Join Sweet Riders for one of our free ride tours!!

We will be riding some beginner to intermediate level single track which requires average to an intermediate fitness level. The tours will be 3 hours long. We will be in the neighborhood of some great onsens/hotsprings for you to soak in after we are finished the tour.

Location: will be announced upon registration

Dates: June 13th (Sunday), June 26th (Saturday) and June 27th (Sunday)

Price: ¥6000 per tour (which includes insurance)

Time: 10:30 - 13:30pm (about 3 hours long)

To register, please contact us at least 3 days in advance of the scheduled tour date. Contact us at info@sweetriders.com

Instructors: Karey Watanabe (certified Japanese instructor & CMIC certified in Canada) & Yachiyo Maruyama (certified Japanese instructor)

Websites: www.sweetriders.com OR www.ya-chan.com

-- 「マウンテンバイク経験者者向け」----------------------------

マウンテンバイク経験者の方にはこちらのツアー！
シングルトラックやロックセクションを含む絶景トレイルをご案内いたします。
これぞマウンテンバイクの醍醐味！

・スケジュール
　６月13日（日曜）　
　６月26日（土曜）
　６月27日（日曜）

・開催場所：長野県安曇野〜白馬方面

・フィットネスレベル：ややがんばる〜すごくがんばる　

・スキルレベル：初級〜中級　

・ツアー遂行タイム：3時間　　　

・アプローチ：（舗装区間あり）

・トレイルタイプ：シングルトラック、ロックセクション等

・景色：絶景

・近隣施設：温泉あり

・保険：あり

・料金：6000円（保険込み）

・時間　10：30　〜　13：30　（およそ 3時間）

・募集最終受付　各ツアー３日前に締め切り

・問い合わせ先： info@sweetriders.com

・ツアー引率：Ya-chan 丸山八智代（AKI Factory Team/ KONA）日本MTB協会公認インストラクター
　　　　　　　渡辺キャリー日本MTB協会公認インストラクター& CMIC certified

　ウェブサイト
　http://ya-chan.com
　http://www.sweetriders.com

ﾏｳﾝﾃﾝﾊﾞｲｸDVD：『Follow Me』 - トレーラー日本語字幕版 from Visualize Image on Vimeo.

ATTENTION EVERYONE!!!! The new FOLLOW ME dvd is now on sale here in Japan you can order it by clicking on the link below from Visual Image for ¥3990. It is starring Thomas Vanderham and Matt Hunter, who were just here in Japan. I was lucky enough to get to meet them, great fellow Canadian riders......... Check it out!!! Get your copy today and support mountain biking and some excellent riders!!!!

Here we are, the Old Timers Dual Slalom racers!!!! What a blast from the past... and how good was it to get together with all my old friends and rivals for this race???? Can't tell you how much fun we had this past weekend. I got to ride with Team Oakley for the 5 hour enduro, along with Raita Suzuki, Masa and staff....

Then got all suited up for the Old Timers Dual Slalom, had to pull out my retro stuff, my Custom painted Cratoni Helmet from 95, as well as my old Marin Jersey and Headshok shorts.....too much fun.

So many people got totally into bringing their old goods, bikes, wear, guards, helmets etc..was a great time!!

Enjoy all of the photo's here! Special thanks to Ya-Chan, Takemoto San and all of the Aki staff who helped make this event such a great success!!!!!

A group shot of all of us racers just before the start of the 50km MTB Fujimi Adventure Race...
Vaughan, Mark, Bruce, Albert, Randall and I.....

Well, after saying NEVER AGAIN, at the finish of last years race...somehow I found myself signing up for it again this year. I am very glad I did because this year's Adventure in Fujimi turned out to be a great race. We had beautiful blue sky, with killer views all around us. Even though, most of us were huffing and puffing on the climb, we still managed to take in some of the views on the way up. What a difference compared to last year's race where most of us were hypothermic from the heavy rain and cold weather conditions...! It just goes to show what a nice day of weather can do for a race......

This season, I have not been off to a good start, unfortunately. I suffered from whooping cough for almost three months and then found out last week I have a hip that is totally out of whack from my right knee that I had surgery on several years ago. Despite the lack of training and the mis-body alignment, I was determined to finish this race. That I did, and ended up 1st place in my age category and 3rd overall in the 50km MTB Women's class. Yeah!!! I was stoked!!! Not only did I have a good race, but several of my friends as well. Mark Parker, one of my best buddies for years won again this year! Going strong and even a couple of years older than me. He is an inspiration to all of us athletes out there, young or old!!! Congratulations Mark.... and to all my other friends and team mates that raced.... great job everyone!!!!!


Team Batavia Air and I...

This year we have a new team that was put together by my long time rival and friend, Aya Tazaki. I have known her since she was a kid and now a great adult and role model for other riders. Miki and Aya make up this great team and I wish them all the luck for this season!! Great job Team Batavia Air for making the podium more than a few times!!!!

Check out all of the photo's here.

Next week I will be racing for Team Oakley in the Louis Garneau Cup in Fujimi Kogen... check it out in my previous blog postings......

Enjoy the sunny weather and hope to see you out there on the trails .....signing out for now.... ciao!!!

NEWS FLASH....THOMAS VANDERHAM & MATT HUNTER ARE COMING TO JAPAN'S LOUIS GARNEAU GREEN CUP THIS MAY 22-23RD WEEKEND!!!

MATT HUNTER

THOMAS VANDERHAM

It is to late to register, however you can come and check out the action... just click on the link above to see the schedule of events (in Japanese only). It's very exciting to have such great Canadian talent come to Japan!! Hope to see you there!!

海外ライダーも参加決定!!

Free Ride界で有名な２人のカナディアンライダーの参加が決定しました。
トーマス・ベンダーハムさん　マット・ハンターさん

なんと5時間エンデューロ／デュアルスラロームにエントリーです！
又、当日はSHIMANOブースでサイン会も行われます。
DVDの中で豪快なライディングを魅せていたの憧れライダー達と一緒に走れるチャンスです。
楽しみですね。

又、レースに参加されない方でも、この機会に是非観戦されてはいかがでしょうか？

選手紹介

１．Thomas Vanderham
26歳　カナダ人
EVILチーム所属、フリーライダー
Free Ride界で有名で高いジャンプに定評があります。
Seasons, Follow Meに出演してます。

2. Matt Hunter
２４歳　カナダ人
Specialized所属、フリーライダー
Seasonsでは超ロングビッグジャンプを披露。
Follow Meで崖に向かって豪快なジャンプをしています。

２人ともWorld Cupなどのレースを転戦するライダーではなく、Free Riderです。
Crankworx、 Redbullなどのイベントで活躍し海外の自転車雑誌の表紙を飾っております。

Thomas Vanderham (左から２番目)

Well, I said after last year's race.... NEVER AGAIN!! But...that was then and this is now...after you finish a race in really harsh conditions you tend to say these kinds of things...lol. Tomorrow it is time again for the Fujimi Adventure Race... I am doing the 50km mountain bike ride. The weather forecast looks good... yeah... sunny but a little chilly.. I can handle that over rain any day. I will get back to you after the race and let you know how it goes.. in the meanwhile.. please send some strength vibes to me this Sunday if you can!!! Cheers!

Welcome to Hakuba, that is what the sign says......we are so blessed to have this beautiful place around us.... !!

Yesterday, Ya-Chan and I rode in Fujimi Panorama, got some good downhill runs in... feeling fast.. hope that is a good indicator for this season.......then, today.. we rode up one of our favorite trails and met some friends on the way.... so sweet!!!! A great weekend indeed...... check out all of the photo's here.....enjoy!!

Ya-Chan thumbs up!!

Today we had a photo session with a good friend Andy Kelly. He hasn't shot mountain biking much before and wanted to give it a try from his usual snowboard shooting......after that, we joined some other fellow riders for some downhilling drive ups Japanese style. Nick has a k- truck which is perfect for driving us up with the bikes.... not quite like the big rigs we have back in Canada but work all the same!!! Enjoy the photos here...





So far this golden week has been so sweet. No rain, only warm sunny days perfect for riding and being outdoors. I was able to get some good milage into my legs and enjoy the spring weather as well. Plus, I even got a bit of spring house cleaning in!!! Very needed.. but my excuse was because we have had such cold weather.. but I think spring is finally here.. (my big cherry tree out back has just reached full bloom.. yippee!!)

Our group shot from day one of our Sweet Riders Mystery Tour......had a killer day with incredible weather and the trails were in mint condition!! Masashi San and Fumi San challenged our mystery trails with great triumph!! Well done guys... more photo's here...
Here we are with our guest riders Albert and Matt!!! As you can see we had another great blue sky day for day two of our mystery tour.....with brilliant views all around.....great ride and great day!!!!! More photo's here