Roll up for a night of adventure with the Bikeminded Film Festival!


What better way to celebrate Bike Week 2013 than to inspire yourself with a night of cycling adventure with the first ever Bikeminded Film Festival?

Those good cycling folk from Bikeminded at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea are screening an evening of celluloid-based cycling stories in the faded grandeur of the Coronet Cinema in Notting Hill; surely one of London's most beautiful best kept secrets and most ornate independent picture houses?


One of the great joys of the bicycle is its incredible flexibility; from getting you to work in the morning, to potentially riding around the world!  The evening of June 20th will see all manner of bicycle-based adventures great and small celebrated on the silver screen.  The cinematic cycling extravaganza kicks off with a selection of short films about riding around the Royal Borough, showing that you don't have to go far in order to have a micro-adventure; from riding a tandem to learning how to ride as an adult, this series of short films covers every corner of cycling. 

There will be introductions to the films by community cycling entrepreneur Jim Blakemore from the phenomenally successful Bikeworks project, and an introduction to the team behind Velonette; the city touring curio guides who have been riding around the best monuments and city attractions across the world (next stop, London!).  As well as all this, I'll be giving a brief talk on why we're attracted by adventure, bicycles and the thirst for freedom, before the evening's feature presentation.



"Janapar" is a feature film written and produced by world cycle tourer Tom Allen of Tom's Bike Trip fame.  Filmed over the course of a three and a half year round-the-world bike ride attempt, it charts the highs, lows and saddle sores of love on the open road; of what happens when you set off to embrace adventure and when an unexpected and chance encounter with love stops you in your tracks.  Three years and thousands of miles after cycling out of his village in England, Tom returned home having ridden across Europe, down to the horn of Africa, across the deserts of the Middle East, free-wheeled across Iran, through the coldest Eastern European winter in decades, back to England... ..and with the addition of a wife.  His story will inspire any would-be adventurer and will have you geared up and ready to ride through summer in no time at all!

All this bicycle film goodness (not to mention the opportunity to hob knob at the cinema bar with likeminded bikeminded cycling folk) comes at the bargain price of just £5 - the perfect mid-week night out - but tickets must be booked in advance and are not available on the door.

The 1st Bikeminded Film Festival takes place at 7PM at the Coronet Cinema, Notting Hill Gate on Thursday 20th June.  Tickets are £5 per person and can be ordered in advance via the event website.

I'm looking forward to getting inspired to want to get on my bike and ride, and hope to see some of you there!

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