For example, after I got into my bike accident, I was all stitched up and people would ask me what happened. I’d tell them about it and how I got into an accident. They were always like, “Ah man you got doored and then a bus ran you over! Were you riding in the street? Were you wearing a helmet?” And when I replied that I was riding in the street and I wasn’t wearing a helmet, their response was “Of course! There you go!” Like it suddenly becomes my fault that I got hit.

DM: That appears to reflect the apathy bikers face on a day-to-day basis.

BB: Exactly! But on the flip side of that though, I went surfing in Hawaii. The waves were great. I’m not a great surfer, but it was an incredible day for surfing. My friend and I were out there having fun, and I kept saying, one more [wave], one more. We had been out all day and I was tired. So I caught this beautiful wave, but it threw me off my board and pounded me. I was pulled under and the board hit me in the face. I came up on the beach all bloody and crazy looking. There was blood everywhere and my head was all deformed. Crustaceans were coming out my head – really nasty. Later on I was out at a party and a woman came up to me and asked what happened. I told her it was a surfing accident and in a very interested voice she responded, “Oh you surf!?”

DM: (Laughter) Ahhh! The romance of surfing!

BB: In those two stories that’s the difference between biking and surfing – as seen by the public. There’s nothing that builds context for biking. There’s surfing magazines, movies, etc. But there really wasn’t anything for everyday biking and that’s why I started the Bicycle Film Festival.

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