Insane or Amazing?
 

I got this link from a post on the Fixed-Gear list.

http://www.digave.com/videos/red-web.mpg

ya, that was posted a month or two ago. insanely amazing or amazinglyl insane? i personally liked it.

I would say that was bad for bicyclists as a whole. Every person they cutoff, every person they scare will have a bad impression of bicylists. It is technically sort of kewl because as a lame fatguy in kansas i know i can't ride like that, but at the same time i know that riding like that in and out of traffic, between cars, the wrong way on a street, is not just dangerous it is statistically going to involve an accident if they pursuit it.

Did they have brakes on their bikes, were they fixed? One was for sure when he put his feet up, not sure about the other. What sort of camera? Me? I wouldn't do that stuff here because as i said im a fat middleaged guy and because we already have enough people here that just don't get the idea of a bicycle on the street.

So to answer the question both insane and crazy and also foolish.

these guys are masters. especially the guy on the fixed. my favorite part is watching them go through the trench of the deathstar (i.e. in between the buses). and then the ultimate maneuver of switching lanes to avoid the pedestrian.

i don't think the video itself is bad for bicyclists as a whole. video or not, people ride like that. personally i think it rocks!

i miss riding in NYC. it was always exciting, fast paced, weaving through traffic. here in SF, there are so many nice amenities like bike lanes that it gets boring (although it's quite safe). sometimes i take Van Ness home instead of Polk just to get some action.

someday i definitely hope to have the skills that these guys possess. except for the dude who runs his hand alongside the bus. that's just silly. (and he's geared).

-Dennis

Totally awesome video.
Cant wait to get down to Berlin for some action.
My favorite part is also, where the fixie guy changes lane to avoid the fat lady, thats sweet riding.

Right before that scene, when they're entering the street and the other 2 bank left, the guy with the camera blows through this crack between 2 cars that must've been like 6" wide.

hell of an angle he's at.

i also like the drinking and racing vid. getting chased by that car...nuts!

The Ice riding one was damn funny. I wish our lakes and rivers froze. ;)

Yeah, dude, that drinking one is scary. Riding against traffic on an arterial road? After drinking a 40? That's just plain stupid.

The New York stuff is awesome but its not actually all that dangerous. Traffic speeds are so low in Manhattan that if you get hit, you'll probably escape without a really serious injury. Get hit by a car going 20, you'll most likely walk away...same accident with a car going 40, you're dead.

Try to pull those sort of moves on Queens Blvd or Eastern Parkway, you'll be a grease spot

That was funny. I remember rides like that in Boston. The first guy on that is a guy I used to work with at Marathon and he is fast. I would love to be able to go on about riding that way bu I think there are some that just don't like and don't really want to hear my misguided take on it.

[QUOTE=kurremkarm]I would say that was bad for bicyclists as a whole. Every person they cutoff, every person they scare will have a bad impression of bicylists.


That, or maybe those people will pull their heads out of their @sses and pay more attention to their surroundings. I like to think that when i'm riding and i cut someone off or come close to nailing someone that sut me off, that i've possibly just saved a life (human or bike) because hopefully from that point on, that person will either use their mirrors next time or look both ways before crossing. Who am i kidding though. While i'm on the subject, people on cell phones get no mercy sometimes it's in these situations. I like to yell at them even if they only slightly cut me off because 99 out of 100 times they're paying absolutely NO attention have no idea what they're doing anyway and it makes them feel like a complete @ss.

Oh yeah, the video, seen it a while ago nut nonetheless...very cool. I just can't help but to wonder how hard it was for that guy to get his feet back in his clips.

I was out to lunch one day, from something like 50th st, down queens blvd, one guy was drafting behind a minivan all dressed up in some team outfit on his tri bars going like at least 50. I was like, holy cow! I wish didn't have work.
What's scary is the signs that say, "pedestrian was killed here." They're everywhere.

mmmmmmmmm......alleycat. i LOVE EM. fuken drug they are:-D

This one cat from NYC but thats been on chicago streets for ages can skitch better than that one guy in the video tho, he bounces between cars :-P

speaking of avoiding peds, the july 3rd race was nuts! soo many people by the lake

also, bombing between buses was my favorite thing to do this winter, on my freewheeler (single, no worries :-P) but i slowed it down ever since i bounced between two moving long (accordion middle) buses. scary as ****!

I do find it much easier riding in Manhattan than down Queens Blvd. the traffic in Manhattan is much more stop & go and you don't worry as much about vans bearing down on you going 50-60mph.

Anyway, when riding down Queens Blvd you'll be on the side (service road) and not the main thoroughfare anyway, so it's not so bad to weave between the cars when the traffic is slow.

I've seen those hardcore roadies zooming down Queens Blvd. drafting behind cars too, pretty neat, lots of courage too, I'm always really careful about cracks in the road and potholes.

this link died. does anyone have the video saved? i'd really like to have it.

I have it saved, but I have no way to post it.

I wonder why the page is down. I was hoping there would be more video installments. I love watching those guys with their wiley cycling antics.

Probably taken down for excessive bandwidth usage (50megs each adds up). If anyone can conveniently throw it on a torrent that would be nice. If not i'll do it.

What i'd like is a higher res version of that... would be awesome.

if anyone would be so kind to email it to revelude (at) gmail (dot) com, i would be eternally grateful.

You mean the part under the #7 subway line where the parking is? On a roadie, I'd rather be out in the main blvd, the part under the 7 is always crowded with children and people backing their cars out.
If you ever go down the blvd, be careful around 45th street down. I think on 40th or so, right after burger king, there's a row of potholes about a block long and sometimes a foot deep. Drafting behind minivans is the best cause most of the time you can see right through the car at eye level and anticipate things coming.

i met the guy who runs his hand across the bus at the reload alleycat.

{off topic}

gmail - aint that the new google 1 gig inbox email thingy? How'd you get that?

most likely an invitation.

Yeah yeah yeah - I was wondering what prompted the invitation...