Red Light Go

Alley Cat Racing in New York City

For most bike messengers making a living is dangerous enough, but there is a tight-knit community which rides for more than their weekly paycheck. These messengers compete in street races called Alleycats. Speeding though busy streets without rules or sanction from the law, they race without insurance and sometimes without brakes. These competitors risk life and limb in order to gain the respect of their fellow riders and if they're lucky, a seemingly meager prize.

Red Light Go takes its audience on a wild ride alongside a select group of these hardcore New York City bike messengers. We get to know several of them through intimate portraits, and then follow them and their fellow riders in a series of harrowing races through the streets of New York City. Our story culminates with the annual and much anticipated Halloween night Alleycat, a long and brutal race through rush-hour traffic.

The documentary was made following this group for nearly two years, at work, on the streets, at home and even in prison.