YOU NEVER BIKE ALONE

Dir. Robert Alstead | 2008 | Canada | 80 MIN

The cycling phenomenon known as Critical Mass is a reclamation of public space that started in San Francisco in the early 1990s and spread by the internet throughout the world. On a set day, at the end of every month, cyclists and other self-propelled people ride en masse through city streets. Vancouver has become renowned for its big Critical Mass bike rides, and particularly the party spirit that attracts all types of cyclists. You Never Bike Alone charts the development of these mass rides in Vancouver and asks whether cycle activists are succeeding in their goals.

"Robert Alstead's documentary about Critical Mass rides in Vancouver is the best film about the intersection of bicycle culture and civic involvement since Ted White's landmark film Return of the Scorcher (which, incidentally, gave Critical Mass its name). If you're upset with social and cycling conditions in your town but don't know where to begin to change things, watch this with a friend and take notes." (Robert Zverina, Carbusters Magazine)