Hillibike Day

Tani from Blue Lug Kamiuma, here.

Grant-san sent us the photos he took while Kaneyan, Shammy and Samba went riding with the Rivendell crew. I printed them out and put them on a wall of the shop.

This photo…California fire roads, mountains and Rivendell Bicycles…This is why I admire them and this is why I keep spinning my feet.

This was shot by Sabu. Antonio chasing Shammy. I’ll put this on a wall too.

Grant would always say :

“Riding the bike in only special occasions is not a bike ride.”

“A bike is designed for the purpose of riding the hell out of it”

Yes, a Rivendell bike is not for saving in the storage. It is for riding daily and using it as a tool.

Grant-san, please do not worry.

99% if the roads in this odd city called Tokyo is paved, so we can’t avoid riding a bike daily.

I only write about the bike rides I go every once in a month, but 5/7 days I commute to work with a bike. Everything is alright. Japanese people are putting Rivendells to good use.

However, I still have long for bike rides like Rivendell does. I too want to ride a trail with my Rivendell every once in a month. Even though we don’t have a Mt. Tam or a Shell Ridge in Tokyo.

We loaded up our Toyota Hiace and went riding in the trails out of Tokyo. Here are some photos of that day.

The dress code of the day is the Rivendell you ride everyday with maxed out tires!

I think this type of riding has a similar feeling to hiking or trail running (no, I never tried both)

It was a hot summer day. Everybody was sweating so much but laughing a lot as well.

The Coke Sawaji-san bought us at the end of the ride was the most delicious liquid I had ever put in my mounth.

The first few times going down a rough spot feels sketchy, but you’ll eventually get used to it. If you come to a big hill, hop off the bike and push the bikes. There’s no shame in that. We’re not racers!

After a bike ride, it’s a chance to changing up or making some adjustments to your rig. These rides give you the ideas of what your bike needs.

I love riding, but I also love working on my bike right after I get back from the ride.

When riding my bike in a situation where I need to push myself slightly harder, I can learn “why the shift levers are placed here”, “why the saddle angle is like this”, “why I need to wrap bar tapes here”, and more things I can improve to make the bike more comfortable

Those are things I cannot learn while commuting.

Then, I realize that my bike has become more comfortable when riding the bike I tweaked.

And it looks dang beautiful…

I become more in love with my bike, then I use all those knowledge when building customer’s bikes. That’s why I love riding.

That said, I’m not trying to say going to the mountains and riding trail is what you should do. You don’t have to be fast or skillful. Leave those things to racers and that type of riders. It is okay to just ride your Rivendells daily. That’s more than enough.

Ride to work everyday, go to the pharmacy or super market before you head home after work. The purpose of a Rivendell is to be ridden everyday.

But if you are interested, even a small amount, I recommend trying to ride to a slightly far destination using a rout you’ve never taken before. This will give you some ideas of improvements on your bike and make you love bikes even more.

-Tani