xREL.v3

Doc.Zone-Pedal_Power.2009.HDTV.XviD-YT

Country     : CA
Language    : English
Network     : CBC
Pack Date   : 2009-09-25
Length      : 00:44:09
Video       : 971 kbps XviD MPEG-4
Audio       : 122 kbps 48KHz 2ch MP3
Resolution  : 624x352
Scan        : Progressive
Framerate   : 29.970
Size        : 350 MB

[ Release Notes ]
Summer, 2008: Igor Kenk, owner of The Bicycle Clinic, a Queen Street
repair shop, is arrested. The former police officer from Slovenia has
2,865 bikes stashed away in various places around Toronto and he's hit
with 58 charges related to bike theft (and an additional 22 charges
relating to drugs).
Cyclists are stunned by the discovery, but not completely surprised.
Everyone's lost a bike or two and wondered where they went. But worldwide
interest in the Kenk case signals a tipping point in the history of urban
culture. Bicycling, once seen as a simple pleasure from childhood, has
become a political act. For the first time post World War II, the
dominance of the automobile is being seriously challenged, with cyclists
demanding their share of asphalt real estate from drivers.
From bicycle-mad Paris to rush-hour New York and the back alleys of
Toronto, Pedal Power takes a ride through the changing world of bike
culture. And with exclusive background access to Igor Kenk - exclusive
footage of how he operated and built a legendary reputation on Queen
Street West - this major documentary explores the two-wheeled revolution
in our streets.
"The sickening thud was unmistakable. A cyclist lay crumpled on the
streetcar tracks. A motorist talking on her cell phone had "doored"
him. Right outside Igor's shuttered bike shop. Across the street from
our office. Beyond that scene we found a battle brewing for a fair
share of the streets from Amsterdam to Vancouver - a new mass activism
for bikers' rights in the decline of the Age of the Automobile. Every
now and then a movement becomes a revolution. That's what we found."
(Robin Benger)
Bicycles and automobiles have to share the same roads - a recipe for
conflict - and many potential cyclists just won't ride in the city
because they see it as too dangerous. Add in the plague of bike theft
and a lot of cyclists are simply leaving their bikes at home.
In Canada, bicycles "don't get no respect." From the story of Igor,
and the anatomy of the underground world of bike peddlers in Toronto,
this film spins out to how other cities are making riding safe. Using
innovative "bike-cam" techniques to convey, up-close, the sensation of
bike riding, a series of character-driven mini-narratives propel the
film through a study of what makes a city "bikeable". Whether it's the
public bike program in Paris, bike mega-garages in Amsterdam, bike paths
in Vancouver and Montreal, or the surprising leadership of New York City,
we follow the story of this remarkable little conveyance as it wheels
though the first decade of the 21st century.

Yours truly