Yowamushi Pedal: Not Just About Bike Racing – Yowamushi Pedal is an anime based on a manga by Wataru Watanabe, the story revolves around the process of Onoda Sakamichi, a geeky student who transforms into a cyclist in his school’s bicycle club with special skills on climbs ( climber).
Onoda himself initially never thought that he had the ability to become a cyclist, even though the bicycle he owned was actually a city bike with a basket in front like the ones that mothers usually use when they want to go to the market.
With that bike he went back and forth from home to school, and once a week he used it to go to Akihabara which was about 90 km away, with the reason of saving money on train tickets, so he could buy action figure knick-knacks or CDs and other collections related to his favorite anime shows. In Akihabara he accidentally met another cyclist named Naruko who would later also become a friend in the cycling club.
An accidental meeting with a new kid who turns out to be a racing cyclist named Imaizumi on a steep slope behind the school that Onoda usually passes continues with plans to create an anime club, but in the end they end up joining the Sohoku Bicycle Club and training with seniors Kinjou, Makishima and Tadokoro in preparation for a prestigious bicycle race called Inter High.
Since getting to know and joining the Sohoku bicycle club, Onoda’s talent in cycling was finally revealed, which was actually also unintentionally trained due to being used to cycling regularly and long distances with a makeshift bicycle that was secretly modified by his mother.
Apart from Onoda’s transformation process, the interesting thing is his friendship with all the club members, even in some parts of the story he is willing to sacrifice his energy to convince and encourage them in his own way during the Inter High bicycle race.
Another cool part of course is some cycling tips that are often tucked away in the story, be it about good bike settings, how to get motivated to climb, even technical issues such as cadence are told in quite detail, including of course the ins and outs of bike racing.
Even though this is an anime about racing bikes, in general it tells about the interesting aspects of the bike itself, how important it is to practice, be disciplined and respect the abilities of fellow team members, and how to encourage yourself and your friends when you are tired and desperate.
This series is on Netflix and the most interesting for me are seasons 1 and 2. Just try watching it, it’s fun.