10 Second Anime - Long Riders! - Episode 11

Team Fortuna takes Ami on her first night ride.

Episode 11 - "The Moment the City Comes Alive"

Heh.

About six weeks late, studio Actas finally released the last two episodes of this college girl cycling club show. I don't know if they used the time to fix all the weird inconsistencies that had plagued the animation after the 3rd episode, but I didn't see anything to piss me off in this one. If anything, I think they spent more time on the CG versions of the cycling girls so they looked more like anime instead of video game characters.

As for the plot, Ami needs to keep preparing for a brevet but instead of doing a practice one of 300 or more kms, they opted to practice a night ride. There was a scary moment when a light died and Ami ran over a thick branch on a descent, but otherwise the only bit of drama was how they all got a reservation at that spa with less than a week's notice.

This new Saeki girl is still screwing up her courage to join their cycling circle.

Saki spends a lot of time in the cafeteria, judging by the number of plates on her tray.

Aoi was very eager to go on a night ride. We'll find out why soon enough.

I'm not sure why the other girls are celebrating Yayoi's talents of persuasion to get Ami to do these long rides. She's already in with the group. I suppose it's just the writers dipping into that well too many times. I don't think they have to worry about Ami not doing the Fleche with them.

Just how far did Ami think they were going to go? Just do a loop for a couple of hours and make the last train back? That's not how these girls have ever operated.

And don't believe them about a flat ride either. Coastal roads are never flat for very long. Ami should have remembered that from her first beach ride.

It must be nice to ride at night in areas where there's low crime, good pavement and working streetlights.

Aoi's bank of lights had great sound effects. Like she was turning on stage lights or factory switches.

Poor Aoi, too. She's so sensitive about not being seen as helpful. You are not a public nuisance, Aoi!

Descending in the dark is scary! Also, how did Ami beat Yayoi up that hill? That seems a bit odd considering their different levels of skill and experience.

They made it to their reward. Sunrise!

That's the reference in the title, by the way. Dawn is when the city comes back to life and it's neat to see the urban landscape begin to stir too with the Sun coming up.

Crazy people. That's too early for that crap...

Next time, the last episode of Long Riders! That's their exclamation point, not mine. It's in the title, after all.

Cycling Porn.

This episode we got to see all the extra gear you need for riding at night. Reflective vest, reflectors on your wrists and ankles, lights on the bike and on the helmet. You need all that stuff because the most dangerous thing at night for a cyclist is a motorized vehicle. It's bad enough that you can barely make out the pavement and whatever hazards might be on it with your little lights, but to also pay attention to sound of cars coming behind you and hoping they don't run into you is a special kind of tension.

I've gone night riding once, and I don't recommend it for my area of Los Angeles County. The roads are terrible, with potholes everywhere and tree roots buckling the street too. There's no way to get into any kind of rhythm you're used to riding in the daytime. The only scare I had was almost running into a skunk. Hey, it was 4:30 in the morning, so that patch of road belongs to him. I had no idea they hissed like that.

Saki recounted her experience riding a Brevet solo. I'd still like to meet other members of her Demoness Believers Cycling Club.

When Aoi showed up with all those lights, that's when we found out why she was so eager to go on a night ride. When you're a cyclist and you have all this gear lying around, you find any excuse to use it. She didn't even care how heavy it all was.