Red Bull's "ALLEYCATS" Explores the Roots and Culture of Unsanctioned Bike Racing

In an attempt to shine a light on a somewhat under-sung subculture, directors Albert Huh and Viktor Cahoj teamed up with Red Bull for a gripping documentary on the beginnings of urban bike racing. The brief, yet informative piece traces the roots of the scene back to Toronto’s city streets in the late 1980s, where bike messengers competed with traffic and formed a small community amongst themselves. The stresses of social bias against the messenger community forged an aggressive, rebellious response, and accordingly “alleycat” racing was forged. The subtleties of the culture are aptly detailed in this interesting offering from Red Bull, viewable above.