Ride The Japanese Odyssey This October

DETOUR – A competition for artists and creatives at the 2018 Japanese Odyssey

Reading time: Less than a minute
RIDE THE JAPANESE ODYSSEY THIS OCTOBER

Like art, the act of riding is a tool for exploration and expression.

As the hours pass, panoramas become frescoes, signposts morph into sculptures, and stray thoughts suddenly become impossibly profound (to us, anyway). Of all the rides out there, the Japanese Odyssey is the one that makes us feel this way the most.

We’d like to celebrate this aspect of long-distance riding. So, along with our friends at Ritchey and 7mesh, we’re looking for an artist who can document their experiences of bicycle travel through any artistic medium, be it visual, song, dance, or written.

The prize?

One winner will document their experience of The Japanese Odyssey, a 2,600km bikepacking event in October 2018.

*****

The Japanese Odyssey

The Japanese Odyssey is an unsupported bicycle journey across Japan through 12 checkpoints. Starting from Tokyo on October 31st, 2018, this fourth edition allows riders to choose their own path, deep into dense forests, hidden country roads, and through neon cities, returning to Tokyo in their own time. As an endurance cycling event with no stopwatch, the emphasis is on exploration and appreciation rather than speed, and riders have 10 days to complete the 2,600km route.

Check out the links below to read out more about this incredible adventure, and visit their official site to learn from the organisers themselves:

Unnamed Roads of The Japanese Odyssey

The Hidden Rindo; Japanese Odyssey 2018

The Japanese Odyssey; Wilderness Spirit

Guillaume Schaeffer; Journeying Japan