Our Story

My name is Greg Sucharew and Im the Director of The Bicycle City, a soon-to-be feature length documentary examining the benefits of the bicycle as a mode of transportation. I am very passionate about bikes as an alternative way of getting around, and also as an engine of socio-economic development.

My crew and myself recently spent two months in Nicaragua to document how such a simple mechanism as the bike has helped the people of the war-ravaged town of Rivas rebuild their community, and make it a better place. There, bicycles are an integral part of daily life, allowing people to go where cars cant take them (due to lacking road infrastructure and exorbitant fuel costs) thus providing the population with access to cheap and clean transportation.

The film is now in post-production. While we have several pending grant applications, we want to keep the momentum going. Our most immediate need is to get dozens of hours of interviews translated from Spanish to English.  That way we can continue editing the film while the remainder of our funding is still pending.

In total we will need about $75,000 dollars to complete the film.

Myself, and The Bicycle City team thank you so much for your donations and your support.

The Impact

I wish I could tell you that our campaign is vital; that if you dont give us money terrible things will happen, however this is really not the case. But if you live in some of the large United States metropolitan areas, such as New York, you are well aware of the controversy of increased bicycle traffic; the ongoing head-butting between politicians, cyclists and naysayers about whether or not bike lanes are a good thing. Im saddened that in this day and age of economic turmoil and impending climate change, that an environmentally friendly and economical solution to the urban transportation woes has been so maligned.

The Bicycle City will provide a positive look at the old bicycle. It will show how a small town depends on the bikes to function and how access to transportation helps people find and keep jobs, providing one simple tool for a better life.

Im guessing since you are reading this that it is something you are interested in.

If you choose to give us a little money (every little bit helps) we will be able to keep editing our film, which means we will be able to be finished sooner and present our little pro-bicycle film to the world out there.

What We Need & What You Get

We are looking to raise $3,000 to cover the costs of translating 18 interviews from Spanish to English. We have divided our material into different priority levels, so the top priority (our main characters) will be translated first, followed by secondary characters and so on. This ensures that any money raised will be put to good use even if we dont reach our goal.

We have several grant applications pending and were looking to IndieGoGo to provide us with a way to raise funds that can cover the waiting period, since we dont want post-production to come to a complete stand still. If we can keep moving forward in the editing of the film, once the grants become available the film will be in a more advanced stage and that much closer to completion. After all, the reason were making this film is to get people to see it and we cant accomplish that before the material is edited. 

$10.00 or More

Your name listed in "Special Thanks" section of credits and the knowledge that you helped spread the word about an easy way to better the lives of some of the most impoverished people on the planet.

$50.00 or More

A poster for The Bicycle City and your name listed in "Special Thanks" section of credits.

$100.00 or More

DVD copy of the film, a poster for The Bicycle City, and your name listed in "Special Thanks" section of credits.

$200.00 or More

Your name listed along with the foundations and corporate institutions as a sponsor of the film in the credits, on our website, a poster for The Bicycle City, and a DVD copy of the film.

$500.00 or More

An invitation to the premiere of the film, your name listed along with the foundations and corporate institutions as a sponsor of the film in the credits, on our website, a poster for The Bicycle City, and a DVD copy of the film.

Other Ways You Can Help

Besides giving us money (which I hope you will), you can help us by spreading the word about our project. Share our videos with your friends, post them on your blog, your facebook page or twitter.

If you want to go a step further by helping the less fortunate, like those in Rivas, get the mobility they need for a better life, and perhaps recycling that old bike you have gathering dust in the garage, donate your bicycle to Pedals for Progress, the non-profit profiled in our film.

Visit the Pedals for Progress website at www.p4p.org and click on collection schedule to view all upcoming bicycle collections. You can even setup a collection of your own.