Black Label Bike Club

History

BLBC was founded in 1992 as the country's first "outlaw bike club" by Jacob Houle and Per Hanson, under the name "Hard Times Bike Club", in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Inspired by Victorians who used tall bikes, called lamplighters, to light the streetlamps, BLBC are credited as the originators of tall bike jousting, and one of the main contributors to the rise of the tall bike culture. The club has since grown to include chapters in New York City, San Francisco, Reno, Nevada, Austin, Texas, Oakland, California, New Orleans, Louisiana, Tokyo, and also includes a nomad chapter known as "Nowhere".

Bike Kill

Bike Kill is a long-running BLBC Halloween tradition in Brooklyn, held yearly on the last Saturday in October since 2003. It operates in the form of a block party that celebrates various mutant bikes built by BLBC members, including tall bikes, "short-tall" bikes, tiny bikes, wooden bikes, lowriders, and other unique designs. It is often held in different spots each year, with the location not being publicized, instead spreading through word of mouth. The 2020 event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Media

The New York chapter was featured in a full-length film titled B.I.K.E., produced by Fountainhead Films in 2006. The film was directed by Anthony Howard and Jacob Septimus, who spent over two years following the club by going to their parties in New York and Minneapolis, as well as the protests of the 2004 Republican National Convention.

In 2018, photographer Julie Glassberg published a photography book documenting the Black Label Bike Club's New York chapter, which she titled Bike Kill.

References

References

1. Tucker, Karen Iris. (March 14, 2006). "Mutant Bike Gangs of New York". Village Voice.
2. Avidor, Ken. (March 7, 2006). "Who rides the tall bikes?". Twin Cities Daily Planet.
3. Feuer, Alan. (July 16, 2011). "At Black Label's Bike Kill, 'Freedom Via Mayhem'". The New York Times.
4. "One more ride Sotheby's to hold 3rd motorcycle auction as it scales back Chicago operation".
5. Weyland, Jocko. [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/nyregion/thecity/29gear.html?ei=5070&en=9e1a37caf9d8e212&ex=1178596800&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all "Unstoppable"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. April 29, 2007
6. Gross, Matt. (May 21, 2005). "Rough Riders". New York Magazine.
7. (February 26, 2018). "Anarchic photos show life inside of a Brooklyn bike club".
8. Lynch, Scott. (October 31, 2022). "Scenes of mayhem from the weekend's epic Bike Kill".
9. Seelie, Tod. (October 28, 2019). "Photos: Inside the 16th Annual Bike Kill, a Bloody Gathering of 'Mutant Bikes'".
10. Lynch, Scott. (November 1, 2021). "Scenes from this year's 'Bike Kill' event in Red Hook".
11. Lynch, Scott. (October 30, 2023). "Mutant bikes, jousting and giddy mayhem: Scenes from Saturday's Bike Kill".
12. (2006). "B.I.K.E.".
13. "B.I.K.E.".
14. Glassberg, Julie. (2018). "Bike kill". Ceiba editions.