大分国際チャリティサイクリング２００８年

RSVP by March 1, 2008!

When: March 20th, 21th & 22th (Thurs, Fri, Sat) 2008 - You will need to take one day of nenkyu (paid holiday) on the Friday.

What: The plan is to cycle around 300km in 3 days through the beautiful countryside of Oita prefecture and raise loads of money for charity in the process.

Who: Anybody is welcome to take part but primarily the riders and volunteers will be Oita JETs, their friends and teachers. JETs from other prefectures are more than welcome! We’re hoping to get about 40-50 people involved. We need riders to raise money and do the cycling and we need volunteers to drive the support vehicles and provide general encouragement.

Where: We’ll leave from Sakanoichi on Day 1, cycling south along the coast to Kamae, where we will stay at the Marine Culture Center. Day 2 will see us head south and west dipping into Miyazaki and back to Ume,where we’ll stay at the Camp Village. Day 3 will see us peddle our tired legs from Ume back to Sakanoichi.

How: All riders will need a bike with gears to use for the three days - sorry, but no mama-charis! Unfortunately we cannot provide bikes. Please ask your friends and collegues if they have one they are prepared to lend you.

Cost: Each participant will need to pay 15,000 yen. This amount will cover accommodation, breakfast and dinner, drinks and snacks, gas money for volunteers and a snazzy T-shirt.

Why: We ask riders, (and volunteers, too!), to collect as much sponsorship money as they can from friends, family and co-workers for undertaking this special challenge. There are no minimums or demands, everyone does what they can, and all funds raised will go directly towards Oita’s ongoing school-building project in association with our chosen charity, Room to Read. We raised enough to fund the building of a school in Nepal, and are now working towards a $25,000 goal to build a school in Laos!

Aside from the charitable aspect, it’s also great fun! It’s a perfect opportunity to get out of your local town and see some more of our beautiful prefecture, while meeting new people and making friends at the same time, not to mention a great challenge to your strength and endurance! It’s consistently described as one of the most memorable JET events that you can take part in by past participants.

Great! Sign me up! If you’d like to take part please send an e-mail to Ryan Patalita (patalita@yahoo.com) with your name, phone number, e-mail address, Japanese T-shirt size and where you’re based in Japan. For the latest news and tips on getting your bike around Japan, please check the bike ride website at:

http://jet.wikia.com/wiki/Oita_International_Charity_Bike_Ride_2008

For those from outside Oita: Oita is located in the north eastern corner of Kyushu. It has an airport located about 45 minutes by bus from Oita City. It is also accessible from Fukuoka by the limited express train (about 2 hours) and various ferries including an overnight Osaka route. The most famous tourist spot in the prefecture is Beppu (the land of onsen), if you are interested in additional sight seeing opportunities.

Charity Bike Ride Info PDF

Moving Your Bike Around Japan

This website shows how to pack a bike to take it on a train. In my experience taking it on the train isn’t that difficult. I detach the wheels and affix them to frame with Velcro that I got from the 100 yen store; it’s really fast and easy. If you don’t attach them to the frame, you will learn how to swear like a dock worker when you have to navigate it around obstacles you couldn’t have possibly foreseen. You can cover the bike with anything, a sheet, a nice bag, a dirty bag, it doesn’t make a difference. Some trains require just that, but others charge a package ticket of about ¥300-400.

Last year someone mailed it and it ended up being over ¥10,000 (a bill they discovered upon arrival). I have heard that there is a pass that you can get to mail it cheaply, but everyone at the post office looked at me like I was speaking English, so perhaps you may want to try a private company.

Additional Information

As for bike helmets you ride at your own risk so it’s up to you. Last year probably half the riders had them. They can be pretty hefty, but if you search on rakuten or some other internet sites, you could probably get them at a reasonable price.

Coming into town on the Wednesday (3/19) – if you plan on coming the night before, while I can’t guarantee anything, I bet quite a few of you could crash at various participant’s localities. I’ll definitely help you look.

I know some of you will scoff at this, but I know more than just one person who doesn’t know how to properly shift gears. If you can shift properly, you’ll have a MUCH more enjoyable ride.
http://bicycleuniverse.info/eqp/gears.html

Renting a Bike — I’ve searched high and low, and the only place that I have seen to rent bikes is on the trail between Onomichi and Imabari (Hiroshima and Ehime). Seriously though, ask some teachers, you’ll be amazed at some of the bikes they have that they’ll let you use.

Difficulty of the course – While I can’t guarantee that it’ll be easy, it isn’t impossible either. Every year we had participants of all skill levels. The beginners take longer, and the experts scope out some extra stuff, it all evens out in the end.

What happens if I get a flat or I just can’t handle anymore? Well if something happens to your bike, our support crew will do the best that they can to get you back on the road. They’ll also be there for you at countless checkpoints to offer you the refreshments and snack packs that you need to keep going. Last year, everyone managed to finish the days.

How many of the locals are joining? Well it’s hard to say, but probably about 10 or so Japanese friends and coworkers will be joining this year from my early head count.

Do I have to do the whole trip? No, you can do only part if you want to. Each day of the trip is ¥5,000 and we can adjust your contribution accordingly.