Long Riders! Real cycling lessons on anime

Long Riders is a manga and anime series focusing on a beginner cyclist.  It follows Ami Kurata a college student's development into a cyclist.  Unlike a lot of other Anime based on cycling this one doesn't focus on a racing club but rather a group of friends that enjoy traveling the Japanese country side by bicycle.  Along the way this short series touches on a lot of problems new cyclists will inevitably face and a lot of the rewarding joys they will experience.  I sure know I ran into a lot of these problems along the way.

The series begins with Ami seeing another student riding a folding bike that she instantly falls in love with.  I'm not sure why but it's also been my experience that a lot of people are intimidate by road bikes and their allegedly frightening looking drop bars.  I always thought road bikes looked pretty cool and always wanted to try one out.  I'm glad I did eventually try one out now I ride hundreds of miles in the summers and commute to work year round on my steel frame Fuji.

One of the lessons that hit closest to home was in episode 05.  Getting a flat tire alone miles away from civilization is a memorable teaching experience.  I actually have video of the day it happened to me!  About 5 miles south of Xenia Ohio I got a pinch flat.  I had a tube repair kit that I never tested before and a pump.  Turns out you should really practice with your gear before you leave home.  Also just carry a few spare tubes it's a lot easier than trying to patch a tube and a spare is like $5.  Luckily some more seasoned cyclists saw me walking the bike back to the nearest town and loaned me a tube.  I got the guys address and mailed him a $10 check for the tube with a thank you note.

Here's some bonus video of me walking through part of the bike trail that goes through a nature preserve where a family of squirrel hunters popped out of the forest and asked me if I knew the location of any tasty red squirrels.  Excuse the 10 year old cell phone quality of the video.  Man this was 10 years ago almost to the day as I am writing this!

Many important lessons are explored through out the series.  Riding at night and the importance of bike lights, eye wear, nutrition and even the associated costs of cycling as a hobby.  If you have an interest in cycling and are a fan of anime I cannot recommend this short series highly enough.  The short series ends with the implication that more was to come but as of yet there hasn't been a second season.  Bummer.  I really enjoyed this shows exploration of the joys of cycling without a competitive component. 

As of now you can check out the entire series on youtube.  Check it out!