Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Anyone already posted this keirin article?

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fv20081123lb.html

Wow, that is crazy. I'm all about the serious dedication, but no wife and kids? Do you think they get conjugal visits at least?

Yep, Tomity did. He is one of the people in the article.

How popular is Keirin racing in Japan?

I've never been so it's hard to get a relative idea of how popular it is compared to American sports here.

its comparable to horse racing, in dem sudern states.

except its much more regimented as from the article, u gotta train from young and incorporate elements of the sport into daily life... like a boarding school, but dedicated to racing.. and providing a level of national heritage/entertainment. inter prefecture, or interstate competition is popular..

but far from being like ncaa or college football in the usa.

How is Keirin comparable to anything like horse racing? (Besides gambling) I have never seen a Keirin rider shot post race or track side for a career ending injury. Since when is NY considered a southern state? One of the biggest horse races in the country occurs at Belmont Stakes every year.

sorry im canadian, i eat hockey pucks and don't know anything about horse racing.. except when i went to kentucky, once. and been to canadian horse racing events a few times.. mainly for the buffets.

aside from that.. i would suspect that the belmont stakes happen because of the money in new york (to gamble) and the entertainment aspect (for all the rich ppl to be, entertained)

the post above me was asking for how popular is it.. i figure that would have been a decent analogy. my apologies for not knowing anything about horse racing on bikeforums.

It's cool, didn't know you were Canadian. Horse and dog racing are really disgusting sports. I think Keirin (http://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/2008/11/11/japanese-keirin-sprinting-across-culture/)is more popular than either of those sports. Probably closer to baseball.

thanks for givin the canuck a break, eh?

Horse racing is cool as long as there are no casualties! anyways in the context of popularity, keirin is as popular as in, you know it happens, but no one you know directly ever goes...
baseball is crazy crazy popular in japan, ppl will fight for tickets to see osaka and tokyo battle...from what my friends have told me, keirin isn't in wide popularity like that..but then again, this is a bike-nerd forum.. so it would appeal to us much more than the average person.. folding bikes and those crusier bikes in japan out number road/keirin bikes 100:1

Excellent article.
Glad they mentioned the 'senko' and 'makuri' attacking. No mention of the 'Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Techinque'.
Curious.

Keirin is considered pretty sleazy by a lot of people just like Keiba (horse racing in Japan).
This is because most of the people that bet on it and who are into it are nasty, half-obssessed old men that waste thousands of dollars on it.
My father-in-law bets (and generally loses) over a $1000 every weekend on horse racing in Tokyo.

The riders on the other hand are just the opposite of the betters, of course. Ive only personally met two racers, Tomity being one of them, and they were both super nice and obviously very professional.

Keirin is considered pretty sleazy by a lot of people just like Keiba (horse racing in Japan).
This is because most of the people that bet on it and who are into it are nasty, half-obssessed old men that waste thousands of dollars on it.
My father-in-law bets (and generally loses) over a $1000 every weekend on horse racing in Tokyo.

The riders on the other hand are just the opposite of the betters, of course. Ive only personally met two racers, Tomity being one of them, and they were both super nice and obviously very professional.

well said. regarding the sleeziness, i think that rings true for any asian gambling and gambling addicts in general...

tomity somehow found the tofixd.com forum and has been quite diligent in sharing his keirin experiences and posting pics of his adventures. a true class act, for sure.

Keirin is considered pretty sleazy by a lot of people just like Keiba (horse racing in Japan).
This is because most of the people that bet on it and who are into it are nasty, half-obssessed old men that waste thousands of dollars on it.
My father-in-law bets (and generally loses) over a $1000 every weekend on horse racing in Tokyo.

The riders on the other hand are just the opposite of the betters, of course. Ive only personally met two racers, Tomity being one of them, and they were both super nice and obviously very professional.

Although there was that keirin rider who broke into a high school when a sports team was having a sleepover last year because he wanted to "touch girls"

And another good article: http://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/2008/11/11/japanese-keirin-sprinting-across-culture/