Although rain was in the forecast yesterday, the weather cleared up, so the owner of Early Birds and I headed to the mountains for a ride.
The reason I’ve been hitting the mountains so often lately is to build up the mountain fitness needed for OMM BIKE, which takes place in July.
OMM BIKE is a cycling orienteering event held in Hakuba, where teams of 2 to 5 people use their comprehensive mountain skills—not just cycling technique, but also navigation, route choice, and more—to enjoy the vast, diverse natural landscape of trails, dirt, and asphalt.
For this two-day event, camping at night is one of the highlights.
OMM BIKE allows for campfires and BBQs at the campsite, and family and friends can camp there even if they aren't competing. Some of our staff are already plotting their participation. And, registration starts tonight at 10:00 PM!
If you’re interested or just wondering what OMM is, please feel free to ask our staff.
Now, let’s get back to our trip to the mountains yesterday.
We carefully made our way up to the summit, taking care not to get stuck in the dirt made muddy by the previous night's rain. We took a break at the top with a cup of coffee and the snacks we brought along. The air was crisp after the rain, and we could see the scenery clearly.
Once we’d fueled up, we would normally head back down the trail, but this day was different—we were both carrying quite a bit of gear in our backpacks. If you're wondering what was inside...
That's right. We both brought running shoes. We parked our bikes at the summit, swapped our shoes, and ran a different route than the one we took up. Of course, you can hike if you get tired. It’s a completely different way to see the landscape compared to biking, and you really feel like you’re immersed in nature.
Once we finished our run, we headed back to where we left the bikes, switched back to our cycling shoes, and rode down the trail.
While riding and running are both plenty of fun on their own, I think there’s something interesting about mixing them together to enjoy the mountains by leveraging the strengths of each. It was a day that made me see the possibilities of Bike To Running.
Also, I was using a Welldone hydration backpack for yesterday's ride.
I managed to fit my hydration pack, stove, windbreaker, and spare shoes inside. It’s a bag that can handle this kind of activity perfectly. Currently, an exhibition of handmade caps and bags by Welldone is being held at MITTS COFFEE STAND.
Dates: April 12 (Tue) – April 29 (Fri)
Location: MITTS COFFEE STAND (1F Nishiki Miwa Bldg., 2-8-15 Nishiki, Naka-ku)
They have an updated version of the hydration bag I was using on display, so please stop by MITTS during your lunch break or on your way home from work. Inochi himself will be there from the evening onwards!