The Radavist

In the time I have been running this blog, I have never been to an event like Fixed Fest in Jakarta. It’s not just the scale of the event, it’s the overall execution. Each event started on time and went smoothly, as planned. But that’s how it has to be with 100’s of people waiting for their chance to compete. The day began bright and early, 7am to be exact, with an alleycat. The out of towners would normally be screwed racing in a city like Jakarta but as with all foreign alleycats, they stuck to the locals and snaked their way through the crowded streets.

Then, there was the mini-races, the bunny hop contest, track stand, freestyle, polo and countless other side events. As the day went on, more and more people showed up and it didn’t dwindle until after the awards ceremony. Out of all the foreigners, it was Tyler Johnson who surprised everyone with a meter-high bunnyhop, a solid run in the freestyle and the best time in the mini-race, beating the competition by over 10 seconds. MASH SF repped hard as well, bringing in 5 medals and Sean Martin even won the alleycat (was that his first?).

Bottom line is, Fixed Fest was a blast. I have never signed so many autographs on bags, hats, shirts, jerseys, rims, bikes and anything else the attendees could get their hands on. I met some incredible people, who did nothing but smile and welcomed me to their city. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun and today we leave for a 4-day trip to Bali for some much-needed relaxation.

I would like to thank Rocket Company, Woof, and everyone who made this possible. Fixed Fest was the best event I’ve ever been to!

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Track bike criteriums are really gaining momentum. Today was the 2012 Fixed Fest Criterium and it was unlike any race I’ve ever been to. The traffic in Jakarta is unpredictable, so could you imagine racing a crit through live traffic. Even at 7am on a Saturday, the streets were mobbed with scooters, taxis and busses.

But that didn’t stop people from all over the world to show up with their track bikes and race. I was amazed at the amount of pristine bikes ridden by teenagers in the U18 race. Once the main event started, the crowd was thick, so I hopped on the back of a scooter and shot photos. The main event was 8 laps around the downtown area, outside Rocket Company.

After the neutral lap, Walton, Marc and Chas broke out in front of the chase group, sending them to the podium. Walton finished 1st (even after wrecking), then Chas and Marc. It was a fast-paced race, filled with close calls with scooters and cars but everyone had a blast!

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Let me just preface this Photoset by saying this was the most sketched out I’ve ever been riding around with my camera on me. Ever. Jakarta’s traffic is best described as Intra Chaos, or order within chaos. There are no traffic laws, just thousands of scooters, busses and cars that somehow move and shift into place. The best metaphor would be schools of fish, effortlessly flowing together in the ocean. With all the madness, there’s still an understanding of space and a respect for all vehicles.

We woke up this morning and rode to breakfast. After refueling, we took off and tore around the city. It really was amazing and these photos don’t even begin to touch how incredible riding a brakeless track bike is in this city.

Tonight is the official Fixed Fest opening party, put on by Rocket Company…

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Well, after a long 28 hours of travel, I arrived in Indonesia with Jason, Chas, Walton and Tyler, who I met up with in Taipei. Ochi and Mamad met us from Rocket Company and after building our bikes up, we all hit the streets in search of food. I’m too tired to write much else, so it’s off to bed for me. Tomorrow’s schedule is packed, so expect more later.

I do want to thank Rocket Company and all the organizers for making this trip happen. It’s really incredible to be here riding with everyone and I cannot wait for Fixed Fest.

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If you’ve spent any time in LA, chances are you’ve met the owner of this bike. Juan is always at every hang out, with a 12 pack of Tecate and a big smile on his face. One afternoon at GSC, he was putting on his new Wound Up fork, so I took it out for some lens love.

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We took a look at Moth Attack‘s space in Los Angeles last week. While Megan was giving me the grand tour of her studio, I couldn’t help but fixate on this sparkly black track bike that was hanging in the quiver. One of the ways Megan spends her nights is out at Encino Velodrome, teaching track racing classes to new racers. This uber-lightweight race machine is what that she uses to race and teach the rules of the track. It’s a damn fine bike…

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