Hackney Bicycle Film Society delivers reels on wheels

Hackney Bicycle Film Society founder Adam Thompson and 6-Day Bike Rider - this month's movie

According to the 2011 Census Hackney is the London borough with the most cyclists; 14.6 per cent of us cycle to work every day – a proportion which outnumbers drivers.

According to my highly unscientific estimates based on overheard conversations and people-watching, Hackney is also full of film buffs. So why not put the two together?

And that’s exactly what cyclist Adam Thompson, founder of the Hackney Bicycle Film Society, has been doing since February 2010.

It started off as a pub conversation – how many bicycle films can you name? On the night, they came up with six. Four years and almost fifty films later, the club has garnered 300 bike-loving members and a loyal following.

On the second Monday of every month the group meets at the Calthorpe Arms on Grays Inn Road. Admittedly it’s not Hackney but, being cyclists, they “don’t believe in borders”.

In keeping with the bicycle theme, Thompson carries the sound system, projector and screen to the pub on his bike trailer.

All HBFS members are keen cyclists, and the screenings provide a place to eat, drink, and socialise with like-minded, pedal-pushing people.

Membership is free, and members can also attend the Hackney Bike Workshop to learn how to look after their bikes.

Thompson schedules alternating feature films and documentaries, all centred on bikes, pedalling and cyclists. The main event is preceded by half an hour of short films, also about cycling.

Sometimes the screenings feature a speaker, such as Maurice Burton, the first black British cycling champion, and historian Iain Boal, who has written about bicycles, history and technology.

This month’s screening is a rare 1934 feature film called The 6-Day Bike Rider, a comedy about a small-town bumpkin who takes on a hotshot trick cyclist.

Other upcoming films include Tim Burton’s directorial debut Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985) and a documentary on Hugo Koblet, a.k.a. Pédaleur de charme, who complemented his elegant bicycling style with a well-combed quiff.

The best thing about cycling in Hackney, according to Thompson, is that “there aren’t a lot of hills, you can get about quite easily without having to share the road with cars, and there are a lot of other cyclists” – so get on your bike and head along.