Spencer at Jam Pony Bikes alerted me to a small and informal jam he was throwing at the Brooklyn Banks, in place of the Animal Jam (which sort of outgrew itself last year, and therefore couldn't really happen again).
I had rolled down on my Spicer, as my ankle is still too swollen from the previous weeks Bike Killing to ride BMX.
A single flyer was made, word of mouth got out, and over 100 kids showed up. It was nearly freezing, so dress code was all over print hoodies with beanies (toques). Jam format was pretty standard for the banks. A spot is picked, and kids kill it in a line till everyone is too fucked up to ride anymore, or everyone has nailed their respective trick.
I locked up, and Spencer immediately handed me a beer just as they were starting the stair flyout. Here's a shot of a kid supermaning it, landed too!
There was also a few near completed 720s, and a whole lot of slamming into the pillar. Next up for killing was the grind box. One of the Animal crew did this absolutely retarded fakie feeble to barspin 180 out.
When he got it everyone was roaring!
After that there was a high hop comp, with police tape stretched across the stairs. It ended up around eye level (6') and the dude who got it cleared it easy. It was too dark by then for my phone cam to catch any of it though.
I fixed a couple chains while I was there (Spencer brought the parts, I brought the tools) ... and the kids really appreciated it. Though, a 410H doesn't really fit in the compact Park CT-5, plus cold hands make for really tough work. I seriously had to stop a kid from trying to assemble his chain with a dislodged brick from the banks.
After the jam ended I rolled over to the Lower East Side for the Macaframa NYC premier. It was being held at some lounge on 1st named Arlo and Esme. Initially, I wasn't super stoked on it, but the lovely Haley had hyped it up enough after seeing it at the SF premier that I felt I should attend.
When I arrived (20 mins before the doors supposedly opened) gratuitous track bike parking was already in effect. You may recognize this disk hanging out in a tree:
The doorman was Mr Grumpy-Barks-A-Lot for the next hour or so, until he finally let us in (only 50 minutes late.. glad I dressed warm) and I was close enough to the front of the line to get a bar stool with a backrest. This was kind of a jackass move on the bar's part. Admission to the film was free, so they were only profiting off the bar. Seems pretty stupid to keep the bikers out in the cold for an hour, when they could be buying beer.
As much as I hate the H word... What a freakin' hipster party. Being anywhere where 10% of the people there are trying to document it with digital SLRs annoys the shit out of me. Thankfully the flashes (mostly) stopped when the film started. I realize that I too am guilty over documentation... but come on, do future historians need to wade through a thousand shots of the people in attendance at a track bike movie screening?
Yeah.. onto the film. Plenty of close ups, great editing, some spinning, some tricky tricks, and a whole lot of pretty scenery. There was a shot near the end of someone bombing Haight; one of the steepest, gnarliest serrated pavement streets that Rhiannon and I bombed on a rainy day in February. The shot didn't really do much to convey the terror I felt when I hit those slick STOP paintings near the bottom.. but it brought the feeling rushing back. I REALLY enjoyed the music in the film, especially Keo's part. Overall it was pretty much what I expected, a quality bicycle riding video. It didn't exactly make me want to hoon on my ride home like some BMX vids do, which is a good thing in midtown Manhattan.
Even at zero hoon, one can get into trouble on these streets. I should mention that between the jam and the film, I got doored. I was cautiously filtering up Center st. when the passenger of a middle lane Grand Cherokee popped open the door, mid block, and sent my bars into the wheel well of the truck in the next lane. She apologized profusely, to the point of annoyance... and I had the tools to straighten my bar. I suppose it would have been a softer impact for me if I had just aimed for her, but then I would have to do the apologizing =/
1 comment:
hellyea, i heart them macaframa folk.
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