In 1986 Hal Needham directed the classic film, RAD. The film stars Bill Allen as Cru Jone, a local BMX rider who has to decide between taking his SAT’s, and all of the corporate glory they promise, or qualifying for Helltrack, a BMX race endorsed by city and who’s winner receives $100k and a new Corvette. A story as old as time itself. Helltrack brings riders from all over the country into Cru’s small town, one of which is Christian Hollings, played by Lori Loughlin, who becomes Cru’s love interest. During Cru’s prom, he and Christian “bicycle boogie”, a term I find entirely too colloquial and misrepresentative of the majesty of the moment.
I’ve linked the best version of it I could find below.
Not only did RAD introduce me to the death defying, heart-stopping, soul freeing act of bike dancing, but it also introduced me to the song, Send me an Angel by Real Life, not to be confused with the Scorpions song of the same name. ‘Twas this song and this scene that gave me inspiration for Bike Dance, an 80’s, more or less, synth pop playlist that is over 10 hours long and still growing. It’s meant to be thrown on shuffle and blasted at obnoxious volumes during warm days whether on bike or not.
Side note, RAD wasn’t the only movie to feature a bike dance scene, it was also featured in the Kevin Bacon vehicle, Quicksilver. Not once, but twice.