Fixpert

OMGosh! First thing I read this morning was about this evil fuck in LA that deliberately hit cyclists with his car (not that uncommon, especially in LA unfortunately). So I got all angry and was gonna post a bunch of stuff about it.

But THEN! I came across this sweet sweet video of homies riding fixed gear through the streets of New York City. Yay for these dudes and dudettes and yay for positivity!! It flushed away all the bad feelings in a jiff. You can watch this smaller version here on Fixpert, or you can watch a larger, nicer version of Empire on Vimeo.

Empire from Empire on Vimeo.

I got choked up with a wee bit o’ nostalgia watching this video, thinking back to 2001-2002…my blissful-though-painful days riding through the streets of New York as a bike messenger. This video does a great job of capturing the challenge of density that is special to New York. There’s just so much stuff going on all around you at any given moment, and it’s not just cars. TONS of foot traffic, jaywalkers, food carts, pizza delivery bikes, rogue pigeons, elephants, parades, taxis, space aliens. It’s all there.

I should also say, I was never nearly as bad-ass as these guys. My specialty as a messenger was the suffering part — riding in all kinds of bad weather with 40 lbs on my back with a satisfied smile on my face, “now THIS is livin’!” I’m good at the suffering.

via Absentmindfully

Awesome.

I don’t have a source for this yet, I’ll update the post with an attribution when I get one.

thanks Keith!

from Core77:

“Bicycle” is the title of a 100-day event (Jun.22 - Oct.5) full of activities and lectures anchored by a central exhibition at the Designhuis in Eindhoven. The exhibition provides a great overview on the variety of two-wheelers designed for sports, transport, showing off… everything! Some 18 million bicycles in the Netherlands make it worth checking out this gallery of Dutch design on wheels.

- designhuis
- via Core77

LA, batten down the hatches! Get ready! This weekend is Bike Town Beta!

What’s Bike Town Beta you say? Here’s an excerpt from the official site:

Bike Town Beta is a unique bike ride and social gathering. We will be transforming a small urban area into a mini bike town for a night. Simply ride your bike around the area meandering up and down every street. Make stops to patronize businesses, enjoy parks, and chat with other riders.

Further details:

Bike Town Beta #1 Los Angeles- Westwood Village
Saturday October 25th, 2008 6pm-10pm
Boundaries: Wilshire, Galey, Westwood, and Le Conte

I love the kids that are putting this event together. The westside always had some of my favorite peoples in LA, especially homies from the BikeRoWave. It’s bound to be a good time, if you’re in the area, don’t miss it!

Looks cool, but I can’t get the demo video on the page to play, so it’s hard to see how it works.

Thanks Ed!

via Ed Lu via BoingBoing via Jess Hemerly