Lately the long foggy nights of summer make me wistfully yearn for the drive-in movies of my youth. Bad movies and sticky salty gooey food were merely condiments for the socializing that was really the main event on so many long ago August nights. Sadly, all of our local Bay Area drive-ins have gone dark years ago; however, this summer in San Francisco we now have something even better, the bike-in movies.
Throughout this summer the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is hosting a series of free bike-related movie screenings downtown at 7th and Mission Streets, right across from the Good Hotel. Once a month the hotel’s barren parking lot is transformed into a festive and inviting public space, where hundreds of people gather for free entertainment, socializing, and to eat tasty locally made snacks.
Celebrating Delicious Local Food
Besides the free movies, one of the best things about the bike-in is definitely the food. Many different vendors sell a variety of delicious local food—everything from steaming spicy curries and home made tiny quiches, to flaky succulent apple strudel and warm organic carrot ginger coconut soup. Most of the food is made nearby and transported to the movies by bicycle, in celebration of supporting a more sustainable, local economy.
The Creme Brulee cart is only one of the many delicious food options available.
My spouse and I rode our bicycles to last month’s movie, the 1986 classic Rad, which features lots of really bad eighties hair, and a hilarious slow-dancing on BMX bikes romantic scene. As we relaxed in a comfy lounge chair and watched the film’s drama and bad fashion unfold, a thick blanket of fog engulfed the city; I was really wishing that we had brought some actual blankets to keep warm. I had to just make do with snuggling closer to my partner and sipping a small steaming cup of hot chocolate from the infamous Amuse Bouche food cart.
Murat sells his delectable baked creations at his Amuse Bouche food cart. His yummy mini quiches were only three dollars, and also came with a small cup of Turkish coffee or hot chocolate. They were so incredibly good I ate two.
While I was watching the film it amazed me how an unremarkable asphalt parking lot in downtown San Francisco could be so suddenly transformed into such a friendly and inviting public space. The air was filled with wonderful smells of spicy curry and warm muffins, and the animated conversations of hundreds of different movie-goers. Scores of people talked and laughed as they spread out their blankets and shared what they had with one another. Free events always seem to bring the happy out in people. The mood was decidedly festive, albeit a bit moist and foggy.
Hundreds of my fellow San Franciscans watch Rad at the SFBC’s free bike-in movies.
Come to the Next Free Bike-In Movie
The next featured film, which will be shown on Wednesday August 19th, is Klunkerz; this documentary tells the tale of the very early days of mountain biking in Marin, highlighting the stories of such local biking heroes as Joe Breeze and Gary Fisher. Also-the ever dapper Mr. Fisher will be answering the audience’s questions after the movie. You can find out more information about the film at www.klunkerz.com.
The last movie of the summer series, The Triplets of Belleville, will be screened on Wednesday September 16th at 8pm at the same downtown location. The 2003 movie is an animated French masterpiece, which is a magical mixture of hypnotic music, bicycles, dogs, the Tour de France and an amazingly clever and resourceful grandmother. This is not one to be missed.
More Movies that Celebrate Bikes
If cozying up to a few hundred of your fellow neighbors downtown at the bike-in movies is not your cup of tea, there are lots of great bicycle-themed movies that you can watch at home this summer. Curl up with your significant other on your own couch with Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, an epic and wonderfully bizarre tale of a boy and his bike. The 1985 movie is also creative genius Tim Burton’s first full-length feature film.
There is also the poignant 1948 Italian classic The Bicycle Thief, the story of a poor man who desperately searches the streets of Rome for his stolen bike, and the similarly themed 2001 Beijing Bicycle. And though it is not a bike-centric movie, the 1981 Great Muppet Caper has a superb scene with Kermit and Miss Piggy singing and riding side by side on bicycles.
Free and secure valet bicycle parking will be provided at the bike-in movies by the SFBC. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is a 10,000-member nonprofit organization that is dedicated to creating safer streets and more livable communities by promoting the bicycle for everyday transportation. For more information and biking resources, please go to www.sfbike.org.
