This project started organically, and as small as could possibly be imagined. With my Canon G10 riding shotgun, I'd snap random photographs of my friends riding their bikes, and scrawling shorthand notes about their character and style, in moleskine margins. And as I sat at Starbucks in the Omote-cho, hiding from the withering summer heat outside, those notes took shape on my laptop, growing into the final photographic piece of my Japanese story.
And now, several thousand lattés and old fashioned doughnuts later, that story is finally ready to be both shown, and told.
When you go to work in an ice cream shop, I couldn't imagine ever being forewarned "dude, you know you're gonna be eating a lot of ice cream, right?" Or before taking a job at one of the fastest growing outdoor gear retailers on the planet, "dude, you know you're gonna be buying a lot of awesome shit and never saving money, right?"
Ominous forewarning, or blatant admission of the obvious notwithstanding, I got the same warnings before I started riding for SCC, "um, you know that bike messaging entails a lot of riding, right?" And to be honest, I wasn't quite sure what to expect--besides that I was going to be riding a lot. After three months on the job, I can admit with great confidence that this was something of an understatement. I ride a lot.
These are not long, calculated aerobic roadie miles though, as bike messaging is cycling's anaerobic, attention-deficit-disorderly cousin. Lot of eyes-wide sprinting, skidding, and dashing, then standing quietly in an elevator with echoes of the last three intersections struggling to keep up. Three minutes and forty seconds later, I stuff my lock back into its holster, and the cycle repeats. In turn, the muscle fatigue is rapidly punctuated; through periods of high drain, then partial refill from expresso and granola bar-shaped injections, and then more drain before the courts close, before total collapse by the time I climb my way out of the valley to my apartment, up in the avenues.
So like the ice cream gig, I started wondering how much of a good thing I could take. Goes without saying that I love to ride, but other such good things that I love, like Raisin Bran Crunch, and peanut butter and banana on orange marmalade are unfailingly scrumptious foods, and not in the business of completely wearing my shit out. Couldn't help worrying that after a few weeks, I might not enjoy riding the bike in my off time, as I had so much before.
Nope. Reaffirmed tonight that a little peel 'sesh and a few wheelies in the electric afterglow is still the strongest prescription the city has to offer.
It was just past seven in the morning. Thanks to an earthquake mangling a section of the highway somewhere near Shizuoka, the bus arrived late. I was somewhat rudely awoken by the driver apologizing for the previous night's act of God.
I pulled the Langster off the bus at Odaiba. Sun still on its way up, I found a quiet corner under the ferris wheel, and away from the throngs of salarymen emerging from the nearby subway station, to put it together.
The Rainbow Bridge doesn't allow cyclists to cross, so I took the long way into the city, heading north, past the proposed site of the future Olympic Village. I kept to the road, because the cyclist shoulder was thick with pressed shirts and black ties--a sea of blank faces moving in the direction from which I'd just come. In front of me, the city rose quickly. As I passed the Tsukiji market area to my right, I could already feel my new lockring slipping. It was quickly decided that W-Base Bicycle Garage on the west side of the Yamanote, just inside Harajuku might be a more prudent first stop. From there, it was only a short hop to Yoyogi park where I'd set up the camera and plot out the routes I wanted to shoot.
Suddenly I was swallowed by Ginza.
This project was an experiment of sorts. I wanted to use a POV camera for more than just insert shots, or the more typical usage in long, drawn-out takes without offering any variety for the viewer. To do this, I would either have to ride similar sections multiple times, or employ the use of multiple cameras. Because I didn't have ten grand for the latter, you might see some inconsistencies in continuity.
Before setting out, I made a conscious decision to avoid the northern half of the city (Ueno, Ikebukuro, etc.), and the Shinjuku ward entirely. Look closely though, and you'll see plenty of other well-known locales: Shibuya, Harajuku, Gaienmae, Roppongi, famous Aoyama and Omotesando streets, the Imperial Palace grounds, Ginza, and a quick trip through Akabane to pay a visit to the Tokyo Tower.
Great to see the Okayama Headset crew still tearing it up. Sundays at Momosta.
Highlight of the video though is around the 0:46 mark, finding Yuji in rare form as he ends a nice little no-handed wheelie by pitching his brand new Volume into a brick tree planter. His later appointment with the pavement at 2:20 is equally spectacular.
Props to my boy TK for putting this one together. At first, I was surprised to see edits from him so soon, because I know he's got a bigger project in the works, but this isn't it. Still keeping a tight lid on that one I guess.
Somewhere between all the recent cleaning and packing and drinking and cleaning and packing and riding and arguing with the city's idiot sanitation crews, I've still been squeezing in quiet moments at Starbucks for a cup of coffee and a window to hammer at the photobook project. Mostly writing, and editing, organizing the photos to be used. I attach my work to emails and drop them into a narrow chute marked "Sonadei," but what happens to them on the other end, I still have no idea.
And then, just this morning--an email in a bottle, floated across the ocean; inside only a photograph, albeit one bearing the rich fruits of productivity:
For lack of more evocative and less overused vocabulary, the Tokyo ride will, for the time being, have to settle with being merely described as "epic."
However, once the footage viewing and initial selection process has been run through stage one of the Final Cut juicer, I may be able to attach other delicious adjectives to tide you over while you wait for the video. Ones like "head-shaketastic," "sweat-stained wide-angle-rrific," and "retardedly overexposed," are a few of the first that come to mind.
shadow praying for better exposure
I'm still feeling like an entire day's worth of riding, sweating, and shooting will yield a golden nugget of around three and a half minutes.
If she were maybe forty or fifty years younger, I'd hardly be ashamed to say that Mrs. Kyokawa and I were dating. I mean, we've pretty much already established the trappings of a seasoned relationship.
She's relentless in her impatience, calling me all the damn time, wanting to know where I am and when I'll be home. And when I do finally get home, there she is, sitting on my porch steps and staring at the clouds. I'd invite her up, but she'd much rather collect from me a pre-determined sum of cash. Sometimes we make small talk. Most other times she just leaves.
On the flip side, she always seems to know exactly what I need:
It took more than a bit of work, but I think I finally figured out how to get a half serious photograph of Kaste. Set him up with fresh hubs and a pair of rims to build into, and he's as serious as a heart attack.
However, a generous estimate would say that this little pretense of his unfortunately only lasts about fifteen seconds:
oh. nevermind
He's got a "it-was-funny-exactly-once" knack for stepping into, and ruining great, perfectly natural photographs with his enviable collection of absurd facial contortions. However, since he did a smashing job with my new All City hubs last night (gladly teaching me a huge deal about building rims in the process), I'll just get to cropping him out of all those other now ridiculous shots without complaining.
Langster is so close to being "finished" finished. Thanks Kaste.
I go through these sweltering afternoons where I'm just praying it would rain. Sit by my porch window with a tea sandwich or a can of coffee and watch life outside scramble for cover before getting washed away in the sudden downpour. But then there are afternoons like yesterday where I'm just praying that the same rain would just hold the fuck off--ten more minutes, just enough time for me to get home, that's it. Clearly, I was asking for too much, as the heavens belched forth watery apocalypse the moment I finished my selfish prayer. And then just to remind me of my insignificant place in this universe, the chain slipped off my shitty bike and caught itself in the rear hub, leaving me at the mercy of the torrents while I made repairs. Quite obviously, I arrived home far behind the sneering clouds--soaked to the marrow, and irritated beyond recognition of even my own face.
But the day's regular cycle--ie; 'life,' went on, even as the world swam around us. Shortly thereafter, the skies cleared momentarily, giving the sun its stage from which to set. I snapped the above picture.
Then the downpour resumed.
There's a new Langster in town. It's his first fixed-gear too. He's giddy--like a schoolgirl on the first day of summer vacation. I remember being just the same way. It hasn't been the best of years, but I still get giddy--still get the rush, racing streetlights every night of the week. Never would have expected to get so much out of two wheels and a single-speed drivetrain, but I have.
Hope he does too.
Mattsun's life on a fixie really started off on the wrong foot. Skidding face-first into a closed storefront shutter on camera will probably do that to you.
But since his admittedly hilarious debut late last year, he's tightened up his skids and dumped his brakes. Still carries that rapid-fire "yes coach" style of speech he uses on the baseball field, but has loosened up enough around us to completely quit using the irritating über-polite, über-uncomfortable keigo Japanese.
Still a long way from killing it, but his wheelies are starting to look pretty damn sharp.
God, they grow up so fast...
My little G10 continues to impress--linked up with Kinash and Yuji, and took it down to the park last night to experiment a little bit with the second curtain flash / slow sync settings. Came home a few hours later with some fresh blisters, and these stunners:
[click to enlarge]
Kinash winds up...
...and delivers
H+ ghosts
this kid is in a league of his own
I won't pretend to know anything about photography, but I've had it for about four months and so far, this camera can do no wrong. Goes from full auto to full manual in just a few clicks, all the while stuffing itself with useful features (color correction/keep, stitching, audio caption, scene comp) tucked into a surprisingly intuitive UI. Probably my favorite thing about it though is its portability--can be brought to bear and ready to shoot faster than any SLR I've ever tried to take pictures with. Pint-sized for a hoodie pocket, but built like a tank. Shoots like a tank too. You know, like, if the tank had a G10 instead of a 120 millimeter barrel.
I was gonna wait till I could get both videos up (no thanks to Vimeo's weekly limit), and for MYCTC to post more pictures of the event, but I guess the cat is officially out of the bag--just a few hours after I uploaded it to Vimeo, we got linked up on lockedcog, 3bancho, and hkfixed. So without further adieu, here is the submission TKYM and I cooked up for the Shikoku jam last weekend.
Enjoy.
We are HEADSET. Okayama sucks a little bit less behind fixie bars.
Barely had time to clear up space on the iLappy's weary external hard drive, as HEADSET is back on the pavement--this time shooting for local pride in a four prefecture fixie cinematic jam at the end of this month down in Shikoku. While I'll again man the editing helm, I've got help from local legend TKYM as my director of photography. Additionally, the whole crew has more than a few new tricks up its collective sleeve, plus we've added a second camera and a pursuit bike to our A/V arsenal.
a new breed of bosozoku
Hit the pavement last night to record my first ever chase sequence. But for this 'first', I found myself on the opposite side of the camera, running circles around the city and trying to outrun the chase crew. However, TKYM--the model citizen, was adamant about adhering to local traffic law--stopping at all stop signs and traffic lights, making sure our camera guy wore a helmet, and even went so far as to reprimand me for skitching a taxi down Momotaro Dori. I don't think it hampered much, because he and Frank shot some awesome shit. Even though I'd be just as excited if it were any of the other guys, I'm really stoked that it got to be me. Personal narcissism aside, I can't wait to see this up on the big screen.
say hello to mr. tube
Oh, and I shredded through my last Mondo Sport in the process. I blame the Nishiguchi overpass decent into a red light at 35mph.
Will keep you updated as the helter-skelter editing process rockets towards March 21st.
Really feels like we're going to kill it this time.
Four months in the making, "Fixed and the City" is a lot of things. It's the digital marriage of Panaracer rubber, asphalt, and sound. A moving picture mixtape. A single-speed mission statement. A dedication. A memoir. The difference between simple ownership, and unabashed love. It's less about the "scene," and more about a day in the life; fixed gears on this little concrete canvas of ours.
Oh, and it's about thirty minutes long.
Crack open a cold one, and turn the volume up.
Sorry to keep you waiting.
* Since this is just a weak sample, to hit the full version and/or download the torrent, follow this linkage to Vuze.com. And if those two clicks somehow end up giving you fits, blast me an email so I can set you up with my best Indonesian call center impersonation.
Late last night, the fixie project finally made it through the hellish MPEG conversion gauntlet, and into the annuls of YouTube, but this morning I awoke to find it had been inexplicably yanked even before I had a chance to see how it looked. Am I disappointed? Yes. But surprised? Not really.
Still, rather than resume the monthlong cranial abuse at the expense of the varnish on my desk, I'm pressing ahead to make the project available for download via torrent. Will hopefully have that link up shortly.
Additionally, in keeping stride with the project's original goal, a shortened, FatC "cliff note" version which should fit neatly under ten minutes, and attract far less attention from the unscrupulous, banhammer-wielding goons in San Bruno, is also under construction. Conveniently enough, this version will hopefully be sent off to Seattle for the Filmed by Bike festival in April, which just so happens to be a few short months away.
Crank the shitty-ass pop music. This one's going back under the tarpaulin.
ps: While I don't currently have the resources to burn, and internationally ship a dvd of the full-length project file to everyone who wants one (those understandably without torrent access), shoot me an email and perhaps we can work something out. Promising lucky charms or speed stick in exchange would almost certainly expedite your request.
This is what my Langster looked like when I picked it up back in June. Pretty much stock.
This is what it looks like now. Not all that visible in the picture, but new tires (umpteenth set), pedals/clips, tossed the brakes, and dropped two teeth off the rear cog. Oh, and the creme de la creme--super deep V rims, courtesy of the H+ boys at Cycroc in Osaka. Sickness locally brewed.
Still obviously missing the requisite suicide doors, but still--it's just that much closer to living up to the original concept.
All it's missing now, is a down tube holster for the tommy gun.
t-minus 15 minutes to seeing his heavy metal mug on the big screen
fried chicken and grenades (sweet band name)
here we go
brought to you by Chuck Berry
crowd digs it
The "Fixed and the City" project party drew to fitting completion, the scouting, drafting, shooting, editing, nail-biting, beer slamming, and udon slurping of the past three months. Even though he can't read English, I'd still like to pass along a huge thanks/air high-five to Nobu from Trees for setting the event up, and to Kyousuke from the now-defunct Round Wheel for all the parts, repairs, and inspiration that put us well on our way.
The troops have been rallied. And I think we're just getting warmed up.
Well, it's done. This is what it looks like, as I sit back with a few cookies and some orange juice to wait out the encoding process. I'll try to make the full HD version available online somehow--either via YouTube, or on Vimeo (preferable). Stay tuned over the weekend, as I finally let this one go.
[update 1/19]
Been having some very serious technical difficulties on multiple fronts (compression and burning) that are keeping me from getting this baby on the web, and/or in your hands. If I said to "sit tight" before, kindly sit a little tighter, a little longer.
It's still coming--I promise.
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