Eric Nakamura
Bryce Kanights
Matt Irving
Andy Jenkins
Mark Whiteley
Sean Cliver
RAD ROWDIES
My friend Nicholas Platzer, from the notorious INOPERABLE gallery in Vienna recently braved the rain, ice and snow to partake in the annual bike race, Piratislava. The journey starts in the city of Vienna, Austria, and continues through the shittiest of weather conditions to Bratislava in Slovakia.
Nicholas:This was the first year for Piratislava. Last year was the first time they did the Bratislava Experiment, and this year we decided to create our own race as an answer to them. Although last years ride was essentially organized by our Mama Rowdy and it wasn’t too different to this years race, other than there were more of us and we had our own checkpoints. Our Mama organized a hostel and accompaniment car. So I guess you could say its been going for 2 years but 1 year officially as Piratislava.
N: Another group had a race which was created last year, but due to certain reasons we decided not to join their race this year, and to hold our own instead.
A: How long was the ride, and how long did it take?
N: The ride was approximately 77.5km (48.2 miles). But it took all sorts of different people all sorts of times to finish; 3.5 hours up to 1 day.
N: Cold enough for my foot to go numb.
A: Did anyone fall off their bike?
N: I heard of one pirate falling off her tall-bike, but she got right back on and kept going. A couple pirates dropped out of the race last
minute, but we don’t blame them; this ride was for the purely stupid.
N: We were a loose group of friends, riding around together on things like Critical Mass, night rides, etc. Basically, just drinking, riding, and just hanging out. In 2008 we went to Budapest to join 80,000 other cyclists for their Critical Mass. And afterward, we were at some crazy two-floor bar with bike parking inside, and that’s where we came up with the idea to call ourselves the Rad Rowdies…
The cherry-on-top was the image they used. It was of a man in a suit wearing dark sunglasses, very typical CIA looking guy, riding a tandem bike. But upon closer inspection, it actually has a baby seat in the back, essentially making it a tridem, as he barrels down the street, holding in his hand a what looks to be a top-secret confidential manila envelope! It was the strangest photo they could have used.
A: Any funny stories that happened along the way?
N: At one point at the end of the race, we ended up on the highway in Bratislava. There is actually a great bike path that goes from Vienna to Bratislava, but since it snowed like crazy the days before, it was impossible to ride with a fixed gear. So we had to ride on main streets the whole way. Once we crossed the border it’s unclear where to go and we couldn’t see shit, and that’s how we ended up on a major highway with no clue of what to do. The only way out was to slide down a 45º angled hill!
A few other notable things were…
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