Motherload is a movie about cargo bikes and the people who use them. It’s going to be shown as part of June Bike Month in Ottawa. I won’t be able to attend, so I watched it on-line. Here’s my review:
Given that it is a self-funded documentary about an arguably niche topic, I was not prepared for a joyful, feminist movie.
There is quite a bit about the development of cargo bikes in the USA, with acknowledgement of the huge role cargo bikes play in everyday life in much of the developing world.
There is also plenty about the links between cycling, suffragettes and feminism going back more than a century. There is recognition of the inequitable access to transportation in the USA, and how cargo bikes could make a difference for poor and racialized communities, if cycling safely was possible.
But it was also a film with joyful scenes of kids having fun riding in, on or beside cargo bikes. My friend Cassie said her family had ordered their cargo bike before seeing the movie back in 2020, but it reaffirmed that decision! For her, being able to bike as a parent means freedom, reliability, physical and mental wellness, fun, and allows her to feel like she’s doing something to address the climate crisis. She just wishes more people had access to safe routes and could see cargo bikes as a possibility in their lives.
Though most of the cargo bike users in the movie live in places where there’s no snow, lots of people use them year-round in all weather, in Canada.
If you can’t get to a showing of Motherload, you can watch it here (free, with commercials).
