Keep the Bike Moving

For the last decade, I have not been a Filmmaker, but a Wildland Firefighter and a Ski Patroller. But when my friend, mentor, and fellow ski patroller Michael Boge approached me in early 2021 and asked me if I wanted to join in on his Baja 1000 team as a chase crew driver, I was intrigued at the thought of documenting the journey.

At the 2021 Baja 1000 that fall, I not only got introduced to the world of Baja (a place I had only dreamed of), but I got introduced to an incredible group of friends and riders. We left Mexico thinking we could take on the world.

I brought my Canon 80d along and made a short film as essentially a thank you note to my friends for bringing me along. This led to the team convincing me to play it at the local theater. I truly had to be convinced, and I relented under the assurance that only a few friends would show up. We had 200 in the audience.

This directly led to the team deciding to race in the 2022 Baja 1000. This time as a serious, all out effort with two different teams. Naturally I had to step it up as well. With my ultra talented friend Maddie coming along as my second filmer, I dove head first into the production and let the process completely consume my life. Due to my lack of film production knowledge, my plan was to over prepare, and plan out every shot across the vast Baja Peninsula desert while driving alongside the racecourse at a…reasonable speed.

The 48 hours of production were the most intense of my life. And I came away from it both nervous and excited for the short, 4 month window I gave myself to edit the 90 minute film while still working full time hours as a ski patroller.

I have spent most of 2023 admittedly punching way above my weight class and learning the world of filmmaking through both wonderful experiences like this, and hard learned lessons. I am honored and amazed that ‘Keep The Bike Moving’ has been selected for the Toronto Motorcycle Film Festival, I hope you all like it.

– Nick “Hyphen” Harper-Johnston

Director Bio

First time film-maker Nick “Hyphen” Harper-Johnston is a Wildland Firefighter and Ski Patroller from Sandpoint, Idaho branching into action sports documentary filmmaking.