Do you ever think back to when you first started riding, and remember the days where you rode all day, everyday? For a lot of us, that's a few years in the past, and it feels impossible to do with a full time job, family, and other adult responsibilities that take priority.
But for Brayden Hasen (@Braydenbe_em_ex), riding is a must everyday. Whether its a quick pedal in his basement, or all day at the skatepark, he makes it happen. He even goes as far as carrying his bike all the way across the town of Stratford through 3 feet of snow, just so he can ride a unheated parking garage for a few minutes.
I first met Brayden when he was a guest on The Goat Cave a few months back, I was blown away by his dedication, and passion for BMX. Hearing his story, and the reasons he rides everyday was a breath of fresh air in the local BMX community. So lets take a look at this video created by Blake Keen, and his team that shows Brayden's riding and tells a bit about his story.
Filmed and edited by Blake Keen, Biplov Rimal and Alyssa Minten
So how did this "pedal everyday" thing start Brayden?
My buddy Kaleb Smith (@hitemwithkaleb) messaged me on July 4th last year, saying he had started this challenge called “#pedaleveryday“. I said shit I already pedal most days for sure and it’s summer, why not?!? By July 5th 2019 I filmed #pedaleveryday Day 1.Â
Icepick, Truckdriver to Fakie. #Pedaleveryday Day 1
You're at 265 days right now correct? How many days are you aiming for? Have you come close to missing a day yet?Â
Yes Day 265 is today. I’m aiming to keep posting a video for #pedaleveryday every single day until Day 420. Surprisingly I haven’t had that many close calls, except for one time I was so tired a few months ago and fell asleep until 11:40pm. When I woke up I even went back to sleep for 10 more minutes. I barely made it down to the basement to pedal with 5 minutes to spare!Â
#Pedaleveryday Day 45
What are some of the challenges you have faced doing this? Do you ever feel like skipping a day, and how do you keep yourself from doing so?
Some of the challenges I face doing this as of now would be that I end up getting pretty bad surface wounds on my hands and elbows that really, really make you just wanna sit that day out. Things that help me get past it are listening to music, and watching inspiring bike videos!

Do you have any advice when it comes to something like #pedaleveryday?Â
My advice for #pedaleveryday is obviously have fun, but to not go as hard as you can every single day because let me tell you, that shit beats you up.
#Pedaleveryday Day 116
So I used to ride almost everyday, and I fell out of that cycle, and I think a lot of it was just getting bored or not motivated to ride. How do you stay stoked on riding, and what are some of the things you do to keep it fresh?Â
One of the main things that keeps me motivated to ride everyday is the fact that I work at a bike shop full time. I love what I do and when I'm working on bikes all day it’s hard not to want to ride right after work! As far as keeping it fresh I simply never ride the same set up for too long! I absolutely LOVE switching it up... for example 4 pegs, or no pegs... 4 piece, or 2 piece bars, chain or no chain!

So lets talk about the video side of things, Blake how did you get involved with this project? What were your thoughts going into it?
I’m currently working on finishing my 4th and final year of a Bachelor of Photography program at Sheridan College. One of the core classes mandatory in the program , is an intro to video class. It’s odd the introduction doesn’t happen until the fourth year, as the advertising industry demands photographers to do both video as well as stills. One of the projects in the class was to film a short 1 minute doc featuring someone who’s passion is making a difference in their community. I consider myself to be quite involved in Stratford’s local action sports scene, and I’m constantly looking for ways to give the sport a good name. I saw the project as an opportunity to showcase some of the local talent and passion, and Brayden’s name was the first to come to mind.
#Pedaleveryday Day 229
Why don't you walk us through the actual process of filming the video? What were some of the difficult things you dealt with, and how did you overcome them?
This was a project with assigned groups, so I had to pitch the idea to the group members and it ended up being one everyone seemed interested in pursuing. With the campus being in Oakville, one of the complications was getting everyone in the same place at the same time. The other was the weather I remember the first day we planned to shoot we ended up getting rained out.Â
The other crazy thing about the shoot, was the time constraint. We had to film the entire video in one afternoon/evening. We started at the local skatepark for some riding clips, and finished the day off with the interview clips. Brayden and I both work at Totally Spoke’d in Stratford, and the guys were nice enough to give us access to the shop to film the interview and some B reel for the intro.
When dealing with a group project as you know, things can get interesting. With this project in particular it was difficult because my other two group members were completely new to action sports videos let alone knowing how to film them. As I said before, it’s a photography program so we get trained well with framing in general but when you throw action and camera movements into the mix, it’s a whole new world.
As far as the actual filming of the video this went really smoothly which was great because it kind of had to based on the time constraint. Brayden is a really consistent rider so we definitely had more issues on our end than he did with the riding. I’m sure the #pedaleveryday project has something to do with that no doubt!
#Pedaleveryday Day 263
What were your thoughts overall working with Brayden, do you think anyone else could have done this?
I think Brayden was a perfect subject for the project because of his passion and commitment to the sport. Day or night, rain, snow or shine you can find him riding bikes or working around them at the bike shop. I speak for myself, but I think that Totally Spoked has opened both of our eyes to how special the cycling/action sports community is.
Heres some of Blake's other work, go give him a follow on instagram @blakkeen

Photo: @Blakkeen
Model: @rachelnash14
MUA::@daniellegradmua
Stylists::@kassfinucan @laurensmacpherson

Photo: @Blakkeen
Model: @SamDaveyy

Photo: @Blakkeen
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