Breakin L.A. (2012) - full transcript

The Alley Cat in Hamburg is
an alternative bike event

where riders come from all over to race the streets
of our famous red lights district: St. Pauli

I'm Ivo. I was born here in Hamburg.

I've always ridden bicycle.

I was also a bike messenger for 3 - 4
years… at that time we used pay phones.

Eventually I began working more,
always working more and more.

If I wouldn't have had cycling,
then I wouldn't be how I am today.

I'm Henrich, I am now 25 years old.

Originally, I'm coming from skateboarding.

I rode skateboard for 5 - 6 years.

But early on I was somewhat
into cycling through my father.



We made bike tours to Grandma
and Grandpa, about 50 - 60 km long.

I'm Jan Glietz, Gianni Suicycle.

I was a bike messenger for many years.

It must have been in the first grade when
I broke my first seat post on my PUKY bike.

My father had it welded at his work since
I had jumped around with it so much.

That means, I have been breaking things for
quite a long time and having fun doing it.

I am Peter. I am 35 years old.

My earliest memories were back in the
80ties, like '87 when everybody around me

in the the little town where I lived,
started BMX race.

We had race tracks everywhere just one was
like 2 minutes from the house of my parents.

I got this cheap, crappy BMX
from the supermarket and started racing.

Did that until late '88 and then I
switched to to skateboarding for 22 years.

Wicked. My name, Rene. I was born in
Hamburg but I was raised in the suburbs.

Living on the countryside, you have to use
a bicycle otherwise you don't get anywhere.



You can take the bus, which
runs every hour. Its sucks.

I always rode bike from the age of 12 until
I moved away and had a car at 18.

When I moved to the city I forgot about
bike riding but then I rediscovered it…

… because it's hard to find places to park
the car, I'm a lot faster, I see more.

It's simply sweet and it is
also a sweet form of movement.

I really love my bike.

Of course it is functional, somehow I
have to go from A to B but riding is fun.

It is really the case that I like to
ride my bike around the neighborhood and

maneuver through the red lights
and around the corners.

Or to check the fastest route from A to B.
I think it's fun.

St.Pauli is narrowed to 6 sq miles,
we live along the river Elbe.

There are no mountains, traffic and
bike lanes suck and it rains way too much.

When you travel regularly to Los Angeles
the process is always the same.

You have to go through immigration at LAX.
You have to pick up your rental car.

Then you are practically on the
road in a car for one week.

I actually thought that I've seen
everything Los Angeles has to offer.

But one evening I was walking through downtown LA and
I was completely impressed by the city's atmosphere.

Suddenly a group of fixed
gear riders passed by me.

I thought, "What's going on here? Bike riders in
Los Angeles? Somehow that didn't seem right!"

After I returned to Hamburg, I couldn't get
these images out of my mind.

I met up with Ivo and told
him about what I had seen.

At first we just joked about it
but somehow it became clear…

… that we had to go to LA.
We had to travel with our bikes.

We didn't know of anyone that ever did that and we loved
the idea of crossing barriers in the capital of cars.

Riding in an ecological and cultural desert
that stretches 45 miles from East to West

and 47 miles from the North down South.

We gathered a crew of riders from Hamburg,
packed our bikes and flew 6000 miles to see,

if we could break in the
city of Los Angeles.

Where is the route master? - For today?

- What, ribs Ivo?

I can grill anything, first we buzz through
the city and then we grill the ribs.

We want to ride around
and check out the block.

- I'll build up my De Rosa and then
we can check out the block.

Really, I should go into the roughest
neighborhood, Crips and Bloods and

me with my bling bling bike, white and
I thought, "No way, not for me."

I would be really scared but I really don't
think we will put ourselves in danger.

For 12 days we faced LA`s great distances, its massive
traffic and the pressures of modern evolution.

He'll come over here.

Hey did you see, we're following a bunch of guys on
bicycles. Did you see like 8 of them go by right now?

Yeah?

What way?

All right, thanks Brother!
Thank you! All right.

You have the opportunity to immerse yourself differently
in the city, since we will be riding bikes.

Through that situations will arise
that normally would not occur.

Also, we don't look like tourists
and have very different objectives.

The TV images that I have in my
head are not only of LA,

but they are of various American
cities simply pureed together.

It is huge and cool and there are banks
and things everywhere that I can ride on.

That is why I think this is something
that I could never have… only with you.

Since I simply would not fly to LA with somebody
that has not put so much thought and plan into it.

But you have put so much
preparation and love into it.

All I have to do is enjoy. I'm like a bear devouring
a pot of honey and just thinking: "Sweet, LA."

Just riding around and simply enjoying it.

I hope that I can give something back that
you can start with and also be happy with.

I think we will be able to do that because
the group is good for it.

When I imagine approaching Downtown on a bike and
imagine that Downtown lays in front me like an island…

… like Kilimanjaro that you basically ride
towards than that is even greater.

Los Angeles is a different type of cosmopolitan
city and I think that you ride differently.

You realize as if you
are in another cosmos.

I don't fear the traffic at all because
they drive extremely defensive.

I think that's great. I like
that, it's also my thing.

I think its great to be able to ride in that
traffic since the traffic is so linear,

these broad and large streets,
which have a different surface,

it is simply great, it is warm.

It must be extremely great to ride through the
streets with the other members of the group.

I think it will be simply a blast.

I'm up for both, whether it's 200 m
wheelies and 180's or any grinds.

In LA you have the
opportunity to really ride,

Things that I've really noticed is that Fixed Gear
Freestyle, that has like exploded in the last year.

I mean you head out to the
West side of Los Angeles and…

… Fixed Gear Freestyle bikes,
whatever you want to call it.

Probably outnumber people on skateboards
or regular bikes. I mean every kid, male…

that's like 12 to 17 is
riding a Freestyle bike.

My name is Michael Chacon, I am 18 years
old. I live in in Culver City, California.

I've been riding Fixed Gear Freestyle
for about 2 years and 3 months now.

When I first got into it I was riding
a track bike just for fun.

I would go out on some rides with
my friends and just hang out,

and then I started knowing that people could do tricks on
these bikes like wheelies and going backwards and such.

So I thought that was crazy,
so I started trying it myself.

Everyday I practiced in front of my house,

just practising, practising, practising.

Time went by, just tricks started
coming faster and faster to me so…

… I started learning.

Now 2 years later I'm getting sent around the world
to ride my bike for fun, which is awesome, you know.

I love it. It's sick.

I would never thought that this would have
happened, but it kinda happened really fast.

And I love that the sport is growing.

Kids are always hitting me up on Facebook and
"can you do this" and "I got this ride".

It's really cool to get that kind of attention, doing
what you love doing, you know, just riding bikes.

I'm having fun with it right now.

Los Angeles is notorious for being, you know,
completely being run by cars and freeways.

So by having this subculture, we are the
David versus the Goliath thing here.

We're just doing fundraisers,
private events and doing certain…

… raising money for certain accidents
like we know of in the city,

for certain people, friends, friends
of friends, things like that.

Eventually we want to be able to be an
organization, that anybody can come to

and say, "this happened to me", "this is my story",
you know and I really could use your help.

And that way we can sort of take a little
bit of the financial burden off of them.

We did a tattoo event.

One of our founders owns a tattoo shop here in LA. And so
we wanted to really bring those two communities together.

I mean, it's sort of a cultural thing now being tattooed
and getting tattooed, so we wanted to do something really

fun and positive to support, not only our community but the
tattoo community as well and sort of bring them together.

So we did like a set of flash,
and we did certain designs.

You could pick from them and
get your tattoo and hang out.

It was a great time.

My main problem that I've been able to see is
the lack of knowledge. Nobody knows the rules.

I guarantee that, its safe to say that 90% of the population
out here does not know about the 3 foot passing law

that has been ordered for bicycles, they're not allowed
to pass us unless we have 3 feet clearance on all sides.

It is not allowed to pass by us, as long
as the distance is less than 3 feet.

I mean Mayor Villaraigosa gets hit
you know, on Venice Boulevard,

and suddenly you know,
he's all talking about it.

The drivers in Los Angeles are actually
a lot more aggressive,

they drive faster, most of
them do not like cyclists

because its a city run by cars.

Riding your bike in Los Angeles is probably one of
the most dangerous things, that I've come across.

Now I'm in the process of
rehabilitating a couple old injuries.

Last year of February 28th of 2010
I got hit by a F550 Pickup Truck,

in the process of that I was dragged 30 feet. With
that entailed, I completely crushed my pelvic bone,

broke both legs out of the hip sockets,

broke the 5th vertebrae on my neck
which fused with the 6th vertebrae.

I have 4 pins here,

22 pins and 4 plates completely holding
my pelvic bone together,

I was in a coma for a month,
hospital for 2.5 months.

Lower intestines was ripped
off the stomach wall.

I had complications with every surgery,
had about 12 surgeries,

7 different fusions between blood
plasma und platelets.

I was told, I was never
going to walk again.

Here I am a year later,

skateboarding again, walking, running.

Currently training to get back on
my bicycle to race again. YEAH.

First I thought it was really cool
that you contacted me,

it showed me that the blog or what I'm
doing is reaching a worldwide audience.

I thought that was cool. I felt some respect out there. That
inspired me to keep this thing going, keeping it moving.

But then thinking about it, that's really awesome that they want
to come to LA and ride bikes in a group and check out my city.

The Velodrome impressed me
because it was so beautiful.

With the palm trees and as evening
came inside the concrete track.

I found the aesthetic of
the Velodrome very cool.

The track can easily be recognized
when you see images in the internet.

Just a small excerpt, with the palm trees and the
steep curve, somehow you know instantly where it is.

I noticed at a point that somehow
I couldn't cycle any faster.

I was pedaling without resistance.

We'll have you start over there actually.

Ride out on to the track,

get high on the track,

ride around,

when you get to there,
you call out your name.

Stay high on the track,

you have one more lap to get up
to top speed.

So stay high on the track and
when you get to about here.

You are going to dive down from the
top of the track, to the black line

and the clock starts when
you hit that black line

coming down the track

and all you have to do is maintain your absolute
total top speed until you get to there.

And then you're done.

But how many riders are on the track?

Only one at a time.

- What's your time, Ivo?

What do I have 16.4 seconds?

Yeah, 16.4 seconds.

- Yeah, it's because of your ratio.

LA is probably the worst
possible place to ride a bike.

Not the most dangerous but the worst
possible, just because everything is so far.

If you don't have a car, sometimes people will
give me a weird look and they'll be like:

"What! How do you live without a car here?
You need a car. You need a car."

and then I'm like, "No, you don't."

LA sucks and it is good at the same time.

I like it, because you can ride a lot,
put in a lot of miles.

You can be at the beach in 45 minutes
from Hollywood on a bike.

Get there faster than a car.

Most of America is fat
I mean really overweight.

Just get on your bike
and you'll feel better.

You get places faster, getting through traffic
you don't really get stuck in the jams.

I mean you get really fit and it makes me
happy. I think it makes other people happy too.

I guess you can say it happened naturally,

but very quickly within the one decade.

We had an entire change from 2001 to 2011.

Within these 10 years
I've seen a major shift

in the way bicycle culture is not only
viewed by the city, people who live here,

but by the city council,
by the police officers.

Everyone engaged and involved now has to sort of recognize
the fact that there is a bicycle culture in Los Angeles.

Culturally wise, the main
reason why I wanted to do this,

was just to try to inspire
the next generation,

like my sister and my
brother-in-law did to me.

Keep this movement alive and really show

that you can exist in such a car filled city
like LA, that you can exist wholly by bicycle.

I don't have a license, I don't know how
to drive a car. I've never had one.

All I've ever had is bikes, throughout my life
it's one thing that stayed consistent is bicycles.

You look at it and from my vantage point, from where
I stand now I'm a working messenger for 14 years,

and I'm kind of looking at it and man this is it's own
animal now. It's really, really something and it is huge.

I moved to Los Angeles, and the
one thing in mind that I had,

was I wanted to give back to a
community that inspired me.

So I started throwing street races,
Alley Cats and street crits,

and found out that I was kind of good at doing
it. I was able to talk to companies and …

get products for helping
build bigger races.

And then I formed with my friend
Joseph Lobato, we formed Takeover LA.

An then now its blossomed into this blog,
we're building a website,

trying to make it into a brand
but still keep the core values of

where we came from:
Street racing.

The night before Henrich and I sat together
guessing how large this entire thing would be…

… since it was totally
hyped on all the blogs.

The whole story here, you see all the riders
and constantly hear something about it.

In the end we thought about
how large it would be.

Henrich estimated 200 participants.

My feeling was about 150 participants.

In the end maybe about 30 people were
at the first start, prior to the main race.

Then the second race or main
race only 15 people started.

That included already two of us and
maybe 10 people originally from LA.

Only Henrich, me and three people
from out of town, which astonished us.

On the other hand it showed us the quality of the people
that showed up. They were in complete racing gear.

Here, street race is a real deal,
it's no longer an Alley Cat like at home.

Where messengers cruise around through
the neighborhood during their time off.

Rather people actually race with click pedals
in racing clothing and each one trains for it.

I saw a guy a couple of
days prior to the race,

he told someone on the street that
he was training for a race on the weekend.

That's how they all ride, at least 50% of the
people that raced were super fast, without a doubt.

The routes were quite demanding,
I would say from 9 to 10.

Since the distances were relatively broad.

Griffith Park felt like 10 km only uphill.

That was a real mountain stage.

Then we had to ride down from
the top to Downtown.

That was another 5-6 km
until the next checkpoint.

We were really riding hard the whole time.

I think we had a pretty sweet start and
we went full speed from the beginning.

The three of us agreed to ride together,
we ran to our bikes and jumped on.

We knew of three guys that had the same checkpoint
as us and we raced after them like crazy.

At Sankt Paulopoly we had
about 300 participants.
We knew of three guys that had the same checkpoint
as us and we raced after them like crazy.

At Sankt Paulopoly we had
about 300 participants.

We rode until it hurt and after so many
inclines we had to let them ride off.

We had Rene and 2 other
Americans behind us.

The problem is that the locals themselves don't
know L.A. or don't know how to use their iphones.

We had the Echo Park checkpoint through
and then we were off to Wurstküche but…

along the way I saw the Dodger's Stadium
on the left side, where we went uphill.

Then I reckoned that we passed Elysian Park,
Angels Point where we needed to take a photo.

I thought that since we were so close and so
high up that it would make sense to ride there.

I explained that to the other two and
they thought it was a good idea.

We went up the hill and then we found ourselves behind
the Stadium, where the guys said it was all wrong.

Then we rode all the way
back down to Chinatown.

Then it turned out they changed plans without
telling us and we were on our way to Wurstküche.

Oh well doesn't matter.

Having a bike,
you stay fit and it's free.

Very little things can go wrong,
especially on a track bike.

Maybe you get a flat,
and you have to replace that

but usually everything
else runs pretty smoothly.

It is easy to find, it's just a big uphill
climbing hills, winding, winding.

- Really? - Yeah, it's a bitch.

- How long uphill? Is it 10 minutes or…?

- I don't know. It feels like a year.

One. I think you have Griffith Park.
Did you go there already?

- No. - I have to go to Griffith,
that's going to suck.

- Where do you have to go? Are going to the climbing up
to the Observatory? - Yeah, what do you want to take?

- Whatever. I don't care. - because I already did the
reservoir, I already did the lake, I already did Wurstküche,

Angels Point… Griffith Park.
- what, holy fuck… - You're a machine.

… I still have like 3 more check points
or 2 more to go… - Let´s go to Griffith.

I do get competitive and I
do get a little aggressive.

My room mate, he does a lot of the
races with me and he's said to me,

"you don't ride like a stereotypical girl, you
don't ride like a girl, you just ride aggressive."

My boyfriend is like, "You ride like a dude,
you ride like a guy but you are a girl."

So it's awesome.

I just like being able to go hard and
play hard and just not half-ass it.

Instead they stretch and prepare themselves,
maybe even have an energy drink.

In Hamburg it is exactly the opposite
drinking occurs before and afterwards.

For us it is more a game, or for fun.

For them it is a race.

I have wonderful memories from the race, sweet
images. I also had a camera on my bike.

Henrich and the American that we waited for at the
summit, I don't know if he was really from LA,

rode in front of me and skidded together.
They left small smoke trails on the road.

It was great. But it was one of the fastest
downhills that I have ever ridden.

Los Angeles is more than the hills of
Hollywood and the beaches of Venice.

A few blocks east of Downtown`s financial district lies
Skid Row where 15,000 homeless people live on the streets.

There are well known reasons such as alcoholism and drug
addiction, however this is only a part of the problem.

Mental illness is prevalent and those who are lacking
the necessary insurance, have no place in a dominantly

private health care system. Public institutions don`t
exist anymore and self medication occurs often.

In the beginning I was surprised to see so
few homeless people on the streets.

But it had to do with the fact that I was so
overwhelmed by the entirety of it all in LA.

That often the eye for the special or the
twisted is not there at all, you know?

After a week somehow, I
would say that changed.

I had already ridden under the bridge 10 times,
and had already seen the gigantic thing 10 times.

Then you look onto the
ground and in the holes,

around the corners, in the back where all of a
sudden you see people sleeping all over the place.

When you suddenly think, "the last time I didn't see
them at all and I thought maybe they were not there."

Usually I am very open for those things
and see that actually quite clear.

At that point I was so blinded and overwhelmed by
the whole thing that I didn't notice it at all.

We decided to volunteer at the Midnight Mission, where
they have provided for the homeless since 1914.

We sorted through large bales of donated clothing
in a seperate room, which did not really comply

with our stereotype of charity work but we were simply
glad to be able to contribute at least a little bit.

After we completed the work we were thanked with a
lunch, it gave us an idea about the quality of the food

being served at the mission.
We were fed chicken and rice.

Not bad if you consider that the mission
serves close to 800,000 meals each year.

It would be quite terrible if things
would go in the same direction,

and in 20 years we would have
the same situation in Hamburg.

I hope that they take LA as a deterrent
example so that doesn't happen here.

They also offer counseling, education, medical care,
a 12 step detox and multi-level housing program

or simply protection and
shelter in the inner yard.

I thought it was really dreadful
how all the people slept there.

There were about 100, 200 people in one room
like a huge army camp, like before a battle.

There were no window's and people are living
there for at least for several months.

It's only until they are at the very top in the individual
rooms before they can leave and hopefully find work…

and then somehow live independently. Only when they
at the very top there is somehow sunshine for them.

So they finally reach light that's
what I found most terrible.

It is a therapy approach that I didn't like. I
thought it was relatively inhuman in some ways.

It was also mentioned that the cafeteria in there
followed the example of the cafeteria in Disneyland.

Which was definitely not built
for people to happily linger there.

It was rather built so that the necessary food intake
can be quickly completed to become productive again.

I found that really
disgusting as I heard that.

Our guide has also been a resident in the mission,
he explained that it is mandatory for all counselors

and employees to successfully
complete the program.

We left the mission with mixed feelings.
They provide an incredible amount of help.

It is hard to believe that the mission operates without any
governmental subsidies and is financed by private donations only.

Nevertheless, the
atmosphere felt oppressive.

- We arrived at this club and you sat together
with Michael, a homeless man and Rene.

- I quickly noticed that Rene actually did not belong to the
conversation although he sat with both of you on the bench.

No, he didn't have much
to do with the situation.

There are many reasons for that,
first of all I have a very deep fear…

… due to my personal history anything
and everything can happen at anytime.

I don't have any security at all. Something can
happen at anytime that completely kicks me out.

Consequently, I observe such
people more intensively.

Not to mention that he was truly special.

He was kind of how I
always imagine it to be.

Michael was in a fucked up position but he was
able to handle it well. And he was sober.

That was the most important thing
for me to see, that he was clean.

I find it really shitty when people have problems and
they begin to drink or take drugs or something like that.

One thing leads to another and it is over.
Actually there is no way out anymore.

Although many institutions exist, in my opinion
it is not worth living from that moment on.

I mean for me this is the case.

I think it's good when you can help people but
I think actually it is over at that point.

He was that kind where I would have done
everything possible for him in that moment.

He was fit and he had tried everything.
He walked his routes.

But not only from the doctor to his home… so to his bridge
but he walked from a city in the North to the South.

So, New York to Los Angeles
because it's warmer.

So, anyway he is… well that was incredible.

What kind of strength does that require
at such an age and with his problems.

To pull through in such a country,
without any support.

Basically, I found that truly impressive.

I observe such things very closely because
I simply find it interesting for me.

- So do you identify yourself with him?
Absolutely.

Yeah, he was really funky.

He said way out things.

It was really strange.
- Why?

He had an answer to everything that I have
questioned myself over the past 20 years.

He recounted on his own… it was so strange.

Our first ride out of LAX was filled with such euphoria
and since then we scattered in all cardinal directions.

The environment that we were exposed to was rough at times,
however it shaped a relatively small but fine bike community

who is more enthusiastic and better trained than
riders in most so called bike friendly cities.

You got this small community fighting
against this large aparatus,

which is the car and the oil industry
and everything else associated with it.

We are a very small group of people
fighting for…

… whether it's political or environmental or
whether its just because you want to have fun.

It's part of it. I mean I'm paraphrasing
but H.G. Wells said:

"When I see a person riding a bicycle,

I have hope for humanity again."

What I found impressive in LA was
the existing bike community.

We don't have that here.

I realized that riding in
LA is much more dynamic.

Due to the uphills and downhills
that we don't have in Hamburg.

With the help of our bikes we came across a Los
Angeles that many Angelenos don`t even know.

It was so exciting and multifaceted.

I would definitely do it again
wherever it is… it's so much fun…

… to ride bike with a
group of guys and gals.

Because here in Hamburg we don't
know that you can ride so much.

You have 2 weeks to bike ride only and
it's great. To discover new things,

other food, other odors, other mattresses,
everything is new.

It's great, I would do it again.

We went to the opening of what was called the "Biggest
Street Art Show" at the Museum of Modern Art.

And watched the Dodger`s
play at Chavez Ravine.

We devoured terrible greasy food and saw scary bill-
boards advertising 50 chicken nuggets for $9.99.

It came to a point where
I was really irritated.

I mean, I can eat a burger or
fast food or a burrito. Super tasty.

But not every day and not
from mornings to evenings.

You have way more possibilities to eat
cheap and shitty food than in Hamburg.

But it tastes delicious.

I could have stuck to it, I would have needed
more time for sports to avoid becoming fatter.

We crossed fields of giant potholes, struggled hills
and heat and sometimes Los Angeles made us walk,

where we wanted to ride.

Honestly we did not break LA, but we inhaled
it and experienced a new perception of a city,

its people and its nature.
Yeah, LA has nature.

We were surprised about the wilderness
hidden within the city.

We saw parrots perched on telephone poles, heard
rattlesnakes and even watched a coyote crossing our path.

LA had the hardest cuts I have ever seen.

Between clean Downtown and
right next to it, Skid Row.

Then there is again
another residential area.

Then all of a sudden you have the LA river scenery.
It was wet do we couldn't really ride in it.

I would have never imagined it
to be so broad and gigantic.

One of the most impressive discoveries
was the wildlife inside the LA river.

We watched a great variety of birds such as
comorans, cranes, ducks, seagulls and many others.

It is amazing how flora and fauna have reconquered an
original riverbed that had been completely concreted by man.

If nature strikes back then we should also be able to adapt
to an environment that seems quite hostile at first.

I had the idea about the LA Gun Club because I
had travelled often to LA with a work colleague…

… who always went to the gun range first and
then spent two hours shooting senselessly.

Nevertheless I asked myself
what drives someone…

… who takes a gun in his hands
and am I able to judge him.

Either to feel stronger, to use it as a penis
extension, potential for violence or to exert control.

I can only judge the whole thing if
I have really experienced it myself.

Actually, I never thought about it before nor
would I have placed myself in this position.

But in that moment I wanted it.

Sometimes you have to face new challenges
and put yourself through the test.

I didn't want to patronize anyone in the group and
therefore I didn't demand Peter to participate.

Everybody has to put themselves through
the test when they are ready to do so.

And even if there are bad vibes
it shows you what is not good for yourself.

At first I was anxious because it had been a long
time since I served three months in the army.

Of course I had shooting
practice and due to that…

… I ran into difficulties since I clearly realized
how people can be harmed and that is no joke at all.

And even what guns can do to someone
when they are stupid enough to use them.

It is stupid to use guns for hunting, like shooting
birds or animals, which is unbelievably stupid.

It is even more stupid to practice
or regard it as a sport.

Unfortunately that all belongs together and
therefore guns are completely stupid.

However, if I imagine the possibility
to strictly shoot on paper only…

… than I would find that okay.
I would have fun with it.

If simply no opportunity exists to kill someone
or something than I would say why not?

I'm up for it and the faster
you|shoot the more fun it is.

For me it's like with many other things, I do not have to
see certain things in person in order to comprehend them.

I already know how fucked up the world is and
likewise the people and I find it utterly absurd…

… of course I find it totally absurd that
such an extreme hype about guns exists here.

Nevertheless, I had no problem with it…

… until I realized, in the moment when we were
given instructions on how to handle the guns,

I briefly thought, "Fuck man, we are going shortly into the
firing range and there are people with lethal weapons.

And if someone had a bad day,
then we would not come out anymore.

I think it is difficult for us to grasp because
the guns laws for us are quite different.

Of course, we are not given a gun
from daddy at the age of four.

And then told to try to shoot at a can.

For us it's different. With the exception of
an air gun, it was the first time in my life…

… that I held a loaded weapon in my hands.

I believe that many people here grow up
completely different with this gun thing.

So, any questions on this one?

How many times you got the ambulance here?

- How many times you got an ambulance here?
- Ambulance?

Actually never, since I work here. Never.

Don't play any pranks on me. I really
don't want someone pointing a gun at me.

Steffi, we are firing real
bullets in there that can kill.

I'll be glad knowing that everyone
we will pass in there will be cool.

- I think nobody will misbehave because you
would be immediately kicked out.

- I think they just kicked some people out.

Really?

I get scared so much.

Don't you have to push it in from the back?
- Doesn't work.

- Who knows how to use this gun, is it like this?
- What is it, Ivo? - Yes. - Oh I see.

This is hardcore.
- 3…

Nothing can happen, now.

- … 4

Hinricht, would you like to shoot? I have fired
3 times so there are still some shots left.

Rene, you have to show
me briefly how it works.

We went into our lanes and started
shooting. Then it was suddenly my turn.

I first started with the small pistol.

Then I was confronted with loading
the ammunition. 'How does that work again?'

Well, he had explained it earlier
but then it was somehow…

… real ammunition, a real gun. I have this thing
in my hand and I am totally unfamiliar with it.

I put the rounds in, I was totally nervous.

Then I asked again if everything was
correct and I checked it again.

Then I shot 2, 3 times and it was so…

… very strange, I felt only really lousy.
It wasn't cool at all,

how the recoil pulled my
arm up with every shot.

The entire pressure, I just didn't like it. I tried the
other 'so called smaller' gun and fired 2-3 shots.

Okay I've done it, I don't like it,
now I know it and so I walked out.

I left the guys to play with the big guns,
and watched them celebrating themselves.

This is great.
- Wicked, man.

- How many shots are left? - I have 10 here.
- Now, will you do it yourself, Steffi?

I have 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 hits.
- I have put down the gun now, it's loaded.

Oh man!

- I believe this one is empty now, we have to use
the next one since there are only 6 shots left.

-There are still some in this one.

- Is it empty? And? - Terrible!

Man, four hits in the chest.

It was completely uninteresting for me.

We shot once, it lasted 45 minutes.
A lifetime spans about 90 years.

45 minutes out of 90 years.
Fuck it.

Three hits. Only two shots fired.

Not bad.
- This gun can still be fired.

Does anyone have an allen key?

- In my suitcase, no.
- What do you want to do?

- Have you loosened your headset again?
- Of course.

I'm riding through the neighborhood with a loose
chain anyway so I can at least fix my headset.

- It doesn't matter, Ivo.
- 'Loose' is something else, Ivo.

- Do you want to brake here in the front?
- Look at your chain fool - Yeah, fool…

- Yeah, we consider ourselves friends, right?
- Sure, friends.

Everything, actually everything is broke
except in the expensive neighborhoods,

everything is broken whether it is the traffic light, the doorbell
nameplate, the store lighting or the turn signal from a car…

… something is always
broken, which is charming.

It's slower, it's bigger,
it's wider, no one honks.

When you are somewhere on the street,
most drivers stop.

Those are the greatest
differences to us in Hamburg here.

Those are the big difference to us, here it's small,
most honk, when you are riding along 2 lanes or 1 lane.

The motorists were actually, almost fearful, also
friendly, but restrained towards the cyclist.

It's also cool when buying 2 colas, beer and a chocolate
bar at the same grocery store three nights after another…

… and the same guy behind the counter
with the same night shift notices you.

He notices that you had been there before and asks where
you come from and suddenly you have a conversation.

The next day he says, 'the fucking germans' and then
it is more fun than just being someone passing by.

Riding down to Venice with my BMX bike
was for me one of the most sublime moments.

Simply rolling down. What a
feeling of total liberation.

There were no flashbacks, but shortly
afterwards there was an emotional climax.

For 3-4 weeks I actually, stupidly
tried to maintain the same lifestyle.

But I simply was not able to,
due to my daily routine.

Naturally it was more annoying than before.

Back in Hamburg I was really annoyed
by the constant stopping,

by the lack of space for me to ride and thus
having to swerve off the bike path or sidewalk.

Always this constant stop and go.

I'm quite happy that we flew to Los Angeles
and I found it also great with the group…

… even when problems arose,
probably for that reason.

We were simply many very different characters and
sometimes you can not push your way through.

I thought that was important
and so we can do it again.