Next stop, Tokyo! The London import phenomena looks like it was a feel good experience for all dressed appropriately and will amuse you as much as things like ‘xpensive anachronistic bikes and impromptu swing choreography generally amuse you. A niche thing, alright? It’s also the aesthetic opposite of that subway skate video.

The international Bicycle Film Festival stops at Milan and kicks things off on Nov 17.

The Bicycle Film Festival kicks off tonight at the Anthology Film Archives. If you made it out to the Joy Ride Art Show at Dash Gallery last night, you’ve seen the portable bike-towed pole dancers. Stop by this weekend to check out the group art show, curated by BFF’s founder and director Brendt Barbur. Highlights: Brian Barnhart‘s photography, Tom Sachs ‘s booze-powered sculptural bike wonder and Ryan Homphrey’s Duchamp revamp. See our photos (and pole dancing ladies) below.

Tonight’s 3 screening programs at the Anthology Film Archives all feature Birth of the Big Air – a doc about the legendary BMX legend Mat Hoffman, directed by Jeff Tremaine and produced by Priya Swaminathan, Spike Jonze, and Mark Lewman. Check it:

Photos: Marina Galperina

The Bicycle Film Festival hits it off tonight with a Bikes Rock concert/party at Santos Party House. Come hear NINJASONIK (free with password: “bikes rock”) and grab a free beer from Brooklyn Brewery between 8pm and 9pm. Check out this year’s pyrotastic festival trailer.

Check the BFF site for the deets on art shows, parties and a bounty of bike-related cinema screenings through June 20th.

After last week’s sneak peek at the Joyride, the Bicycle Film Festival’s two-wheeling art show, here’s another look at the rainbow handiwork of Benedict Radcliffe’s paint spraying folding bike.

Photo: Maos

Two-wheeling sculptors, photo-shooting messengers, and velocentric painters are among the many bicycle inspired artists converging in downtown Manhattan for the Joyride art show tonight. The exhibition, part of the Bicycle Film Festival, takes place across multiple venues between Houston and Broome Street, a move that festival founder Brendt Barbur hopes will lead people to literally joyride among the various installations, performances, and parties in the neighborhood. ANIMAL got a sneak peek of the show while it was still under construction, so preview the work after the jump before you go see it tonight.

Among our favorites are the embroidered canvases of Steve MacDonald, the delivery bike that brothers Jeffrey and William Robbins chopped up into plastic weed boxes in homage to New York’s delivery services, Tristan Eaton’s ridiculously dangerous brass knuckled and scythed wheeled track bike, Kenny Scharf’s handpainted non-racing beater bike, and Benedict Radcliffe’s pedal powered paint sprayer. Barbur and co-curators Joseph Ian Henrikson and Tanya Arakawa Rosenstein, really expanded the exhibition this year, bringing in a wide range of artists and creatively minded cyclists working in a variety of mediums.

The art show opens tonight from 6 to 10 PM at Collective Hardware (169 Bowery at Delancey Street), Puffin Room (435 Broome Street at Broadway), 186 Orchard Street (between East Houston and Stanton Streets). The Hungry March Band performs at The Pit in Sara D. Roosevelt Park (Chrystie and Broome Streets) at 6 PM and the after party begins at Lit around 10 PM with Peaches djing. The art exhibition will be on display from 1 to 9PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, after which the Bicycle Film Festival packs up for Philadelphia.

The long list of notable artists and up and coming talent includes:

Aakash Nihalani, Agathe Snow, Aiko, Alfred Bobe and Shane Bovel , Alessandro Zuek Simonetti, Amy Bolger, Amelia Shaw, Andrew McClintock, Artus De Lavilleon, Ashira Siegel, Benedict Radcliffe, Robert S.L. Waltzer, Bradley Baker, Brian Vernor, Camilla Candida Donzella, Cecily Upton, Cheryl Dunn, Chiara Clemente, Chris Stain, Chris Uphues, Chris Thormann, Dana Goldstein, Daniel Leeb, Daniele De Lonti, David Komurek, Ellis Gallagher, Ed Glazar, Erik Foss, Falcon Duran, Fast Eddie Williams, Fumie Ishii, Gaia, Giftcycle, Greg Ugalde, Graffiti Research Lab, Herman Mao, I LOVE DUST, Jacques Ferrand, James Newman, James Jean, Jessica Findley, Ji Lee, Joe Stakun, Jonas Mekas, Jud Turner, Julia Chiang, Kelsey Brookes, Kenzo Minami, Kenny Scharf, Kevin Foxworth, Lauren Silberman, Leo Fitzpatrick, Lisa Romans, Made in Queens , Marc Sich, Marco Mucig, Martha Cooper, Maripol and Lino, Massan Fluker, Matteo Di Nisio , Maya Hayuk, Mike Giant, Nathaniel Freeman, Nesta Mayo, Paolo Bertocchi, Patrick Trefz, Peter Sutherland, Rajan Mehta, Rich Jacobs, Ryan Humphrey, Scott Campbell, Silver Warner, Steve MacDonald, Stuart Semple, Suzette Lee, Takuya Sakamoto, Taliah Lempert, Tristan Eaton, William Robbins & Jeffrey Robbins, Wonka, Yatika Starr Fields

Photos by Will Sherman/ANIMALnewyork.com

The 2009 Bicycle Film Festival is nearly upon us, kicking off its ninth year in New York tomorrow night. The celluloid celebration of bicycling begins with Bikes Rock at South Street Seaport, a free performance features The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and The Teenagers, who will also be picking music for the after party at Studio B.

On Thursday night, the Joyride art show opens with velocentric art showing in several locations along Broome Street between Chrystie and Broadway. The long list of artists includes AIKO, Graffiti Research Lab, Mike Giant, Kenny Scharf, Taliah Lampert, Steve MacDonald, Maya Hayuk, and Martha Cooper among others.

The film programs begin on Friday night with the premiere of Where Are You Go, a 60-minute feature about a 7,000 mile bicycle expedition in Africa, and Made In Queens, a 10 minute piece on a teenage group of stereo equipped bike riders. Goldsprints and an after party at Public Assembly in Williamsburg finish the night.

Saturday begins with a street party outside Anthology Film Archives with trick competitions, “bike games” and contests. The film programs run through the afternoon and evening, featuring a selection of urban bike shorts and a documentary on BMX company FBM, among others.

Finally on Sunday, Anthology continues playing films while a bike polo jam and picnic goes down at the Pit in Sara D. Roosevelt Park at Chrystie and Broome Street. Tickets and passes for the film programs can be bought online ahead of time.