Bellingham mountain biker looking forward to sharing her ‘Esperanto’ with her community

The COVID-19 pandemic prevented her from experiencing a premier for the first film she was a part of, but there was no way Bellingham mountain biker Hannah Bergemann was going to let an opportunity for her second film pass — especially when it’s being shown in the town she now calls home.

Bergemann will be one of several current and future stars of mountain biking featured in Teton Gravity Research’s latest film “Esperanto,” which will have a special showing at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, at the Mount Baker Theatre. The movie takes its name from a new language created in 1887 by Polish-Jewish doctor LL. Zamenhoff, according to a news release on the movie, after he combined a number of existing, widely-spoken European languages.

In a way, Bergemann said mountain biking has been her own personal universal language — or Esperanto — right here in Bellingham or when she travels as a professional rider. “I go to a variety of locations to ride around the world, and wherever you go you have this form of connecting with people that is really strong,” Bergemann said.

Bergemann grew up in Hood River, Oregon, but it was her love of mountain biking that drew her to Western Washington University and Bellingham when she was choosing a college in 2015. She never left Bellingham after graduating in 2019.