They say that creating something—whether it be a physical object or a person—is an immensely difficult endeavor.
Of course, I believe that store-making, which is representative of our on-site work, is a process of constantly moving forward through a storm of trial and error without losing sight of what needs to be done.
In truth, however, there are things you can only understand after you've lost your way, and it’s also a fact that you often realize later on that losing something can be important, too.
As Morpheus once said, knowing the path and actually walking it are two different things.

Personally, I think people often want to cram too many things into one small container.
I often wonder if that’s actually a good thing, though there are many cases where correctly deciphering the meaning packed inside leads to something beneficial.
And if we base our assumptions on the common logic that it’s easier to find faults than it is to find virtues, perhaps there have been almost no cases in recent years where people have taken what are called "faults," viewed them as virtues, developed them carefully, and let them branch off into the next path.

In my previous post, I talked about the philosophy of Surly, but when asked why I choose Surly, I basically never hear any particularly interesting opinions, special thoughts, or deep reflections. And I think that's fine. Because there is no better answer than actually buying one and using it, and I would say that only those who have experienced using it through to the end truly possess the correct answer. Or, to put it bluntly, I can still believe that our reason for existing remains.

I’ll repeat myself: since our base is a physical store, purchasing is always a part of our daily routine. And if you repeat the act of using—the stage that follows purchase—you naturally find yourself surrounded by products you want to sell. Sometimes these are distinctive items, and other times they are extremely simple and modest. The fact that I can still believe that repeating this process leads to correct store operations makes me quite lucky, perhaps. And I was fortunate to realize quite early on that we have to create the necessary things from scratch in order to do so.

In my youth, simply because I loved the texture of steel bikes, I kept riding a Zunow built at a local bike shop. Without knowing the details of why, I just convinced myself that this was the bike for me. Then, my training began, and through the experience and results of tinkering with every kind of bicycle imaginable, I arrived at the answer I needed for myself at an early stage.

Oh, I realized that I love steel.

There are many reasons for this, but the most accurate answer is that it's easy to build and easy to fix. This is largely because I started with Zunow, learned about some mass-produced steel, and after learning about Surly, I went to NAHBS. Of course, this also has a lot to do with how Circles has arrived at its current situation, but this time I’d like to talk about SimWorks, which is the result of learning about Surly and going to NAHBS.

The catalyst was actually Salsa.
Rick Hunter’s first bike was a Specialized Stumpjumper, but for various reasons, he ended up placing a custom order for a Salsa. As for me, it was my Zunow after buying my Schwinn. Rick had a clear answer for why he needed a Salsa, whereas I didn’t have one quite that clear. The difference in how quickly we arrived at our respective answers might be why he became motivated to build bicycles, while I became motivated to become a capable salesman.

　
I believe that to create something, you need more than a little bit of motivation. In his case, he was much taller than the average person. In my case, it was that a company had stopped manufacturing parts I needed. And by then, the gears were already deeply interlocked and spinning. To be specific, when Salsa stopped manufacturing CrMo stems, we had to make CrMo stems ourselves. We had determined that there was both meaning and a need to keep Surly bikes running on the streets, and it was simply preferable that it be based on our own aesthetic. However, we had no special connections—all we had was wisdom and the drive to act. So, the only answer we had after exhausting our efforts was the choice to ask NITTO directly. Including various other meanings as well.

Those "various meanings" are truly numerous, but if I were to voice one, in a sense, it might be the same as Donald Trump. There is still so much to learn, so much to do, so much that should be done, so much to be proud of in Japan; there’s the fact that you have to sell to keep making things, and the need to learn what people want and who wants it. In the end, I think it all boils down to the fact that I just love Japan.
(I think that "what should be done" is not to repeat rehashed actions that we seem to have already seen or heard as if they were natural, but to accurately discern, hone, and develop the things that are necessary, sought-after, doable, and desirable for ourselves.)

However, things never go smoothly—that wouldn't be very dramatic, would it? I tried talking to them when I saw a chance to meet domestically, but naturally, I was turned down. Turned down again and again, I consulted them repeatedly without giving up, but they would never give me the nod. When it reached that point, I stopped using standard methods. I remembered they seemed to have more time when we could meet in another country, so I put that into action. Nearly two years passed like that, and just before the deadstock of CrMo stems I had was about to run out, I was finally allowed to sit at the table. (Of course, since I had been buying up every type of deadstock made by NITTO, not just the CrMo, the lingering scent of that should be visible in our Diggin’ the Circle.)

From there, the development and my own internal sense of things changed completely. First came the things we needed, then the things that became necessary, and then taking a little risk before returning to square one. I imagine people buying. I imagine selling. I imagine the production site. I imagine the environment and the future. Imagination gives birth to creation, and creation gives birth to production. I still love this act of production since entering the field of creating such things, and I rarely find it burdensome. It wasn't long before I realized that the greatest "birth pains" are related to people and the environment.

Creating something for someone else is, of course, necessary for my own livelihood, but I suspect Rick still suffers from overthinking that. And perhaps that is a matter of motivation. I, for one, truly believe from the bottom of my heart that I want to create things for people. This, too, may be a difference in motivation or personality. What we must know is that the market is constantly changing, sometimes having seizures that make no sense, and massive amounts of capital can blatantly destroy people’s minds and actions. That is precisely why it is fun to choose the things you truly love and think about the next step that the situation demands, and I can genuinely feel that way. Even if my bike isn’t that fast, I’m really glad I loved bikes enough to enter this world, and I’m grateful for the moments when music, movies, or meals feel even more precious than bikes. I imagine dropping all of that into a bicycle like this and pedaling away—I imagine it would be fun, and I act on that. It would be even better if someone who saw those actions came along and said, "Me too!"

In other words, what I mean to say is that people are all very different, and how they see the world is truly up to each individual; but you must enjoy imagining things for others. You have to meet people like that, create things, and connect wills. At the end of those connections, an environmental axis is born, and you must also create a cyclical axis where new, interesting people come along. It means that, just like the young people in other industries, you have to sample Taian Yoko, listen to Bach melodies at night, and turn fateful encounters into anime—in short, you must keep seeking new people. And the people involved, including ourselves, must strive every day to create an environment that continues to be sought after by them. Everything is packed into the album LIFE, and that is why I took the name Circles from this bard.

SimWorks is a concept. I want you to ride the beat of our "C-major" uptempo track and dance with us. As Soseki Natsume said, "If you act with intellect, you’ll clash. If you lean toward emotion, you’ll be swept away. If you insist on your own way, it’s stifling. It is truly difficult to live in this world of men." That is why you should just hop on a bike you love, and let those who ride the beat with items that match their wavelength go wherever they want to live in pursuit of freedom. There’s no need to look so desperately at the rails that have been laid for you; just lay your own rails—or perhaps you don’t even need rails at all. You should always live with the sensibility of an off-roader. If you like this concept, I’d be happy if you took a look. And I’m currently in the middle of imagining a future where this sparks a fire in the adventure-loving country where I learned so much about freedom, and in a few years, I can spin the world—or whatever you want to call it—together with the companions who have jumped into this environmental axis.

– To be continued in "The Circles Chronicles: 'Persistence of Appetite' is well said, so persistence is what matters most."

 

– INFORMATION -　

 

Circles 10th Anniversary Festival

Location: PLASTIC FACTORY
Date and Time: December 3rd (Sat) from 7:00 PM
10th Anniversary Event Summary Page

We are currently building things up so that we can have a wonderful time with everyone.
We would appreciate it if you could write it down in your planner.