Superheroes' pedals power film projector (From Oxford Mail)

Superheroes' pedals power film projector

6:30pm Monday 30th July 2007 in Columns By James Styring

The question posed by Alyson in her first On Yer Bike was echoed at last week's Bicycology Film Fest.

"Where is the great movie bike chase?" positively reverberated around the deserted East Oxford Community Centre.

Two dozen of us had shown up for the film evening, including the Cycle Workshop boys who are, coincidentally, organising a national bike polo tournament at this year's Bicycle Film Festival, 16-20 October in London, bicyclefilmfestival.com/ 2007_site/london The Bicycologists were as perplexed as I was at the low turnout. It was, after all, free. True, the weather wasn't great, but a bike is less likely to conk out than a car when it comes to fording a foot of floodwater.

I put it down to complacency. Anywhere else, the faithful would have thronged to an evening of bike films - free or not. But Oxford is so full of bike culture that this evening fails to impress. More's the pity, as ever-opinionated Oxford cyclists would have relished the films and the debate, which polarised the room.

The show opened with the classic Monty Python sketch Bicycle Repairman, where we meet a bunch of useless Supermen trying to fix a puncture who are saved by a real hero (and non-Superperson): a down-to-earth roving bicycle repairman.

The main feature was The Humble Magnificent, a documentary about the Bicycologists' philosophy in action. They're like Cyclox on 10 espressos and I was inspired by their energy, humour and enthusiasm.

They did, by the way, generate the electricity to screen the films, via their bike-powered renewable energy trailer - I'd fully expected them to plug in to the mains.

The controversial feature was CycleHero, made by the CTC (the national cyclists' organisation) with a £300,000 grant from Defra. CycleHero is a 60-second bike-promo clip which has been screened during the pre-film adverts at cinemas nationwide during July. It begins: "A menace is spreading silently, invisibly, moving across the planet. A new breed of hero is needed You! When the world is threatened, we cry out for superheroes. But we're not talking caped crusaders here. Everyone can be a hero - all it takes is to get on your bike."

Its protagonist, Genevieve, wears a tight-fitting Lycra outfit as she leads a band of disillusioned car drivers-turned-cyclists from the city out into the countryside. The lens zooms in on Genevieve's breasts and bum in shameless Hollywood fashion.

CycleHero flashes exciting images of cycling under the gaze of multiplex cinemagoers, but it really is so cheesy it could easily backfire.

Although the cyclists in the film are having a laugh, it presents a stereotypical image of marginalised wacko-weirdos on bikes. Plus, it depicts mainly leisure routes in quaint locations, which is totally off-message given that it's aimed at city commuters/shoppers.

Certainly not the great movie bike chase that Alyson longs for. You can watch it at www.cyclehero.com