NewsArticleBody
Chad Taniguchi (2nd from left) hosts Ralph Dobson and Japan BF Owners for a BBQ
The "train" consisting of a Pocket Rocket Pro, a Crusoe and two Air Fridays got a lot of thumbs ups while we rode along the coastline of east Oahu. My wife, Taeko, and I participated in this year's Honolulu Century Bike Ride on September 25th, bringing our Air Fridays to Oahu. Together with us from Japan were Maki-san on a Crusoe, Hai-san on his brand new Pocket Rocket Pro and Nob-san (a New World Tourist owner, this time on a road bike).
Hai-san, Maki-san, Taeko-san and Nob-san before the ride
This was our second Honolulu Century Bike Ride in three years and the first on our Air Fridays. We rode on a different small wheeled bike (the Birdy) the last time, so it was interesting to see how two small wheeled bikes differ when riding the same course.
It turned out that our Air Fridays made our 100 miles a lot easier (easier than we thought it would be!) so we were able to truly enjoy the atmosphere and scenery of east Oahu much more than the last time. Of course, the Ti air beams made our ride comfortable all the way, even though the road conditions weren't the best in some parts of the course.
NAKAMURA Taeko and Atsushi with their second set of twins!
(the first are classic SatRDays)
My wife got her Air Friday just a month ago, thanks to Bike Friday that got it prepared in time for the ride. Though she had little time to get used to the bike, she seemed pretty comfortable and happy with it, riding the full 100 miles with ease. [Way to go Ta-san! --Ed]
This year's Honolulu Century included 2000+ Riders from Japan
The Century Ride on our Air Fridays was great. However, what was even better this time was experiencing the Aloha spirit and the kindness of the Bike Friday community in Hawaii. During our stay in Oahu, the five of us had the occasion to visit the home of Chad Taniguchi, a Pocket Llama owner living in Kailua. We were able to get in touch beforehand through the Bike Friday mailing list in Japan, CLUB BIKE FRIDAY and he kindly invited us over.
He arranged a BBQ party for us in his yard with lots of good local Hawaiian food, and we brought some sake from Japan, along with some traditional Japanese appetizers (sea urchins, dried squid, etc.), which became a challenge to eat and provided laughs for others. Chad had also invited Ralph Dobson, leader of the Honolulu, Hawaii Chapter of the Bike Friday Club, for us to meet. We all had a very good time eating, drinking and talking. It was especially interesting to talk about the differences in cycling environments between Hawaii and Tokyo, and bike commuting. The night was topped off by a small Hula show by Nob-san's wife and Chad-san's daughter, and homemade shaved ice. After all, it's Hawaii!
We enjoyed the night full of the local aloha spirit--the Bike Friday aloha spirit, to be exact. It was a moment when you appreciate and feel proud of being a Bike Friday owner even off the bike, because the typical Japanese tourist coming to Hawaii would not be able to experience something like this, just strolling up and down Waikiki beach along the hotels.
The day before the Century Ride, my wife and I were strolling with our bikes on the sidewalk near Kapiolani Park when Taeko noticed a gentleman on a bike heading our way. The next moment, we were pointing our fingers at each other's bikes, yelling "Oh, Bike Friday!"
Steven Serikaku and Ats Nakamura run into each other in Hawaii
This is how we met Steven Serikaku, an Oahu local on his new Pocket Rocket. As we chatted on the sidewalk, we felt as if we had known each other for some time. This is Bike Friday magic--how you can easily become friends on your first encounter when you have your Bike Friday beside you! We talked for some time, taking pictures together with our bikes, before we parted.
Our meeting with Steven didn't end just there, because he greeted us at the finish of the Century ride the next day (He was a much faster ride than us) where we talked some more. What's more, it's now time for us to greet him in--guess where? Tokyo!--where he'll be visiting us.
There was more to come on ride day! First, a green Pocket Pilot caught up with us while the 4 of us were cruising past Makapuu Lookout. A Bike Friday rider himself, he had noticed our "Bike Friday Train" and had chased us for a while. To our surprise, he happened to be an editor of "Cycle Sports" one of the leading bicycle magazines in Japan. Mr. Matsumoto stopped us for an interview, and we now have a picture of us posing in front of our bikes (and hibiscus!) in the latest issue of this magazine!
Hai-san, A-san, Ta-san and Maki-san in Cycle Sports Nov. issue
Then just before the 75-mile turnaround point, we noticed someone calling us from behind: "Hey, this must be the Bike Friday group!" Great luck, it was none other than Jeri El-Swaify-san, co-leader of the BFC Honolulu chapter! As with Chad, we had been contacting each other by email prior to our visit, but hadn't had the time to meet up. What better timing to meet a Bike Friday person than while riding on our Bike Fridays!
Hai-san, Ta-san, A-san and Maki-san Celebrate a Century!
There was a lot of Bike Friday diplomatic activity and we enjoyed it! :-) It made us re-acknowledge and able to feel in our bones that Bike Friday is not just quality, performance and versatility, but there's also a big community with lots of fun that comes with this bicycle. Mahalo to everyone we met, and to Bike Friday! Aloha!
--September, 2005--Oahu, Hawaii, USA
[A big thanks to our BF Ambassadors from Japan!--Ed]
Read more at NAKAMURA Atsushi's English and Japanese homepage.
Interested in cycling in Japan?
*From July 20-31, 2006 cycle "Hokkaido: Gem of Northern Japan" with other Bike Friday owners, led by BF's Ruthy Kanagy. E-mail for more information.
More Links:
*Living Abroad in Japan, a comprehensive guidebook by Ruthy Kanagy. See excerpts at LivingAbroadinJapan.com
*2004 BF Kyoto Meeting and Tokyo Cycle Show
*Japan Bike Friday Club(in English)
*Bike Friday Japanese page