City Riding, helmets or style?

Recently I have been spending some time riding around some cities here in Japan. I am happy to see so many people using bikes these days. It could be the economy or enviromental issues that have gotten more folks riding but it does show that the bicycle is a very good solution for this world.
When I ride in the city my biggest concern is safety, I need to have good vision, good brakes and quick reactions. I almost always ride my Mountainbike, I am sat up on the bike looking at all my surroundings , the disc brakes will stop me quicker than anything else available especially if it is wet, and with the high volume tires I can at least try some sort of manouver if a car happens to attack, and attack they will.
I consider myself a very good cyclist, I have ridden as a courier, a pro-racer and now as a guide and I always ride with a helmet. Why I wonder do all these smart well educated people ride around on their fancy bikes without a helmet on? "I don't want to mess my hair" is the answer I hear most , second is "helmets don't look cool". Whatever the reason it doesn't cut with me, I have crashed many times over the last 20 years, both my fault and sometimes caused by others, 3 helmets have been demolished during this time and each time I broke a helmet I walked away, and each time I crashed were times that I would consider low risk riding, you just never know when you will go down, but you will.
I urge you to wear a helmet ask any doctor they will back me up, you are putting yourselves at an even higher risk than we already are.
Paul

Winter Olympians

Every 4 years the Winter Olympics arrive and evry 4 years I have been amazed to see banners across the roads congradulating local athletes on thier selection to the games. Speed Skating is the sport around here and every year there seems to be a local doing well at the world level. Last year my then 7 year old son Nesta decided to join the school skate team, so my skate education began. Yatsugatake Mountain is quite well know for its cold dry winter air, we don't get lots of snow here but it stays below zero for a good 3 months every winter, good for making ice. As an ex-pro bicycle racer I am very impressed by the coaching and infrastructure of the local skate clubs. I now understand why the level of cyclists is so low here in Japan, they have no support, by the time an apsiring cyclist figures out how to train properly they are already well into thier 20's and it is too late. Here are a few shots of last weeks Izumino Elementry School Skate Race. The skate club members and PTA were out on the ice every night for 2 weeks getting the ice ready. The sign in the background is a fight banner for local girl Sayuri Yoshi recently 2nd in the world speed skate championships.

Happy New Year ! First Ride

A little bit of snow greeted us on Friday the 1st, it made for perfect snow riding conditions. We wish the best for you all for 2010.

The Flu, seasons end

I love riding during the month of November, the fallen leaves make for a red carpet ride through the forest, the weather is chilly but sunny most of the time here in Nagano. I must apollogize to the customers who I had to cancel suddenly on because of the infamous Swine Flu, Adults are least likely to catch the flu I was told, but I managed to pick it up from my son, Nesta. I am still riding up here now, the trails are frozen but have no snow, definitly a nice time to ride a full suspension bike. Nesta has stopped ridng now and has traded his bike for speed skates, I will ride until the snow is too deep!

fall colors by bike

Now we are well into the fall colors here in Nagano, mornings are actually cold and at night I am burning wood to stay warm. Cold nights and sunny days make for ideal fall colors and riding conditions. I did a couple nice one day rides last week, one ride was around Yatsugatake about 120 kilometers long and the other a nice flat ride in the Azumino Valley of about 60 kilometers. The Yatsugatake ride has lots of climbing and decending, not a ride I would reccomend for beginners but the Azumino Valley is perfect for a nice easy flat days riding, we stopped and checked out a Wasabi Farm, ate freshly picked apples and enjoyed the sunshine.