Monthly Archives: May 2020

Why we cycle

Why we cycle is a documentary directed by Arne Gielen and Gertjan Hulsterin which was premiered in 2017. It deals with the healthy habit of cycling in the Netherlands, although not only there. I am sure you know the Netherlands is one of the countries with the highest percentage of riders in the world. It seems they bring bicycling in their DNA the moment they are born. But going a step further, the directors wanted to know the deeper needs of cyclists.

Hence, they interviewed ordinary riders through easy conversations to discover obvious as well as hidden effects of cycling on people, societies and the organization of cities. Thanks to the biker movement, it is subtitled into English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Italian, Hindi and Japanese to spread the word.

Moreover, according to IMBD its score is 7.9 in 10 at the time I am writing this post, thus converting this documentary in appealing that people should watch it even if they are not bikers.

And what should I do to show or broadcast it? Just ask for it. In the webpage, there is the Contact section in which you can seek for it. Indeed, you can also see the endless list of screenings and a world map with all the locations.

Cinecicleta

Cinecicleta (kind of “bike and cinema”, in English) is a pair of bikeaholic persons who love movies. Why is so special about the Cinecicleta project carried out by Isabel Segura and Carmelo López? Well, they spent two years bringing the magic of movies to remote, small villages in Africa. At their webpage (https://cinecicleta.wordpress.com), you can see a short video to get some idea of their laudable work no matter if you do not know Spanish or French.

They rode 18,000 km (more than 11,184 miles) and made 217 screenings on white blankets in their journey. Best of all, they did so thanks to a portable cinema that carried in a bicycle trailer. Furthermore, they taught local people how to use it, how to produce electricity just by pedaling. So simple, so powerful. As a result, children faces watching a movie for the first time encouraged Isabel and Carmelo to continue with the project.

What’s more, Javier Zabala directed a documentary about their adventure in Africa that was released in April 2019. The method they followed was at least curious. The two adventurers were given three cameras in order to film the ride. As they fulled hard disks with material, they sent them to Spain. Here, Javier did the post-production work. As a result, the TCM channel was so satisfied with the documentary that decided to show it.

When journalists asked the couple what was the first thought when remembering the journey, they did not hesitate in answering: Freedom. And then explained, freedom consists in being lord of one’s time, that is precisely the drug which stimulate to ride again.

Curious sign

As cities change towards a more human and sustainable perspective, governments include traffic regulations and special traffic signs like the following:

I took the photo in Pamplona, but you can see it in lots of cities. It means no entry streets except for bikes, which do can ride in the two ways. Of course, riders should put extra attention to the vehicles and people they come across when moving against car traffic. In fact, this sign is presented at the beginning of a pedestrian area in which vehicles different from bikes run like fire trucks, police cars, ambulances or delivery vans.