Last fall, I invited a bunch of friends out for a bike camping trip. Some of them had been collecting gear specifically for the occasion, and for some, it was actually their first time riding a bike out in nature.

A few of my friends told me it was the most fun they’d had all year. Since then, a lot of them have started going bike camping more often, which honestly makes me really happy.

Why not step outside your usual stomping grounds once in a while and go have some fun on your bike?

That’s what I want to share with people.

So I’ve been starting with the people around me, getting them out of their everyday routines and taking them by train to ride bikes, camp, and spend some time in nature. I feel like it’s kind of my mission to keep growing that circle, so I’ll keep getting outside and having fun.

October 10 is known as “Tent Day” in Japan. It’s a play on words from “ten, ten” of October 10th.

I thought I was a genius when I came up with this pun. But of course, there was no way all the outdoor brands out there had somehow missed something that obvious.

A bunch of outdoor brands have already been using the day as “Tent Day,” but it’s easy to remember and October is such a great time of year to be outside, so I’m happy to borrow it.

So, from this year, October 1oth will be the day of Blue Lug Bike & Camp. Let’s all get out there and camp!

*Please note, that this is just a call out to go bike camping with your friends and family. It is NOT an open event.

It doesn’t have to be a long tour where you load up your bikes with a ton of gear. I just want to hype everyone up to simply go out on a bike ride and camp for a night. Heck, You could drive to a campsite and cruise around on your bike, or even stay in a cabin.

I just want everyone to make the time to get out of the area you often spend most time, ride bikes and stay over the night.

Now, I know that it would take time for this day to become a thing, in such a short notice.

We decided to keep things simple this year and treat the first edition as a stepping stone toward something bigger in the years to come. So for this first year, I reached out to friends and people I’m close with and asked them to be part of it.

I think we’ve put together a seriously amazing lineup.

And by “everyone,” I mean all the brands and bike communities from around the world featured on the flyer.

KUMO CYELES
JAMBI JAMBI
CRUST BIKES
HUNGRY
108 WAREHOUSE
VIVA LA DIRT
BOTCHED BIKES
PEACE SPORTS
DIRT TOADS
HEADING INTO SUNDAY
HASHKNIFE
BONESHAKER MTB
BIKETHERAPY
STRIDSLAND
HOTDOGSONWHEELZ

Each of the community will be documenting their rides and be posting them on Instagram.

If this year feels like a little too much of a hurdle for you, just start by following the accounts above and check out their stories, videos, and photos. Hopefully you’ll see how much fun everyone’s having and get inspired to join in next time!

I also made a special item for this day.

A special triangle reflector!

For the design, I wanted to recreate the look of a reflector after getting completely covered in mud during a trail ride, using a printed graphic. It’s a design I’d been wanting to try for a while, and it felt like the perfect opportunity to finally make it happen.

 

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Luke Tokunaga(@luketokunaga)がシェアした投稿

The triangles end up looking like this after a dirt ride.

It might be hard to notice at first, but there’s actually a more small detail to the design. The graphic is reversed between the outer frame and the center section. The green area of the outer frame connects with the white area in the center.

It took a bit of work to pull off, but I absolutely love how it turned out. Hope you dig it!

Grab one and go out, have fun!

Due to the very limited quantity available, we will be selling the product as follows:

In-store Release: September 21 (Mon) — Limit 2 per person

Online Release: September 24 (Thu) at 7:00 PM JST

If all of them sell out in-store, there will be no online release. Thank you for your kind understanding in advance.

Last thing I want to say, is that bike camping is something that is quite difficult to start on your own. The reason why I think that is because a lot Blue Lug staffs think the same.

Most people have the gear, but they only use it once in a year at Swift Campout. I think that is a waste of opportunity!

So I thought I’d make another day, another reason to go out to bike camp. October is simply a fantastic month for bike riding and camping.

On top of that, the annual Swift Campout is held in the middle of the rain season for us. We always end up cancelling our trip, even though we take so much time for planning. lol

All we’re really doing is creating a day for everyone to simply go out and spend one night bike camping, together.

Our goal is to build this up over the next few years into something as exciting as the Swift Campout, but for now, we’re just getting it started this year.

And to everyone who gets what we’re trying to do here and decides to go bike camping, we’d love it if you shared the fun with the people around you and helped spread the word.

Specifically, post your stories, Reels, and photos on Instagram! And if anyone feels like making a Reel, we’d love it if you could add this design icon at the beginning of your video.

 

 

I hope this becomes a big movement amongst a bunch of cyclists in the world!

Thanks for your time!