I love riding bikes and I love skating, but I don’t like outdoor activities that much…I know, it doesn’t make sense. What’s more confusing is that I do enjoy being outside.

I in fact love going out and getting some exercise. I even ride 10km to work everyday and I love when we travel far for a bike ride.

Why do I always feel anxious before a bike trip or an event that takes place for a few days? I thought about it for a while and figured that I don’t like sleeping in a place I don’t know. That being said, I do like traveling…what the hell am I saying…

I went on multiple trips in the past. Swift Campout, Bikelore and more events. Those were all trips that I had to sleep in a tent, but I just couldn’t get to sleep in a tent. It just doesn’t work.

I realized that I had extreme sleep anxiety right after I heard that we will be camping out on OMM lite (JAPAN)

Every year, the Blue Lug team stays in a cabin. Why the fuck did we switch to camping🤦

OMM lite is a three day event….

How the hell am I supposed to bear two days sleeping outside in a tent?

I flipped through some of the photos that were taken from the same event last year.

All the pictures were full of smiles and people riding on their favorite bikes in this amazing scenery. Maybe this ain’t so bad. My anxiety is starting to disappear little by little.

You might think that I’m silly for forcing myself into an uncomfortable situation, but there is a reason I decided to attend the event.

That’s because my homie Sera said he wanted to go.

I knew Sera through skating since 5-6 years ago. I was simply a fan of his skating. He didn’t know me, but we became friends through cycling. I’m so stoked for skaters like him getting into cycling.

(shoutout to Woodvillage Cycles, tnt and CTC Store)

Sera is so much into cycling now, he even started an IG page dedicated to skate x cycling. @to_wheels_for_wheels

 

この投稿をInstagramで見る

 

serakanno(@serakanno__)がシェアした投稿


He even launched some sick water bottles from the skate crew he is in called KOIAI Studios.


He’s fucking rips on a skateboard and he’s super good on bikes, so I always feel like a looser when I ride with him, but it’s cool.

(Check out his Studio Skateboards part too!)

As a fan of his skating, I was honored that he bought a bike from us and I’m so stoked that he’s been enjoying his new interest.

I had to support the homie who recently got into bikes. I wanted Sera to experience a lot of these cool riding events that we always attend, so I said fuck it, let’s go.

Sera is the main reason for my decision, but I remembered Wentz mentioning that OMM is the most fun event in the year. You know he’s not lying because he’s been to the event 5 times.

And I thought it was a good excuse to buy a new bike

I gave a little sneak peak of my new bike in the video above (sorry no subtitles), but figured I’d talk about the bike in more detail, since I changed a few parts since the video.

Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross size 50. Thanks to Wentz for the build!

There are two colors of the frame, Fence post grey and Cranberry. I don’t really have a huge reason why I chose this color, but I just liked the 90s MTB vibes that I felt from the color and I felt like I would regret myself for choosing grey after a few years when I look back at this batch of the Monstercross. Whenever there are multiple options for the same product, I tend to pick the louder color.

(I love you Frog Skateboards)

I somehow always end up with a rack, a basket and a sweep bar on fresh builds…

but I swapped the bars to the Surly Cheater Bar.

I love this subtle bend

And I love the fact that Leo a.k.a. Slimone was using the bars on his Florida Man build. Those are the same bars right?

The bars were originally 780mm long, which is way too much for me, so I trimmed it down to 700mm.


I’ve avoided OURY grips, because I thought they were a bit overrated at this point, but I loved this bike check on Calling In Sick Mag’s IG post, so I decided to go back to these grips in almost two years, I think. They definitely feel cushy.

I think this is my first ever geared 700c bike. I love how smooth it rides and how fast I can go. This bike has been my commuter for the past few days. 10km commute ain’t shit!

Continental Terra Speed 700x40C. I’m a bit worried that these tires are a bit skinny for OMM lite, but Wentz picked these out for me so I will trust him.

When I joined Blue Lug, Kaneyan told me that Continental tires are basically Spitfire Wheels. I know he was just joking but it’s been stuck in my head ever since. Every time I look for new tires, I always start looking from Continental. Continentals are Spitfires.

I’m not good at rembering the names of Shimano parts, but yeah, the Crank and hubs are something from Shimano.

I may upgrade the wheel sets after I ride this bike more. It’s always fun to gradually make your bike decked out. It’s like playing an RPG game.

I used my crusty XC-III pedals which is the first thing I bought when I joined the Blue Lug team.

Not sure if anybody can relate, but installing an old pedal to a new bike has a similar feeling of installing a pair of perfectly broken-in trucks on a fresh board. Can someone relate?

Here are the bags I have on this bike.

Outershell Adventure Drawcord Handlebar Bag

Fairweather Frame Bag ADV size S on a size 50 frame.

Atmosphere Mountain Works saddle bag.

OMM lite requires certain kits to participate. List below.

I haven’t got anything ready yet and I don’t even know if I can fit all this into the current bags I have on the bike.

OMM LITE

  • Taped seams waterproof jacket (with hood) and trousers
  • Clothing suitable for mountain running and walking
  • warm layer top
  • Hat (this can be a buff) and gloves
  • Footwear suitable for trail use
  • Whistle & Compass
  • Map (as supplied)
  • First aid equipment
  • Emergency food (this is something to keep you going in an emergency – you must have these when you finish)
  • Water carrying capability
  • Fully charged mobile phone

Meh, it should work out right?

Anywho…

My homie Sera,

Me a.k.a Giga Trash,

and Ming will be on the same team riding the beautiful land of Hakuba Nagano.

I am calling last place.

Will I survive OMM lite Japan?

Wish me luck!

✌️

-Colonel