Dawid Godziek completes world’s first bike ride on a moving train

At Driven, we usually report on all things automotive. Now I know this story doesn’t exactly fit into that category, but it was simply too impressive to pass on. Recently, Dawid Godziek became the first mountain bike rider to ride his bike on a moving train. Crazy stuff.

The Polish rider navigated the 2.7 metre wide, 10 carriage course at a speed of 23 km/hr, with eight jumps and plenty of tricks for good measure, including a double tailwhip, frontflip and the world’s first flat drop backflip to flat landing from the stairs on the final carriage. It resulted in a stunning set of photographs to document the feat.

One of the most impressive moments during Godziek’s 15 attempts at the course was the completion of a ‘freeze frame’ effect, which is achieved by synchronising riding speed with the moving train.

“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.

The stunt took place in Supper Silesia with support from PKP Polish State Railways and in collaboration with Prada Linea Rossa.

words: Mike Booth
pictures & video: Red Bull