Background information
With the fixie to Morocco #7: Land in sight!
by Jonathan Perraudin und Christoph Zuidema
With the fixie to Morocco #3: Skidden, Vermuth and melancholy
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
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.
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...
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