Fran a.k.a. Spika

Here we go with our first Member of the cyclepunks collective. A political active Bike Messenger from Santiago de Chile. Welcome Fran a.k.a. Spika!

https://www.instagram.com/franspika

Tell us who you are Fran

Whats your Name?
Fran a.k.a. Spika

Where are you from ?
→ Santiago de Chile, Sudamerica

What is the Skill you want to tell the people they could ask you for help with?
→ I am a Fixie rider, bike messenger, Roadbike Rider since a few months, well Imma
bachelor of History and Cultural Heritage Specialist, anarchist activist, Chilean Wine expert, bike mechanics and a music lover with a PhD in Hardcore, Punk, Heavy, Trash, Doom metal.

What are your social accounts?
→ Instagram: franspika; Facebook: Fran Aravena and Strava: Fran Aravena.

What type of Bike Rider are you, what bikes are you Riding?
→ Commuter and Urban rider. I ride a 2006Trek 1000sl, a 1980 Raleigh Strato and a Bullit cargobike at work.

What other things you want to tell the world?
 I really enjoy my little bike and I always do it in the context of street resistance, as an instrument of freedom against the oppressive system. I am a politically active man and turned completely towards social justice both from my jobs and from my bicycle.


Riding his old Roadbike in Santiago de Chile
Riding his old Roadbike in Santiago de Chile


The Interview

Is cycling your Passion or just a good way to commute?
→ It is a lifestyle, a possibility of full freedom to move.

Are you riding your Bikes even in the worst weather conditions?
→ Yep! All weather, any condition. 4×4
When did you started with serious cycling?
→ Circa my 20s, I just stopped cycling to study, decided to use it for everything and started training in parallel to rugby in those years.

Are you going to Race, or have you ever Raced?
→ Only in street races. alleycats, goldsprints and things like that.

What bicycle are you riding the most?
→ Now I am riding longer on my road bike. A few months ago I sold my Fixie beacause of an old knee injury.

What’s your goal for this season?
→ Finish my messenger season well, participate and arrive in a good place in a great alleycat that will be done from Santiago to Viña del Mar, about 200km.

What are you doing besides cycling?
→ Work and being a father hahaha, but what I have left of time I fix my friends’ bikes for fun. Plays guitar and try to teach my baby everything about rocknroll and bikes.

What’s the best Moment you ever had while riding your bike?
Riding under an intense thunderstorm without the right clothes or equipment, a trip between Brugge and Haarlem, it was beautiful why I had to arrive to Haarlem to pick up my luggage and go to Schiphol to return to Chile. I did it joyfully, by little.

Fran Thank you very much for being part of the cyclepunks collective, we would love to hear more stories of your adventures soon!

Ride On

Cyclepunks Collective Become a Member
Cyclepunks Collective Become a Member
Jay Written by:

Grumpy Guy who likes pedaling all kinds of fast Bikes, networking and punk rock. Also good in digital media and social networks.