Hey all! I've been out of the game for a hot minute now. I'm not leaving the game completely, but I expect to be online a lot less here, so I've got a long note here as an ode to Free Rider. In the next post, I've got some WIPs from the past five years. You can skip straight to those if you'd like. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the past couple of months, I completed my first semester of college! I'm fulfilling a pretty much lifelong dream to study at the University of Notre Dame, and I couldn't be having a better time. The opportunities I get for learning and friendship and community and wellbeing and faith and fitness and more and more and more are through the roof, and I'm so grateful to be at a place like this. Subsequently, of course, I've been taking all the advantage of it I can, which means not really sitting at my computer. So, while college has been tremendous and I can't wait to continue growing, it has been quite detrimental to my Free Rider career. Of course, I expect it to continue to do so - even when I'm not at college, I envision myself spending as much time as I can with hometown friends and family or pursuing other opportunities that are afforded to me. Long story short, I don't see myself spending much time on Free Rider in the future; not that this is a goodbye or a hard quit of the game, but I expect to not spend a lot of time trackmaking or thinking about the game generally. As such, I thought it might be nice to give some closure and a note (as well as some WIPs) to the community, rather than just disappearing as I've done previously. I played Free Rider for the first time in 2016, when I was in fourth grade. It was a rudimentary experience (I didn't even make an account back then), just racing against friends on our school chromebooks when we were bored in class, but it was fun and memorable enough for me to be writing about it now. I remember loving ThePelican and BowlOfFire, and I didn't know then that I was experiencing absolute peak. But, for whatever reason, I soon completely forgot about the game. When high school rolled around, I had a study hall my freshman year, and I found myself bored out of my mind. Of course I didn't want to do work during my study hall, so I found myself looking for everything and anything that I could do to kill time. And, vaguely remembering it from elementary school, I stumbled back upon Free Rider and had a good time playing the tracks I could find. I could only find so many of the smooth jumps tracks that I liked, though, and in my naivete I decided that I'd have even more fun if I could play ones that I made myself. Well, if that didn't open a can of worms. My first year of tracks ranged from fun to horrible, but I slowly got better with my rides and explored the whole concept of "detailing." Leading up to 2023, my tracks got marginally better, and I was usually able to top the trending charts. It's really cool to look back at an earlier track like Stalactites and see comments from guys that I now realize are legends in the community like Zgolex or dantexpress or Elibloodthirst, even though at the time I had no idea who they were. Then, in March 2023, I joined the forums and I had a real paradigm shift about how the game works. I realized there was a whole community behind the game, with its own contests and hierarchies and inside jokes, rather than just anonymous trackmakers like I had been. I entered my first contest with the third round of Remix Contest XI, and it was cool to be a [small] part of this larger community. Indeed, 6 of the 8 total tracks I published since that point were for contests, and another 3 of the 5 WIPs below. I had grand plans, though, for what my place in the community would be, and I never really got there. I envisioned that my detailing would get better and better, and eventually I'd just be churning out some feature-worthy tracks with fun rides like my in-game idols were (shoutout all the really impressive bastards on this game, but especially zwinxz, WyattStonhouse, pinn, Fluffysmack, Coager, dantexpress, and Drndemi as guys that I wanted to model my tracks after), but I never put the time/practice into trackmaking that I needed (5 completed tracks in the last 37 months is abysmal). Nor did I ever carve out a role for myself in the community; I'm more of a lurker in the the forums and I never even check the Discord. Again, shoutout dudes like Elibloodthirst and Volund for being such a presence in the community, I could never. The latter even checked in on me a couple months ago in my absence, preciate it big dawg. But even though I didn't have an outsized impact on the game, I'd love to thank y'all for the impact it had on me. Trackmaking is an awesome creative outlet, riding on tracks is amazing (especially when they're absolute showcases like Winterfreuden, Ajaokuta, or goliath), and seeing dumb schizoposting from Zycerak makes my day. I've spent a ton of time on this silly little bike game, so thank you to all who made it and continue to make it as great as it is.
Ok, enough sap. In all of this time that I've spent in this game, I've also started a large amount of tracks that I have failed to finish. I'm somewhat of a perfectionist that lacks discipline and operates on motivation alone, which is not at all conducive to completing FRHD tracks. Since I probably won't spend the time required to finish these anytime in the near future, I figured I would release them here so other people can enjoy them. They were completed over the last five years, in various states of unfinished and unpolished. Some are much better than others, but I hope you enjoy them all. Free Rider HD Solar System: Planet BP1-22 92K | 2022 | Completely finished, just planned on releasing with rest of Solar System. One of my favorite tracks of all time is Planet Free Rider. The dedication it must've taken to make it is admirable, and I liked the idea of fitting rides into a planet so much that I wanted to make my own Free Rider Solar System. I started in early 2022 with plans to make 7 or 8 different planets, each with a different theme, and fit them all into one massive track by the time they were complete. The Solar System ended up falling through, though, and I made very minimal progress on it. In fact, this is the only planet that I completed in its entirety. Brobdingnagian 84K | 2022 | Obviously unfinished. It was always going to be minimal, but I envisioned a centerpiece, a fuller composition, and 10+ minute ride. I got into trackmaking just so I'd have more tracks that were the smooth jumps I enjoyed riding. So, when I started to "waste" time doing detail on other tracks, I thought it could be fun to have one I could come back to and just make some mindless jumps. From 2022 through 2024, I would just hop on this whenever I was bored and add some jumps. I envisioned it just being an absolutely massive track, hence the name (even though I've never read Gulliver's Travels), but it just never really came together. Free Rider HD Solar System: Planet PP3-23 285K | 2023 | Would've had to clean up the patterns and make more track cohesion. This actually would've been the third planet of the Solar System, but the second one never really got going. I worked on this diligently for a long time, but looking back on it now it really wasn't anything. I'm happy with the rides I was able to fit into the planets, but on top of being unfinished the detail was absolutely lackluster. For various reasons (the monotony of the patterns, the discouragement I felt when Dream Machine came out and I realized I could've made the entire track so much easier, the difficulties I was having creating the second planet, etc.), I tapered off of the Solar System. Unfortunate, but looking at the tracks now, I realize there wasn't a lot of potential there either. Catch the unmissable tribute to the original track. Super Mario Adventure 1777K | 2023 | Never made the snow or water biomes/levels. Background would've been nice too. Man I loved this track. I only got fifth in the Super Mario Maker Contest, but it was the first time where I felt like my track was really elevated. The ride was clean, the detailing was superb compared to my previous body of work, the shading worked out just how I wanted it to, the Mario style really merged well with my trackmaking strong suit. . . plus other people were liking it (the preview was one of the top 10 most liked tracks in the game's history for a couple of months, and is by far my most played track at 15.9K), and who doesn't like a little external validation? With that being said, though, it kind of took a toll on me too; I spent so much time on this track, even using the contest's extended deadline, and didn't even get close to finishing. Then I worked even more on the track post-contest, and I realized how slow the going was. Eventually, I just had to take a break, and that break became permanent. I wish I would've finished it at some point, but I'm sure it would've taken an immense dedication that I'm not sure I was able to give. It makes me appreciate all the authors who can put an extraordinary amount into finishing a track (especially those who can churn them out, I was always an incredibly slow trackmaker). Enjoy it though, and just imagine you have the option to turn left at the start too. Powerup Series: Antigravity 215K | 2023 | Never got around to some of it. The powerup series was what originally popularized my account. Slowmo was my first popular track, Boost and Gravity were nice continuations, and Teleport is to this day one of my most successful tracks and one that I'm very proud of. So, when I came around to making the last one (because bombs suck and add nothing to the game), I knew I had to go out with a bang for Antigravity. And, I think I succeeded - the detailing looks good and the ride is fun - but at the end of the day it was so monotonous, and I struggled to keep coming back and working on it. I forget exactly when I started this, but I think the work happened in short bursts from late 2022 to late 2024; ultimately, though, I never found the burst to get me across the finish line. Sylvan Sanctuary 283K | 2024 | Obviously needed way more. Planks were unfinished, trees were unfinished, clouds were never started. Made this one for the Multi-Box Contest. I thought it was really cool, and I had a good time with it. It was my first time giving a go at some natural, authentic detailing, and the first time I got to aura farm with some WIP screenshots. I really felt like a proper trackmaker, and I loved the challenge and subsequent leveling-up that came from the box constraint. With that being said, though, I guess a proper trackmaker should know when too much is too much and actually be able to publish tracks, because there was no way I was going to get this track out. Just way too dense with the detail. Still love what I had going on; contest was never judged so throw this in as a late entry :). WIP7 112K | 2024 | Slightly more piping needed. Other than that it was just the background filling and splitty platforms. Never even named this bad boy. In my files I just called it 'Good Ride' because that's what I thought it was. I made it one day just messing around it the editor, and I think it was the best thing I ever put out. I wish I had touch like this for all of the past five years. The detail worked towards my strengths too, I think it was all kind of clicking with this one. Naturally, though, I just had to go and ruin any chance of publishing it by deciding to do the most tedious background fill ever. Oh well, enjoy. Heaven's Grotto 219K | 2025 | Truly the most unfinished because I never knew what I wanted to do with it. Couldn't tell you how I go about finishing it. Oh man, I was so ready for Remix Contest 12. I came out swinging with Ataraxy Electric Company, but then when push came to shove that track didn't turn into nearly the piece I wanted it to be (Feedback was something along the lines of lacking background and Dr. Seuss-ed buildings, which is totally fair. The zwinxz comparison I got made my day, but I knew the track was laughably far from my goat). So when Round 3 rolled around and I saw those glorious max007x fragments, I knew I had to make something I was proud of. And I am proud of what I accomplished; I think the remixed A Trip to the Woods and Dark Matter ride was handled well, and I think what I have for the detailing is some of my best work (and, dare I say, fairly comparable to a lot of feats). But, at the end of the day, I just didn't have that much; I could never figure out what I wanted to do with this track - whether I wanted to extend it, how I wanted to make it my own, how to incorporate some elements, how to bring the track to life - and I ended up never really getting past the wall I was at when the contest ended in March. Oh well. You're not mishearing the disappointment present in these reminiscences; looking back at my whole oeuvre, I wish I had more to show from the past five years. Plus I let Volund down. My bad. With that being said, though, it doesn't detract from what I was able to create. I've got a whole lot that I'm proud of, and more than that I've got a whole lot of other tracks by you great people that I can come back to. Cheers. You're a G if you went through that all. If you're an EA/VIP, let me know if you have any feedback on my trackmaking through the whole body of work.
Were we separated at birth? It sounds like you're describing me exactly there. Were it not for my at times baseless optimism I'd be tempted to follow your lead and be rid of my wealth of WIPs in one fell swoop before I start uni this year. I respect that you've set your perfectionism aside in order to allow all these great tracks to be enjoyed by the community regardless of whether they're all you wanted them to be. They certainly showcase your talent as a track maker and I have no doubt you'd easily manage a feat given the motivation. I understand the need to spend less time on this game, it can be a massive time-suck even when you're just lurking and I'm glad you're prospering and taking up all the opportunities that come your way. Even still, I wouldn't be surprised if you find yourself back here working on a few projects when you have some downtime. Oftentimes when you feel like you're furthest away from achieving something it can be just around the corner. I myself thought I'd still be a long way off getting my first feat, yet a track I threw together over the course of a week somehow cut the mustard. Anyway, thanks for all you've brought to the community over the years. You've certainly got plenty to be proud of.
thanks for the post man, im really glad to hear things are going very well for you! wishing you the best with your studies, this community will always be waiting for when/if you decide to get stuck into trackmaking again i like seeing these kinds of posts reflecting on one's journey here, id be lying if i said i wasnt typing up my own update a couple days ago, for similar reasons as you just wanna say bro, definitely didnt let me down at all ! ataraxy electric company is one of my personal fave remixes of my tracks, and even if you never quite got to the feat level, your tracks are all amazing in their own right. i reached out a couple months ago because i look forward to your uploads, something i dont say about many people! it's funny too seeing KC in the comments here, you both are two of the most exciting trackmakers of the last few years to me. regardless of arbitrary ribbons on a browser game, your creations have had impact, and that's something to be immensely proud of i also think basically everyone bar eli and mr..a looks back and wishes they had more to show for their time on this game. i have made 6 tracks since 2019, 5 of them being on my profile, which is - to say the least - less than ideal. the truth of the matter is, it is ******* hard creating anything at the best of times, and trackmaking is one of the hardest mediums to create in. where the vast, vast majority of tracks are 50kb> (here's a stat i posted in 2023 - only .0041% if all frhd tracks are above 200kb), the truth of the matter is you are in elite company making anything remotely substantial
thinking that 5 tracks from 37 months is abysmal when you just named those 7 as your inspiration? bro you're just like them already
Some crazy potential stuff here, hope one day you get the time and place to be able to get some of them done but frankly it's okay if you don't I respect the hell of the effort you put on this little bike game anyway. I tip my hat to thee.
