and share even more highlights!! By the way, these three are incredibly fast riders, so please forgive me if your eyes can’t quite keep up with them. (lol) I’ll introduce them in order from the left.
First, Eiya Hashimoto, looking aggressive in his Bridgestone jersey. Eiya-san is an Olympian, and since he was participating in the open category, his speed was truly overwhelming.
Next is Yuwa Sadasue (known as Chan-Sada), who I’m sure everyone in the sfiDARE CRIT world knows. Despite his small stature, he has endless speed and highly technical cornering—will anyone ever be able to keep up with him?!
Finally, Toshifumi Kodama, known as Tosshi. He’s still a fully active Keirin racer. As the representative of sfiDARE CRIT JAPAN, what kind of turnaround will Tosshi show us here in Yokohama!
Toward a Happy Finale
We were able to fully enjoy this bicycle festival in Yokohama.
I am truly grateful that JCMC 2022 Yokohama was held, and my heart is full of thanks.
The pandemic, which turned the whole world upside down, is still a reality, and I feel anxious about what the future holds.
However, being able to have a festival like this was very meaningful and was a time when I could feel a bright future.
As I live my life aiming for development and growth in the bicycle industry, I felt it was a big day that reminded me not to forget the effort to increase the things I can do, even just one or two more, and to believe in "pedal power" so that I can become someone who is useful to others in the process, gathering both joy and sadness along the way.
As I wrote earlier, JCMC 2022 Yokohama is a precursor to next year’s CMWC and will continue to be held as a festival.
I am happy that we have created a special place for ourselves, and I hope to help it grow into something much larger.
To do that, we need everyone’s "bike power," so let’s help each other with our dear friends and live our lives close to bicycles, holding hands and pedaling forward on any road.
Well then, I look forward to seeing everyone again in Yokohama, full of energy!
It was Uno-chan!
