English
pril 22nd is Earth Day
Earth Day first began in 1970 as a way to teach about and appreciate the earth. Since then, it’s
grown to millions of people around the world who participate in countless activities to celebrate
the earth.
Let’s all ride our bikes on Earth Day!
Riding bikes is at once fantastically joyful as well as a great way to care for our bodies and our
earth. If only more people would discover this, more people would ride bikes and live more
sustainable lifestyles. This is our wish.
Let each of us take one small step!
If you’re thinking about taking part in Earth Day, this is a great place to start. We provide
support and information related to worldwide earth day activities and can connect you with
the worldwide bicycling community. So far, we’ve had earth day activities in Tokyo, Karatsu,
Azumino, Mitaka, Yamanashi, New York, and in Tallahassee.
Volunteers:
We’re always looking for riders as well as volunteer staff.
Donations:
We’re happy to accept donations.
・Mailing List: http://groups.yahoo.co.jp/group/earthday-ride/
Email distribution list for Earth Day Bike Ride topics.
Sign up to be on the Earthday Ride email distribution list.
First Earth Day Bike Ride 2003
Photos by Hiro
I experienced my first Earth Day event during my 8 years of study (1990 - 1998) in the United States. Back then, similar events were not as widespread in Japan. After my return to Tokyo, I figured that if I ride around enough, surely I’d run into similar bicycle ride events. So every year when April 22nd approached, I’d begin riding all over town looking for groups of earth-friendly cyclists but to no avail. Eventually, I inquired with the Tokyo Earth Day Committee who confirmed that no such bicycle ride existed. I promptly responded back with a proposal:Why not establish such a ride in Tokyo? With no positive response, I remember how discouraged I felt.
That was when I first made the acquaintance of an American – David – who was involved in
environmental issues. After discussing the possibility of holding an Earth Day Bicycle ride in
Tokyo, we decided right then and there that it was a great idea and thus was launched the 2003
Earth Day Bicycle ride in Tokyo. For this first ride, we designed a course over 40kms long that
took us around various metropolitan parks. 30 people signed up. On the day of the event, it was cold and rainy and we only had 4 participants including myself. Despite these shortcomings, I remember that day with a great fondness. But the next year in 2004, David introduced one of our bicycle club members during his roof top gardening project which greatly expanded the circle of like-minded enthusiasts who were aware of our event.
During the 2004 Earth Day Bicycle ride event, nearly 200 people showed up and I remember getting so worried about accidents,mechanical trouble, and the like that I had to return to my Earth Day booth where I sat in a daze for a while trying to recover. Every year after that, I’ve been blessed with the cooperation and
friendship of countless volunteers and participants for which I’m deeply grateful.
It’s been 8 years since our first Earth Day Bicycle ride and this year I want to take it to the next
level with greater coordination with both national and international Earth Day Bicycle ride
events. To help me accomplish this, I’ll be getting some fantastic help from these members of
the Tokyo Earth Day Bicycle ride executive committee – “Mayu”, “Baby”, and “Site”. We call
ourselves the Earth Day Ride team or “The E-Team” for short. Our vision is for our portal site to
be a source of information about Earth Day Bicycle ride activities no matter where you live. Our
earth is truly a bountiful source of joy whether enjoyed alone or with other people.
When you ride your bike, everyday is Earth Day!
"EVERYDAY EARTHDAY!
HIRO