Early in the morning, before the sun rose and the heat set in, children gathered at Tsuruma Park. Each met their bicycle for the first time, adjusting saddle heights and learning how to operate them. While some kids were already breaking the ice and chatting, there was still an air of nervousness about them.
The Mountain Bike Journey, held annually by Masanori Nishikawa—or "Ma-kun" as he's known—is a cycling trip designed to foster growth in children. This time, it’s an 18-day long journey taken on by sixth-grade elementary students. I help out in a small way every year, but since it started and ended in Nagoya this time, I was able to assist with sending them off last Saturday.
You can see the route they are taking here. It looks like they’ve already entered Mie Prefecture, moving from Nagoya to Hamamatsu, Irago, and Toba, and are currently heading toward the Owase and Kumano areas. The hot weather continues, so I really hope they take care to avoid heatstroke and that the kids have a safe and incredibly fulfilling trip.
Ma-kun will be posting updates on their progress as close to real-time as possible, so if you happen to be near their route, please give the kids a cheer!
We are really looking forward to seeing their faces when they return!