Incase

We added some photos from the Bicycle Film Festival in Denver. It turned out to be a blast, despite 2 feet of snow on the first night!

We added a grip of photos from the Los Angeles Bicycle Film Festival to our BFF Flickr set.

Don’t look so serious Tracko!

Well, friends, if your bicycle event is gonna get upstaged, at least be glad its Mother Nature doing the upstaging and not some dude poppin’ wheelies on a lame sport bike, wearing one of them full-face helmets with a purple mohawk. What? Exactly. As some of you may be aware, in the last few days the raging Angeles National Forest fires have shrouded the entire northeastern portion of Los Angeles County in a haze of smoke.

From Incase’s distro center in Irwindale/Azusa to our homes in Echo Park and beyond, the air is ashen and the daytime sky has taken on an ominous orange tint. The State of California & City of Los Angeles have both issued public service announcements telling citizens to not to breathe when they’re outside. Good luck with that! No sports, no jogging, no dodge ball. It is SKETCHY out there.

Why are we telling you all of this? Keep reading, here’s why!

This past Wednesday, on the eve of the calamity, the Bicycle Film Fest held its much anticipated Bikes Rock event in the quaint little foothills neighborhood of Eagle Rock. [To give you some geographic context, this is less than 3-miles (as the crow flies) from the impending chaos]. Upon arrival I spied a mega-herd of bikes locked to the racks and railings of the Eagle Rock Center. Good sign! I even saw a few homemade bicycle/motorcycles and motorized scooters.

Live music sets were provided by experimental crooners Blank Blue, afro-poppers Extra Golden, and the deep dark garage drones of Deerhunter at its most lugubrious. Keith Morris of the Circle Jerks & Black Flag played intermission DJ sets while Sir David Scott Stone delivered ambient blips & bloops on his mighty Moog synth. It was by any measure a perfect show. The line up was rad, the venue was beautiful, the turnout was mighty and the assembled audience was excited. Nevertheless, it all had a really weird, subdued vibe. Like, a sleepy vibe. Even the photos say so.

The whole night just sort of felt calm. And not calm as in boring, but calm as in ‘calm before the storm’ calm. Despite being a nice summer night, few pedestrians walked the hood and even fewer cars cruised Colorado Blvd. The streets were dead, the air was humid and still. And then, as I departed the show, it hit me—I noticed a windshield in the Bank of America parking lot accumulating a thin film of greasy ash. Spooky. It was the sort of calm that comes before a 160,000 acre raging fire storm.

Thanks to the BFF for hosting the evening’s musical score for catastrophe! And remember, for the next several days if you’re gonna ride your bike—wear a mask or a bandana over your face. You do not wanna get this stuff down your lungs!

Be well.

Last week the BFF went to Austin. We added some photos to our Bicycle Film Festival Flickr set.

Tomorrow the BBF is starting in Chicago.

We added some photos from San Francisco to the Bicycle Film Festival set on Flickr.

BFF is visiting Portland this weekend. Make sure to see some of the movies that are being shown. Specially the portrait of the legendary Italian Frame Builder Giovanni Pelizzoli aka “Ciocc”. Amazing film.

Anima D’Acciaio Trailer Ver5.1 from Cinecycle on Vimeo.

UPDATE: Amelia sent us some photos from the BFF in Oakland. Scraper Bikes!

The Bicycle Film Festival is starting today SF. There is way too much to do and see, so make sure to check the schedule and plan accordingly.

Some photos by Amelia Shaw from last week’s Bicycle Film Festival in New York.

We’re sponsoring the Pittsburgh BFF next weekend July 2-4. So go see one of the films, and you might win one of our Messenger Bags.

Incase is excited to be a sponsor of this year’s Bicycle Film Festival.

The Bicycle Film Festival (BFF) is a celebration of bicycles through film, art and music. The events kick off this week in New York with a plethora of happenings. Check out John Prolly’s blog for more information.

During select stops of the festival, we’ll be giving away prizes from our Courier Collection to the winners of alleycat races and other activities, so be sure to get involved when the BFF comes to your city.

We’ll be posting updates as the festival treks across the world, so check back with us for continuing coverage.