RadRace on Film was Pure Chaos, and I Loved it…
RadRace 2023 Last Wo/Man Standing was a phenomenal experience. Part of the SSS team and I (Paul), all had a banging time meeting all of you, our listeners, readers, making new friends, and just vibing with everyone.
I believe we have talked enough about this event in the podcast, but if you need to get up to speed, here is a quick crash course on RadRace Last Wo/Man Standing.
RR LM/WS is a fixed gear criterium race, taking place in Berlin, and running on a very tight go-kart track. It’s a literal tsunami of fixed gear fanatics crashing all in one place, with beers, great tunes, fast-paced races, adrenaline pumping moments, and a healthy dose of euphoria in the air.
I have seen pictures of the previous years, and I knew that taking a film camera to this event, without a flash, would be a challenge. There isn’t much natural light, if any, the actual race starts pretty late (around 5PM), and everything, being so fast-paced, makes it even harder.
But I decided to try my luck anyway, a load the Nikon F100 with some Fuji Xtra 800, cross my fingers and hope for the best.
Obviously, a lot of them were blurry, if not completely unusable. But if you have been following this blog for a while, you probably also know that I have an unconditional love for “mystic and blurry” pictures beyond all measures.
Before we dive even more into this very well orchestrated chaos, I’d like to thank the RadRace Team, that allowed me to photograph the event, and get to know a bit more about the intense organization process that goes for that kind of race.
And let me tell you! This night was wild! I woke up the next morning with a terrible headache, pictures on my phone that made no sense, and a complete loss of voice from all the cheering and screaming I did for anyone who was on the track.
But my first though was:
“Damn! The Fixed Gear Scene is alive and well”
You’ll get more of our personal experiences about the event on this episode of the Slow Spin Society podcast: The Slow Spin Society Podcast Ep79 - RadRace, Berlin, and not enough sleep…
Or in the second episode of Wheelhouse Sister: Wheelhouse Sisters Ep.02- RadRace Finalists with Melissa and Thelma! Where Amanda and Christine managed to get two third of the 2023 podium on their show.
And finally, this Patreon Special: Patreon Special #14 : Jack's First Crit
But to sum it up: The RadRace Last Wo/Man Standing might be the best way to deep your first toe into fixed-gear criterium racing. It’s a powerful mix of pros, beginners, couriers, and a bunch a very hyped people, that might give you an extra confidence boost to get on the track and have some fun.
As a community that rises in popularity a bit more every day, it’s important that we create a safe space for beginners, but also show how rad our sport can be, all at the same time.
So I’m also writing to all the organizers of smaller events. As long as you take care of your local community by organizing races, rides, free market or any type of events, you’re doing something huge towards our culture and its constant evolution. If you want to see more people on fixed-gear bike, create more opportunities where anyone get involved. . It’s as simple as that.
So? Will you be there next year?
🎞: Fuji Xtra 800
📷: Nikon F100
📍: Berlin
