The Boy Who Cried Checkpoint

The Boy Who Cried Checkpoint04.02.2012 | PERMALINK

With his pink track bike covered in stickers, I knew he meant business...

As he searched the torrent of information for the hashtag #fixiefamous.

We took off down the streets, the fixed gear moving his feet.

Avoiding the dangers of city riding.

I told him to never take the inside lines, unless you're of a PRO mind...

...because sometimes you can end up in a bind.

Through the emerald sidewalks we did ride...

... brakeless, tattoo'd and fixed justified.

Messenger bag, covering his back, he knew how to ride, it was his knack.

Over the bridge and to the city, braking not once, what a pity.

Each turn he would lean, a brave, yung machine.

The commuter race was on, who would win?

The boy on the pink fixie knew within....

Once in the City, he checked his phone while straddling his steed.

Cars, cabs and cyclists would whizz by...

As he sipped the straight-edger's whisky rye.

Shadows cross, shadows lie, when pedestrians' paths want to die.

The cross streets brought a new-found exhilaration.

Why bother with blowing red lights when you can wait in anticipation.

To take off in a sprint...

The yellow ones are always a hint...

To what city you're in. This is New York, there's no need for a race.

Everyone's anonymous, without a face.

This is when the yung Marc realized, life's a race, enjoy the ride.

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I’m always amazed how how many people are still into alleycats, especially in NYC. One morning, I was finishing up my coffee when this kid came flying up the sidewalk yelling “CHECKPOINT??!??!?!” “CHECKPOOOOINNNT!!!!!!”. I’d seen this happen before. It’s so sad. He was lost during a race. Brooklyn’s far from a difficult city to navigate, so I went over to ask if I could help. He replied that he saw an alleycat on Twitter and that the manifest was posted with the #fixiefamous hashtag. I didn’t have anything going on that day, so I agreed to follow him around town, as we looked for these “checkpoints”. Part of me knew someone was just messing with the wide-eyed, tattoo’d, pink fixie kid….

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