The allure of running to and through the mountains.
-Have you been influenced by your customers or your bicycle-loving connections?
Kimura: I have never been a long distance rider. If anything, I preferred to ride a bike with others rather than ride it. But after I started organizing group rides at my store, I started to enjoy riding a bike with other people, and I came to like hard long rides as well.
-For example, what kind of long rides do you do?
Kimura: Last time I went camping to Hadano in Kanagawa Prefecture. I think I rode about 80 km one way. I have been camping for a long time, but I have started going camping by bicycle in earnest. Riding long, hard distances with friends and getting a sense of accomplishment is a way of enjoying myself that I never had before.
-Bikepacking with camping gear on a bicycle is totally different from camping by car.
Kimura: It's a different kind of fun because the camping gear you can bring with you is completely different. In the case of bikepacking, I think about how many luxuries I can bring with me, given the limitations of the gear. I think, "I need this, I don't need that, I don't need that. I don't need this, but if I did, it would be a good camping trip, so I'll bring it. Then, how should we load it? It is also interesting to see how well I can realize the concept I have drawn up at the campsite.
-What gear have you taken recently that is not a must?
Kimura: The last time I was here, I wanted to put up an extendable 4m x I wanted to try putting up a 4m x 4m tarp, so I brought it all the way, even though it is large even when stowed away. A solo tent that can shelter me from rain and wind would have sufficed. It was sunny and there was no wind, so I didn't need it, but I wanted to try it, so I brought it even if I had to.
-In addition to going camping on your bicycle, you also ride on forest roads.
Kimura: This is a different way of playing than bikepacking, but I put my bike in my car and ride to the mountains and ride on forest roads. The other day I went to the foot of Mt. There was a place where forest roads intersected, and I rode in circles.
-Nice. Looks pleasant.
Kimura: Just running is a great way to bathe in nature. But what I like best is to keep going up hills. I almost throw up, ( lol ) on the steepest hill.
-You are having a stoic enjoyment ( lol ).
Kimura: It is fun to compete with your friends to see who will be the first to put their feet up, and to climb while exhausted. It is fun to challenge ourselves to see how long we can keep rowing without stopping.
