Scenes of mayhem from the weekend's epic Bike Kill

Hundreds of revelers showed up in Red Hook to ride their mutant bikes this year

Bike Kill is one of Brooklyn’s longest-running Halloween-adjacent traditions, an annual block party with a giddy anarchist spirit that started back in 2003 by the Black Label Bike Club, and always held on the last Saturday in October.

The location has changed multiple times over the years — I’ve now been to nine Bike Kills, held in six different places — but the rhythm of the day and the glorious underground, DIY, punk-rock vibe remains the same, whether there are dozens of revelers or, as was the case on Saturday in Red Hook, many hundreds of people having a blast on the block.

Scott Lynch

At the center of the celebration are the mutant bikes, built by Black Label Bike Club members and hauled out each year for everyone to enjoy. There are so-called “short-tall” bikes and regular tall bikes and a couple of truly insane, expert-only tall bikes. There are tiny bikes, wooden bikes, lowriders, and bikes with surf boards jutting out from the front.

Scott Lynch

One bike is basically a couch, which was extremely popular as the day wore on and the booze kept flowing. There are trike-like things, and massive metal crushers, and several tandem-type contraptions. One especially coveted new bike this year had a giant disco ball as its front wheel.

Scott Lynch

The event itself is a free-for-all, with everyone doing laps up and down the block, crashing and falling and laughing and screaming with joy. There are makeshift ramps for those crazy enough to do jumps (this is most definitely not a safety-first crowd), and plastic barrels to smash into, and saboteurs throwing random crap at participants.

Scott Lynch

Loud music via a string of first-rate DJs adds to the fun. The costumes are among the best you’ll see all season. There’s a couple of food tables set up, giving away cups of vegan soup, but mostly it’s a BYO affair. And once the sun goes down the Hulk-fisted lances come out for the tall bike jousting competition, a raucous “sport” complete with smoke bombs, fireworks, and lots of fallen warriors.

Scott Lynch

You kind of have to know someone to find the spot each year — it’s an un-permitted party, and the location isn’t publicized — but Bike Kill has always been a fiercely inclusive event, and all are welcome.

Here are a few more images from the day. If you dare!