Resources	English Web Sites General Cycling Japan Cycling GENERAL CYCLING SITES Here are a few general collections of links that should keep you busy... Cyber Cyclery - Internet Bicycling Hub http://www.cycling.org/ Lives up to its name! Huge amounts of information, grouped under ten basic headings: Email Lists, Web Sites, Directories (with directions & contact #s), Forums, Happenings, Shop, Cybermart, "Subscribe" (to magazines), Mountain Zone, and Tour Directory (with commercial tours around the world). You can get lost in here... Cycling Related Pages on the WWW http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~vinson/cycling.html LOADS of links, including Bicycle Clubs (mainly U.S.), Regional Info (not much on Japan, it seems) and Cool Bike Sites (a ton)... The WWW Bicycle Lane http://www.bikelane.com/ As if you needed more links - it will take a lifetime to work through all these. The creator now works for Netscape... Bike Ride Online http://www.bikeride.com/ Yet another humongous collection of links, cleanly organized... ENGLISH SITES ON CYCLING IN JAPAN Japan Cycling Navigator http://www.t3.rim.or.jp/~sayori/ The only English-language site similar in aims to KANcycling, edited "by Japan Adventure Cyclist Club and Nice Voluntary Staffs." A lot of energy has gone into creating this site in English, with descriptions of Japanese geography, brief trip planning advice, suggested areas to travel, and a few links to descriptions submitted by readers ("members"). The articles by Bill Macher and others, accessed through the "Reader's Page" are particularly interesting; the site also gives information on readers offering home visits to visiting cyclists, a Q&A page and a "Guest Note[book]" shared with the Net-Pedalin site described below. The organization has been improved since the last time I logged on, but it can still be a bit confusing. For example, clicking the map of Japan in the center of the page, titled "Area Guide," sends you to a map of regions leading to more specific maps - but the links on the map are not clearly marked; you'll have to pass your mouse around to find them. More importantly, these links either send you to member's info or completely OUT of the site, to the JNTO (Japan National Tourist Organization) or other tourist pages... without telling you that's what will happen! (Make extensive use of your "Back" button to return to the cycling site.) Beyond those caveats, there's quite a bit of (mostly general) information here. Cycle Information (Bicycling Association of Japan) http://www.cycle-info.or.jp Seems to be put out by the Bicycle Culture Center and/or the "Bicycling Association of Japan" - no indication on what the difference is between this organization and the Japan Cycling Association (many of the links in the JCA's Japanese page takes you to this site). There are both E and J pages; the English page has the headings "Let's Begin" ( tons of basic beginning info); Let's Ride (unfortunately with only race info); "Let's Think" (bicycle safety discussed under the heading "Bikecology") and "Let's Learn" (showcasing the Bicycle Culture Center museum with photos and 3D views in VRML and Quicktime VR. etc.). The "Begin" section has bits on "Portable Cycling" with the rather odd categories of "sports," "folding-type" and "portable" bicycles. May be some useful info here amidst the general stuff. Tokyo Mountain Bike Association http://www.tokyocycling.com Reportedly the page of MTBer "Torpedo" Steve Hartsell and providing QUITE a bit of information for bikers in the area near the Yokota Air Force base. Riders meet at Fussa station and head out from there. Photos of past rides, though w/o explanations, as well as those from a cycle show in Tokyo. A "Scuttlebike" section offers the opportunity to post messages with questions or comments. Quite a lot of goodies here: offers weather and train info, bike shops, bike database (for bike models) and a swap meet page. Net-Pedalian / Japan Adventure Cyclist Club's official web site http://www.pedalian.net/ This is actually a mostly Japanese site, but I include it here because it has names and summaries in English. OUTSTANDING, jaw-dropping design, several planes above anything else I've seen on a cycle-site... but not always intuitive to the uninitiated. Clicking the "W" on the compass allows access to three sections: Tandem Around the World, a description of same; Voices of Adventure Cyclists, mostly by Japanese cyclists in Japanese but with names and summaries in English and excellent photos from all over the world; and Club@EMISTEVE, with a "Message Board" containing periodic updates of their trip around the world. Their new URL is http://www.geocities.com/emisteve/ . Clicking the "E" on the compass sends you to the Japan Cycling Navigator site. Other locations are mostly in Japanese, but you'll probably enjoy exploring them anyway. Cycling Kyoto's Sea of Japan Coast http://www.jcult.com/articles/sea/sea.htm Nice article and pictures of a tour of the Japan Sea by Mike Barr, staff writer for "J Cult Magazine." Cycling Trip Shikoku and Kii, Japan 1999 http://lightning.prohosting.com/~wvdl/index.html Just what it says; a long (1560km) trip completely around Shikoku and down the Kii Peninsula. Loads of great pictures and maps showing the route. Well done. Aizu University Bicycle Circle http://www-ci.u-aizu.ac.jp/Circles/Bicycle/bicycle-circle.html Lots of regional information balanced by accounts (in English) of cyclist rides. Also links to regional information and a very eclectic selection of links (some of which, unfortunately, do not work). This site has a very warm, personal feel not found in many sites - it made me want to go tour the region! When I checked out this site, the "What's New" section consisted of two sentences: "Sorry, this page haven't been updated recently. However, we're doing our bicycling." BHB Complete Guide to Rides http://jpop.hatch.co.jp/bhb/ No indication of what BHB means, but this appears to be a group of (mostly foreigner) riders in Tokyo. Some information on routes in the Tokyo area, with photos, etc. Misawa Off Road Bicycling Association Homepage http://www.angelfire.com/mo/MORBA Better organized than most sites, with an amusing "MTB Prayer" and lists of events, and an electronic newsletter sent to anyone who subscribes. Unfortunately, some of the links don't appear to work, and try as I might I could not get more than a couple of the thumbnail photos to show up. Pity - the area is lovely. The "Mahalo" and "shaka" logo make me think at least one of these people is from Hawaii... Kaneko's Top 15 ("The Pass of Japan" Top 15) http://www.t3.rim.or.jp/~sayori/tamu-san/kaneko.html Accessed from the Cycling Navigator site: Short English reviews of MTB routes in the Kanto area, and nice some nice mini-photos. Trip through western Japan (by Jan Boonstra) http://bora.dacom.co.kr/~boonstra/japan/page00.htm One of several sections of multipage trip descriptions in many countries. Lots of nice pictures! International Adventure Club (IAC) http://www2.gol.com/users/adventur/index.html Mostly geared to upcoming events, but a few articles (no photos) on past cycle trips. International Outdoor Club (IOC) http://www.kioc.org The Kansai version of the IAC. Appears to contain upcoming events only, no archived articles. Japan Cycling Federation http://www.jcf.or.jp/ The Japanese name is more accurate than the English one, since it indicates that this organization is competition-oriented. Clean interface, but all in Japanese with just a few English titles, and not much for anyone not interested in competition. Triathlon Web Japan (also J page) http://www.interway.co.jp/triweb/english/index.html A number of links to triathlon & race info.... also photo gallery with GREAT photos of, among other things, the Ironman in Hawaii... Cycling Trips (Japan) Wim en Alies van derLinden http://lightning.prohosting.com/~wvdl/japan/indexjap.html Photos and account of a trip through Shikoku by a couple on a tandem. Tour of Japan (both English and Japanese) http://www.toj.co.jp/index.html Description of races between Osaka and Tokyo, plus a tiny bit of general info. Worldcycle (Richard Gregg) http://www.worldcycle.org Account of a global cycling expedition that began in 1990. Go to Email Reports (in the Journey section) for a diary of experiences in Japan... Paul Dorn: Cycling in Osaka, Japan http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~pdorn/japantrip.html On his home page, one-page account of visit to Japan and cycling in Japanese daily life. CREAM (Confederate of Righteous Expatriate American Mountainbikers) http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/9632/index1.htm Brief accounts of exploits rather than solid information, but may be of interest to Tokyo-area cyclists - if you can stand the annoying Geocities ads that keep popping up every time you open a new page... Okayama University Cycling Club http://www.suri.it.okayama-u.ac.jp/~takao/others/kage_html/cycling-e.html One-page introduction to the club, with three links and no other information.. but it may be a useful contact for cyclists living in (or going to) the Okayama area. Andy's Home page http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/andrewrussell/homepage.htm Private home page with at present two articles on cycling - but under construction; one has photos only. Check back later.... Pegasus Cycling Club http://www.bicycle.gr.jp/ Mostly Japanese site based in in Chofu, Tokyo with member mainly from Jingane bicycle makers in Chofu. Nice articles on wheels, photos & articles of cycling expeditions, etc. To navigate on the home page, click the little bike icons at left. Yoichi's Homepage (bike) http://www2b.biglobe.ne.jp/~yoichi/bike_e.htm Nagaoka Univ. of Tech. cycling & racing club member; yearly news and links to other cyclist home pages and many cycling clubs - even his bike specs! Bike Japan http://www.lookup.com/homepages/80399/home.html Page done by Matt Loader, now in the U.K., with a few pictures of offroad cycle racing and racers. Tokyo Critical Mass http://www.crisscross.com/users/oldxeye/TokyoCriticalMass/ Schedules of the Tokyo version of the "Critical Mass" cycling events, plus descriptions and photos from past rides. Cyclocross in Japan http://www.yamanashi-med.ac.jp/~intern03/cross/cxjapan.html Mostly Japanese, after the first page, but nice pictures and a map with regional cyclocross information. Yokohama Run & Bicycle http://www.dtinet.or.jp/~take5/YokohamaE.htm Not much for bike tourists, though a list of bicycle races, and a bulletin board for messages from people from all over the world... Photos from 1996 Tour of Japan http://econ-www.newcastle.edu.au/~bill/photos/mayp96.html Hasn't been updated since 1996! Access to photos and maps of races such as the Tour du Japan; but allows no access back to the owner's page; if you're interested, his page of cycling links is at http://econ-www.newcastle.edu.au/~bill/billspor.html - but there appears to be nothing else on Japan here. Books & MagazinesJapanese Web Sites