The time passed in an instant.
What remains are many memories, skin that hurts from sunburn, and scars from a fall.
Now that I've recovered from the fatigue of my trip to America, I'm tapping away at my keyboard, hoping to share a little something with you.
First, the Sea Otter Classic / Venue Exploration edition.
The Sea Otter Classic is one of the largest participatory events in the U.S. that heralds the start of the cycling season, famously themed around the sea otter.
It is open to everyone from pros to amateurs, and the content is wide-ranging, starting with Gran Fondos and including cyclocross, road, downhill, and more. With over 70,000 visitors expected, many manufacturers often time their new product announcements to coincide with this event.
Walking around such an event reveals a trend in the cycling world: e-bikes are in great shape.
Almost every mass-production manufacturer is ready and promoting e-bikes.
Starting with our own Kona, there were Pivot, Giant, Focus... and so many others, it was uncountable.
While opinions for and against electric power vary from person to person, this is already a huge wave that cannot be avoided, and the cycling world will be overflowing with electric bikes in the future.
If that's the case, let's identify their effectiveness and turn it into a strength.
When it comes to electric, the overwhelming assist power is everything.
Many people will be able to climb quite steep hills with ease.
This allows people to tackle trails and rides that were physically challenging before, and enables more people to enjoy cycling as a sport.
That is a truly wonderful thing.
However, I think that for the very first step of electric power, it is in cargo bikes that it truly shines.
This one from Kona, and...
And this one crafted by Sycip.
Both of these machines take full advantage of the benefits of electricity while making the most of a bicycle's mobility.
First off, I'd like to try them out.
Now, another thing that caught my eye at the venue is the tire war that has begun.
In addition to established names like Michelin, Schwalbe, and WTB, Pirelli, famous for car tires, has recently started manufacturing bicycle tires, and Goodyear has appeared as a new challenger.
True to form, they've entered the cycling world with large lettering on the black tire sidewalls, and they're highly motivated, with a lineup ranging from off-road to on-road. I don't know when they will arrive in Japan, but I'm looking forward to it.
Sea Otter is famous for many new product announcements, which is exciting, but first, here is something that has finally been revealed!
Surly LowSide
Many of you might have been worried about the 1x1 disappearing, but now you can rest easy.
The reborn LowSide can handle both single-speed and geared setups, and is suspension-compatible as well.
With plenty of room for tire size, it's a quintessential, "try-anything" Surly machine.
And there are plenty of gravel bikes that are exploding in number in the cycling world.
All-City Gorilla Monsoon
Niner Bikes' full-suspension gravel bike.
Kona Libre
A new gravel bike scheduled to go on sale around summer.
With five bottle mounts, it's perfect for gravel rides.
And another is the Breezer Doppler.
This is their travel bike on display. The attached tank is lovely.
The gravel bike trend, which started with bike packing, shows no signs of stopping.
Pushing aside road, cross, and MTB, it has become the go-to bike for everything, and it seems the first bike people choose is starting to be a gravel bike.
Many special bikes are also on display at the venue. First is the collaboration bike between Paul Components and Sierra Nevada by Squid Bikes.
Danny MacAskill's full carbon trials bike.
This is a one-off bike that Santa Cruz built just for him.
SPEEDVAGEN, which was on display at the SRAM booth. With fat 650x47B tires, you don't have to worry about the surface; you just want to head out on roads you've never traveled before. This is the new form of the road bike.
And so on—even if you walk around all day until your legs are like sticks, one thing after another keeps popping up.
When I say things popping up, you might think it's just new products, but since it's a participatory event, you'll suddenly find yourself invited to ride events as well.
As I was walking through the venue pushing my bike,
"Hey, want to go for a trail ride with Hans Rey?"
someone suddenly asked me out of the blue.
Hans Rey.
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That Hans Rey?
For my generation, the former world champion who makes your heart flutter.
He said it was just an hour-long ride, so I thought, "Well, let's see," and while waiting with a mix of anticipation and disbelief, the former world champion appeared.
"No way, it's the real deal."
Even a super-rider who had his own signature models sold is just a regular guy when time passes.
But he is very friendly.
He happily posed for photos.
The trail we rode is located on the mountain behind the venue, and we rode through the short California grasslands.
It was only about an hour-long ride, but the trail was very fun, and it was the perfect ride to blow away my jet lag.
I always think this when I ride trails overseas, but riding trails I don't know is so much fun and fresh, and it gives me a chance to think about many things.
Someday, I want everyone to experience this feeling.
It makes me want to try planning some kind of America tour.
If you're thinking, "I want to go!", please let me know.
Well, I've introduced it all in a rush, but next time will be the Sea Otter Classic race edition.
I hope you'll get a glimpse of me getting all worked up about participating in an overseas race.
See you next time.
Best regards.