Candy Cranks

Many apologies for the absence… So many fun things happened this year since I moved to Berlin. The sun is setting earlier. The air is dark and chilly. Woah it’s already December! The end of a year. So a catch up. One more big party is coming up for your all year conclusion! I need more girls to race! ( ´艸｀) 〜♡

+ + THIS FRIDAY December 9, at Keirin Cycle Culture Café. Roll at 8:00pm + +

Pioneers of the global fixed gear bike culture Keirin Cycle Culture Café and Rollapaluza come together for the first ever Rollapaluza roller-race in Berlin.

Keirin Cycle Culture Café:

Keirin Cycle Culture Café is recognized worldwide as the first ever “fixed gear shop” having first opened back in 2004 as a hangout for their messenger mates (all members of Keirin and Rollapaluza are ex-couriers), selling them coffee, bikes and parts and mending their bikes. ( http://www.keirinberlin.de/ )

Rollapaluza:

The first Rollapaluza roller race was held in a pub in London in 2000 and Rollpaluza involves two riders racing over 500 metres on custom built static roller-rigs with their progress displayed on a huge dial and their times recorded by split-second digital timing, all to the backdrop of cheering crowds and pumping music.

Never seen Rollapaluza? check their movies: http://www.rollapaluza.de/movies

P.S. I’ll tell you about this + more stuff… but later.

Yay finally, I am on the “I Love Riding in the city” in the newest issue #25 of  Urban Velo.

Download or view: Urban Velo – Issue #25

I was also featured in the issue #24 for the photo gallery of my crazy backpacking trip around India in August of 2010. I traveled with my friends as far north as the himalayan mountains to Manali, ganges river to Rishikesh, Chandigarh, Jaipur and New Delhi. Surrounded by cattle, bicycles and images of Shiva. I slipped on cow shit many times everyday and ate curry three times a day until I got diarrhea…… I would like to share it with you through my photos what I saw in India.

Photos of my India trip on my Flickr.

Download or view: Urban Velo – Issue #24

Urban Velo is very interesting magazine, it’s always written about a lot of different bike culture and society from all over the world. You should check it out!

Thanks + Arigatou Jeff.

My Coffee Bike “CharRie’s Café” debuted in Berlin last month. It was very quick! only after a few weeks I moved to Berlin. It was the perfect timing I arrived here. I got a chance to carry out my coffee-bike at VELOBerlin, one of the biggest bicycle exhibition in Berlin. Thanks a lot to Keirin Cycle Culture Café, they made my day and put me up with my coffee-bike at their booth for 2 days. I really enjoyed making lots of  my fresh hand brewed coffee on my bike café. I was very happy to see so many people LOVED my coffee. I was also selling a bag with Japanese flag design for donations to be sent to Japan. A lot of people donated. Thank you ♥ The exhibition was fun as well. Lots of cool bikes and live music set up played by bicycles.

Photo by: Maria Therese Laub

I served free coffee with my homemade greentea + chocolate cookies ♥

Keirin Cycle Culture Café booth

The bike parts were filled with rice. (We made sushi after the show)

CharRie’s Café Interviewed on the biggest newspaper in Berlin ♥ Dankeschön ♥

+ I was interviewed for an article for a full page about cyclist outside of Japan. Find me in this magazine, BiCYCLE CLUB ５月号. ( ´艸｀) ♥ hehe.

More photos HERE.

I apologize this is not fresh post about Nagoya but I’d still like to share this with you here. I currently live in Berlin now (moved in 5 days before Japan got tsunami) This was my last event I organized in Nagoya before I left Japan.

Our first annual Nagoya Tweed Ride was held on February 19. We are not sure but it seems like any other city in all of Japan don’t do Tweed Run. We always like to do different things and need to feel different kinds of cycling culture from the world. So we decided that we needed a Tweed Run but not just as a part of fashion show bike run, we also wanted to understand the English cycling tradition with the London Tweed Run respect.

I worried how many people would be interested in, we didn’t have enough announcement and it was hard to find 19th century tweed clothing here in Nagoya. I was surprised and impressed that we had turn out of over 50 participates dressed up in their tweed outfits. We took place at night and had about 2 hours group riding in Nagoya city. We could appeal some cars in traffics that cars occupied road now but the road was originally made for a bicycle first not for a car so we dressed up back in century and rode for respecting people at that time.

There was also a Best Mustache Contest at the after party but not everyone could have real facial hair, you know we are Japanese. GOOD TIMES, GOOD EXPERIENCE.

Thank you for sharing.

More photos HERE.

Love Wheels Nagoya 2010 calendar was huge hit and we received so many amazing responses from just about every corner of the planet, Europe, US, Australia, Asia… including Afghanistan too. Thank you.

The 2011 Love Wheels Nagoya calendar is now available. I worked on all photo and layout/design of the calendar this year. I know it’s a bit late to advertise and printing a 2011 calendar now but yes, we always like to do different things, our calendar runs from February 2011 to February 2012. So you still get your 12 months. And this is also useful to use as a guide book to cycling into Nagoya City. We Nagoya local cycle girls are backing posing with our rides and favorite spots in Nagoya City.

Special Thanks to our sponsor.  I feel so much love from you.

We love meeting with you guys from around the world and we’re eager to show you our fun city. Come see the real thing in Nagoya!

Calendars are available here. We will ship anywhere all over the all over the world!

International (Free Shipping): www.crankee.me

Nagoya - Circles

Tokyo - Blue Lug

Kyoto - Cosset-Bags , Karaido Cycle

Thank you.

Photo by: R A P H A
Nobeyama Cyclocross Race, the first single Speed championship in Japan sponsored by Rapha and IF Japan was held on October 30- 31, halloween. The race course was in the middle of Takizawa Pasture in the Nobeyama highlands.　The big typhoon was moving around this area and heavy rain the past week helped to get very muddy and greasy course. Some racers got dressed up in halIoween costume and everyone looked having so much fun with shiny muddy face. I wasn’t in the race but I really enjoyed making my special hand brewed coffee on my bicycle there

Photo by: Yohei Morita – COG

Photo by: R A P H A
The race course got filled up with people cheering and ringing out “cowbell” was awesome. It was my first time to see real cyclocross race. I’ve only seen the race in the film or FSCX (Free Style Cyclo Xross) in Nagoya. I got excited to see everything, cows and vegetables were in the middle of the course, the racers riding in greasy muddy pit and slipped off the bike…

Shinobu from Nagoya (Miss July – Love wheels Nagoya calendar) got 3rd place got gold cowbell trophy, yes!

This Rapha’s special made “cowbell” was sold and all the profits will be contributed for the players who participate in the world championship.

This is Rapha’s “COFFEE + MUD + CHOCOLATE” T-shirts, all the profits will also help the players to world championhip expedition expense.

MOMOIRO’s Daruma-Bike (Photo by: R A P H A )

The cyclocross race is awesome! It is not only categorized as just a cyclocross racer to participate in, there were some roadies, MTBers… I got to see some messengers from kyoto, nagoya, tokyo… even nagoya girls are not real cyclocross racers but they had so much fun to get muddy face.

Photo by: OcciTristar

The Nobeyama Cyclocross Race will be an internationl race in 2011 and will be carried out UCI registration. Looking forward to see more international racers.

Photo by: Yohei Morita – COG
Thank you very much Yano_san for inviting me as a coffee girl there.

COFFEE + MUD + CHOCOLATE = FUN!

Nobeyama Cyclocross Race
More photos HERE

I went to compete in the Keirin Race at the Uchinada Velodrome in Kanazawa City for the annual Bang King Track Race on August 28 – 29. The event is organized by Daisy Messenger Nagoya and sponsored by Circles.

Girls Keirin Qualification

Bike fishing…

Delivery Race

This event tends to be casual and light-hearted even though many race to win. Me and my friends dressed up as cheer leaders to cheer everybody and got in the Keirin Race.  It was my third time this year and there were more girls than last year.

Many of the Nagoya cyclists were in attendance as well as cyclists from around Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Kanazawa local…etc) The race is rather laid back and friendly, this is a weekend of racing, riding and BBQ event, but most of all a great excuse for cyclist to get together and have fun. It is easy to make lots of new cool bike friends from all over Japan especially at the BBQ party.:D

Nagoya cyclists drink and get crazy the most and can beat up other cities at the BBQ party but on the Velodrome, Tokyo messengers are always cool and take the top 3 at the most race evey year…

Everybody sleeps together like a school trip.:D

It was amaging seeing  that some of the girls were the first time to ride a fixed gear bike until the day. Even the first time to wear a helmet & tight fit, the drop handle bars are required and the breaks are not allowed but they had no fear, all girls enjoyed riding and being in the Keirin Race.

Girls Scratch Race

Girls Keirin Race – Final

I got my special weapon GIANT. This is super light and fast! I even felt like I could finally be on my dream podium for the first time this year but all race I was in, I got the 4 th place, weeeeeeeeee… I hate daily practice and never do it.:-(

It is said that participation is more significant than winning at the Bang-King track race. Right?

I can’t to wait to go back and try to get on the podium again next year!

Thanks for sharing this.

More photos HERE.

I had a Burnout Syndrome… I finally got up myself to write about my bike journey to Europe. Sorry,this is kind of old stuff and already passed a few months but I still want to post & share this now otherwise I never will. Europe just melted my heart too bad XD I got a burnout…

I love traveling with my bicycle. I took my coffee bike and went to Leeds and Budapest in May. This was my 1st time being to Europe and there were some big reasons I went there.

♥Reason 1: Meeting my best friend Monika in Leeds. It’s been years to see her; I first met her in Kyoto, Japan and became best friend through the bicycle.

Here are some photos I developed of my trip to Leeds. I was there for only 3 days but had a good time to ride around the city with some friends. Thanks to Monika + Marek and fixed gear leeds crew!

♥Reason 2: Meeting Linda – Candy Cranks author from Budapest. Wowww! Candy Cranks is the great tool to make cool bike friends all over the globe!! I’d never met Linda but we are now really good friends!! Viva Candy Cranks!!

Thanks a lot to Linda to make my trip so much fun, helped me out, put me up and showe me an awesome time!! Hungarian people are so nice and kind. I love Budapest!! (and Gosser Lemon beer!)

♥Reason 3: ECMC (European Cycle Messenger Championships) in Budapest. I am not a messenger but I like to hangout with them and watching the messenger race. They are pretty tough and hardcore cyclist. I love their life style and crazy parties.

Hi cheeeeez! (Japanese photo peace sign, yaaay! )

I spread Love Wheels Nagoya Calendars. ♥Thank you♥

Bicycle Fashion Show.

Bike Polo Final.

♥Reason 4: CharRie’s Café (my bike café).
I brought my original coffee beans and all my coffee bike stuff in huge freight baggage backpack from Japan. (It was super heavy to bring them all! ) I was a bit nervous to doing my coffee bike at ECMC for 3 days by myself because I had no friend, only a few Japanese around this event. I knew only Linda and Sinya (organizer of ECMC) and I wasn’t sure if European would love my Japanese coffee… but I had a confidence to make people to love my coffee so Linda was in love♥ yay!

… was sexy ; ) ♥Thanks everyone!

Many people stopped by my bike café, having my coffee and happy talks…♥ It inspired me a lot!! I didn’t charge for my coffee but everyone tipped me good. Thank you!

♥Reason 5: Cheering my messenger friend Izuru from Naogya. He came with his wife and 2 years old son. It was their late honeymoon as they said. Sweet♥

♥Reason 6: Sightseeing in Budapest. We had a group riding all day long. Riding and hanging out the city by bicycle is the best way to see, feel and smell the local. Too many beautiful castles in Budapest!! I felt like I was in Disneyland!

LANGOS tastes sooo good! (especially when you get drunk at midnight like mexican burrito)

Needless to say, traveling with a bike and meeting some bike friends across the ocean are always great. Even if we don’t see each other, we can still have a good friendship through the bicycle. Bicycle unites people all over the world.

It took a lot of courage for me to do my coffee bike in my 1st time being in Europe and 1st time doing my coffee bike out of Japan. The bigger try is, the more worth it has.

Thanks for sharing this.
More pics HERE.

The specs are:
♥ Frame and Forks: Giant Omunium
♥ Color: Rie’s special flower (hand painted by Circles kyutai works)
♥ Chainring: Candy Cranks
♥ Crank Set: Sugino RD-2
♥ Wheel: HED 3
♥ Stem: DEDA Newton
♥ Handle: FSA Riser
♥ Seat: SanMarco Regal
♥ Seatpost: Miche SuperType
♥ Tire: Panaracer pacella BL
♥ Pedal MKS Touring Premium
♥ Clip: Brooks
♥ Strap: Brooks

Thanks Meg! Viva Candy Cranks! can’t wait to see this chainring on my bikkkke!

Circles did great job! The frame is all hand painted by Shinya (owner of Circles), I asked him very complicated flower patterns. Shinyadid amazing job on hand paintwork and matching all parts to be dressed up. He shows his excellent taste in customized bike from his experience of learning and working at fashion industry for many years.

This is my 1st new customized bike♥ My 1st bike is very old NISHIKI from San Diego and I didn’t expect that I was going to be a pedal freak until I met Circles bike shop in Nagoya. Cirlces helps to define what cycling is and leading the way in showing people how to have fun on two wheels and find on your way to open up of new world. Shinya said that “You can do anything on your bike.” That’s true. So I do my Coffee bike there.

So, my next target is to win and be on the podium at the Bang King track race coming up in August this summer!

This is my dream…★   Yukki (Miss January: Love Wheels Nagoya Calendar)

More pics of my new bike HERE.