The 2nd Round of Sur Place was a success! Even more riders attended and contributed their precious input. After enjoying a cup of delicious soup made by Rens, we cleared space for a couple of interesting speakers.
We started with Peter Gillian, who was introduced to us by Pristine. He told us about the Goldsprint phenomenon: a bike race on rollers with enough potential to make a crowd go wild. The event was used as promotion for, and got its name from, the Goldsprint beer, although the origins of the concept may lie elsewhere. Peter brought along some Goldsprint posters, executed in a masterful retro style by designer Casarramona.
Stefan Vis improvised a presentation about Sunday at the Track. He organizes these track days to let fixed gear riders experience what riding around a velodrome is like - a true adrenaline kick, so it appears. Stefan used to be a track rider himself, but quit because he found the track cycling world way too conservative; there is no room for any kind of play. Stefan on the contrary wants to stress the playfulness in track cycling: there is definitely much more to it than riding in circles.
After Stefan, Jos Van Dijk (Votske) jumped to his feet, and enthusiastically told us about the bike adventure he and his friends will embark on on the 9th of April: a fixed gear tour from Amsterdam to Paris. They will be making a stop in Roubaix before arriving in the city of love, where they will cool down playing bike polo and doing tricks. The whole enterprise will result in a documentary. It was clear that Jos could hardly believe how big the project had become: they will be sponsored by Vans and are featured on America’s biggest fixed gear blogs. Follow the adventure on http://amsterdamparis.web-log.nl/
Finally, we again had a good time meeting all the different riders and exchanging ideas about what should be included in the Sur Place exhibition. We will have another round soon, so we hope to see everyone who attended the previous rounds again, and of course we also welcome all new fixed-loving faces.
