October is finally here and cycling season is upon us. Although the COVID-19 has limited our summer outings, the GOTO Campaign has begun, and the desire to ride is rising! I took an early trip to Oku-Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture, where the beautiful autumn foliage is just around the corner.

In the previous issue, we reported on our challenge to ride 111 km around Lake Kasumigaura. The day after an overnight stay, we will report on a 63-km ride along the old Tsukuba Railway course, where the peaceful atmosphere will soothe you.

With the spread of the new coronavirus, cycle events around the world have been canceled, including the 2020 Bike New York and Brisbane to Gold Coast Cycle Challenges, which have now been unavoidably cancelled. On the other hand, many of us may have become more closely connected to bicycles in our daily lives, such as commuting by bicycle or taking up indoor cycling. Still, we are not the only ones who would still like to “travel by bicycle”…! It is also true that it is still difficult to travel long distances. So, we asked ourselves, “Where are some rides that are close and easy to get to, but still allow us to fully enjoy the feeling of traveling?” Here is what we came up with.