Punkin’ “Cinemain”

Riding around lately noticing obsessions with “Horrorween” decorations and orange greasepaint clown creations. Are homeowners trying to dodge own anxiety and dread from nation’s walking dead who only vote red? Don’t you adore commentators who endorse Top Ten lists deciding for you what to explore? “Compared to what?” those they annoy might ask. How many films have these pumpkin headed critics seen? Small sample numbers bias opinions and skew perceptions. Labann has viewed tens of thousands, though only a few thousand set within last 200 years actually involve bicycling, mere hundreds in some main role. Among the many mentioned or reviewed never rated any against another, given each have scenes worthy of attention that uniformed punks ignore.

Excusable mistakes in Bike&Chain’s appendix “Bike Obsessed Films” rate a retraction. Long unavailable Les Bicylettes de Belsize (Douglas Hickox, dir., 1968) is a short musical with almost no spoken dialogue about Steve (Anthony May) recklessly riding a Raleigh RSW16 (not a Moulton) sans helmet on location in Hampstead, London, England. Belsize Park neighborhood in title of famous Englebert tune (someone else sang on soundtrack) is never visited. One morning Steve evades 2 broadsides and gets into 2 minor crashes before falling in love on first sight with Raleigh billboard model Julie (Judy Huxtable). Best to review after you actually view.

The Cyclist, aka Peloton (John Lawrence, dir., 2012), depicts down-on-his-luck self-absorbed athlete Nash (K.C. Clyde), looking to resume his racing career while scraping by as a messenger. There’s a contrasting Iranian film under same title, aka Bicycleran (Mohsen Makhmalbaf, dir., 1989), in which a motivated Nasim (Moharram Zaynalzadeh), hoping to pay wife’s medical bill, will do anything for money, including marathon riding in a circle nonstop for 7 days. Both plumb depths to which humans will go when determined to succeed or survive.

Infinitely Polar Bear (Maya Forbes, dir., 2015) depicts Boston biracial married couple Cam (Mark Ruffalo, Avengers) and Maggie (Zoe Saldaña, Avatar) as they try to work around his bipolar disorder and their two school age girls so she can attend Columbia’s MBA program in New York full time for 18 months. Set amidst the 1970’s bike boom, filmed on location in Providence, Rhode Island, in manic mode Cam bikes around in a speedo and embarrasses family. Despite important story and star cast (including cycling obsessed and often mentioned Ruffalo), film didn’t return 25% of its investment.

In “awesome” short Litterbugs (Peter Stanley Ward, dir., 2016), precocious inventor Alice (Leila Wetton) and tween sidekick Stanley (James Grogan) get even with mean girls who’ve bullied them. Riding out to a junk yard on her adult tricycle, Alice scavenges castoff gadgets and mechanical litter then recycles into "robugic" drones to do her bidding. Vengeance!

Mary Poppins Returns (Rob Marshall, dir., 2018) one generation later to a Banks family in Depression Era crisis at risk of losing their home. Mary (Emily Blunt) advises as usual to “go fly a kite”, through which they avert foreclosure and regain youthful outlook. Leader of lamplighters Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda) makes extended and frequent uses of his cargo bicycle culminating in a dance scene with bike acrobatics and Mary spinning wheelies.

Youths who are bicycling sleuths Elliot (Jensen Gering) and Willow (Catherine White) save mom Celine (Denise Richards) and town of Wickensburg (Richard Boddington, dir., 2022) from an unscrupulous nuclear waste disposer. In worse sequel Return to Wickensburg, 2 years later young adults motor about rather than ride, unlike adventurous twentysomething Anathema Device in Good Omens.

Documentary feature Dear Sirs (Mark Pedri, dir., 2022) retraces by mountain bicycle grandfather Silvio’s route as a soldier captured by Nazis during WWII, a wounded patient mistreated in an insane asylum, an exploited slave scavenging scrap metal, and starving prisoner in Sandbostel’s Stalag 10 concentration camp. While in Hamburg, Mark reflects on Nazi inhumanity by citing ANTIFA dissident and Hitler victim Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Silence in the face of evil is evil itself... No man in the whole world can change the truth. One can only look for the truth, find it, and serve it... Comfort the troubled, and trouble the comfortable.” This one hour sobering reminder exposes what occurs when a nation becomes subservient to a sociopathic tyrant and stops caring about entire community. Nazis detained and murdered anyone who wasn’t compliant and white; history repeats itself, both bad and good, so resistance isn't futile.

Anytime (Darcy Wittenburg, dir., 2024) has extreme sports promoter Red Bull celebrating freeride’s elites through sponsors Arosa Lenzerheide’s Bike Kingdom park, Evoc Sports bags, Maxxis tires, and Shimano components.

Another documentary, The Extraordinary Journey of the Bicycle (Michael Kollatschny, dir., 2024), describes how the eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia in 1818 and its dust resultant global winter diverted reliance on horses onto mechanical innovations, such as the draisienne. One might argue that chariots were also bicycles; putting cart wheels in line with a pedal push pulley drive reassigns human riders as horse’s asses.

Gold Peak Tea, Real is Gold spot (2024), “Doesn’t need hype or trickery to be interesting,” because bicyclist spokesman breaks away from phony set to tour exotic fascination of tea plantation.

History Honors 250 is a series of PSA spots that History Channel is running through 2026, when America celebrates its quarter millennium as a Greco-Roman democratic republic... if it makes it that far under current totalitarian threat. Of particular interest is one on Women’s Rights first aired on 7 April 2025 that connects their vote with freedom experienced while riding bicycles.

Itinerant bicyclist Cliff Cash delivered The Long Road standup comedy special and destroyed MAGA mythos specifically.

Xfinity Mobil Spot (2025) shows Frankenstein’s creature bicycling around some dark scary backwater, which inspires learning to cook with a pinch of cinnamon like a gourmet chef. Incongruous?

Jimmy Kimmel Live, September 30th, 2025, half way through show, Seth Meyers’ brother Josh parodied California Governor Gavin Newsom bicycling onto stage, cracking up his Brooklyn audience, and reviving stereotypical west coast tropes. Will show survive?

Mocking Ozempic and Wegovy commercials, Comedy Central’s South Park interrupts itself for a “Lizzo spot" with a stop at a bike shop, then resumes ridiculing godless villainy of Pol Prop. Pigs who want it all pop semaglutide pills to avoid exercise and glomb whatever they want. You can simply adopt riding as a lifestyle and so much safer lose chubby blubber, then thumb your nose at first president since Lincoln who didn’t appreciate bicycling and rather make war against bike advocacy in favor of petroleum consumerism.

Out this October, Bugonia (Yorgos Lanthimos, dir., 2025) is an absurdist black comedy remake of a South Korean film. Two beekeeping bicyclists, conspiracy theorists, and environmentally conscious twentysomethings, Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and cousin Dan (Aidan Delbis), kidnap and torture powerful pharmaceutical CEO Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), convinced she's an alien who wants to destroy Earth.  Maybe they aren't wrong?

Fantasy/SciFi film in development Ghostwriter (J.J. Abrams, dir., 2025) produced on location in both Glasgow, Scotland, and Rhode Island, USA stars Glen Powell (Twister), Jenna Ortega (Wednesday), and Samuel L. Jackson (Avengers, Pulp Fiction). A bloodied Powell was snapped being filmed along Providence’s Lovecraftian streets for supernatural scenes of him cycling on a Specialized.

Rhythm and sounds of bicycling inspire so many songs, some composed over last 5 years heretofore slipped through cracks:

Christian Alexander, Bicycle, single, AMF Records, 2023

Doon Kanda, Bicycle [piano instr.], Celest, wwwomb, 2023

Eric Owyoung & Future of Forestry, Bicycle [piano instr.], single, Sound Swan Records, 2023

Lili Trifilio, Bicycle, Book Club, 1326398 Records DK, 2019 - “I was riding home on my bicycle on the northwest side of Chicago. Then I saw your face in a rain puddle looking back at me from a car window... If you wanna come and see my new place in the city by the freeway, we could ride our bikes at our own pace. If they break down, we can fix them.”

mariek, Bicycle, single, self, 2021

Nevi, Bicycle [jazz instr.], Istanbul Edition, Losen Records, 2020 - Russian and Turkish musician collaborate; no apparent relation to the Italian bicycle brand.

Sarah Watson, Bicycle [piano instr.], Bicycle EP, self, 2021

Xaia, Bicycle, single, self, 2020 - “I don’t have a car... I’m tired of the yelling, I just want to be alone... All I do is ride my bike all day...”

Baleful Wain

“I see you got your list out. Say your piece and get out. Yes, I get the gist of it, but it's alright. Sorry that you feel that way. The only thing there is to say, ‘Every silver lining's got a Touch of Grey.’ I will get by... I will survive.” - Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter, 1987

To stay authentic and topical today’s writers must surf ahead of a tsunami of social insanity within a tyrannical tube of factuality. They have to assess advertisements, arts, blogs, books, broadcasts, documentaries, edicts, interviews, manifestos, movies, music, newscasts, podcasts, poetry, posts, rap, speeches, TikTok, tweets, videos, vlogs, and what’s not even on this Sisyphean list while investigating in person both an artificial and natural world, specific spaces at times, either eager to commit murder and devour your corpse. No bubble or force field, only cloth, grey matter, leather, or lycra to protect, it’s hard for anyone to say for sure, if at all, what preserves one’s inner self from threats out there. While being absorbed, ingested and inhaled, world in turn swallows you whole, simultaneously bestowing and taking, crucifying and forgiving, furnishing and suffocating, punishing and rewarding.

Labann’s mission has always been to encompass all of bicycling culture, monitor sources as new examples emerge, and show how items interconnect. Too often lately that involves baleful reports of political smackdowns, such as a POTUS proclamation trying to reverse NYC’s smart and successful Congestion Tolls. For GOP, state sovereignty only applies when it suits their own hypocritical lies. Often here cited public datasets are disappearing; all hail fascist efficiency that funnels public treasures to billionaire parasites! Low class cowards and thugs attacked Palestinian Muslims during Ramadan, then extorted neighborly Canadians because they think they can. No Russian mobsters have been deported. Gitmo has no promised alien detainees. Government services are disappearing. Inflation worsens daily. Stock shares are tanking. Poles are doubling their army expecting a Russian incursion. Is WWIII on its way? News you can lose? All deter civilian bicycling.

Anyway, The Douche is in the White House, and Duffer’s on vacation, golfing again, while true men from founding fathers to honored patriots are rolling angrily in their graves. What FDR said echoes loudly, "Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds." Cruel and devious modus operandi define criminal sociopathy. Farm wains upon which they loaded Black Death casualties and fallen soldiers (“sold yer” out with huge cuts to veteran benefits and jobs) have been superseded by flat beds and trailer trucks for next inevitable Grey Death. Wailful days upon us warrant brown study and frown melancholy.

About time for a direction reversal: Hope of renewal springs eternal, thus perennial Easter festival. “Those trips a-wheel before the break of day, the pause to hear the morning songsters sing, the break of fast on berries by the way, the thirst assuaged by kneeling to the spring; The drill, the race, that memorable run, Quixotic like, in search of conquests fair - Each ‘joyed event returns like Summer sun, to warm the chillness of the Winter air.” - S. Conant Foster, A Midwinter Reverie, Wheel Songs, Poems of Bicycling, 1884

Not all bicycling memories melt into gratitude or warm your soul. How about brand new leather saddles before broken in or frozen fingertips throbbing as if seared by molten steel? Always attempted a last spin before weather set in for real, especially in winter when snowfall chases you home to stay until sun and wind strip streets of black ice and white depth, then watching out window day to day for another chance while trying to judge which bits of apparel will work under an ever varying conditional array. It’s an anniversary worth celebrating when single-ply short sleeve jersey and spandex shorts suffice. But paying the price panting between baking sun and grilling asphalt that waft watery mirages and wondering if you’ll complete course before wholly exhausted still haunt and menace, what Rachel Meltdown does to your typical MAGA clown. Self’s amuse abuse, or folly hobby, seems bombastic onanistic or depressive obsessive to someone else’s mentality.

Mary Mensana (Amanda Seyfried) is pregnant widow of a would-be environmental terrorist and rueful parishioner at First Reformed (Paul Schrader, dir., 2018), on eve of rural church’s 250th anniversary, where Reverend Toller (Ethan Hawke) serves as pastor to whom she rides her bicycle for emotional support. As an aside, a man does say Fred in reference to stodgy cyclists devoted to riding classic but outdated steel models such as a Peugeot Super Competition or Schwinn Varsity. This grim drama about climate despair, doctrinaire politics, hollow ceremony, and reproductive rights won Critic’s Choice Male Lead award for Hawke; screenplay was nominated for an Oscar.

Not finding a lot of new bicycle songs from dispirited Americans, composing still on wane, as previously described. Do note Europeans compiling abridged Youtube playlists, such as one from Germany of which only some of those not previously mentioned are listed below chronologically by release date. Interesting how France and Germany now stand together backing Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s aggression after USA’s betrayal of democracy despite interwoven diversity and widespread mutiny of its citizens.

John Manchester, French Bicycle Music [piano instrumental], Blue Sky, Omnimusic, 1985

Beppo Küster, Ich fahre Rad [German pop], Bitte nach Ihnen, Amiga, 1986

Wolle Kriwanek Band, Mike (Mit dem Mountain-Bike) [German rock], Hot Wollé, Bell Records, 1992

M. A. Numminen, Fahrradfahren ist Notwendig [German, “Riding Bicycle Is Necessary”], soundtrack from short film Polkupyörällä ajaminen on tarpeellista (Sökö Kaukoranta, dir., 2000); commemorates 450th anniversary of Helsinki, Finland. Depicts a grey day with Numminen singing song beside riding on back of a bicycle being pedaled along a slushy roadside.

Spieltrieb, Fahrrad fahrn [German pop], Ohrrangement, self, 2008
“How do I feel? Of course, it rhymes with free. Whatever comes and happens can't touch me, because I have my song... There are a thousand ways to ride a bike, whether endurance, fast, downhill, or on the track. One thing is certain: you'll burn calories, and next summer you'll shine with a dream figure. Only what you eat is your fuel, and you're gliding along.”

Pat C, Klapprad [German], single video, self, 2010
“I ride a folding bike around the area; no reason to get upset”

Pratterino, Bicycle Song, Old Bicycle, Pär Strandberg, 2011

Souljah, Was mein Fahrrad angeht [German], single video, self, 2011
Bikecentric remake of the autocentric MoTrip song similarly named; if you sold God’s benefices, ecclesiastical privileges, or pardons it was once condemned as heretical simony, but now it’s the sole jam of Christian Nationalists loyal only to opportunist oligarchy.

Kommando Zurueck, Velociped [German hip-hop], Back from Out of Space, self, 2012

KraftKlub, Mein Rad [German], In Schwarz, Universal Music Group, 2014
Americans can related to this angst of loss plentiful evidenced, “My bike is no longer here, it's gone, that's what happened. But why is it now with an idiot like you... who sees things and just takes them like a stupid child?” Answer: Kleptocrats addicted to greed.

Anthony’s Putsch, King of the World, single video, self, 2014
“Won’t you grab that bike, please take me for a ride, and see that I’m King of the world! There is nothing I'm afraid of, mama, only the howling of the wind.” Right! Citizens of a democracy are collectively king, not some orange shellacked combover thing.

Infallet, Cykelhjälm Cykelhjälm [Swedish in English; group name means a “Sudden Whim”], single video, self, 2014
A helmet is stylish, the ultimate swag, no? “No pain, no gain. It’s a place to put your brain.”

Binyo, Fahrrad [German], Der Steg ist das Ziel [“The jetty is the destination’], self, 2015

The Rotaries, Bicycle Girl, On the Outs, self, 2015

Dota Kehr, Rennrad [German pop], Keine Gefahr, Kleingeldprinzessin Records, 2016

Maybebop, Lust auf Fahrrad [German], single, BMG, 2016

Moop Mama, Die Erfindung des Rades, M.O.O.P.Topia, self, 2016
“You are a miracle of nature on a miracle of technology, your round body contour, carefree and casual. They talk, and shout, and gesticulate, hands off the steering wheel. Sirens and horns are only for you, because you roll like a gangster.”

D.U.M. Enterprises, Fahrradtrack [German hip-hop], single video, self, 2018

Peelander-Z, Bike Bike Bike, Go PZ Go, Chicken Ranch Records, 2018

Günter Nüssle, Das Liegerad [German], single video, 2019

Nico Suave, Von Hamburg bis zum Meer [German pop], single video, Hamburg Marketing, 2019
“So many corners, so much to discover, on my bike... I’m never stuck in traffic. I pass you with a big smile.”

The Dirty Nil, To the Guy Who Stole My Bike, F*ck Art, Dine Alone Records, 2020
“I hope it serves you well. I hope the brakes don’t seize, when you’re riding down the hill to hell.”

Mr. Rose, Radfahren [German pop], single video, Problembär Records, 2020

Requisite, Bicycle, Rusty BBQ Demos EP, 1943896 Records DK, 2020
“Next time you offer me a ride, I might decline. I’d rather ride my bicycle.”

Severin Groebner, Rentner auf E-Bikes [German for “Retirees on E-bikes”], single video, self, 2020

Estéban Cortez, La-La-Lastenrad [German, “Cargo Bicycle”], single video, self, 2021
Going backwards by pedaling? Isn’t fuel too expensive?

Kadeja, feat. DieZelle, Bike, single video, PZK, 2021

Treptow, Nachts auf dem Fahrrad [German heavy metal], single video, self, 2021
“On the bike at night in Berlin... There’s room for you on my luggage rack; I'll gladly take you anywhere. Who needs a taxi?”

IFHT fea. Matt Dennison, New Bike Day, single video, self, 2022
“Got kicked out, got fired; wanna do stuff but I’m too tired. At least my mother’s proud of me (no, she’s not). But it’s new bike day, and I can’t be broken... I get to ride. I might be broke and alone, but there’s rubber and chrome... I feel alive... Can’t afford to fix my car, but I got shiny handlebars.”

Mike Ständer Band, Fahrradfahrn [German], Zweites, self, 2022

Blondie & Iris Wallaschek, Mein Rotes Fahrrad [German, "My Red Bicycle”], single video, Chromatics Entertainment Studios, 2023

Alex & Lukas (A. Diosegi and L. Brennecke), Radlerhymne [German hip-hop, “Cycling Anthem”], Schiffbruch, self, 2024
“Leather saddle padding and the pedal crank made of gold! The chrome rims measure an impressive twenty-six inches. Yes, then annoy a few passers-by with your exhaust. Hey, we'll pass you if you look out at us while you're filling up.”

E-Aldi, Fahrrad-Punks Not Dead, single, self, 2024

Vielleicht Emma, (Ich und mein) Fahrrad, (Ich und mein) Fahrrad, self, 2024

Hanker Sane

“They say that, ‘Patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings.’ Steal a little and they throw you in jail; steal a lot and they make you king. There's only one step down from here, baby. It’s called the land of permanent bliss. What’s a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this?” Bob Dylan, Sweetheart Like You, Infidels, 1983

None can predict what might occur with certainty, though irrational behaviors often bring harm and ought to be avoided if possible. Don’t expect genius decisions from brains afflicted with dementia, parasites or syphilis. Legally and politically, ignorance is no excuse, but insanity does provide a lame defense. Madmen can be entertaining, about the only reason anyone nowadays acquires a name, evades blame, gains fame, or stakes a claim. One ought to hanker defining reality over sane washing absurdity. But as a criminal regime dawns, exemplary service in society’s interests secures yawns.

Andrew Wyeth (1930 to 2006) watercolor on board; artist is known for painting scenes from native Maine to Pennsylvania brimming with intense surrealism and magic realism.

“The truth knocks on the door and you say, ‘Go away, I’m looking for the truth.’ and so it goes away. Puzzling.” “When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called Religion.” Quality maniac Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (HarperCollins, 1974, 448 pp.), 50th anniversary

Before 2024 election, couldn’t get enough of Strike Force Five and their hilarious criticisms of sick cultists in diametric contrast, and sparkling wits such as John Stewart and Tim Miller (shown below in parent’s basement flanked by bicycle posters). Now they are too sad and tragically targeted to merit same attention. Entertainers and journalists who champion truths and expose lawmakers will always be the enemies of tyrants.

Compulsions to create authentic content instead spread fallacy pollution. You can read lies daily in salacious headlines drawing audiences to another dull presentation meant to meet deadlines. Social media uses artificial intelligence to score influence, and, since purchased by privileged immigrants, sift out disloyal or dissident participants. All you can legitimately do is avoid trolls, boycott nonsense, buy nothing, ignore clickbait, and resist despots. Meanwhile, the exact opposite coexists, modest titles fronting indispensable testimony, intangible religiosity, and nontaxable charity.

Robert Isenberg, Mile Markers (Last Picked Books, 2024, 220 pp.), “A bicycle isn’t just a piece of sports equipment or a fun hobby. It is the purest innovation, a tool of liberation, the antidote for a million human woes.”

Complex phenomena come from random insufficiencies. Situations greatly vary. Seldom does one size fit all. Ice Road truckers don’t benefit as much from bicycle transportation as crosstown office commuters. Bicycles are labor saving devices compared to walking, but not while hauling tonnage. Who wants to be forced arbitrarily to do something more difficult than necessary? Jacques Derrida warned of torturing poets on a Procrustean Bed which sacrifices context for conformity. Old farts who plot violence and proceed unhinged against those they swore to serve will themselves, “Be hoisted with their own petard,”poetic justice of ironic outcomes, unintended suicides during terrorist bombings, not to be confused with pittards, leather gloves that protect well until outdoor winter trips trigger frozen fingertips.

After a year in America that saw historic investment in bicycling infrastructure and reciprocal equipment purchases, you’d naturally expect books, films, and songs to acknowledge and celebrate, and a dozen sparked recognition. Never underestimate the power of visual stimuli to shape perceptions and sway behaviors. Pick for yourself which one promotes prudent conduct. 

Alcoholic divorcee Michael (Brian Stillar), known locally as Bike (Terrance Odette, dir., 2024), resorts to collecting bottles, raiding dumpsters, running errands, scrounging beers, and stealing bicycles. One assignment has him arduously messengering a mystery envelope up a steep escarpment. His one hope, to jumpstart a relationship with his teenage daughter, runs into a detour when he witnesses a drive-by shooting.

Camera Corner (Josh Weinberg, dir., 2024) documents Wende Cragg’s archive of thousands of photos of early mountain bikes and Marin County’s MTB community circa 1974.

In uplifting fact-based feature film Hard Miles (Daniel Hannah, dir., 2024), social worker Matthew Modine ushers juvenile delinquents serving soft sentences on an epic bicycle tour to Grand Canyon, aided by sag driver Cynthia Kaye McWilliams and wrench tech Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee in LOTR). Everyone tumbles at least once on first attempt at using cleats.

Heretic (Bryan Woods and Scott Beck, dirs., 2024) follows Mormon sisters Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Paxton (Chloe East) blithely biking about, imposing their beliefs door to door, while seeking converts, until they arrive at the home of atheist psychopath Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), lock up bikes, and shuffle indoors. Resembles empty promises and fraught visits on political campaigns. This grim film received 2 dozen award nominations.

Rebel Ridge (Jeremy Saulnier, dir., 2024) shows ex-special forces marine Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre) run afoul of corrupt police in rural South. After they knock him off his mountain bicycle and confiscate cash with which he was planning to bail out his cousin, random Rambo mayhem commences.

Souleymane’s Story (Boris Lojkine, dir., 2024, in French) is portrayed by Abou Sangare, who delivers food in Paris by bicycle. To qualify for asylum, he must prepare an autobiography prior to a state inquiry. Was nominated for 10 awards and won 7.

Tess Parks - Some Days: The Bike Song From Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros. Pictures, Tim Burton, dir., 2024), “I don't like anything, but I love everyone some days... when the sun is out and good people are about it restores my faith.” Lydia Deetz’s psychic heir Astrid (Jenna Ortega) avoids colliding her bike with carelessly driven trucks but crashes through fence into the yard of Jeremy Frazier (Arthur Conti), who secretly designs her unsolicited destiny for his own expediency. Despicables dupe innocents, especially during elections. Living free is wondrous, withstanding afterlife monstrous. 

We Are Rock n Roll (Justin Balog, dir., 2024) is a documentary of the American Criterium Cup, a series of up to 10 races for points for purses totaling $500,000.

Bicycle Film Festival is currently and virtually presenting BFF Classics, short films previously introduced during its 25 year history, through 31 March 2025. There will also be physical exhibitions of new works at various global locations including Copenhagen.

Pandemic doctor Daniela Schwendener gets revitalized by gravel bicycling on her Days Off (Liam Higgins, dir., 2022), an overlooked short from a few years ago promoting Cotic Bikes shot on location in England’s Peak District National Park.

Project A (Jackie Chan, dir.,1983) casts himself as Sergeant Dragon Ma Yue Lung and performs in martial arts battles including a frenetic bicycle scene set in Hong Kong alleys. What’s the goal of that silly slapstick sound at every kick?

Patricia Taxxon, Big Wheel, Bicycle, self, 2024 - Rambling aural experiment eventually gets around to lyrics: "The big wheel in the sky, he arcs o’er miles and miles... We can see the whole town from up here, feel the wind sail past our ears, the whistling noise it makes, so frigid and so fierce.”

Suspect Tramontane

Looking for redemption from a cycling obsession and stumbling through a universe two-wheeled, you never know what will be revealed, sometimes resembling a suspicious blast of northerly wind from Alps that brings disease and excises convenience. Reserve right to refuse any mention, though exclusion has never been Labann's intention.

Called out, woke, then canceled: Practically describes how society dealt with Labann specifically. How do distaff cousins, mistreated mothers, and significant others organize during a pandemic to counter crooked officials, misogynists, nazis, patriarchs, and whoever else wants to overturn hard won civic rights? Make no mistake, what’s at stake are common sense, licensed licentiousness, power lust, privileged status, treasury rape, wealth dominance, and world influence. So no big deal, and not cancel culture, to skip extraneous references, so songs that actually capture culture can inspire independence, as do the following two baker’s dozens.

Eek a Mouse, aka Ripton Joseph Hylton, Peeni Walli [Jamaican reggae], Peeni Walli EP, Gorgon Records, 1983
“Riding on my bicycle got knocked down by a motorcycle in front of a motor vehicle. Luckily, I was Jah Jah disciple. I lay on the ground. I was so injured... did not know what to do... Yeah, man! When the bike really hit me I see stars and peeni walli [fireflies]. Beddameng [akin to Valetudinarian]! Pain all over me, me tink [sic] me get shocked by electricity... Crowd gather around like it was a funeral, ‘ey! Some say it accidental.”

Robert Palmer, Pride, Pride, Island Records, 1983
Addressing a body building obsessed girlfriend, “Roller skates and vitamins and diet plans, academic discipline will ruin your hands. We used to ride tandem and have lots of fun, but bicycles for exercise are made for one.” Perhaps the late pop artist, often surrounded by supermodels, might have lived into his sixties with own spin regimen.

Josh Rouse, Sweetie, Country Mouse City House, Bedroom Classics, 2007
“Life in circles and we dream of some place to go. [Chorus] We’ll sleep on roof tops. We’ll ride on bicycles. Baby, we'll get married. Don’t you want to, Sweetie?”

Jonathan Mann, Song #121: To: Sarah and Mike From: Meredith and Adam re: Sorry about your bikes, Song a Day: Year One, self, 2009

Jonathan Mann, Song #203: Bike Love, Song a Day: Year One, self, 2009

Jonathan Mann, Song 249: Bicycle Blvd., Song a Day: Year One, self, 2009

Jonathan Mann, Song #280: Hey Mr. Bike Thief, Song a Day: Year One, self, 2009

J Prozac, A Boy and His Bike, Here Is My Heart, self, 2013

Julian Bach, Ride [South African], Man on The Bicycle, self, 2013
“We’ll ride into the source of the night... into forever where nobody has ever gone.”

Julian Bach, Man on The Bicycle [South African], Man on The Bicycle, self, 2013
“Man on the bicycle now rides a luxury car miles away from his bicycle... Come back to your roots.... Get your bike into gear.”

Kids On Bikes, A Boy Needs A Bike, Transference EP, self, 2014

Me for Queen (Mary Erskine), Bike With No Name, Iron Horse, self, 2014

Me for Queen (Mary Erskine), Freewheel, Iron Horse, self, 2014

Me for Queen (Mary Erskine), Traffic Light Crush, Iron Horse, self, 2014

Me for Queen (Mary Erskine), Wheelie, Iron Horse, self, 2014

Me for Queen (Mary Erskine), White Bike, Iron Horse, self, 2014
The Guardian said, “Iron Horse: an album [crowdfunded] inspired by cycling in the city will give 5% of all sales to RoadPeace, a UK charity for road crash victims, and 20% of anything over its target.”

Owen Pallett, Soldier’s Rock [Seattle indie], In Conflict, Domino, 2014
Interesting dissonant use of lead violin. “Out on a bicycle a reflection left behind, behind. The desires of your daughters they will never be defined, defined. Wild pedal wild energized by the stolen vodka and triple-sec. Wheels spurting up the flecks of mud on your blue jeans and your turtleneck. I'm out on a bicycle feeling God is on my side. My mother didn't believe in discipline or the unconscious mind... Somewhere between the road and the ever-darkening sky, ooh, the greediness of our hearts will not be satisfied.”

Alexander & Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, fea. Dan Moriyama (piano), A Woman Wearing Bloomers on a Wheel, single/video, Andagio, 2015

“There’s nothing quite as splendid as a bloomer; for riding bicycles they’re perfectly ideal.” And while they’re at it, organizing with suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst to force men to let them cast ballots. After 150 years of women citizens exercising their born right to vote, begun in State of Wyoming, and 100th anniversary of the ratification of Nineteenth Amendment, none of all those specious objections against manifested. In fact, quite the opposite, enfranchised women actively and successfully fought fascism during WWII. These days, either gender is just as apt to vote foolishly or wisely. State of Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp has again disenfranchised blacks and women with vicious new Jim Crow laws based upon the Big Lie, despite Trump’s actively and illegally trying to distort results there, and due to Rudy Giuiani’s false claims of a stolen election. As the minority party, GOP knows it has to resort to electoral redistricting, exclusionary ballots, low turnout, and restrictive measures to creep into office and only represent privileged creeps including themselves. Such an outrage should never be tolerated, and those who try ought to be recalled or voted out.

Hip-Hope Buster, À bicyclette [French], single, self, 2015
Hip hop homage to old Yves Montand song.

Slabs, Brian Pulva [space jazz], Ballena Solitaria, self, 2015
“That man, the man with a beard, in a skirt, on a bicycle... Lumbering internal combustion. Wildering images distinct from, lumbering internal combustion. Slabs form in tarmac. Smog is scattered. And in the dust all our friends will rot.”

Jackal & the Wind, Finding Home, Finding Home, CD Baby, 2017
Concludes with, “A bicycle with nowhere to go. I’m on my bicycle, and I can’t find home.”

David Haerle, Glendale, Garden Of Edendale, Edendale Records, 2018
“Well, I had, had a love, and she lived there way up high above Kenneth Road, and I rode, yeah, my bicycle there, and she showed me how it felt to feel like a man, a man in love with a girl and with the whole wide world. In Glendale it all began.”

Geotic, Swiss Bicycle [electronica instr.], Traversa, self, 2018

Ghost Suns, Cards on a Bicycle [English synth], single, Fierce Panda Records, 2018
“Something like a new machine ready to be turned on... It’s been a long time since I’ve been down on this road... Cards on a bicycle marking time and space, keep moving forward, never looking back.”

Hawksley Workman, Italy [Canadian], Median Age Wasteland, Isadora Records, 2019
“Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle days. Riding through the hayfields, riding through the haze, just giving into summer, giving yourself away. We never came here looking to dispel any notions, looking to mop up any oceans. but just to see the sun upon your face.”

Kamuflauge, Bicycle [reggae], single/video, 2186113 Records DK, 2020

Abide Vicereine

“Odd Jobs has ridden on... the little girl from in back of the clothesline cast a shadow like a crow. It’s beak spoke open. ‘Why doesn’t old Odd Jobs come around anymore?’ He used to ride his form-a-heap bike, and his basket was a whole candy store. He used t’make Xs from door to door. All the women and the young girls around here ask why old Jobs don’t come anymore, why old Jobs don’t come on home. And the gate without its paint on danced and creaked and moaned. Here he comes peddlin’ up on his form-a-heap bike, a bag of skin and bones. Spokes were scraping two rust fenders. Oh.”
Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet) & His Magic Band, Odd Jobs [1976], Grow Fins - Rarities 1965 - 1982, Revenant, 1999

Had an elderly pal Joe, since passed, who was keen on political debates for what they really mean, legislative tactics that affect lives unseen. Having stormed Iwo Jima for liberty and life, Joe would be offended at strife with which America has become rife. A dyed-in-the-wool Democrat due to their one time staunch support of labor, would be hard to imagine degree of his rage vis-à-vis GOP’s gun proliferation, oil profits, power lust, self service, and standing shoulder to shoulder with a sociopathic loser. After introducing so many tax cuts for wealthiest few, none in Congress cast a single vote for latest relief law, even one without a minimum wage hike. They’ve made it clear who they like: Billionaires, businessmen, and corporations they fear, never those in need and suffering from want. Repeats historic mistake, “Let them eat cake!”

Ideologues mustn't assume a party stays the same; members and platforms change, and policies get strange. Both major parties say whatever might sway votes their way, and sell influence to the highest bidder, so tacitly pass along trickle up swindles to enrich every supporter. Token pittances aren’t going to make eligible individuals solvent, but will pay any advancement and wend through economy, unlike bank bailouts and tax cuts that wind up in some offshore balance statement. Lots of bills make billionaires, who seldom seem to pay own loans, rather lash costs on backs of worker drones.

Ghost bike for a 6-year-old mowed down during a family outing on a bike path by a motorist.

Examples set indirectly cause fatal consequences. GOP’s disrespect for laws and stance on guns goad domestic terrorists. Self proclaimed patriots and white supremacist separatists indiscriminately kill those to whom they have access simply because they are heavily armed and mentally defective. How many bystanders and children have died in US gun massacres? According to official figures cited by Congressman Desaulnier, more than soldiers in Vietnam War, over sixty thousand in last 5 years alone! They'll massacre innocents, then crucify dissidents.

Recently, six women were murdered in what appears to be a hate crime against Asians, in part from frustration over coronavirus. News media exaggerates an incident as trending, but this regrettable splinter only reinforces a global constant of targeting unarmed, vulnerable and weak, sometimes by those in positions of authority. So many Americans own ammo and guns, no army would stand a chance of ground conquest. Only biological and nuclear weapons would work, which creates a dilemma over what would be left to seize. America’s strength had been its diverse people and their work ethic. Power is only worth possessing as long as you don’t use it indiscriminately.

Furthermore, news denounces sudden mistreatment of women. Would be laughable if not so shortsightedly pathetic. For millennia, patriarchs backed by popes put women down, reckoned them third class chattel, sometimes sold them as slaves. Consequently, femininity focused on charms to manipulate machismo morons. Longing to attract right mate, Americans, more women than men, now spend $50 billion each year on cosmetics and $2 trillion on fashion apparel. Toss in crowding, ego, hormones, peer pressures, and stereotypical behaviors, what should you expect? Mixed messages sent, so begins series of events that result in Thelma and Louise tragedies everyone resents.

One cannot be the voice of abandoned, disappointed, disenfranchised, disillusioned, or dismissed and not anger those so delusional to believe themselves in control. Human reality has both concrete external and emotional internal elements. A great deal of life’s experience depends upon how they interact. Both demand expert handling, but rank amateurs stand in, so make for a comic or melodramatic mess. Only those with intact shreds of self esteem can expect success. Every woman wants to be treated at least like a vicereine, if not queen. Lust is the vice through which she's supposed to reign and you abide. After years of neglect of her lowly subject, who’s left to deliver respect?

Biggest myth of all is that you receive commensurate with what you contribute. Doesn’t take into account grifters, malingerers, taxmen and thieves, who laugh up their sleeves at what your hard work achieves. Doesn’t matter, because you’re stuck with whatever defective programming you were born, dealt or nurtured into. Behooves a person to test self and skills against many challenges to find a role in which one can prevail, and foresee a fall back once equipment begins to fail. Even so simple a formula can never be assured in an unreliable world with rugs pulled out from beneath your feet, savings reduced by inflation, and threats strewn upon your sweet cheat.

Pandemic and recession proof industries meet basic needs. Certain manufacture, farms, mines, pharma, ranches, state services, and supermarkets haven’t laid anyone off. Home deliveries have expanded due to personal distancing. But minimum pay hasn’t risen in decades and wealth disparity is worse than ever. You’re neither entitled nor owed anything for sure. If wages matched growth in productivity, minimum would be $24/hour, though $15/hour would preserve jobs and raise 32 million families from poverty. If neocons won’t permit, unions might see to it.

Enormity and extent of problems crush individuals; only through consensus and teamwork does anything important get accomplished. Yet you’re surrounded by gross incompetence and oppositional defiance that says, “Makes no sense, so let’s do it.” Nation will never truly appreciate how close it came to totalitarian rule. Whatever you think works won’t once universe ceases bestowing and commences reclaiming. Gravity’s a bitch, but there it is, always dragging or slowing you down.

Captains like to impart groans of hate and indignant insights, since they're so easy to relate. Art forms that resonate draw audiences, but efforts to produce soon become drudgeries that no longer elate. Bicycling humbles one, instills doubts, reveals fatal flaws that cannot be resolved, such as inevitable mortality, needs to pursue what’s unpopular and unprofitable among dopes, and support systems built on slippery slopes. Closest you’ll ever be to literally free is out bicycling apart on lonely back roads or where sky meets the sea.

Warren Buffet’s life hacks say be positive, don’t overthink, do play and sleep more, and exercise outside today. Bicycling will forever fill that bill unless you're suicidal. TOMORROWS might be the heaviest 3 syllable word in English language, heavier, say, than manifestos (often go unread), braggadocio (rolls off tongue), or simply future (some unspecified date). Tomorrows has bulky, wavy, wide letters that occupy space, and oppresses procrastinators with its imminence and inevitability. Waking up to a new tomorrow with hope treats every cell in body to universe's pure energy. 

Both book and reader were sprinkled throughout with easter eggs that revealed facts too personal outside context. Writers write to be read, a one-way dialogue. Offered an option to comment, which is why so many debatable perspectives were presented. One can only assume too few readers or too much truth limited. Either way, B&C in totality was never worth the effort, so intend to end. Thus concludes suffering while resurrection awaits.

Silk Grosgrain

Forebears fought fiercely for freedoms few today don’t take for granted, while rights quietly erode and fall into fascist compliance and futile conformance. Meriting authority and taking license will be fraught with self delusion over worth of own contribution. Only those of privilege ever get to know a bowtie that goes with a tuxedo is made of satin silk grosgrain to match suit lapels just so. And “what’s a cummerbund” is a Jeopardy answer that stumps vast majority, who rarely attend black tie social events and ritzy fund raisers and rather pull down a wool beanie on a winter jaunt. Asphalt byways are black swaths unlike original highway, The Silk Road. Music is a grosgrain ribbon from a homespun past, not at all a tenuous thread unlikely to last. Finding and tracing origins of the following two dozen bike songs wasn’t as much a drudge as some might dread, but it does get increasing hard to find unique examples, since so many were already collected.

Mal Webb, Djembe, Trainer Wheels, Independent Records, 1999 Overlooked Australian folk from among original albums cited underscores how it’s all right in front of you as long as you don’t assume or give up too soon. “There’s too many djembes in the village. You’ve got to get a bicycle instead, ’Cos to the local ladies a bike is a Mercedes, and you cannot ride a djembe home to bed.”

Arkells, Country Boy, single, Dine Alone Records, 2008
“Replace the podium with your coffee table. Replace the microphone with a bottle of beer... And we can talk and talk and talk about your career. Just try to be a strong country boy... Now won't you ride your bicycle away from Queen Street? Now won't you take that highway road straight out of the city? Won't you meet the morning sun with an honest handshake? 'Cause work's gotta get done.”

Culcha Candela, La Bicicleta [dancehall], Next Generation, UMG/Sony, 2009

Peppertones, Bike [Korean pop], Colorful Express, M-Net Media, 2009
"A secret bicycle race on a sunny afternoon in midsummer... You and me, getting closer to sun. The scenery of the passing streets cheerfully...”

Radiopilot, Fahrrad [German], FIFA 09 [soundtrack]. SME-Sony, 2009
Defunct German indie pop band had a Kantian moment: “Get rid of your f-ing fear. No, it's not possible. And we ride our bikes around the square. I ask myself: what if this bike didn't even exist, and I'm standing at the traffic lights, looking up at the stars. I ask myself: what if we didn't even exist in reality. Oh, oh, in reality.”

Zebra Tracks, Bicycles, Collective Guilt, Limited Fanfare Records, 2012
“Bicycles go, what's with the bikes, chained to the racks, railings and signs? And I lost mine. Bicycles go, you’re on your own over the bridge... story unfolds. You had a fine day. Look at your face as it radiates.”

Donnerbalkan, Bicycle Song [German in English], Reime, Beats & Bläser, self, 2013
Beer hall self identified Balkan thunder world music. “Take a bicycle and save the world today.”

Frank Ocean, feat. Jay Z & Tyler, The Creator, Biking [explicit hip-hop], Biking, Stem Distributions LLC/Blonded/Warner Chappell, 2013
“I’m biking uphill and it’s burning my quads. I’m biking downhill and it sounds like a fishing rod.” “My tire’s smoking when I stop.”

Maid Of Ace, Bone Deth [English metal/punk], Maid Of Ace, CD Baby, 2014
Eliot sisters - Abby, Alison, Amy and Anna - embark on a must-see BMX rampage in hometown Hastings. Bone Deth PH48 frames and wheels are designed for use by riders who abuse bikes. Brand also alludes to a line of fan apparel.

Petunia, Bicycle Song [Canadian neo-hillbilly], Inside of You, Trapline Productions, 2014

Love & Logic, Bicycle Seat [hip hop], Bicycle Seat, Concentrated Music, 2015

Alkilados, La Bicicleta [Columbian], La Bicicleta, Universal Music, 2016
In official video an elderly couple reconnect over a teal tandem. “Where do you get so much perfection? You have me pedaling. I don't know where I'm going anymore... And where you tell me I go... There are more stories to tell you, Mamacita, give it, let's try... We are two identical crazy people. You spin my pedals... It's easier to cross Niagara by bike. I have a bike that won't stop to roll to your house.”

Jank, This Is A Song About My Bike Ralph, Versace Summer, self, 2017
Love affair with a beater white Raleigh ten-speed, never locked because nobody would want to steal: “Your feet fell off a couple of times and almost sent me flying into a stop sign. Your hands were brittle and breakin' down, and no amount of duct tape would ever suffice, but you'll always be mine.”

Matt Hulse, Biketown YYJ [Canadian], video single, self, 2017
Celebration of bicycling culture in Victoria, British Columbia, the bicycling capital of Canada. Hulse merely modified lyrics of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis song Downtown.

Max Raabe, Fahrrad fahr´n [German], Der perfekte Moment… wird heut verpennt, We Love Music, 2017
“Sometimes life goes well, assuming you have a bike. Then the thoughts fly, and you don't need to refuel either. The police say in a friendly manner, ‘Hello!’ because I always do everything right. Should you be without a bike, I could lend you mine. Cycle: Nothing is as beautiful as riding a bike. I can't give a damn about the car.”

The Proclaimers, Angry Cyclist [Scot], The Proclaimers, Cooking Vinyl, 2018
Critics say, “If you can trust one band to put a spoke in the wheel, it would be Scottish twins Charlie and Craig Reid. Their 11th album in 31 years reads you the riot act while still chasing romantic ideals.” These erstwhile Edinburghers sing, “For me I feel this era has been kissed, kissed by the aura of an angry cyclist. List black loathing so sincere, red anger born of fear. There’s nothing half as queer as today... Old prejudice hasn't gone; new energy drives it on... Watch bigotry advance. Give ignorance a chance. With fascists we now dance. My, oh, my.” A video message adds, “You stole our future.”

Gayantha Wijerathna, Bicycle Song [Sri Lankan], single, self, 2018

Rostam, Bike Dream, Half-Light, Nonesuch Records, 2018

atitude 67, magrela [samba], Casa 67, Universal Music Group, 2019
“Ah, she takes me anywhere. Ah, it's so nice when we go out for a walk. It’s a declaration of love for my bicycle. I love everything in it so much, every skinny tire, on asphalt, sand or dirt. It’s a declaration of love. It was while cycling that I discovered the simple things in life.”

Jitensha, Under Control [Canadian folk], Periscope, self, 2019
“Don’t get emotional. You’ve got to ride it out. You got a long way to go. Relax. You got it under control... With every mile that passes, you start to understand. What once looked like a mountain can fit inside of your hand.”

Juli, Fahrrad [German], single/video, UMG-Polydor, 2019
You’d fear for these young adults riding BMXs in middle of street without helmets if roads weren’t totally deserted. At least they have headlights.

KEES, Lekker Fietsen (Nice Biking) [Dutch], single, self, 2019
Well produced send up of stationary cycling as a metaphor for life in a rut.

Bazzi, Young & Alive, Young & Alive, WMG-Atlantic Records, 2020
One of the few songs about bicycling ever to win a Grammy Award, its chorus repeats thrice: “Ridin' my bike like I'm too young to drive, careless and free like it's 2005. Had to chill the **** out, take a trip outside, to have fun with my friends like I'm young and alive.”

Laureen Bicyclette, Trocyclette [Parisian techno], Techno Connecting People EP, self, 2020
All 27m, 21s of this is click glitch and head-splitting thump celebrate title invention, aka trottinette, by Louis-Georges Bogrand in 1944, which combines a bike and foot scooter. Seems to be making a comeback as an urban knockabout, though more complicated than traditional scooter, which they’ve lately electrified for loans.

Solstice Quatorzain

Bicyclists consider seasons and segments with interest and reverence. A segment that one is willing to tackle often depends upon conditions at different times of year. Autumn strews bike paths with leaf and twig litter, so streets might be preferable. Icy winter might preempt slippery climbs and descents, so slight rolls appeal. Even muddy spring can reroute you from potholes hidden by puddles. You can choose as you go, but can’t certify what terrain might reveal. Cyclists think in terms of what it will take to begin and end any bit of a ride, perhaps turn aside. Am I steering into a hazards headache? Are my knees up to it? How much exertion will it take? Is there any fuel left in tank? Rather go long way around a towering obstacle, to be frank.

When it comes to urban transportation, BBC Life Project asks. “Maybe the car doesn’t have to be the default?” So many people are stuck in cages because of palpable fear, perceived convenience, and physical weakness, bicyclists are deemed a crank minority as long as gasoline remains available, prejudice against pedaling persists, or price of e-vehicles hover above grasp of masses. Society marginalizes cyclists because they act singularly. Critical Mass did raise awareness and inspired planning that led to action, in this case, cheap paint designating bike lanes in some cities where mayors understood. Labann has even painted own bike lanes at neglected sites and pointed out pavement oversights on bikeways by circling them with temporary highlights.

Like city planners, composers, craftsmen and wordsmiths assemble elements. Artists and authors, on the other hand, derive visions out of interactions in moments, new memes, and old tropes. Literary artists cannot create from nothing, take tiny fragments of own life to weave into narratives without, necessarily, malicious intents. Though developed experientially, B&C extrapolated logically and passed along input from sportifs who learned the ropes. Companion Reader complements referentially and expands upon appendices. Believe it wise to advise whence text derives rather than simply let readers surmise. Barely acceptable products are an amalgam of many components and contributors. Anything of value comes from cooperation and distribution in tandem with individual determination.

Fabric of life benefits from varying strands, from emotionally intelligent to physical strong to spiritually pliant. Never beloved and seldom liked is anyone who shocks others awake with heartfelt honesty. A poet can capture vibrant insights though likely stands to be dismissed, hated or ignored until all goes wrong and policies fail to go along. No system withstands very long, not even quatorzain sonnets 14 stanzas strong. You can tolerate incompetence in many fields, but not government. Unfortunately, that’s where it’s most prevalent. There's nothing quite like song as a sweet caress to soothe wounds endured while meeting demands in shifting sands; audiences devote short segments of their lives to those they choose to hear.

Eric Knight’s orchestral piece The Great American Bicycle Race never made it onto B&C’s song list because no recording had been found. But according to a contemporary New York Times article, The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra recorded it in 1983. Knight, who was principal pops conductor of the orchestra, was commissioned to write “music to bike by” to commemorate the United States Professional Cycling Championship won by David Phinney that year. Performed live only once since by Philharmonisches Orchester Würzburg in 2014, can only imagine how its 6 minutes of bassoons, clarinets, piccolos, strings, and timpani sound. Knight described it as a rousing American fanfare, followed by a polka or galop (a duple time dance from 1820’s Paris) that represents movement. “It has a slow, bluesy middle section - I imagined this to represent them going very slowly uphill - and then it ends with a puff of smoke.”

John Farnham, Break The Ice, Rad [Soundtrack], Curb Records, 1986

Thanks go to Dinnos Demian, who recently updated an impressive 181 bicycle song list on Youtube. Majority were already listed in B&C, but found these 14 hitherto unknown on-point tunes below, more later. Not conversant in Greek, did not know ποδήλατο (podilato) meant bicycle. Further investigated best and cogent, skipped obscure, though worth a look. Historic wonderworker Saint Nicolas of Bari and Myra was a Greek, known now as jolly elf Santa so closely associated with holiday season. Foolish to forget how popular bikes could be on Greece’s 227 inhabited islands among 6000, especially given economic downturn over last decade. Another nation archipelago, Japan’s 6852 islands are likewise infested with jitensha, where Santa begins to unload all those wished for bicycles on his westward itinerary.

Kostas Makedonas, To podilato [Greek], Pame gia orthopetalies, Sony BMG Music, 1996

Aya Hisakawa, Ashita mo mata Jitensha (Bicycling Again Tomorrow) [Japanese], Sailor Moon [Soundtrack], Toei Animations Company, 1996
Hopeful personality image song depicting character Ami Mizuno, who becomes Sailor Mercury in hit TV anime series which spawned a media universe. Sailors are teens who become warrior defenders against evil villains. “Handles - Pedals - Brakes - Tires - Chainz: It’s all exceedingly logical. He's coming to show me his new trick on the bike he loves. What is it about it that appeals to him so much? Bicycle - Marvelous magic. It’s a little frustrating... I’m losing my breath... squeezing out my last bit of strength. The sky unfurling... The sun setting in the city below...  It was the first time I'd started riding downhill! Bicycle - Melting into the wind... His smiling face, the scenery around me... Bicycle - Wondrous magic!”

Aqua Timez, Jitensha (Bicycle) [Japanese], 「七色の落書き (Seven-colored Graffiti), Epic Records Japan, 2006 “Bicycle, my bicycle, I'll put you on it. The dream that we had... is for us. It ’s brilliant.”

Eleni Vitali, Το ποδήλατο (The bicycle) [Greek], Epta... Kai Na Prosecheis, Melody Maker, 2008

Pavlos Pavlidis & B Movies, Το ποδήλατο [Greek], Ayto to Ploio Poy Olo Ftanei, Archangel Music, 2010
“I saw you by chance riding your bike, You looked as if the world was made to be yours... Paradise is like a road that reaches you.”

Too Dumb To Die, Little Bike, single video, self, 2008
When this European band on a world tour by bicycle arrived in Japan, chance acquaintance Moku Teraoka shot a video.

Serafim Tsotsonis, Bicycles On Hudson (no bike lyrics), So This Is Heaven, Klik Records, 2011

Sisterkingkong, The Glory Is Lost [German in English], She Sees Wolves, VierSieben Records, 2011
No bike lyrics, band slow rides bikes throughout official video.

Giorgos Dimitriadis & Lakis Papadopoulos, Pare Podilato (Get a Bicycle) [Greek], single live, Minos-EMI SA, 2012

Killo Killo Banda, My Bike [Serbian reggae], Amongst the People, Phonofile Balkan, 2012
“I like to ride my bike... It gives me inspiration, a kind of meditation. It gives me comfort, the only way of transport... in this concrete meadow... You can never get me down. I’m the king of the clowns with a wheel as my crown.” Catchy.

Lucas Santtana feat. Féfé, Diário de uma bicicleta [Portuguese], Sobre Noites e Dias [About Nights and Days], No Format!, 2014
“You, me, us and our friends. Sun, grass, bicycles and whatever happens... My life on the pedal, slowly... Don't try not to overtake, friend. Face the gap. Here comes the bus. They don't scare me, but without experience and caution they’ll devour you.”

Sotiris Alexakis, The girl with the bicycle [Greek instrumental], single/video, self, 2018
Simple pleasures of pedaling seaside promenades into town at night.

Konstantinos Angelopoulos, Μπλε Ποδήλατο (Blue Bicycle) [Greek], single, self, 2017
“With my old blue bike, I'm looking for an unguarded border to escape the downhill, because its cost is unprofitable... wheel and my durable tire, life short or a quatrain?”

Jitensha, Under Control [Canadian folk], Periscope, self, 2019
“Don’t get emotional. You’ve got to ride it out. You got a long way to go. Relax. You got it under control... With every mile that passes, you start to understand. What once looked like a mountain can fit inside of your hand.”