The damp rainy season hasn't ended yet, but last Thursday, just after the typhoon passed, I got a little taste of summer vacation.
Our synonym for summer vacation at Circles, RIDEALIVE, has broken out of Aichi Prefecture this year and begun searching for new ways to play by bringing on local recreation pros as ambassadors.
Leading the charge was RIDEALIVE Mie "Bike to Hike, and Bike.", held in April. The planning was a tag-team effort between Kyohei-san from ADAPT and Shige-san, who is currently in Portland as a SimWorks USA correspondent. It was incredibly exciting, with everyone working together to tow a child trailer and even having participants from overseas.
And the stage for RIDEALIVE Vol. 2 "Summer Vacation by the Water," coming up next weekend, is Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. We've welcomed Yuichiro Yamamoto-san of the Hamamatsu bicycle shop Green Cog as our ambassador, and he's planned a summer vacation that even first-timers to long rides and camping can enjoy.
If I show you too much of this scouting trip, it will spoil the fun for the actual event and take away the excitement when you follow the route yourself later, so I'll just give you a digest version.
After work on Wednesday, we took our bikes on the train to Murakushi Beach in the heart of Lake Hamana. The sound of the waves echoing in the tent helped us sleep like logs.
Our morning started with Green Cog's famous Hot Sandwich Club. Yamamoto-san says, "I've tried all sorts of ingredients, but nikujaga is the best!" On the day of the event, participants will be bringing their own ingredients, so maybe we'll discover some new and delicious hot sandwiches?
Guided by Yamamoto-san, we rode along the lake shore while it was still cool. Since there was very little traffic, it was perfect for a morning ride.
Lake Hamana was so clear that we could even spot fish while riding. Happy-san, who loves surfing and fishing, was also super excited.
Moving a little away from the lake, we encountered a tunnel of bamboo groves. It looks like there will be plenty of fun to be had away from the shore, too.
Miu-Miu from PFM, who joined us at the last minute since she won't be able to make it to the event, looked just as happy.
RIDEALIVE Vol. 2 "Summer Vacation by the Water" has so much in store: a "Hama-ichi" loop around the lake with Yamamoto-san to enjoy local Hamamatsu, water activities like SUP and surfing with Happy-san to enjoy the summer, and a "Challenge Summer" where I'll be riding some mountains and mountain passes... so there's actually even more to it than that.
You can check out our preparations and those of the other participants at #ridealive2017.