You’ll never forget your first BFF

By Fabiola Carletti

 I can still picture my dear Raleigh. She was beautiful: forest green and gleaming -- a bike that could brave the bumpiest hills in Trinity Bellwoods Park. 

I didn't know it would be over after a one-night kickstand. 

Long story short: I brought her out for the very first time and, in a lapse of judgment, took my 12-year-old eyes off her for exactly 2 minutes. When I turned around, she was no longer leaning by that old oak tree. 

Naturally, I ran home and called the police, tearfully beginning with "I have an emergency." The woman on the phone said she'd be sure to have her officers look all over the city ... but not to call 911 for such things again. 

I've been a pedestrian ever since. 

The thing is, I still envy people whisking by me on bicycles -- dapper guys and gals who sometimes flash things as classic as a slimer bike horn or a sturdy straw basket. I imagine many in this bike-unfriendly city have their own anecdotes and would appreciate a space in which someone would hand over a tissue after a bike theft story. (Hey -- it really was an emergency.)

Humble suggestion to T.O. kids: ride on over to the Bicycle Film Festival (BFF) this weekend if you're keen on a tale told on two wheels.

All three of my roommates and their partners bike the city. It kind of makes me feel like a penguin who lives with toucans. One of them, my roomie Aubrey, has this short list of why this film fest is a must see:

• Cycling policy is a hot topic in TO, but this is the soft side, a celebration of bikes.
• It's the 10th anniversary and it's one of the largest film festivals in the world - in more than 30 cities globally.
• The trailer is awesome.
• You'll get to see things like the short film below, which screened in 2008 and is directed and produced by Toronto's own Benny Zenga

Side note: Benny almost moved into the house where I now live, which makes me feel kind of cool by near-association. His film features the kind of fearless I wish I could have been growing up. 

SKI BOYS from Benny Zenga on Vimeo.

Fabiola Carletti is a Toronto Star radio room reporter and graduate student at the UBC School of Journalism. She wishes she could do cool bike tricks and wasn't so afraid of getting boo-boos. Her digital footprints are all over the internet, but you can learn more about her by reading her blog, or chasing her around on twitter

Comments

[Jake]

Benny is full of fear, and shit.