FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique — On a warm night in October 2021, Enzo Crispin hopped on his cobalt motorcycle and set off. Hundreds more joined him, and the roar of their engines filled the air in Fort-de-France, the capital of the Caribbean island of Martinique, a French territory.
Riders stood on one wheel, stood on their bikes, touched their hands to the ground — all while riding at top speed.
Extremely exciting. Potentially illegal, at least on public roads. This is the “cabrage”, whose rough translation from French is rodeo on wheels.
Tours like the one Crispin organized are known as barodes. They are prohibited in Martinique; participating can be punished with a year in prison and a fine of 15 thousand euros (around 16 thousand 300 dollars). But that hasn’t stopped local residents from developing a vibrant culture around the motorcycles, scooters and other vehicles they use to get around the island, which has limited public transportation.
The majority of motorcyclists are men in their late teens and early twenties. They congregate on Sundays in the parking lot of Stade Pierre-Aliker, a stadium in Fort-de-France, to learn new maneuvers and skills. “It’s a feeling of freedom,” said Crispin, 22. “It’s a time when you only think about yourself and no one else.”
Mathieu Badian, 18, grew up watching his father maneuver his motorcycle. “Once you get on your motorcycle, you feel like you are in another world.said Badian, who started riding a motorcycle last year.
Sport is accompanied by physical risks. In November 2022, Badian dislocated his shoulder after colliding with another motorcyclist on the street. He needed four months of physical therapy before he could drive again, this time on a scooter.
Another motorcyclist, 22-year-old Patrice Nal, lost his leg in an accident in 2019. He now rides with a prosthesis and continues to pull off impressive stunts on his motocross bike. “What I feel the most is a huge dose of adrenaline,” he said.
However, it’s the community that keeps me coming back. “It brings together all kinds of people from all walks of life,” she noted.
Tours are organized in a group chat of around 50 bikers. Sometimes they meet earlier on Sundays, along the Rio del Alma in the hills above the City, spending a few hours eating, drinking and swimming before going to the stadium.
The cabrage draws a large crowd. Families cheer on the exciting feats of motorcyclists while sharing drinks and food.
If a motorcyclist falls, everyone stops to check that they are okay before the cabrage can resume.
“We are together,” Crispin said. “Everyone has their own style, a fashion style, their own gestures. That’s real strength.”
Cabrage offers motorcyclists a sense of responsibility and opportunity, something that can be hard to find in Martinique, where more than 46 percent of the population ages 15 to 24 are unemployed. A recent uptick in violence also has many people rethinking their futures.
Many young people in Martinique feel that they must go abroad to build the life they want. Badian dreams of becoming a firefighter. He has no desire to ≠ leave, but almost all the training courses are in France.
When he saves up enough to go to France for training, he hopes to take the biker culture with him. “That is where we will show the French how the people of Martinique make cabrage.”
She dreams of a future where cabrage is more widely accepted across the island, and where more people, including women, take up motorcycling. She has been encouraged to see some young women at the stadium, looking to get started.
Like his father, Badian is eager to welcome the next generation.
STEVEN MOITY. THE NEW YORK TIMES
BBC-NEWS-SRC: http://www.nytsyn.com/subscribed/stories/6859711, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-08-22 19:10:10
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