Having a 'Rad' moment

It's a well-known fact that the movie Rad very much shaped who I am and who I inspired to be. As a wee lad, watching this movie over and over taught me that riding a bike can help you get the girl, make you a better dancer, win you acclaim, provide plenty of opportunity to go 'ass sliding', and make you a living. I was sold.
So this morning, I woke up thinking about this Sunday's RallEye in Ft Collins and the song 'Break the Ice" came in to mind. I had myself a little Rad moment. I went searching on youtube for clips. I found some good ones and some bad ones. Observe:

The Bicycle Boogie: for those new to this movie, this is perhaps one of the top 3 Rad scenes. In order to woo the girl, Cru Jones, hits the dance floor. But not in his sweet checkerboard Vans - no his GT is his dance partner. And low and behold, the lady of his bicycle-dreams joins him and tears up the floor. And no - there's no way that's a stunt double. One strange thing I noticed, the dude putting on the big race in town is this old, fat, Mongoose bike company owner. For some reason, instead of sitting in his hotel room drinking whiskey, he decides to attend the high school dance to scope out new riders for his team. Only now, does this seem strange to me. OK...here's the clip:

Moving on...
I watched this clip over and over again, trying to learn some skills. BMX has come a long way, but I developed my flatland repertoire from the following flatland intro. Check the sweet hopping tricks that have gone by the wayside these days. Also "Break the Ice" is the classic song that accompanies this clip. When you're heading out for a good ride, start whistling this song. It'll get you going and you're sure to have a good ride.

And unfortunately, I found THIS CLIP, when searching for Break the Ice. I guess you do have to give the guy props for his choice of music. I only wish I'd have come across the actual taping of this scene. Just imagine him rocking out to his jambox rocking Break the Ice for the world to hear, while his skates are on FIRE from all those hot skating moves.

And the 4th most important clip from Rad is HellTrack. Of course the 1st most important clip is the BMX qualifying race, going through the park, as riders elbow each other into the lake - kinda like late night shenanigans coming home from the bar. The 2nd most important clip is the paper delivery route. I guess I'll have to run down to the pawn shop to buy a VCR and to watch these clips. You see, Rad is not on DVD.

So a little background on HellTrack: somehow, they decided to bring this epic Pro-Only BMX race to Cru Jone's town. Cru had to beat the odds to qualify, then make enough money for the entry fee for the race. Then of course, he wins it (besting BMX great Bart Conner in the process), taking home the glory, the girl, and a new sponsorship or two. Sorry to spoil the plot for you.
Behold - HELLTRACK


OK - I'm downloading Break the Ice right now. I'm going to create a playlist for Sunday, heavy on "The Ice".

Toodles.