It’s been a little while, but my recent trip to Tokyo for OFF THE GRID was my first visit to the city in quite some time.
Since I had meetings with Matt from BEDROCK SANDALS and planned to visit some shops after the event, I gave myself a bit of flexibility in my return schedule to Nagoya. I decided it was a great opportunity to reach out to a couple of guys I’d been wanting to ride with for a while.
The ones who showed up at the meeting point were Tani-fan and Ichishu-kun from the BLUE LUG Kamiuma shop. Despite it being a super busy time in the spring, they made the time to meet up on their precious day off.
I’d seen how much Tani-fan has been enjoying trail riding on his days off recently, so I decided that if I was going to go, I might as well be prepared. Under the guise of displaying the SKLAR / PBJ at OFF THE GRID, I had packed my own bike too, so I was ready for the trails (lol).
So, we headed straight to a trail they recommended for a session ride.
With the pleasant spring weather and a comfortable breeze filtering through the trees, it turned out to be the perfect day for a ride.
It was a whirlwind Tokyo business trip with lots of input and output (which I got some great takeaways from), so to reset my brain, I just focused on pedaling. Despite the fatigue from the trip, there’s something refreshing about using my whole body to harmonize with the mountains.
It wasn’t about climbing fast or descending fast—it was about chatting about this and that, and taking plenty of breaks whenever we felt tired. By the way, my go-to snack for mountain cycling is usually Kabaya’s Tough Gummy.
I don’t want to make going into the mountains feel like something special; I like the image of just heading into the hills for fun as an extension of daily life. That’s our way of enjoying it.
I feel that’s exactly what Tani-fan means by “mountain biking” (written in Japanese hiragana), so with respect, I’ve used the same blog title (Sorry, Tani-fan lol).
In that sense, the SKLAR / PBJ I’ve been riding since the end of last year fits that “mountain biking” mood perfectly. (I’m very happy to have already received so many inquiries, even though the frames haven't arrived yet. It’s a frame I’m very much looking forward to.)
By the way, Ichishu-kun was the only one who showed up with drop bars and 700x45c tires. (A tough guy who showed up on a BLACK MOUNTAIN CYCLES / Mod Zero with drop bars, despite Tani-fan’s advice the day before lol).
It’s amazing to be young (lol).
It reminds me of when I was working hard at CX races and used to do reckless rides with drop bars and 40c tires. Of course, some bikes are more suited to it than others, but it’s all about having fun in your own way.
With that, I also got to photograph their withBICYCLE setups.
Once again, thanks to both of you for making time despite your busy schedules!
It was a nice ride! I’ll let you know when my next Tokyo business trip is scheduled (lol)✊