Puerto Rico
Presented by www.panaracer.com
Photography by Takuya Sakamoto, www.newyorkbikedreams.com
Last October I was invited to attend “Fijate,” which was a historical event for the Puerto Rican urban bicycle scene. The rider pictured to the left is Luis Rafael Robles, a native bicycle messenger who’s largely responsible for the fixed gear movement in Puerto Rico.
I was particularly interested in this cross-cultural cycling experience, because we (New York City bike messengers) have always known that the urban fixed gear movement was started by messengers from the West Indies. Not surprisingly, I found a strong connection between New York City and Puerto Rican cycling culture. The same is true with the exchange of street culture,
especially hip hop, which was born in the Bronx by people from the Carribean community.
For these reasons, I strive to capture the bicycle scene as “culture” and not as “sports.”
–Takuya Sakamoto