Monday, 19 May 2014

Big Smiles

Last weekend I spent 2 days riding some pretty advanced terrain with some talented riders. They are capable of pretty well anything I can throw at them, big climbs , technical descents even a little rock climbing to get to the trail head. When we stopped for lunch a few of them still had big grins on their faces and my youngest son said "They had fun , I want to go there". I am not sure if he is capable yet of such an adventure but can't wait to let him try. I get quite a few children coming for a ride with their parents and love to see their smiles as we ride through the forest. Not many sports can put the same smile on a 9 year old as well as a 69 year old all at the same time. I am a very lucky man to have found the sport of MTB so many years ago. Keep the wheels turning,,

Tuesday, 22 April 2014

Golden Week Cycling

After a long deep winter finally the sun came out and warmed us up here on Yatsugatake, the trails now have no snow on them and are drying up nicely. We still have a few days open during the Golden Week Holiday, get in contact with us and come on out for a ride!

Tuesday, 8 April 2014

The Kami-Sama's House or his World?

I spent the last 2 days riding with 2 clients who are over here visiting Japan for the first time. They started in Fukuoka and have traveled the main "Tourist Line" up through Hiroshima , Kyoto and Nara. When I met them at the train station they told me they didn't need to see any more Temples or Shrines. I told them that where we were going that would be no problems, we were going to spend our time in the Kami-sama's world not his house.

We spent the first day riding in a light snowfall, the trails were dry and the ride went well, it gave me a chance to see how they rode and make sure that they could handle the ride I had planned for the second day. A Hot Spring at our local bath house and dinner with Setsuko and her magnificent cooking set us up perfectly for the epic I had planned for them on day2. We climbed for almost 2 hours on one of the harder climbs I know in this area, before gaining the ridge trail that would take us back down to the valley. Perfect weather , great trails and even a glimpse of Mt Fuji made for a great day and has me in a very good frame of mind for this years MTB season.
When I said good bye to Chris and Stephan, they had big smiles on their faces and they told me they had had their prayers answered by the Mountain Gods

Friday, 21 March 2014

Searching for Spring

It has been a long winter this year, much more snow than I have seen here in the 20 years I have lived on Mount Yatsugatake. I just said goodbye to a family from Toronto , Canada. They came to me looking to ride some nice easy rides in a warm area. I decided to take them to the Seto Inland Sea and Shikoku for 4-5 days of riding. It ended up being a perfect match for them and also myself as I hadn't ridden for the last 4 months. We used ferries and my van to avoid any urban built up areas and managed to get in 4 very good and different rides. We started following the famous Shimanami Cycling route that follows the highway over to Shikoku from the main Island, 2 days following the coast and beautiful rivers then back towards Hiroshima over some forgotten islands. The weather stayed cool but nice for us and we even saw some early blossoms mixed with the citrus fruits as we rode along quiet backroads. We finished the trip in Hiroshima and spent a day being tourists at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museam. I have now visit the Park 4 times and it never gets easier for me emotionally to deal with it but, I truly feel that every human should visit here at least once in their lifetime , It would make the world a much more peaceful place.