Guell Batting Center Nightride

Out with the Guell crew yesterday for a night ride through Nara city to a baseball batting center...

..A little technical trouble on the way, thankfully someone had a 15mm wrench in their bag. First rule of night riding, always carry a tool kit unless you enjoy walking home.

Easy parking at the batting center...

And now for the action shots...

Toshio-san getting serious!

Hiroshi was knocking them out of the park!

And the surprise star of the night was Brad, hitting anything that came his way. Reports that he has been asked to train with the Yankees could not be confirmed as we went to press!

Brad, swinging like a pro!

A hot, humid and seriously fun night, thanks to Toshio-san and the whole Guell crew.

Bicycle Studio Movement Osaka

A trip out to Osaka yesterday to visit the superb Bicycle Studio Movement in Tenoji...

Movement, Osaka. Photo by Brad.

A few stylish bikes outside give you an idea of what kind of shop this is...

...And then as you enter the store you are greeted with a mouth watering display of  Cherubim frames...

   ...Add a couple of Moots and a few Kogas for good measure...

When you are in a shop that has a Coppi just hanging around you know you're in a classy place...

Or maybe you are after a Limited Team Edition Fuji Altamira with full Dura Ace then you know where to go...

The shop is nicely laid out with a decent selection of accessories, clothing and luggage and a well stocked workshop. Staff are welcoming and very knowledgable about their stock. Movement are also dealers of local frame builders Extar Proton and the shop blog often details some of the build ups they have done.

In the spaces between all the beautiful bikes and frames there are some fun displays and cool bits of cycling memorabilia...

A really nice, friendly shop stocking some unique and very desirable bikes and kit. Well worth seeking out when you are in town. 

Weekly Pictures

September brings rain and wind to Nara, hence the lack of recent posts. Just a few shots here from the last week...

A near deserted deer park on a wet afternoon.

One of the saddest casualties we have seen, abandoned in Osaka.

Just some shika making their way down river in Nara.

A rest before the climb on a local Nara ride.

Locked up at the Irie Taikichi photography museum, Nara. 

Sunset over Namba, Osaka. 

Grey skies over Todai-ji.

And finally the traditional shika shot. We ran into this deer gang as we were out shopping last week, you can see more of them over on our Flickr page.

Araya, Osaka

Here in Kinki we are quite fortunate to have a number of the big names in cycling based nearby. From industry giants like Shimano and Sugino to respected frame builders like Nagasaw and Vivalo. Another historical Japanese cycling brand we have here is Araya, a name familiar with anyone old enough to have owned a BMX in the 80's. Their office in Shinsaibashi, Osaka has a huge window display showing off some of their current products....

...Including their collaboration with Raleigh (UK) in producing some rather nice touring and road bikes...

 ...And some stylish shots of their factory floor...

Good to see a blast from the past still going strong and still making some rather nice rims even if their Japanese website does belong to the last century!

Keirin Posters

A selection of  promotional keirin posters we have seen down at Nara Keirin over the past year...

Some of the posters are quite basic, often promoting the town or prefecture where the meeting is taking place...

While others promote the stadiums...

Some elect a seasonal theme...

And then some actually promote the sport and excitement...

And saving the best till last, the most popular poster we have seen this year promoting the Girl's Keirin...

Another Day At Nara Keirin

We were back at Nara Keirin yesterday for the second day of a three day meeting...

Just a usual day at the races really, we were not betting this time, our aim was to try to get some good shots of the bikes and the action...

Then on the run in of the final race of the day a bit of drama...

...A loud bang was heard as the riders sprinted for the line, then the sound of metal hitting metal, it turned out a spoke had popped in a rider's front wheel causing the tyre to blow. Thankfully no riders were injured or even fell off. Unfortunately our camera wasn't fast enough to capture the action but you can see the busted bike being carried off in the top left of the picture below...