When Robert Nightingale, founder of Malle London, got tipped off about a rare motorcycle ice race – up on the Great Sacandaga Lake, not far from the Canadian border – it presented an opportunity for him to combine his love for motorcycles and filming. This race only happens when the ice is over 18 inches thick. That week, the ice was just thick enough and Robert got word that the race would go ahead. So they headed up from Manhattan with a camera, to film the riders of the ice race.

In the middle of the huge lake were a group of trucks, trailers and men tuning their machines in the bitter cold. Three snowplow trucks crafted the track from the ice and snow. There were a mix of modified dirt bikes, quads and three-wheeled side cars. Wheel-to-wheel and shoulder-to-shoulder they raced, at speeds of up to 90 mph on the hard surface. With every heat, it got faster and more competitive. The lines were tighter, the riding positions more acute and the track became a chaotic cloud of shards of torn ice, snow, exhaust fumes and the vapor of fuel lingered in the mouth.

If the conditions are right and you can find the lake, this is pure racing – few rules, no sponsorships, no hotdogs or champagne podium finishes. Just a group of gentlemen in the middle of a lake, trying to win. The Kings of Winter is a short piece that recalls this adventure.