NEWS
2016/11/22

Izu Peninsula adventure

SimRide Izu 2016

We, SimWorks, closed our office and store half forcibly and started riding out. We sell fun times to our customers, so that we also need to keep ourselves having fun as well. We must also apologize to our dealers since we weren’t at the office and nobody was going to pick up the phone calling. If you work really hard, it is good, but not for us. In order to have 5 hours drive and ride to Izu peninsula, we gathered around in the early morning.

 

Day 1 Matsuzaki

SimRide Izu 2016

By the time we got off IZU-JUKAN EXPRESSWAY, as we expected from a weather cast, it started raining without any hopes of the sun coming out again. When Yamabushi trail crew picked us up at the small fishing port, the center of the world we call, the rain starting falling like a heavy shower. Since we were all hungry and didn’t even have any plans at all, so that we headed to a local sushi restaurant. After we got hyped up with its sea food quality on our tongues, now we cannot help thinking of how amazing these guys’ lives are here.

SimRide Izu 2016

They told us that it has passed 4 years already trying to regenerate and maintain its historical ancient road with their activities as a coexistence business by Regenerate Project of Nishiizu-kodo road through local young energies and their fresh ideas with lots of trial and errors. We rode our bikes along the ridge of the mountain with a lead of this famous tour guide. It felt really good to ride on broad leaves on the ground since it was really puffy. Everything was wet and felt the vibes of the forest. Because of the vitality of the trees around, the energy came to us and started finding pleasure like a mushroom and dancing.

SimRide Izu 2016

SimRide Izu 2016

SimRide Izu 2016

This ancient road was used for the sleds to transport charcoals up and down. Once the trees were chopped down, people turned the trees into light charcoal and brought them down from the mountain to the village. A good relationship between the mountain and people over the centuries changes its shape with the flow of time and now still it is going on. As the way of our life on ’NOW’, which is a small part of the long history, we were glad to meet these kind of people who we can look up to. We should thank them more and more.

SimRide Izu 2016

SimRide Izu 2016

After riding through a beautiful trail, then now you see cities and amazing good sea food. You ride and play around, then eat good foods then, what else? Onsen awaits you. What a wonderful and rich place it is here in Izu. Honestly, we are still so jealous.

SimRide Izu 2016

Mr. Yanase from SimWorks, he assembled this Cielo bike for this day. He loves full rigid style instead of suspension fork for this trip and now look at his smile. I agree also his equipment in order to make myself absorb into the mountain softly and slowly.

SimRide Izu 2016

On the other hand, Mr. Yokoyama from Cutlure Club, rides on Rough Rider wearing The Homage tire. His screaming like a monkey and jumping around looks like a beast very much. He used a drop handle bar for the first time on this Yamabushi Trail.
To Culture Club Blog

SimRide Izu 2016

SimRide Izu 2016

Ms. Sawada from SimWorks USA, who temporarily returned to Japan, borrowed a bike from Mr. Watanabe from Circles. The red color stands out on this moist atmosphere at this small fishing port. As you can tell, her camera got soaked so much with the rain water.

SimRide Izu 2016

The other Izu speciality is the red sky in the west. It seemed the sound of the bell at the Lovers Point would never stop, but the Travelers Point was so much quiet. We all thought that naming was very much important in our life and headed toward our hostel riding on Route 136 with the purple scenery behind us.

 

Day 2 Ito

SimRide Izu 2016

We charged our vitality battery by eating sea food in the morning at the local restaurant in Numazu Port and headed toward Ito City, east side of Izu Peninsula. We wanted to visit Mr. Ebico, a member of SimWorks XC racing, and also the guy who talks and thinks philosophy on a saddle seat.
There were small kitchen garden and storage pit. We talked about POKEMON with his sons at the sunny living room and almost forgot the time passing by quickly.

SimRide Izu 2016

Once we stepped outside from his house, whichever you face, they are all hills. Scenery is amazing, but we didn’t think that it was good idea to ride around those hills. Hold on, it is opposite. This is his style. This hills made him much more stronger than ever. He would never have any sweat riding on his beloved SEVEN with a gear ratio that you don’t want to imagine riding with it on those hills. There was the article he wrote about quit drinking before, and now he never broke his own promise yet. While we rode together to a dam, he talked about the experience of his childhood saying, “When I was a little kid, there was an explosion at the bottom of the ocean. However, my attention went to Akina Nakamori’s attempted sucide matter immediately, so that…”. This was just the beginning of our riding together, but after that, we never saw his back anymore. We are ashamed ourselves to think that we could ride together with him.

SimRide Izu 2016

Mr. Tanaka from SimWorks had tasted a performance of ‘doppo’ on these days. What a lucky men we are to work with Shin Hattori Factory, a local frame builder in our city. Mr. Tanaka met Mike Desalvo at NAHBS and started Circles and SimWorks, and now Mr. Hattori who studied under Mike joined us completely. It is going to be almost 10 years since Circles started. These are the answers of so many layers of our words and careful actions not to make any of our passion thiner. All the parts that make its frame alive looks like our history itself. I thought that this agony hill could be something fun riding after Mr. Tanaka, Mr. Ebico and everyone ahead. Oh my god, this hill made me so romantic now. Anyways, I should thank everyone for sure.

SimRide Izu 2016

SimRide Izu 2016

In order to finish our ride tour perfectly, we stopped by Mr. Ebico’s favorite restaurant. To tell you the truth, whatever you eat was stunning. It is not because I was very emotional, I am just telling you the truth now. Especially Wakame seaweed. I thought that I should move to this city because of this incredible delicious Wakame seaweed.

I assume that the other SimWorkers also got some good homeworks and clues of their life ahead through this riding tour. By doing this little tour more and more, then I think we are able to make something brighter in the future. I know I talked too much so far and I think I should finish it all here. Now, what’s the next adventure and what will we see in this world and who are going to be with us?
Can’t wait to step into the next stage.

Photo and Text by Ryota Kemmochi