Keirin at Northbrook

Ed White took some great photos of the keirin races at Northbrook this week. Check them out here.

Refreshing Wave of Keirin - Parts 5 & 6

Photo of a starting lineup by sgym. More here.

Here are two great articles about Keirin racing in Japan. The first is by Jon from NoBrakes, and it's great. I love the focus he has on the linguistics of Keirin, on the specialized language that a Keirin rider needs to learn before he can race. Here's a quick quote: "the word “senko” means to ride at the head from the beginning, trying to keep going without being caught. This is one of the strategies for tough riders. On the other hand, “oikomi” means to ride behind in the group at the beginning and to win by narrowing the gap toward the end." So cool. Read more here.

The second is from the Japan Times, and features an interview with everyone's favorite Keirin ambassador, Tomity. Here's a quote: "Back in Tokyo, tough old working men, cigarette in one hand, betting guide in the other, and groups of excited young lads walk purposefully toward Keiokaku velodrome in western Tokyo. Today, big names with some of the biggest thighs in the business are competing." Haha! Deadly! Read more here.

So, read the articles, learn about Keirin, and then get yourself to a local velodrome and actually race one. Are you senko or oikomi?

Keirin Berlin Ad!

Brilliant. Check out Keirin Berlin here.

Refreshing Wave of Keirin - Part 4.

I was over on itsalwayssunnyintoldeo when I saw this Japanese keirin game. Go to the main page here, and once the aural and visual assault is over, click on Line Master. Then click Enter, then click on a few random boxes of Japanese text, pick a racer, and Robert's your father's brother. Tap the space bar to pedal, steer with the cursor keys.

Somewhere in Japan, a Commodore 64 is hooked up to the internet...

The derny is already out of sight. Great.

Me (red jersey, number 3) sitting in behind number 7.

Er... I got dropped.

Hanging my head in shame, post-race. Much like in real life.

It's definitely the best 1980's-looking Japanese keirin racing game that you can play over the internet. Guaranteed minutes of entertainment! Go here to play.

Refreshing Wave of Keirin - Part 3.

The other two waves are here and here, but this one is probably the most refreshing. Literally. As seen on Tomity's flickr.

Refreshing Wave of Keirin - Part 2.

Refreshing Wave of Keirin!

It has been almost 40 years since women were barred from competing on the Japanese keirin circuit, but when ChrisP sent me this link I thought they might be starting again.

A Japanese keirin race with women track riders. This looks promising.

That's definitely a women's keirin... but the Love9 thing is throwing me off a bit... as are the relatively skimpy uniforms...

I was wrong. Apparently it's not the return of professional women's keirin to Japan, but is instead Love9, a group of cheerleaders/popstars that occasionally ride a demo race before the start of a men's keirin. I had super-genius friend of mine DavidP translate some of the page, and this is what it says: "the dream story started in Jan '07 when a refreshing wave of keirin was sweeping across Japan and we wanted to make the dreamy Japanese-born sport more widely accepted. 6 girls got together and cheered floridly for racers."

So there you have it. This is not the return of badass professional women track riders to the kerin circuit in Japan. Pity. However, we have learned that track racing is officially "dreamy" and florid cheering is all the rage. Also: refreshing wave of keirin.... Mmmm!

Love9 posing with Theo Bos.

Love9 posing with a Godzilla-legged winning keirin racer, and some fat bloke.

Check out the official Love9 page here.