Setting out with a goal of bikepacking self-healing and personal growth, director Analisa Cleopatra led two other black women set out on their bikes for a 132 mile ride through the backcountry of Oregon, for her latest short film – Pedal Through. A project of an all female crew, including co-director Aly Nicklas who was 5 months pregnant at the time of shooting at rode much of the same route loaded with camping & camera gear, Pedal Through sets out to be an inspiration for anyone who needs it!
Pedal Through for self-realization & more diversity by bike
“Machines For Freedom was proud to support this endeavor, creating a space for self-expression & exploration by bikes, and above all amplifying Black Joy and Black Healing in the outdoors space. Pedal Through represents the magic that happens when womxn creators, and Black womxn specifically, are provided the means to fulfill their visions. Here’s to more womxn in film, more Black womxn on bikes, and more BIPOC representation in the outdoors.”
Grow Cycling for a more sustainable future
Seeking to promote education, access and opportunities that advance diversity & inclusion in cycling, the newly established Grow Cycling Foundation hopes to pave a better path forward within the cycling industry. Created in light of the 2020 George Floyd protests and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, the Grow Cycling Foundation recognizes that the cycling world is not immune to a culture of exclusivity and racism. Founders Eliot Jackson & Katie Holden felt a need to help focus the call to action within their own community.
“Grow Cycling Foundation aims to create new avenues for inclusive community building and career development in the cycling industry as well as to empower existing programs working to tear down the barriers to entry in cycling for marginalized communities. With ears on the ground in these communities, Grow Cycling Foundation serves to provide the education, access, and opportunities that directly address the barriers they face. To sustainably and inclusively grow the industry, authentic foundations of diversity must be built from within.”
Grow Cycling has taken on founding industry partners with brands like Yeti, Santa Cruz, Fox, RedBull & more to help shift the status quo. They have a five-year plan in place to invest in a more sustainable cycling industry & infrastructure focusing on: Education, Opportunity, Community & Access areas. Some of their first steps are building a new pumptrack in Los Angeles, before growing more career paths and inviting more community engagement in cycling.
One Love, several athletes’ look for hope in sport
Multi-time BMX & MTB World Champion Caroline Buchanan, BMX rider/icon Nigel Sylvester, Paralympic cyclist Oksana Masters and many other Oakley Athletes across all sporting disciplines collaborated to remake a classic, a new rendition of Bob Marley’s inclusive anthem One Love as a part of Oakley’s current For the Love of Sport brand campaign. And while it obviously was an advertising project, the result is impressive & One Love is always good for inspiring a glimmer of hope & positivity when we are seeing such uncertainty in sport, and tumultuous times beyond.
In the For The Love of Sport campaign, Oakley sits down with their sponsored athletes like Buchanan, Sylvester & Masters, “to explore the unifying qualities of sport through each athletes’ personal journeys, including recent stretches of solitude and peaks of frustration. Their reflections revealed a commonality between them – sport’s ability to push-through boundaries, and overcome adversity, even during the toughest times.”
Oakley’s version of One Love, performed by singer-songwriter Celeste, includes reworked verses that were co-written by Team Oakley athletes.
