Brendt Barbur came to New York from San Francisco four years ago to work as an actor. He ended up starting the Bicycle Film Festival after being hit by a city bus.

"I was doored," Barbur said, referring to when an opening car door strikes a cyclist. He was struck by a van door, which sent him into the path of the bus. He suffered a broken jaw, two sprained ankles, a sprained neck and injuries to his lower spine. This year, four years after being hit, he finally reached a legal and financial settlement with the van driver and the city. "It doesn't make me rich," he added.

The accident left him angry with the way cyclists were treated and perceived by the public. "I wanted to glorify bicycles," said Barbur. "I didn't think that I wanted to be involved in lobbying or in changing government policies. I thought that if I could do something positive and celebrate the lifestyle it could be more effective than lobbying."

This year he oversaw the fourth-annual Bicycle Film Festival. Films screened this year ranged from the classic 1948 Italian film 'The Bicycle Thief' to BMX stunt videos. The festival is held at the Anthology Film Archives, located on 2nd Avenue and 2nd Street in the heart of the East Village. The Anthology Film Archives and its founder, filmmaker Jonas Mekas, have been leading supporters of the festival.

Last Friday evening, cyclists gathered at the large cube sculpture in the middle of Astor Place, which serves as a landmark designating the beginning of the East Village. The cube was the muster point for the bicycle parade to kick off the opening night of the film festival.

One of the first cyclists to arrive was native New Yorker Shelly Mossey. Mossey owns a bicycle messenger service. Before starting his messenger business he worked as a messenger himself. He sat on a "recumbent" bike, which is a bicycle that allows the rider to sit in a reclining position instead of leaning forward. His bicycle also had a windshield on it and a yellow "body sock" which stretched around both bike and rider. Only Mossey's head and feet were visible.

"New York is a great bicycle city," he said. Like the festival organizer, Mossey has not escaped injury on the city streets. He said he was hit by a car in a hit-and-run accident and that a cab driver once ran him down on purpose. He has no regrets or second thoughts about riding and says he regularly rides with his wife and infant son, though they avoid the more congested Manhattan streets East of 6th Avenue. "Nothing ever discourages me," he said. "Being a cyclist in a big city makes for a very happy life."

Bicycles of all kinds were on display on Astor Place as riders waited the start of the parade. Louis Ortiz, who owns a bicycle shop in the Bronx, brought the most elaborate bicycles. He rode a bike that had a car stereo built into it. He says his bicycles are expensive and that he put more than $1,000 into building his car stereo bike. Other bicycles from his shop included a green 'Incredible Hulk' theme tricycle that pump salsa music from speakers and a 'Captain America' bike complete with a shield and mask. One parade rider rode an old fashioned bicycle with an enormous front wheel.

Taking their cue from motorcycle gangs, bicycle gangs have started around the country and are a part of the bicycle subculture in New York. They often wear jackets or vests with the insignia's of their club emblazoned on the back. The Black Label Bicycle Club appeared to have the most members gathering for the parade. Also present were the Electric Vikings, who wore bright yellow vests with fur collars lined with white lights and Viking helmets. The Ghost Riders also featured prominently among the parade riders.

On the last Friday of every month, cyclists gather in Union Square for Critical Mass, a worldwide bicycle event during which riders converge and ride in a random path in their respective cities. Cyclists credit the Critical Mass rides with energizing the bicycle community and drawing more people into bicycle riding. "Critical Mass woke people up," said Mossey, who added that the event has grown exponentially in the city. "It used to be 20 people; now it's about 2,000."

Police cars with lights flashing and volunteers holding a large 'Bicycle Film Festival' banner led the parade with three girls in electric wheelchairs zooming along behind them. The cyclists rode down St. Mark's Place. Members of different bicycle clubs shouted their club names and called to each other in various calls and whistles. Pedestrians stopped to watch and snapped photos. "See, if we had left earlier we would have missed this," one said to another. Onlookers stared and pointed at the array of unique bicycles. Amateur and professional photographers ran ahead to snap pictures of the parade as it moved along.

A contingent of police and firemen looked on approvingly as the parade came to an end at the Anthology Film Archives, where a professional mountain bike rider performed all kinds of tricks and jumps. A long line quickly formed and snaked around the theater.

As people were filing into the theater, cyclists faced off in "roller races" on a stage below the screen. Riders peddled their bicycles on different colored rollers connected to a large dial that displayed corresponding colored needles for riders. After the roller races were over and the projection booth experienced technical problems, Adam Matta entertained the audience with his "human beat box" abilities. He sounded remarkably like an actual hip-hop soundtrack, inheriting the tradition mastered by the Fat Boys' Human Beat Box (Darren Robinson, who passed away in 1995). "I live in New York City and I don't even know how to drive a car," he told the crowd, which loudly voiced its approval.

The theater quickly became packed. People scrambled for seats, stood in the back, sat on the floor along the isles and even reclined on the stage once films began. Many of those that packed the theater were members of the vast bicycle subculture that include environmental and political activists and bike messengers. Many learned of the film festival through advocacy and activist groups such as Transportation Alternatives and Time's Up.

Zak, an 80-year-old poet and songwriter who performs with the punk rock band Team Spider, approached the stage. He wore a bicycle tire round his head. "If you can't ride one, wear one," he said. He led the crowd in chants of "Bike's Rock!" and "Critical Mass!"

Technical difficulties overcome, the film screenings got under way. The first film shown was 'Drag Race New York City.' The short film documents a race through Manhattan by cyclists wearing drag. The filmmaker, Lucas Brunelle, filmed the event with a camera on his helmet. Watching the film was akin to watching an Imax film. The audience, which had a lot of seasoned bike riders, "ooh"ed and "aah"ed as the camera zipped through traffic and the riders maneuvered around cars and pedestrians. Bigger cheers were reserved for when riders got the best of automobiles.

'Bike Ride' was a humorous animated short that documented a narrator's tale of riding 50 miles on his bike to visit his girlfriend. 'Bike Thief' features a frustrated bike owner who has been the victim of numerous thefts staging his own experiment on the streets of New York. The film's star steals his own bicycle in broad daylight at various spots around the city using different means of removing his lock. The film reaches a tragically hilarious point when the bike owner pounds on his bike lock with a hammer and chisel in front of a police officer in a van, who drives by in order to order the cameraman to move out of a loading zone.

'Bicycle' was a short film from Israel about a boy who wants a bicycle his father cannot afford. It was a well-made film but lacked the subversive joviality that fueled the evening. 'Counter Culture: The Jet Fuel Coffeeshop' was not much more than a commercial for a coffee shop in Toronto whose owner is a bicycle enthusiast.

The atmosphere was charged up again by 'Hood to Coast,' which documents the "Zoobombers," who ride down Oregon's Mount Hood. These people are crazy, but one can't help admire their daredevil antics and dedication to their craft. The film ends with one of the riders showing off some of his painful-looking injuries with relish. 'Amsterdam: The Bicycling Capitol of Europe' shows how much less congested and polluted our cities could be if we adopted some of the more bicycle friendly policies of our European allies. Amsterdam has, among other things, a three-story parking garage for bicycles.

People in the audience began to shout for the movie 'Warriors' to start.

'Even the Girls,' documents the lives of female bicycle messengers. Bicycle messengers in the audience cheered on their fellow messengers, some of whom they recognized and knew, and seconded some of their complaints. 'On Time,' is a funny short film from 1987 that tells the story of a bike messenger overcoming seemingly infinite obstacles and mishaps in order to deliver a package on time.

The final film of the first screening was the highly anticipated 'Warriors: The Bike Race.' Two years ago, cyclists re-created the path taken by gangs in the cult classic film 'The Warriors.' Over 800 cyclists organized into 89 teams to ride from the Bronx to Coney Island in a race. Along the way they had to stop at checkpoints and complete tasks that included wrestling a large man, jumping over one of your own members on a bicycle and getting a tattoo. The film's principal director is Christopher Ryan, lead singer of the punk band Team Spider and a member of the Electric Vikings. Ryan provides one of the film's funniest moments when he becomes lost and finds himself in the South Bronx during a rainstorm while dressed like a Viking. The film includes footage of the original film, and ends with triumphant teams enjoying the Coney Island beach.

True to Barbur's vision, the films were an inspiring tribute to bicycle riding and will make non-bicycle riders want to go out and join in the fun. Barbur plans to take the film festival to San Francisco, where there is great demand for it, and eventually hand over control of the festival to others and remain its creative director. He sees the bicycle movement as a growing force, as evidenced by the increasing attendance and demand for his festival. "Bicycles are an answer," said Barbur. "They're not the answer, but they are an answer and I don't think they're given the respect they deserve."