Yesterday, UCLA Transportation released a Bike-U-Mentary highlighting two very different bike commutes to UCLA in Westwood. Director Brent Pantell follows Mihai Peteu and Herbie Huff from wake up to their arrival on campus after traveling through the city on two pedal-powered wheels. If those names seem familiar, they should. Peteu is heavily involved with the Bike Working Group and will be speaking at the Bikeside Speaks events this weekend. Huff is both an avowed Shoupista and a rising star in the bike advocacy community in her own right.
But the film isn't about advocacy, it's about their commute. In a non-preachy way it shows how easy it is to be a bicycle commuter. Neither rides because they have to, Peteu's introduction to biking in L.A. was actually looking for a car and Huff owns a car that she "almost never uses." But the film deals with the "people that ride bikes can't afford cars" argument subtly, as the film does with a lot of the "anti-bike" arguments you'll hear from car-culture warriors.
But my favorite part of the film is at the end. Huff and Peteu pull up to the same intersection, exchange a quick greeting and bike into campus. It's a quick nod to the inclusiveness of the "bike scene" in Los Angeles and throughout the world...and a nice way to end an enjoyable and easy-to-watch documentary about something as simple as biking to work.
