The festival has become something of a phenomenon, spreading to 39 cities worldwide, including, for the first time, Denver. “I've had Denver on the radar for a while. Colorado is a place a lot of pros in competitive cycling live; there’s just all kinds of biking that happens there,” Barbur says. “Mostly we came for the enthusiasm for biking in Denver. It's part of a community worldwide; we’re a part of one of the biggest youth cultural movements in the world. I can’t wait to see what Denver has to say.”

The festival gets started tonight with a cruiser ride from the Ginn Mill, 2401 Larimer Street, to Beta, 1909 Blake Street, for a concert with a super-secret headlining act; tickets are $12. Tomorrow is the JoyRide art show — bicycle-centric art, naturally — at Lisa Kowalski Gallery, 2762 Walnut Street, with tunes.

The films come Friday and Saturday, with screenings of Where Are You Go, a documentary chronicling a bike trip through Africa, and several other features, plus a program of shorts. All screenings take place at Starz FilmCenter, in the Tivoli building on the Auraria campus. Tickets are $10, or $27 for a full festival pass. For more info, including a complete schedule of films, visit www.bicyclefilmfestival.com.
Oct. 28-31, 2009