If a rider on a bike rides backward on a train moving forward, will they stay in the same spot? In the most recent Red Bull clip worthy of an episode of Mythbusters, Dawid Godziek proves the answer is yes. Mostly.
Calling it a world-first, Godziek’s feat was a collaboration with Prada Linea Rossa, supported by Grupa Azoty Koltar and PKP Polish State Railways. All that support was necessary because the goal was to ride a slopestyle course built on top of 10 train carriages moving at a speed of 23km/h. The course featured 8 jumps, a roller, and a stair drop, which Godziek conquered on his custom Specialized bike equipped with Continental tires.
Oh, and Godziek also planned to pull off a world-first flat drop backflip down a set of stairs. No big deal.
“At first, I practised riding on the track while the train was parked. Once I felt confident, we set the train in motion and gradually increased the speed. 23 kilometres per hour was the right moving speed to match my riding speed to create the feeling of riding in one position. That impression of a frozen background is very strange. Navigating this course smoothly was much more challenging than it looked,” said Godziek.
Overcoming the wind, the disorienting movement and speed of the train, and the trick difficulty itself, Godziek managed to pull off a visual spectacle that is unlike anything we’ve seen.
