If you want to cut your carbon footprint or the cost of owning a second car, join us for the free screening of MOTHERLOAD, a US documentary exploring the benefits of cargo bicycles on all aspects of our lives.
The free screening is on Friday 10 December at the Kingborough Community Hub in Kingston, starting at 6.45 pm.
We are showing the film as part of the consultation period for the new Kingborough Bicycle Plan which aims to create a network of protected and separated cycleways to connect people in the main residential areas to schools, shops, services, workplaces and other attractions.
MOTHERLOAD was made by keen bike rider Liz Canning in response to having two children and finding herself driving more and feeling miserable about it.
But then she discovered cargo bikes and the ability to get back into riding with her children and instantly felt happier!
“My electric assist box bike gave me a new life, but the world of cargo cyclists gave me hope,” Canning says.
Which is why she decided to create a snapshot of the lives of cargo bike riders and how the movement is changing lives for the better.
She raised money to make the film through crowd funding and went out to talk to as many people as she could find who were using cargo bikes and how they felt it improved their lives.
“To me the cargo bike is the ultimate proof that less is indeed more. A heavy load can feel light and sustainability could be a lot more fun than we think,” Canning says.
She also acknowledges the empowering aspects of bicycle riding for women, drawing a connection between the suffragettes riding as part of their campaign for the vote and women today trying to live a more sustainable life.
There are also plenty of blokes in the film, using cargo bikes to transport themselves and their kids, helping people in developing countries to get around and running Cycling without Age trishaws.
And no story about riding is complete without the complaints about the poor infrastructure in car-dependent countries like the US and Australia. It would be so much easier to get more people riding for transport if we had safer routes for them to take.
Join us in Kingston
It’s difficult to watch the trailer for this film and not be energised by the joy on the faces of the riders, their children and their dogs.
We hope you can join on Friday 10 December and we’ll share it together.
The crowd numbers are limited so we are asking people to book their free tickets online so we can ensure the number are below the cap.
Just head to: https://events.humanitix.com/motherload.
Thanks to Kingborough Council for the quick response grant which is allowing us to show this film for free.
And remember to make your comments on the Kingborough Cycling Strategy to show your support for a safey, connnected network for you and your kids to ride on.
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