December 22/09 17:43 pm - Bicycle Dreams - A Movie

Posted by Editoress on 12/22/09
 

Bicycle Dreams is not your usual bike race movie. In following the 2005 Race Across America (RAAM), Director Stephen Auerbach has provided a unique documentary on what is among the most extreme disciplines of our sport - ultra marathon racing.

The RAAM is both simple and incredibly complicated. The concept is is almost self-explanatory: riders ride day and night across the United States, over 3000 miles. The first person to finish, wins. However, no one person can complete this grueling odyssey without a team of helpers, who feed the rider, provide massages, medical and technical support, bully them into continuing when they falter and, just as important, pull them off the road to rest when they go too far beyond their limits. How hard is the RAAM? Less than half of all entrants have ever finished the race since it began in 1982.

Auerbach hasn't just focussed on the race to be first, he has spent as much time covering the race just to finish. Interspersing interviews with riders talking about their hopes and aspirations prior to the start of the race with candid coverage during the event - chatting with riders as they ride and with their support crews as they make decisions about how to handle increasingly fatigued riders - Auerbach has managed to capture the true picture of what these riders and their teams go through, as well as some of the motivations that would push a person into attempting such a feat.

The 2005 edition of the RAAM was the year of the tragic death of Bob Breedlove during the race when he was hit by a truck. Early in the movie, Breedlove is one of the most articulate competitors to talk to the camera as he rides, and Auerbach covers the tragedy with sensitivity, while providing a realistic portrayal of how the news spread through the race, and the impact it had on the other riders and their teams.

From Jure Robic, the Slovenia soldier who wins despite suffering hallucinations, to French doctor Patrick Autissier, who quits after declaring that he has surpassed his limits (earlier in the race), and does not want to do it again, Bicycle Dreams captures your attention.

Whether you have aspirations to attempt an ultra marathon event or not, Bicycle Dreams provides a realistic and fascinating look at how people can motivate and push themselves to go beyond their limits.

Visit http://bicycledreamsmovie.com/ for more information about Bicycle Dreams.

Review by Rob Jones