Three Riders on the Avocado Run (Ballad of Mulga Bill)

Three Riders on the Avocado Run

A mountain bike film by Patty Mooney, shot in the hills and avocado country of Southern California on March 4, 2021.

Free to watch. Featuring Mark, Steve and Madjid. Set to Patty Mooney’s “Ballad of Mulga Bill.”

Mark, Steve and Madjid head out for a mountain bike adventure through the hills and avocado groves of Southern California, with no particular agenda beyond seeing where the trail goes.

Part trail diary, part musical romp, Three Riders on the Avocado Run celebrates friendship, mountain biking and the sheer fun of a day on two wheels.

The ride

  • Climbs

    Grinding up through the grove rows, one pedal stroke at a time.

  • Descents

    The payoff for every climb, with the hills opening up below.

  • Dusty turns

    Loose corners where the trail kicks up behind each rider.

  • Plenty of greenery

    Avocado trees on every side, and spring green on the hills.

  • What’s around the next bend?

    The question every mountain biker knows. The film has the answer.

Mulga Bill, meet the riders

The soundtrack is Patty Mooney’s “Ballad of Mulga Bill,” inspired by Banjo Paterson’s comic poem “Mulga Bill’s Bicycle.” Paterson’s overconfident cyclist met his match with a bicycle. These three riders are a little more at home on two wheels.

Mulga Bill
Mark, Steve and Madjid
Experience
Sure he can ride anything, having never tried a bicycle
Seasoned mountain bikers
Terrain
One steep hill, straight down
Climbs, descents and dusty turns through avocado country
How it ends
In the creek, swearing off bicycles for good
Still riding, still wondering what’s around the next bend

Paterson’s poem first appeared in 1896, in Australia’s Sydney Mail.

About the film

Filmed
March 4, 2021
Where
The hills and avocado country of Southern California
Featuring
Mark, Steve and Madjid
Music
“Ballad of Mulga Bill” by Patty Mooney
Video and editing
Patty Mooney, multi-award-winning filmmaker, producer, editor, poet, songwriter and mountain biker
Watch
Free, above, or on Vimeo

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