Riding with Maki san of Cycle tokyo

On 5th Nov(Friday), I arranged to meet Maki san of Cycle tokyo for a personal riding tour around Tokyo. I asked him to skip the touristy stuff and bring me to see places that he goes frequently and feels for most. We met at Sakura Ryokan at Akakusa area with his wife 7 speed brompton equiped with a front basket and a big smile.  This is the super cool group that Maki is part of.. http://cycle-tokyo.cycling.jp/
After a brief rest, he pulled up a map and pointed to me 2 spots which we will be going. One is Level bikes- by S Matsuda san and the other is Wada bicycle shop (a shop that specialises in small wheel and foldies). Riding along the streets, feeling the cool breeze, we went on a steady pace for a bout 30 mins and reached Level bike shop. It was hidden in a maze of small roads. I know that if Maki san did not bring me there.. I would not have found the place. We went in the shop and saw a few people going about their work quietly. Matsuda san was deep in concentration brazing a customer bike.
It was amazing as I saw real time how he controlled the flame temperature and made the brazing material flow nicely around the lugs. Talking to him via Maki san,  Matsuda san have been building handcrafted bikes for at least 40 years and continues to make bikes, one at a time.  I really respect the passion and single mindedness of his endeavour.  Here are some photos of the ride and of course the super cool Level bike shop....
More images can be found at my flickr site.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/taiwoon/sets/72157625207427251/with/5154258487/

Lastly I want thank Cycle Tokyo and Maki san for making this ride so memorable! Riding in Japan is definitely fun and doable!

have a drink first

Are u ready to go?

door handle in front of Level bike shop. You can tell they love bikes.

Matsuda san workshop

look at the intergrated brake inside the fork! 

The Man at work... 

Matsuda san

Forks by Level bikes

all eyeball and precison

Rolling

Pity Wada bikeshop was closed that day..still enjoyable ride though

Ride Aoyama 2010 (31st Oct, Sunday)

I had the pleasure of attending Ride Aoyama 2010 which is held at the same time/place of Tokyo design week at Jingu Gaien. Ecology was the main topic for Tokyo design week this time and bicycles are widely featured in many designers work and fringe events. What a cool combination! :) I am not complaining.

The idea of of the Aoyama ride is introduce bicycles to normal folk and also promote bicycle riding in the Aoyama area.It was really cool to know more details as I met up with the Chief organiser Mr Toshi san when we registered onsite for the ride. Apparently, this is the 3rd year running and this is not his day job!
Following registration, we can choose any bikes(labelled test ride) from the booths and ride them around a 3 km route which is closed off - for bikes only.  I headed to the Shimano station and wanted to try the much talked about Alfine 11 while Tahching took the latest top of the line MTB equipped with Full XTR parts. 
The route was relaxing - think riding around the kallang stadium area- minus cars. It was nice to see so many people coming together to ride. From the guys in lyrca, to mummy carrying their little ones and children zooming around.  All having a big smile on their faces. We rode slowly, taking in the sights and feeling the shifter and bike geometry and then swapped the bikes. Snapped more photos.. Wonderful!
To top this up, the organisers even have 2 children training centres where they teach kids to ride. It was fun to watch the children riding around and challenging each other. This is what I call starting them young!

Ok, now here are some photos ... and more here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/taiwoon/sets/72157625211932683/

nice Ginko trees lining the entrance

Toshi san, the driving force behind ride Aoyama

Many bikes to test ride...

Yes, that's right.. Alfine 11!! so smooth like shifting on regular XT MTB shifting. It is that good

A Family that rides together, stays together!

Tah Ching in the all Carbon MTB with Sram XO parts

mini velos

Waiting for grand pah..

Training bikes - No crank and pedals

Children racing each other

Slowly and surely

I also want to ride!!

Riding around Shingawa area - 29th Oct 2010

I woke up early and checked the weather.. yes. It was not raining like yesterday.  I have 30 mins to spare ... so I pushed out my bike and did a neighbourhood  slow ride. And yes, it was lovely weather and really peaceful.  Also saw alot of cyclist in different shapes and sizes....the place is great for cyclist with dedicated bike lanes. Times are really changing...way to go Japan!

bike lanes

Sign:"for bicycle use only" how cool is that

view of the river and lots of sea gulls

some don't like water

nice and quiet ride along the river

Map of the place

mamachari in action

Stylish lady with 3" heels and handbag riding to work..