Berlin Challenge: Street Racing Around Europe’s Coolest City!
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- Опубликовано: 5 окт 2024
- Berlin is a city steeped with history, both on and off the bike. To take in the sites and pay homage to the city’s historic fixie bike messenger scene, Hank and Alec do their own alleycat-style street race between Berlin’s most famous landmarks: the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, the East Side Gallery and more! Who will win this head-to-head battle?
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Do you want to see us do more races like this in other cities? 🚴 Let us know in the comments below! 👇
You guys need to visit São Paulo to climb some streets
This would make a great series
Absolutely banging! Ride on 👍
Public roads are not for racing, especially in highly populated areas. I don't like the idea of promoting this behaviour.
I have no problem with sightseeing and such, but racing is a no from me.
Yes please! you can't go wrong with making a series of this , bit of history mixed with tourism and great cycling content. Oh and also showing the cycling culture of different cities.
Hank's enthusiasm is so bloody infectious
Hank and Alec races are great entertainment. More please.
If you liked that you should check out our 'Off the street's film on GCN+! 👉 gcn.eu/OffTheStreets
I would love for this to become a series though all the different big european cities!
Nice idea! Where would you like to Hank head next? 🗺
@@gcn vienna (bias since i live here) but also maybe Prague or Zagreb. Not alot of coverage of cycling in the eastern parts of europe.
But them riding fixed! with brakes for video purposes 😂
You need to do this in Budapest, Hungary as well.
Music choice on point for this video! Not a particular fan of European techno, but when in Berlin...
🤟🎧
In my opinion the highlight of Berlin cycling culture are the Critical Mass protest rides. These set off from Kreuzberg on the last Friday of every month with the aim of campaigning for better cycling infrastructure in the city. There are usually at least 1000 participants, especially in the summer months. So far, these campaigns have been a tremendous success: cycling infrastructure has improved immensely in the past couple of years (although there is still much room for improvement). Related to this, there is also a Berlin campaign to make the entire area enclosed by the S-Bahn ring a car free zone. If this passes, it would make Berlin City centre the biggest car-free zone in the world.
This is so cool to hear! Great to see cyclists creating change in a city! What impact do you think these types of rides have had on the cycling infrastructure?👀
Yeees Critical Mass is the best! And the amazing thing is that is doesn´t just take place in Berlin but in lots of other German cities as well :)
Lol S-Bahn ring car free is a pipe dream. It would be the most ambitious project of its kind on the planet, not even the Netherlands go that far.
@@dundeedideley1773no reason to hold back just because others havent done it. Could you imagine what car freeness could do for bus and tram punctuality? Imagine a world where the M10 being delayed due to a car crash isnt a daily occurrence
I'm being given massive anxiety from those tramlines...
😬😬
I admire Hank's tram track bunnyhop at 5:45.
Hahahah he's got the skills 🙌
Far superior to crashing on the tracks.
Love cycling in Berlin! But the city has a long way to go to make it safer. I commute on a daily basis on my bike and have had many close calls with cars and sometimes buses. Love the bike lanes though
So does the whole Germany. This country is pretty far behind The Netherlands.
Do you think the fact that it is not perfect makes you enjoy it more? Keeps you on the edge? 👀
Was a little disappointed in the lack of techno in the last Berlin video, so very happy to see it well represented here.
🎧🎵🥁
I know right
i wont call this a race , more likely controlled fast riding through Berlin , only things i wont do , passing pedestrians that close and cornering into blind spots . for the peeps complaining that Alec wont use the bikelane on Str .17 Juni , it s super bumpy and dangerous while going + 20 km/h .btw Bikemessenger here -since winter 89/90
Going down that bridge (11:50) at that speed is just insane because what comes after is not what you see in the video :D
I love it how the route is shown but then immediately goes pedaling in the other direction :D
As somebody who is from Berlin... I see that and it's kind of cute that you made it a (show-)race 🙂. But yeah, probably you realized yourself that it's super unfair, especially if you have different routes, as some roads have construction going on, other bikers, lots of traffic and so on... Also, you are right, compared to e.g. London the center of Berlin has gotten a LOT better over time for cyclists. The outskirts on the other hand are still bad. Also while you have those painted on lanes everywhere... If there are parking cars on the right - traffic on the left... And some idiots who do park on the cycling road... It's sometimes pretty dangerous to navigate the city even with all that stuff in place.
What kind of pants is Alec wearing? Very cool!
Was wondering the same thing
Managed to find them, BRAIN DEAD X RAPHA TRAIL PANT, not cheap haha!
Good work, but 😮🤑
00:27 video editor should get a raise
2:44 Alec setting off in completely the wrong direction to get to Check Point Charlie from the Brandenburg Gate 😂
Berlin is not like any other City in Germany. I have visited this city many times on holidays and I am still finding new things I have not seen or noticed before .
Have you ever explored by bike? 👀
Having lived in Hamburg and Vienna for many years I visited Berlin every now and then. Love this episode by GCN, it made me miss Germany. Thanks, GCN!
Glad we could help! Did you know we have a German channel? 👉www.youtube.com/@gcnaufdeutsch
A good idea for next city is Prague and it's surrounding area. It's also quite close to Berlin. 😁
Sounds good! We'd love to check it out
@@gcn Make sure to bring a gravel bike, those cobbles in the Old Town are horrible for a roadie!
And yes please do cargo bike race videos! (I ride them for work and have my - actually the same one the courier that hank bumped into had!)
Great looking bike! What sort of race should we do? Cargo bike ally cat? Who can carry the most? 🛒
@@gcn thank you! Yeah it's an awesome bike! - alley cat sounds great! And so does who can carry the most! Although I'd say it needs to be most volume rather than most weight (and I tend to find that anything under 70kg is quite easy and doesn't affect the handling too much, but over that starts to make a difference)
Awesome race guys! Next stop Amsterdam landmarks!
That would be great! Who do you think would win it? 👀
It would definitely be too hard to pick who would win. That's not the important part. It's getting out there and riding as many places as you can. For the exposure and the experience.
Alec unquestionably won the fashion challenge... by far! Way to go, lads!!
living here i squirmed in excitement everytime i recognised a street i travel down almost daily
Now that‘s what I call sightseeing 👌
Very entertaining and yes I would like to see more racing between you two.
If you'd like some more of Alec. You should check out our 'Art of cornering' doc on GCN+ 👉 gcn.eu/7Pp
As always a quality film.
I'd like to see the chaos that ensues from a Hank, Alec and Blake adventure.....
Fun video! And quite crazy to see Hank passing by my office. Commuting in Berlin is not as fun though, even with the bike lanes they put up in the last years. Dense traffic and often quite aggressive car drivers sometimes make it really dangerous to cycle here. Even though Berlin (and many other cities) did a lot to improve conditions for cyclists, everything is still very car centered in Germany and cycling here, you often experience this the hard way.
We loved our time in your city! have you noticed a changed in cycling in Berlin? What do you think Berlin needs to make it better? 👀
there's only two people in the office for the whole city working on the bike lane concepts i heard
@@gcn What use is a bike lane that suddenly spits you out on a busy 4-lane road? And 100m further down the exact same road, you find yourself on a wide bike lane that is even secured against car traffic. Pleasant - but only 300m long and ending... guess! Right: in the middle of a busy 4-lane road - or maybe on a bumpy foot path with huge tree roots. We have loads of them! Berlin actually adopted a traffic plan for cyclists in 2021, which is a large step forward but still needs to be implemented. They did introduce some new bike lanes on some major roads in the last years, which is quite nice and makes my own commute more comfortable. But there is still a lot to do. More bike lanes, mandatory turning assistants for trucks, more space to park bikes safely, and much more. Too many cyclists injured or killed by cars still.
"It is what it is, I wouldn't bother coming here viewers...."😂🤣😅 brilliant entertaining fun..
Is this a series? This needs to be a series! Send the farmer's boy around the world!
He's been living it up in Girona too! 👉 ruclips.net/video/4ehdnrJYxwo/видео.html It's a great place to ride your bike?
absolutely incomprehensible which route you used because for the large part of the route are not the direct stretching at all. 😅 but cool and totally surprising that nobody hugged you up on street track where it actually happens haha. But in general nice idea which I also have to done once in home town
This pair are cool and really bring the A game to challenges
High energy! Imagine trying to film these two 👀
Great video, what were those trousers? Love ‘em! Massive cargo challenge next.
I wish you had made this a year ago before I visited! Amazing city, great video. Thanks!
A shame! Glad you liked it though!
Hank getting 'street' for a moment at 12:10 is brilliant
Why did you cut out the part where Hank blows away Alec Pedlar in the underpass in a quick fire race? 😅
9:25 I aspire to this level of chill bike handling 😜
I loved it! I've been to Berlin only once for two days on my primary-school trip with our partner school already a few years back. Though I still recognized so many of the places (not only the landmarks) you've cycled by, it makes me want to go there by my own and preferably see Berlin from the saddle.
Do it do it do it! It's a great city with some great cycling, did you catch Hank and Alec joining Berlin's fastest group ride? 👉ruclips.net/video/nQaFBnI2W5g/видео.html
Believe me, Berlin is extreme dangerous for bikers. A race like this you can do three times, but at the 4th time a car will take u at the engine hood
@@MalcolmJameson_1 no this is not a proper urban ride! This chaotic dangerous riding and ignore every traffic laws in germany.
New York, London and Berlin cycling cities? Then you should look at Amsterdam! That's a cycling City!
@@MalcolmJameson_1 im not a cyclist? You are meaning Cycling Is only fight against traffic laws? Amsterdam Is a Good Cycling City! Berlin is Way Way Way Way not near to it. Yeah NY a Cycling City a City that is build Around Cars Like Complete USA! I think you are not a Cyclist! Berlin is a Crap City in cycling like Many German Cities. And you have no Idea of any Traffic Law here in Germany that are to follow. Even Red Light seams to be ignoring from You.
@@MalcolmJameson_1 You aRe a Idiot! yclin is not racngfor for the fastest ime. Racing is on a Racetrack and not on the Street! You are a idiot and no Cyclist
@@-Gothicgirl- Amsterdam def Number 1, but Eindhoven impressed me today
Can’t Wait to see the next race big 👍 up!!!
Where should we send them? 🗺
Amsterdam!!
Amazing clip, thank you guys! would have loved to take you on a tour!
Great to hear that enjoyed it 🙌 Maybe next time 😉 where would you of taken us?
Very cool to see Berlin again (even only on a video). I'm usually there at some concert being played. Parkbühne Wuhlheide, Mercedes Benz Arena, Waldbühne, etc. 1-2 days off is all I can afford - not much time for touring.
👏This is 🔥as usual!!! How about an unusual challenge--track bike vs folding bike?
Fashion win to Alec! Brighter is usually better. 😎
Great video…Hank and Alec really cool😎
GCN's coolest pair? 👀
Killer editing to make the suspense build
Great show GCN -- Well done, Hank and Alec!
Cheers
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it
The tracks on the road give me PTSD
A beer everytime the word "iconic" is used.
Ah, you beat me to the punchline!
Hahhaha you must be feeling it now 😵💫
Drafting the train?!? Holy cow! (although I do understand the temptation given the circumstances)
Cool video!!! next stop Copenhagen!!! i say that because i'm from here also i'm a road cyclist too, hope we can ride together someday when u guys end up coming here!
For all the opening talk about the fixie culture, how hard would it have been to get the lads on single speed machines?
Impossible, sponsor doesn’t make any.
Maybe we can send them back 👀
@@gcn yessss, love these boys
Very cool! Berlin is definitely a great city. I think I'll rent a bike next time I go ;)
Awesome vid both of you, and definitely need more of these! Also where did Alec get that jersey? (Kinda want one)
So after some googling it seems to be a BRAIN DEAD X RAPHA TRAIL jacket
Ive only watched this less than a minute and so excited for this episode GCN
Glad you liked it!
I had a great time watching this episode :)
Glad you enjoyed it! Did you catch out other Berlin content? 👉ruclips.net/video/nQaFBnI2W5g/видео.html
@@gcn I did. Thanks for sharing ☺️🙏🕊️
that is an excellent episode...we can visit cities throu you eyes...bravo...
hope to keep doing that an to other countries....hope to c u at Athens or Ioannina for a tour
Thanks! For something similar, you could check out our 'Send it' film on GCN+ 👉 gcn.eu/sendit
good effort guys, it is fun as long as it's safe becuase some days are safer than others....why i don't know....
"iconic" (
most of messenger work is done on cargo bikes now.. some things will never be digital!
Good soundtrack 👍
Nothing wrong with a bit of Euro - techno 🎶
Good video. What fun.
When are you coming to Dublin?
Fashion I think I’d go with Hank but Alec did stand out. Top vid team very inspired to go to Berlin. Can I make a plea for Estonia or Norway to get on the list?
It is funny to see as a German how you love cycling in Berlin, because the Berlin people say it is too dangerous and there are not enough cycling paths 😂 Visit Münster, here is the home of cycling
More Alec Briggs please. Sorry Alec that's a 2-0 win for Hank including the fashion challenge, but only because your jacket was too loose.
where is gcn auf deutsch?
They dont do this idiotic dangerous race against All traffic laws
Yeah, do Hamburg next, from the coolest to the most beautiful european city :)
There's a lot of places we've yet to check out!
Well of course the tangerine candy floss lost , all the face hair slowed him down , anyway I would like to see the tank take Alex up some hills like in the lakes or Yorkshire to see how he gets on 🚴🏼 🏔️
Very nice, it's like the Berlin Mario Kart track!
Hahaha that's a game we'd like to play! 🙌
Yves Lampaert - ''I'm just a farmer's son from Belgium'' esque
As a berlin-citizen, i cannot help but wonder about the routes, Hank and Alec have been taken, according to the order of clips in the video.^^
Alec starting to the west, instead of east and Hank first driving past the Hauptbahnhof and then eastward on the unter den linden Boulevard instead of north? Dafuq? XD
Are there bonus points for whichever one of them manages to say "iconic" the most times?
Yes
If this vid is just an excuse to show off city and its sights... I'm all for it, and more please. :D
We hope to get round to visiting more places!
I also was in Berlin the same day, sadly haven't seen both of you
These two are too quick maybe! 💨
You were so close to my home! 😂 Had you announced it we could have met an I could spend a coffee for you. 😃
Ah maybe next time! Have you got a favourite coffee spot? ☕
@gcn No, it had been something simple around the corner, but I had liked to show you the now beautiful Engelbecken* and surroundings as part of the oddities of Berlin's/Germany's division from 1961 to 1989.
* de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luisenst%C3%A4dtischer_Kanal
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luisenstadt_Canal
It's a shame that you only took the main roads, you missed a lot of nice side streets and shortcuts
Alec is wearing way more cooler clothes
He's looking on point 🔥
There is one city in Germany with an English Garden... bigger, than the NY Central Park... need to say more?
But be carefull racing through the English garden... most dangerous are groups of women with strollers forgetting their surroundings, while chatting - and people walking tiny dogs on an invisible-thin automatic line spanning the whole road 😉
So if you race there... try to somewhat behave - or you'll have to be faster, than the cops... which are usually on horses 😂
Loved Alec's jacket what brand is it?
So after some googling it seems to be a BRAIN DEAD X RAPHA TRAIL jacket
When there is a cycling lane riding on the road is prohibited.
"This city is made for bike riding". LoL good luck surviving cycling in this city.
Same in London. Fixie messengers are now on cargo bikes. Streets are full of deliveroo riders on unrestricted E-bikes not pedalling but somehow wizzing along at 20mph+ 🤔
Ditto New York.
They should be trained by their employers and I hold TfL and the police responsible for this mess !!!!
Alexander Platz; Bourne Supremacy
I would love to know how long you are in berlin. If you already left or not or where I can see you lot
KEWL!
Absolute horror to have to ride in this juggernaut racing bike. Greetings from Brandenburg an der Havel.
nice vid
Hank, how comes your front and rear wheels are different?
Because otherwise, he would ride a unicycle 🤷♂️
COMES TO VANCOUVER GUYS
I will tell you one reason, same reason riding on the road in Nottingham is so rubbish. The tram tracks, absolutely deadly to cyclings in cold or wet weather, as soon as your wheels hits that wet polished steel it’s game over.
Come to Copenhagen!
Yes! That would certainly be somewhere we'd love to check out
Wären noch deutlich mehr Berlin-Videos möglich und häufiger/regelmäßiger?:)
coolest city, yeah like 20 years ago... but still cool :-)
Wow so many bikes scattered around Berlin. I guess they don't have the same problems we do in the uk of continual bike theft. Great video
We certainly do have a massive bike theft problem in Berlin.
@tanjanitschke2974 that's a real shame
There still is a fixie scene in berlin. Just not that big anymore due to police crackdowns on cyclists with no brakes 😭
Berlin, I ran the marathon there in the 1980s when the city was still devided. GCN should race around Lisbon, now that would be a test, or Rome. Well done guys....
There's so many places we've yet to go!
Can someone tell what helmet Alec is wearing?
Abus AirBreaker
thank you!
It's very difficult to understand what Alex is saying
Where are the track bikes
On the velodrome, where they belong