LR-12: Long Riders!

**Long Riders!** (ろんぐらいだぁす！, *Rongu Raidāsu!*) is Episode 12 of *Long Riders!*, and is the final episode.

## Synopsis

Miya is seen buying a road bike at Alpaca Cycle.

The girls ride the **Shimanami Kaido Cycling Road** (しまなみ海道, *Shimanami Kaido*), on a two-day trip through the islands of the Seto Inland Sea.  First they take the Shinkansen to Onomichi. Hinako gets mad at Ami for packing so much stuff, and removes all of the non-essentials so Ami won't be carrying so much.

They visit the Oyama Bicycle Shrine on Innoshima Island, and buy good luck charms. Their hotel for the night is in Setoda on Ikuchi Island. The older girls tell Ami about the brevet that they want to do in France one day, the Paris-Brest-Paris, which takes several days.

In the morning, it's pouring rain. Ami endears herself to the others when she suggests that they go for the day's ride anyhow, in the rain. Ami's bike slips on a wet grate, causing her to fall. She then shows herself to be a dedicated cyclist by immediately asking if her bike is okay. It is, and they carry on. At the end of the day, Ami gives an emotional thank you to everyone for introducing her to the joys of long-distance cycling.

*Epilogue*

It's spring, and the cherry blossoms are falling at the start of another school year. While walking at school, Ami hears the sound of a bike tire blowing. She discovers that it's Miya. Ami helps her fix it, and invites the girl to come along on a group ride. A final close-up of Ami's phone shows Miya with the group, dressed in full Team Fortuna kit.

## Music

The insert song for this episode is "Starting Up". It was released on ChouCho's album of anime themes *ChouCho ColleCtion "bouquet"*.

* Vocals – ChouCho
* Lyrics – rino
* Music – rino
* Arrangement - h-wonder
* *YouTube*: "Starting Up" official video

This episode does not run the opening credits, but the opening song "♡Km/h" plays later during a travel montage. The ending song "Happy Ice Cream!" does not play in this episode. Instead, incidental music plays over the end credits.

## Trivia

* In Ami's blog (see link in References), it explains that at the train station, after Hinako sorted Ami's gear, they packed her extra stuff in a box, and shipped it home by courier.
* Ami finally bought a pair cycling shoes. In all of the preceding episodes, she wears the same red and white laced shoes that she wore on Ponta-kun in Episode 1, although her road bike has always been outfitted with Shimano clipless pedals. In Volume 4 of the manga, while on the overnight ride to Ito (see Episode 11), she finally asks why her pedals look different than the platform pedals that Ponta-kun has.
* The Shimanami Kaido Cycling Road has a dedicated cycling lane, marked with a blue line for the entire route from Onomichi to Imabari, making it safe, and easy to navigate. It includes dedicated ramps for cyclists to get up to the high bridges.
* The Oyama Bicycle Shrine is on Innoshima Island
	+ Location on Google Maps
* After Episodes 3 & 5 were late, causing the balance of the schedule to be pushed back by two weeks, the TV station declined to adjust their January schedule to make room for the last two episodes, and consequently did not air them in a weekly sequence. They already had a marathon session of all 12 episodes planned for February 5, which is when Episodes 11 & 12 debuted, although they were shown at a fan event on February 4.
* They stop at the Dolce Ice Cream shop (ドルチェ 瀬戸田本店) on Ikuchi Island. Their specialties are salty-milk ice cream and citrus-fruit gelato.
	+ Location on Google Maps

## Gallery

Note Ami's black cycling shoes, which debut in this episodeAmi gets hurt when her wheel slips on a grate and causes her to wipe outOyama Bicycle ShrineBicycle Shrine good luck charm

## External Links

* *Long Riders!* official site - Ami's blog for Episode 12
* Route map on MapMyRide
* *Wikipedia*: Shimanami Kaidō
* *Wikipedia*: Shinkansen
* *Hiroshima Tourism*: Shimanami Kaidō Cycling Road
* *Dive! Hiroshima*: Oyama Bicycle Shrine

### References

1. ↑ *VGMdb*: ChouCho ColleCtion "bouquet"
2. ↑ *VGMdb*: ChouCho ColleCtion "bouquet" Blu Ray
3. ↑ *Anime News Network*: Long Riders! Episodes Delayed Until February