The Bullitt’s Burden is a fascinating look into the life and mind of Hans “Bullitt” Fogh, the creator of the Bullitt Cargo Bicycle, and CEO of Larry vs Harry, the cargo bike company that began in 2008 with their record-shattering Bullitt design. The documentary features Fogh himself and some of the riders and couriers he has connected with through the love of the Bullitt, including Bakersfield residents Lloyd and Walt Klingenberg.
Based on the design of the old Danish “long john” front load cargo bicycle, it is designed with a smaller front wheel to increase maneuverability and load capacity. At 22kg (48lbs), it is one of the lightest bikes that can carry a full load up to 180kg (396lbs), and it’s no wider than the typical bicycle. The long john and the Bullitt itself forever nullify the convenience and power of an automobile in the mind of any Dane. Throughout the movie we see people taking children to school, selling wares as a small business on wheels, toting groceries, friends, pets, and adventure gear. All in harmony with the flow of other bicycles and other roadway users.
We ride through the streets of Denmark, through the cities and countryside to learn of a people taken up by the magic of the lightest and fastest cargo bicycle in the world. Flashes of another world coalesce within familiar scenes of Bullitt couriers in Chicago and New York, where the Bullitt reigns with peak performance, efficiency, and a cult following. We watch as riders simply pop up the front wheel with a simple flick of the wrists to lift the entire front end, loaded with cargo, and power up through a curb.
We meet a family obsessed with the cargo lifestyle, and the Bullitt itself. The family live in the western Danish countryside on the coast far away from the cities.
“We just need the fjord and the forests,” the father says. While they live simply they are totally obsessed with the cargo bike and the lifestyle that only a cargo bike can create.
The first time the mother speaks is when she’s describing the delicious and beautiful cakes she makes through scenes of Bullitt races including one her younger son is participating in. We take to his room where an old Bullitt frame hangs on his wall next to multiple wheel sets. Eventually we watch her build and decorate a perfect layer cake from eggs in her backyard with perfectly hand-drawn Bullitt frames iced onto the top.
“Sometimes I see the Bullitt as the big savior, some kind of social behavior that starts with the Bullitt,” says Fogh, “It’s amazing how much it means to a lot of people.”
“I guess that was one of the reasons why it felt so hard with Blaine,” he says in a following scene.
Fogh introduces Blaine, by his first name only, as a friend on Facebook. In retelling the story, Fogh noticed one day the surge of posts about a broken yellow Bullitt in the middle of a Chicago street and soon realized he knew this Bullitt rider, at least on social media. Fogh was so moved by the love the cycling world showed Blaine – not just the cargo couriers of Chicago. A huge part of who Blaine was at his happiest involved a bright yellow Bullitt, so Fogh built a limited run of 30 “Beezy” Bullitts for the Cycle Messenger World Championships in France in honor of Blaine.
We are soon taken to a shot of a single lane road and oil dereks that introduce the scene change to Bakersfield, California, and you hear Lloyd Klingenberg’s voice.
“We’re big truck people,” he says. “Everybody has a pick up, and everybody runs around in it. You don’t see people in big groups riding their bicycles downtown or around in my neighborhood.”
Walt, his son, continues, “It’s an agriculture and oil town, it centers around hauling stuff and moving stuff.”
Lloyd and Walt are both Bullitt riders, riding the special edition “Beezy” Bullitt. Blaine Klingenberg was Walt’s son and Lloyd’s grandson. Blaine was one of the lifetime cyclists who earned his bicycling chops on these Bakersfield streets. He left to ride full-time in Chicago, where the courier and messenger scene is booming. It was in Chicago, in 2016, where Blaine was hit by a tour bus and killed 27 years old.
For the last segment of the documentary, we are introduced to more of the people in Blaine’s life before his passing: his Chicago friends, his Bakersfield friends, and Maja, his girlfriend who also grew up riding bikes in Bakersfield. At the time of the filming of these interviews, Blaine’s death was less than a year prior.
“Riding on that Bullitt with him, I was amazed at how he handled that bike,” Maja says, “I felt safe, I felt free, and I think that’s what it is with the bicycle. You know, he had that sense of freedom and independence, and that was the draw for him with the bicycle, especially that bike. That bike meant so much to him.”
“He left an impression on a lot of people in a tough city like Chicago,” she says between clips of Blaine and flashes of Bullitt riders. “And all of that’s taken away from you.”
The film ends at Walt’s house on the familiar streets of Bakersfield, somewhere tucked away in the winding subdivision neighborhood.
“I ride six days a week, one day I don’t ride because my gardener comes. Usually 23 miles most everyday,” says Lloyd. You may be able to catch a glimpse of him riding in town today on his Bullitt.
The film credits end with a message from Simon, one of the boys of the Bullitt family from the Danish countryside. Using posters and no words, Simon introduces us to Jolene, the white Beezy Bullitt frame, behind him. I don’t think he will ever forget the power and the story of the person behind the frame thanks to this film.