Background information

With the fixie to Morocco #3: Skidden, Vermuth and melancholy

Jonathan Perraudin und Christoph Zuidema

8.9.2018

Translation: machine translated

After their final university exams, Jonathan and Christoph head out into the world. Not on an all-inclusive holiday to the Canary Islands, but to Morocco pretty much without anything - just with fixies and light luggage. Here they report on their experiences. This time: Not quite sober in seventh fixie heaven.

Temporary repairs are good - new spokes are even better. Ideally combined with new acquaintances, so when we arrive in Barcelona we choose a bike mechanic who might be able to tell us a thing or two about the city's fixie culture. And lo and behold: after he tells us that the 30-minute repair will cost 20 euros (where do we actually send our expenses bill?), he says that we should actually come back at 8 o'clock in the evening. Then the rest of his fixie crew would come round for one, two or three after-work beers.

Showered and stocked up on cans of beer, we return and meet Peter first. A former British track racer who has started organising races. Initially he organised alleycats (scavenger hunts by bike) and local competitions, but now he only does what pays his way. For example, he took part in the European Track Championships in Scotland and is also involved in the Red Hook Crit in Milan.

Peter downs his beer in English style

Christoph talking shop with Peter (right) and Nico.

As a completely taken a Byte cyclist, he doesn't fly to all these stations, but instead takes the routes under his wheels on his customised carbon frame. Next on the agenda is Barcelona - London - Milan. Wouldn't he like to do this with a rucksack and only one gear for a change? In English style, he downs his beer and only manages a dry "no".

A place for fixie freaks

Nico, the shop owner, leads us through the alleyways to the nearest bar to start his evening off right. He came to Barcelona from Italy a few years ago, fell in love with the city and wanted to give something back to it with a fixie shop. What could be more fitting than a place like this, where fixie and bike freaks can meet up while their two-wheeled passion is being mended? Nico is only 27 and we are impressed by his work, aptly named "My Beautiful Parking".

Since Nico's knee is slightly damaged, his friend Alex explains and shows us how the so-called "skidden" (braking by blocking the rear wheel with pure muscle power) works - and all in Catalan. You've got the video evidence below and we'll see over the next few days how much has stuck with us. But first, the tutorial including a declaration of love to Galaxus. What about shipping to Spain?

Vermuth and melancholy

What else is there to say? We were taught that Vermuth is the right choice for an aperitif and that alcohol takes effect more quickly without dinner. We are expertly introduced to Barcelona's nightlife by our new-found friends and arrange a meeting for the next day before travelling on. In the morning, we move on like this.

Wait a minute... weren't we there by bike?

Where have our bikes gone? We remember. So that we still have them the next day, Nico has offered to leave them in his shop (perhaps even in the window, adorning himself with other people's feathers?).
He gives us two more bike caps from his shop and, with a wink, cuts us two spare spokes to the right size. He probably doesn't believe that our bikes are of the same quality as his shop window goods. We don't care. After a slightly wistful farewell, we set off southwards through the urban jungle of Barcelona.

To be continued...

What else happened:

Background information
With the fixie to Morocco #7: Land in sight!
by Jonathan Perraudin und Christoph Zuidema

16 people like this article

Jonathan Perraudin und Christoph Zuidema

aurel.stevens@gmail.com

We're setting off from Zurich this summer, trying our hand at skidding with fixies, racing over mountain passes and not stopping again until we've reached the beach in Morocco.

Sport

Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest

Sport

Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest

Background information

Interesting facts about products, behind-the-scenes looks at manufacturers and deep-dives on interesting people.

Show all

2 comments

later

Search

With the fixie to Morocco #3: Skidden, Vermuth and melancholy

Peter downs his beer in English style

A place for fixie freaks

Vermuth and melancholy

With the fixie to Morocco #7: Land in sight!

2 comments

Top 10 categories

Go to

With the fixie to Morocco #7: Land in sight!

2 comments

Galaxus Deal of the day