by Robert Alstead

They call themselves “freak bikers.” You can’t miss them when they hit the streets. Some of them are on tall bikes, made out of two or three old frames, welded one on top of the other; riders spin frenetically on tiny, undersized bikes; while still others have manufactured something completely unique with the aid of welder and torch.
It’s this spirit of fun that cyclists always seem to hover on in the interviews that I’ve conducted over the last couple of years. It’s also the keynote I’ve aimed for in my 80-minute documentary, You Never Bike Alone, which looks at the development of Vancouver’s growing bike culture and weighs in on the progress and challenges cyclists face today. The film will have its world premiere on the 26th of this month, at the recently refurbished Rio Theatre at Broadway and Commercial.
I focus, in particular, on the evolution of Vancouver’s Critical Mass. These rides take place on the last Friday of every month in cities around the world; hundreds of cyclists ride together, enjoying the safety and calm of large numbers. Often called, “a party on wheels,” the rides provide great spectacle, but they also bring into focus issues such as road-share and road rage.
Some cyclists steer clear of Critical Mass, believing that it sends motorists the wrong message about bike culture. Whatever one’s stance on the matter the rides have played a big part in cementing the city’s network of cyclists. The film goes back a decade to the protest rides across the Lions Gate Bridge in the early to mid-nineties. Then looks at the “No Fun City” years of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when cyclists were arrested for riding en masse. This past June, more than 1,800 people took over Vancouver streets. I also cover some of the numerous spin-off rides, such as the World Naked Bike Ride and Wholesome Undie (an underwear ride protesting the Molson Indy).
As we all know, safety is a big deterrent for many would-be cyclists. To its credit the City of Vancouver has been doing much more in recent years, with a growing bike network. In You Never Bike Alone, one of the early advocates at planning level, former city councilor and cyclist Gordon Price talks about the political realities of trying to build bike mass through lanes.
An eloquent transportation commentator, Price, along with other experts, provide a strong argument against Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon and Premier Gordon Campbell, who assert that highway expansion is the only way to solve congestion problems in the Lower Mainland.
Keeping in the spirit of the project I travelled by bike, camera in hand. This produced some terrific movement and tracking shots. It also allowed me to get into the thick of things – scrambles in the road or a melee of naked bikers at the crest of a bridge: You could only be there on a bike.
Bikes also feature in the deadpan Canadian comedy: Monkey Warfare (due out this month). Cyclists Dan (Don McKellar) and Linda (Tracy Wright) are a jaded couple in their 40s; radicals who survive off the grid in Toronto by scavenging garbage and selling it.
Their flagging counter-culturalism is challenged when their young dope-pusher daughter, Susan (Nadia Litz), starts acting on ideas she reads in Dan's radical literature. Enjoyable performances and stylized direction can't hide the silliness of the central premise that involves tossing Molotov cocktails at SUVs, to hit back at “the system.” But, with its rebel soundtrack and witty dialogue, it remains a diverting experiment.

You Never Bike Alone 2pm Sunday, November 26. Rio Theatre, 1660 East Broadway. Tickets $8. More info and DVD available at
(www.youneverbikealone.com).