After a year without racing bikes, I’m finally back behind the start line again this weekend, at the 31st annual Shimano Biker’s Festival in Nagano Prefecture! I got to participate in the gravel race at Fujimi Panorama Resort, and it was a lot of fun. We also stayed at scenic Shirakaba Lake (白樺湖).
The next day, Zeb and I rode on the Venus Line (ビーナスライン) and through the Utsukushigahara Highlands (美ヶ原高原). There was a ton of climbing to get out of Matsumoto, but it was really beautiful.
Strava Route and Details –
Saturday’s GX Race: https://www.strava.com/activities/9547747510
Sunday’s Ride through the Utsukushigahara Highlands: https://www.strava.com/activities/9547737690
Highlights:
3:12 – Start of my gravel bike race
5:02 – Shirakaba Lake
6:58 – Sunday’s Ride on the Venus Line
9:41 – Utsukushigahara Highlands
More about the Shimano Biker’s Festival: https://bikersfestival.shimano.com/
More about the Fujimi Panorama bike park: http://www.fujimipanorama.com/mtb/en/
Driving or Biking on the Venus Line: https://www.venus-line.net/en/
About the Utsukushigahara Highlands: https://visitmatsumoto.com/spot/utsukushigahara-highlands/
Gulo Wheels, from near our hometown in NC: https://gulocomposites.com/
🎙️ Want to keep up with the rest of our adventures? We have a podcast! : https://www.ramblingramsbothams.com
More videos about Japan Cycling here:
Riding from Kanazawa to Shirakawa-go: https://youtu.be/f-j3oMr7LEE
Kanazawa cherry blossom tour on a mamachari bike: https://youtu.be/Xjn89S64iXE
Biking to Fukui: https://youtu.be/zZJ0jJLVePY
Noto Peninsula Cycling Tour: https://youtu.be/AtgQuM1PLaI
#japancycling #roadcycling #fromwhereiride #japanlife #jetprogramme #lifeinjapan #nagano #gravelbike #gravelride #cyclingroute #ramblingramsbothams #cycling #cyclinginjapan #自転車 ＃サイクリング #biketouring #naganocycling #naganoprefecture #ビーナスラインサイクリング #ビーナスライン #美ヶ原高原 #白樺湖 #美ヶ原 #shimano ＃シマノ#長野県 ＃長野県旅行
8 Comments
Nice work on the course! That's an impressive race result with the field stacked with men 👍
Looks amazing! Haha “only 20 miles left😂”
"Finding the shade"Yup! The Japanese summer can be a bit brutal. Great video… as always. Nagano is so beautiful.
This looked amazing , great job on the race. Does your go pro record the entire time and you just swap batteries or you just turn it on for certain legs of the route?
I am a Japanese who loves Nagano Prefecture and gravel bikes. This was the best video I have ever seen. Please keep up the fun videos🎉
Great job on your first race! I also had my first every cross country race this past week so a week of firsts for both of us haha. Also oh my god the torii gate in the lake, so pretty! Seemed like the perfect picnic spot and made for some great drone shots. And jeez that uphill at the end, the descent must have been incredible.
I was researching local gravel rides, found your channel, then realized ya'll had moved to Japan. I used to ride motorcycles all around Nagano and Gunma, it's so lovely.
Wooo, congrats on the race win! You are Undefeated on the Japan circuit! You back stateside yet?