From my own personal experience, being an intern can be either an all around great experience or a dreaded “look what I’ve wrangled myself into this time” situation. Good or evil. Enriching or “I gotta get out of here” tragic.

I am on board as one of the two Filmed by Bike interns for the 2008 festival season. What do I think? So far, so good.

I’ve joined Team Filmed by Bike in the role of Promotions Extraordinaire. What’s not to like? The festival is all about awesome people, independent artists, great bike shorts and high levels of chili potential (see previous blog entry by my fellow intern Maryann).

And so. It’s officially my job to tell you this: April 11th is the big kick off. Tell all your friends. We’ll see you there.

On Feb 10th I was at the Worst Day of the Year Ride in Portland to promote Filmed by Bike and encourage people to submit their movies. This is a fun, 18-mile easy ride around Portland, no matter the weather. I had a blast! I met many fun bike lovers who were not only excited about bike love but about sharing that bike love! Laughing Planet Cafe did a fantastic job of feeding us all. As I am new to the Portland area, it was my first supported ride experience. And what a beautiful experience it was! Fresh chili, chowder and bread filled our tummies and warmed our hearts.

When Ayleen, FBB Director, told me there was a chili overload and asked if I would like to take some home with me, I was more than delighted! Being the angel she is, she delivered it to our home. But this was over a week ago…and I can no longer stomach even the idea of stuff! So here is where I say, NO MAS CHILI! Yes it was delicious, yes it was free, but here’s the down side..I live with six other people who have been no-stop chili eating machines! I have seen endless devoured chili dogs, bowls of chili mac and even chili and eggs! Thank goodness it is gone, until one of my house mates finds the hidden stash in the freezer!

Now, let’s get back to MOVIES and forget about chili!

Are you ready for Filmed by Bike 2008? If you’re not quite jumping out of your seat with excitement, maybe it is because you have not yet watched our 2008 trailer. This cool piece was produced by Savannah Teller-Brown of Teller Films and it was sponsored by Laughing Planet.

Spread the love! Tell all your friends and embed the trailer on your website.

Oxford chose locavore as the 2007 Word of the Year. A word so new it is not yet showing up in my web browser’s built-in dictionary. I’m excited about the honor awarded to this word as I’m a bit of a localist myself. Anyone who knows me knows I’m completely obsessed with my crooked-streets Woodlawn neighborhood: hanging out with neighbors, eating foods from my front yard, working on neighborhood projects… you name it.

I think being a locavore, someone who eats foods produced locally, comes easily for bikers. For one, we’re very connected to our physical environments as we bike around. Drivers see the blossoming cherry trees. We see them, smell them and maybe even feel them as they drop lightly fluttering petals upon us. (more…)

Unfortunately, safety is on our minds a lot lately here in Portland. Two cyclists were recently killed when struck by a motorist making a right turn. A third was seriously injured. I’m more nervous when riding at night – I feel more vulnerable than ever. But at the same time, there is strength in numbers. Two different major studies have shown that the number of motorist-bike accidents goes down significantly when the number of bikers on the road increases. That means keep riding. Keep riding.

No one wants to be told what to do and safety shit has never been cool. But this is the Modern Age, with beats, technology and innovation at our fingertips.Fads and styles change by the minute. YouTube makes unlikely people worldwide stars (Chocolate Rain, Turtle Boy…). Can safety be sexy? Can you make a kick ass safety movie in under 8 minutes? The jury (TBD) and I look forward to seeing your attempt.

The Filmed by Bike special mini-screening at The Night Ride was amazing! They took a field in North Portland, along a long, quiet off road bike path, and transformed it into a bike-in theater. A large blow-up theater screen allowed for great viewing for the crowds. Fire dancers greeted riders at the entrance and the fresh popcorn was flowing. There was a cool breeze rustling through the trees making for an extremely pleasant night for riding bikes.

Were you there? What did you think? So, should we do this exclusive screening again?

We used to say that Filmed by Bike happens “one night, and one night only”, but then it got pretty large and we started doing multiple screenings. Still, Filmed by Bike has remained a film fest that only comes out to play once a year. Until now. (more…)

2007 was an amazing year for Filmed by Bike! Over 1,300 people attended the screenings all weekend long. Special thanks to the Clinton Street Theater for embracing our wild crews. Many of the shows sold out and we’re just trying to decide what to do next year. One thing’s for sure – we’ll be back at the Clinton.

We still haven’t had anyone claim the winning ticket for the Electra Amsterdam. Tell your friends to check their tickets. If we don’t have a winner by Wednesday we’ll move on to the next number on our list.

35 volunteers worked hard to make the event happen. Special thanks to Meghan Sinnott and Brad Nelson for going the extra mile. Thanks also to the Seattlies of Cranked Magazine for helping out.

Our compilation DVD features most of the films that will be screened at the festival, plus bonus features that didn’t make the jury cut. We’re all out of the ones from 2006, but the 2007ers are at the printer right now. You can pre-order for only $10 (US shipping) or $12 (intl.) online through tomorrow morning, 9am Portland Time.

I’ve seen orders for 4, 5, 6 DVDs coming from Colorado, California, Washington and Ireland. This is a hot item, get yours while you can. We’ll also have them for sale at the Opening Night Throwdown for $8.

[ Buy the DVD ]

Ashira Siegel’s film “Even the Girls” showed at our 2006 festival. “During the time I worked as a messenger in NYC” Ashira says, “I had all these crazy experiences that involved peoples reactions to seeing a woman in a job that most people don’t really expect a woman to work. At the same time we’d get mad props from people as well, but it was also because of our gender. It was bizarre because all the women I knew who were earning their living on their bikes were these amazingly strong, smart, focused, well spoken, really cool women who were drawn to the physicality of messengering and the adrenaline of rushing around the city on our bikes.”

And she had never made a movie before, but she was motivated. ” Riding my bike and messengering in the city changed my life. There is great community among messengers and biking made me strong, not just physically, but in my mind as well. It sharpened my senses and taught me to stand strong and firm, to speak up, even yell if I have to, and not feel bad about it. It gave me a confidence that nothing in my life ever had before. It really empowered me. ”

It wasn’t all fun and games putting the movie together, with a broken camera, damaged footage, re-shooting, and lots of learning, but in the end, Ashira says, the piece became her homage to riding. In short, Ashira declares that riding bikes saved her life, so the least she could do was to make a movie about it. (more…)