“Line of Sight” and it was about a guy [Lucas Brunelle] following around racers in New York. Fixed gear is an edgy bicycle style and these guys are the fastest on the street. You just have to get to the check point, you cut traffic, you can break the law and you just got to get to the end with a bicycle. In the first Stampede there were 13 racers and three of them bailed out, one got lost, one crashed his bike and one had a knee problem. The entry fee was 100 Baht ($3.05 USD) per person and you could put more if you want to so the pot ended up somewhere at 1500 Baht. By the second race we got sponsored with 5000 Baht plus the entry fees. The winner of the second race used to be a serious heroin addict and the bike saved his life because he didn’t want to quit biking so he quit heroin.

How has cycling culture impacted the people of Chiang Mai?

I see many kinds of people riding now, it’s become a social symbol and a symbol for wealth. Many people just ride and then go back to their car and I’m saying don’t go back to your car, just ride every day, just keep on riding! But I think that poor people also ride because they don’t have any other means.

Can you tell us about the bicycle center you plan to build?

You can come with your bike to the center and you can fix it, or we can teach you how to fix your bike through workshops for adults and children. I want to be able to make wooden bikes to give to poor families, and I also want to make cargo bikes. The bike center will be in the same space as an organic restaurant and a gallery.

What are you working on right now and what do you want for the future?

I’m calling for an event called Critical Mass, community cycling. I also want to start bicycle polo—maybe Chiang Mai could be the first bike polo in Southeast Asia. I’ve been planning a bike film festival where we will show movies and documentaries of cycling. For the future I want to do more bike races and make people more aware that it is happening, but not
the police.

See video of a Chiang Mai alleycat at youtu.be/JZ0J-2fcrys

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