Mountain bike film to be screened publicly for first time
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It's not unusual to see moose along the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.(Image credit: Tour Divide)
The Tour Divide started in Canada(Image credit: Tour Divide)
Racers see many beautiful sunsets, even while it's raining, during the Tour Divde.(Image credit: Ride the Divide)
Matt Lee racing along the Continental Divide trail in Colorado.(Image credit: Ride the Divide)
Matt Lee races the Tour Divide(Image credit: Ride the Divide)
Bears are seen sometimes during the Tour Divide race.(Image credit: Ride the Divide)
Ride the Divide, a film about racing 2,700 miles off-road along the North American Continental Divide, will premier this weekend at the Vail Film Festival in Vail, Colorado. The movie will be screened for the first time publicly on Friday, April 2 at 8:10 pm and then again on Saturday, April 3 at 7:30 pm.
The film weaves the story of three characters' experiences with Rocky Mountain beauty and small-town culture as they attempt to pedal from Banff, Canada, to a small, dusty crossing on the Mexican border. It is a Mike Dion film, directed by Hunter Weeks.
The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route is the longest off-pavement cycling route. It's highlighted by long dirt roads and jeep trails that wend their way through forgotten passes of the Continental Divide. The Route travels through Canadian Provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, and Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico in the United States. By Route's end, a through-rider will climb nearly 200,000 feet of vertical - equivalent to summiting Mount Everest from sea-level seven times.
Divide racers must not only be conditioned to endure weeks of consecutive 16-plus hour days in the saddle, they need to bring other skills to the trail. The Route is unmarked and circuitous, requiring navigational acumen. It travels through remote backcountry. Intervals between services are frequently 100-plus miles and demand calculated food/water resupply plans. Riders must also find shelter each night or bivouac trailside and deal with constantly changing - sometimes extreme - weather conditions.
The movie will also be screened in Monterey, California in mid-April and will return to Colorado (other venues) in May. For more information, visit www.ridethedividemovie.com.
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Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews. She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.
