2010 Tokyo City Cycling Report

By Paul Oertel

The route of the 2010 Tokyo City Cycling event.

Participants were given a bright yellow bib to help them stand out in a crowd.

I finally have time to do a report on my participation in the 2010 Tokyo City Cycling event. It was a lot of fun rubbing shoulders with so many other cyclists of shapes, sizes and colors. As this wasn’t a race there was a lot of variety in bicycles but most of the participants fall into one of three camps. Folding bikes are the new trendy thing. This is a trend that actually makes sense to me. Being that living space is so limited and that Japan Rail requires cyclists to bag their bicycles the more compact you can make your ride the better. Mini-velo riders, like my new friend Paul L. along with the folding bike are rapidly growing segment. The impetus for the mini-velo folks is almost the same as the folding bike set except the mini-velo riders are looking for a little more performance. Of course, the traditional road/race bike contingent showed up in droves. Finally, there was a small minority made up of freak bikes and other riders. But at the end of the day it isn’t about the kind of bike that you ride. It is about getting out there on a bike and enjoying the ride, enjoying the sights and enjoying the company of other cyclists.

The courtyard in front of Tocho was the staging area for the 2010 Tokyo City Cycling event.

I rode my touring bike, Boris, (for a proper introduction to Boris see my article A Bike By Any Other Named) from Nakano Station Bike Lot where I had parked two days prior in preparation for my 7 a.m. start in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (Tocho). I checked in at the registration tabled and got my free sample of Amino Vital. I walked my bike over to the line up and waited for the ride to begin. They allowed us to walk our bikes in groups of 20 to 30 up to street where we lined up again. The streets weren’t closed for this event like they do for the TD 5 Boro Tour in New York City. But there is a big difference between 30,000 riders (NYC) and the 2,500 participants of this event. Instead of letting all 500 riders start rolling at once the ride marshals started us out in small groups of 30 to 40 riders. So my 7 a.m. start was more like 7:30 a.m.

Waiting in line in front of Tocho for our turn to start the ride.

I am glad I chose the earliest start time because traffic was lighter earlier in the morning and the heat and humidity was less oppressive. We dutifully rode single file and stopped at every red light. Though maps were handed out to each rider at the registration table they weren’t really needed because ride marshals were stationed at most intersections and turning points telling us which way to go. The ride rolled through Tokyo at a leisurely pace between 20 kph and 30 kph. Early on, the thought struck me that even my 10 year old could have handled the pace.

Traffic backed up in midtown as cyclists waited to get through two closely spaced traffic lights.

Shortly after the start we cut through Yoyogi Park. The park provided a nice green diversion from the urban scenery. Midtown present a bit of bicycle grid lock as the line backed up from one traffic light all the way back through the previous traffic light. It took several changes of the traffic light to get through. I understand that the back up was even worse later in the day. After passing through Kasumigaseki we finally came to the first aid station in the S&L Square in front of Shinbashi Station. With 12 k under our wheels we enjoyed the cold sports drinks provided by the organizers. Modern carbon fiber frames parked in front of the classic steam engine that decorates the square. After snapping a few pictures I rolled on.

We cruised through the ritzy shopping district of Ginza before coming to Harumi and Ariake. Ariake is one of my favorite parts of Tokyo to ride in. Because it is newly developed from landfill the streets and sidewalks are wide and straight. There is plenty of room on the sidewalks to ride and auto and pedestrian traffic is much lighter compared to central Tokyo. After a loop through Ariake we stopped at the second aid station where bottle water and bananas were handed out to riders. It seems that bananas and bicycle events in Japan are ubiquitous.

This bike with the hammock seat is the most unique ride I spotted during the entire event.

Two thirds done, we roll on. This part of the ride took us through Edo Ward. It was my first time in this part of the city but I have to admit that I found it unremarkable and unmemorable. The final aid station was at Shinkawa Park on the Sumida River. I didn’t linger long here.

Uchibori Dori is closed to traffic on Sundays and turned over to cyclists.

The final leg took us around the outside of the Imperial Gardens. We took advantage of Uchibori Dori being reserved for bicycles on Sundays. This is the only place on the whole route where the street was closed to automobile traffic. It is an immense pleasure to ride down the center of the street with complete impunity.

Ride wrapped up at the National Sports Arena (Kokuritsu Kyogijo). This was a good choice for the finish as the entire park is dedicated to sporting activities. Many of the sponsors had booths behind the goal line to promote there wares. The most noticeable booths were for Miyata/Merida, the Swiss Embassy. The folks at the Miyata tent were offering people the opportunity to test ride their Merida bikes. For those who don’t know, Merida is Miyata’s sport and recreation brand.

At the Miyata tent you could test ride their Merida line of bikes.

Miyata is perhaps the top bicycle manufacturer in Japan across from the everyday mamachari all the way to high end race bikes. I tried out a Merida road bike and one of their single speed bikes. I took a lap around the park on each. I also tried out a mini-velo from KHS. The one bike I really wanted to take for a test ride was the wooden bike at the Cedar booth. To promote products made from cedar an industry association has built a bike from out of cedar. The frame was beautiful though quite heavy. Though the drive train was complete, alas, test rides were not allowed because the bike didn’t have any brakes.

I'm famous now.

As I was wandering around the event space with Paul L. I was flagged down by a reporter from Asahi Shinbun. He interviewed me and the photographer snapped some pictures of me. The picture and an inaccurate paraphrase of my interview was printed in the September 23 edition of the paper. Now I have everything, Fame, fortune, good looks and a bicycle (only the latter is not a figment of my imagination, a matter of opinion and not subject to debate.) The article got half a page of space which is great for a cycling event. But under the fold the other half of the page was taken up by a photo of actor, Odagiri Jo in an advertisement for eyeglasses. I suppose the fact that the adveriser is one of the major sponsors of the event had nothing to do with this arrangement.

All in all it was a fun event and I look forward to the next one. I would like to thank the many volunteers who directed cyclists at intersections, manned aid stations and performed a minutiae of other tasks that helped make this a successful event. Without a doubt, events like this wouldn’t be possible without their help.