Red Bull Sessions Take Over Central Glasgow

Words and Photos by Pete Scullion

As I dozed my way north from a mountain bike shoot near Nottingham, Trash Free Trails' boss man Dom Ferris called, and immediately apologised for the ‘cold call’. I suggested that as we knew each other and he didn’t want to sell me windows, that the apology wasn’t warranted.

With the air cleared, Dom asked if I was up for attending the Red Bull Sessions BMX event in Glasgow. For those unfamiliar, Red Bull Sessions is a community-focused event series bringing riders together to explore urban space and connect local scenes. This particular edition would see BMX riders rolling through six locations across Glasgow with Kriss Kyle, Bruno Hoffman and a host of other international riders in a free, open to all jam format.

It sound very much up my street, especially flying the TFT flag wherever I could.

A City Full of Bikes

By the time I got to the first location around 11am, the place was buzzing, there were already well over a hundred riders making the most of Fountainwell Square. As I settled into catching up with a myriad of familiar faces, I might have slightly lost track of the entire reason for my presence: to get these wonderful people to connect to their spaces through Trash Free Trails, even if the ‘wild’ part might need a little bending on this occasion.

Before we knew it, general cycling legend George Ecclestone was on the bullhorn to inform everyone that we were rolling out to location #2 and this was very much a ‘follow the leader’ type of ride. With that, the horde of riders spilled out to Sighthill Circus overlooking the M8 and the City of Glasgow College. 

More Than Just Riding

It was here that the day really started to click into place.

I got the bags and gloves out, to start cleaning up what is quite an odd part of town. While riders got to work on the long granite blocks, I bumped into my good pal Bernie, his wife and two of their kids. Within minutes he was asking how he could get TFT to his spot over on Edinburgh’s east side. That's often how these things happen - one conversation suddenly leads to individuals building momentum!

Many hands make light work, and I was soon joined by an enthusiastic rabble made up of Red Bull’s team that were on hand. It wasn’t long before we had two bags full with a third well on its way by the time the call went out again for us to move on. Once again, the throng of BMXers headed out, this time across the Sighthill Bridge towards the city centre, with an angry-looking sky staying dry for now.

Heading through the city centre proper on a Saturday afternoon, many on their way to or from the shops clearly had never seen quite so many bikes in one place. The folks waiting for the bus on Stockwell Place were less than amused, until the gang started sending the hefty stair drop off the end of the building. Being a car park and a shopping centre, we opted to enjoy the sends and the tunes rather than do the council’s work for them.

A short spin along the Clyde brought us to location number 5, which, turned out to be a building site, so we did a quick 180 and headed over the Squiggly Bridge to the Kingston Bridge. The vast space beneath the M8 bridge over the Clyde had been upgraded to included a rail and a hefty ramp to allow some serious wall ride action on the giant supports of the bridge.

Leaving a Positive Trace

Unsurprisingly, this part of town was also pretty well populated with all manner of different single use pollution. Everything from the usual drinks bottle and cans, to some less than appealing drug paraphernalia. The latter we left well alone, but it’s always a joy to leave a space in better condition than when you arrived.

Trash Free Trails, as the name suggests, often works on trails, but the same principle applies anywhere: if people feel connection to a place, they're more likely to care for it.

Red Bull Sessions helped create that kind of atmosphere. Riders weren't just passing through spots, they were engaging with the spaces around them, and in small ways, contributing something positive back.

Whilst it might not have been the perfect day of cleans, it was great to hang out with a part of the riding scene that is very much a mystery to me. A reminder that community action doesn't always need to look formal or organised - and that good things can come through cold calls.

Plus, I'm fairly sure we gained a future A-TEAMer along the way :)