Three Films

I'm not a big movie buff, but have enjoyed a few independent films about running and cycling over the past few months. I recommend all of them. Here are brief recaps:

Bicycle Dreams: The Race Across America
http://www.bicycledreamsmovie.com/
The story of RAAM, the Race Across America - a non-stop cycling race across the country. The film depicts the unbelievable degree of endurance cyclists persevere forgoing sleep while cycling straight through the night on challenging terrain across the country. The top riders complete the 3,000 mile journey from west coast to east coast in a mere 8 to 10 days. This film covers the physical and mental challenges faced by the riders, including riding through injuries sustained through fatigue, mental exhaustion, family concern, and the untimely passing of a fellow rider. Pushing the human body to its physical limit is definitely a core theme.

Hood-to-Coast: Everyday People, Extraordinary Journey
http://www.hoodtocoastmovie.com/
This movie depicted a 200-mile relay race in Oregon, runners in teams cover the distance from Mt. Hood through the backroads of Oregon to the coastline. For me this film was reminiscent of when I did a similar event on the east coast, the Reach-the-Beach relay in New Hampshire where I was part of a team of 12 runners that ran 200 miles non-stop one individual segment at a time until we completed the distance. The Hood-to-Coast film depicted several different teams and individual runners participating. There was the older female who the prior year literally had a heart attack on the course, but was resuscitated and then returned the next year to try to complete the race with her team despite her doctor's orders. There was the 'slacker' team who seemed to thrive off pounding more beers than miles in their so-called "training". And there were other veteran running teams including a competitive elite squad who were all business. This film was truly entertaining and showcased the true spirit and camaraderie between runners of all kinds.

The Ride
http://www.noopportunitywasted.com/
Amazing Race tv host Phil Keoghan wanted to do something for his 40th birthday. He decided to ride his bike across the USA, from California to New York, and also in the process raise money and awareness to fight Multiple Sclerosis. Phil not only attempts a tremendous feat of riding his bike across the country in 40 days, but also aims to stick to a rigorous schedule of stops at different towns along the route for public appearances, meeting with people affected by MS and holding media events. Phil rode the entire distance himself, and had fellow riders accompany him through various stretches as well. In addition to all the drama, the film was downright hilarious! Phil's character really comes out in every aspect. A bonus of seeing this film in person at a theater in Boston was that Phil himself was present for the screening, saying a few words before the screening and doing a brief Q&A afterwards. Phil did say he left out a few of the less than appealing elements of the journey, like him vomiting while straddling his bike on the side of the road and stuff like that, but he still showed the realistic side of the challenge including his physical and mental fatigue, relationships with friends and family, stories of those affected by MS, and even a crash on a rainy day as they hit some rough terrain. One question from the crowd was "What do you think about when you're riding alone for so much time?" Phil had a great response, paraphrased: "Do you remember that Window's utility Norton Defragment that lets you clean up your hard drive, rearranging and repacking all the segments of information into a more easy to deal with format? Well, it's kind of like that. Going out there lets me process all these various things in life and reorder and structure them so I can deal with them more effectively." (I'm sure I didn't do his response justice, but it was something like that.) Anyway, a great all-around film!