The moment you learned to ride a bike was a glorious one. The first time you pedaled your way through the neighborhood streets with a helmet strapped to your head and the sun beaming on your face is something you’ll never forget.
And that was just childhood.
Enthused bicyclists in Los Angeles now have something else to look forward to. Bike Night at the Hammer, a free event at the UCLA Hammer Museum devoted solely to a love of bicycling, takes place this Thursday. It welcomes anyone with an interest in cycling to come together for a memorable night of food and film.
Lisa Anne Auerbach, one of the artists showcased in the current “Nine Lives” exhibit and an avid bicyclist herself, got the idea for Bike Night after being asked to come up with programming ideas for her related exhibition.
“I wanted to show the film “˜Breaking Away,’ and my friend Charlie suggested that I do an entire biking event,” Auerbach said. “I thought that was a brilliant idea, because often at L.A. museums and gallery openings, I’m the only person with a bike. I thought it would be great if I could get a lot of people on bikes to come to (one).”
“Breaking Away” will be screened at the Hammer Museum during Bike Night following a live musical performance by Telematique.
The film won an Oscar for Best Screenplay in 1979 and follows a young teenage bicycle racer whose passion for cycling enables him to gain confidence in his small-town community and eventually achieve his dreams. A classic coming-of-age film that mixes humor with lightheartedness and warmth, “Breaking Away” was chosen for a screening at Bike Night by Auerbach because of its uplifting nature.
“It’s just a really inspirational film about bicycling. I mean, my work is political so I could have shown a documentary or something more political or didactic, but there was just something celebratory about bicycling in “˜Breaking Away’ that I wanted to show,” Auerbach said. “It’s just a really positive, affirmative film about cycling and about how cycling can change your life.”
In accordance with the overall purpose of Bike Night, “Breaking Away” not only promises to be entertaining, but gives viewers a chance to experience the bicycling community without actually being on a bike. The event is a unique opportunity for both seasoned bicyclists and newcomers to the sport to look at the biking experience with different eyes.
“I’ve never done anything like that, (where it’s) bike-related and not on a bike,” said Jordan Chase, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student who rides for the UCLA cycling team. “I’ve never been to an organized event that wasn’t a group ride. (It’ll) be cool to raise awareness and get people to get together off their bikes so that people who are trying to get into it can see the people who are out there and see what it’s like.”
Some UCLA bicyclists are somewhat ambivalent about the thought of attending a bike-related event that doesn’t directly involve a bike.
The joy of cycling is rooted in the desire to share the sport with others. At UCLA, biking is a common enough sport where a passion for bikes can easily translate to a group of friends who share the same interest.
“It’s more than bikes, it’s friendship,” said Crystal Lie, a third-year English student and Steel Horse member. “(Bike Night) seems like a cool event where people interested in cycling can go. I know there’s a lot of bike films that come out and they have premieres for them … and a lot of people in the bike community go.”