Who ever knew this was actually a thing? Then again, it’s Japan we’re talking about here, so we probably shouldn’t be surprised.

The cycling race known as the Good Smile Racing (GSR) Cup, took place this past Saturday (9/6) at the New Tokyo Circuit in Chiba Prefecture. As the official website for the event proclaims, “Bike racing while listening to anime songs, eating food, then back to racing! It’s an event for anyone who loves characters and bikes.” That sounds like a fun time to us! Check out pictures of a bike-riding Hatsune Miku and other costumes from the race after the jump.

Right from the start, you could tell that this was not your typical bike race. Organizers of the event encouraged all participants to wear jerseys designed with motifs from their favorite anime, manga, or video game series, including original characters. And of course, full-out cosplay was a definite yes.

▼Promotional advertisement

▼A map of the track

Let’s dive right into some of the pictures shared on Twitter throughout the day. The official GSR Swemy account kept us in the loop with their updates:

“Good morning! It looks like it won’t rain on us.”

“The Miku Z4 and the TT Rei 13 Kai are lined up. They’re not fenced off so we could get a close-up picture.”

“Mr. Ukyo has entered battle mode.”

“Representative Aki will race with Mr. Ukyo.”

“Mikusapo-chan has also arrived!”

“The start of the criterium [a short bike race]!”

Various spectators in the stands also uploaded shots to their accounts:

“After seeing Kikumimi-san racing, I also want a small wheel bicycle.”

“Box”

“The usual scenery~♪ The ‘altar’ looks like this.”

“They’re being mass-produced, haha.”

https://twitter.com/yowamushi_p_bot/status/508149786625576960

“Yowamushi Pedal [a manga/anime series] showed up at the GSR Cup race tournament.”

“This kind of person raced.”

https://twitter.com/Othra/status/508745087249952768

“A team wearing Love Live! character jerseys for a three-hour enduro [an off-road motorcycle sport] race. The Otonokizaka Bicycle Club competed with five teams and 19 participants and won both first and third places. Thanks for your support!”

“Miku-san in hot pursuit”

“Mappo meita [terms used in sci-fi novel/manga series Ninja Slayer] bike = real. Jissai okuyukashii. Aieee! A ninja!? Why a ninja!?”

“Last week I spent Saturday at the GSR Cup and Sunday at the Saifesu [Cycle Festival] in Odaiba and fully enjoyed both days!!! A-kun, Asaki-san, and to everyone who stuck with us, thank you so much!!!”

If you have a penchant for cycling and foresee yourself in Chiba around this time next year, don’t hesitate to get started on your own unique costume for next year’s event!

Sources: My Game News Flash, Good Smile Racing

Top image: Twitter (@takegtx)