Ride The Divide – Movie Review
Aug
Traveling by bike for long distances at a slow and meandering pace is one thing, but racing a mountain bike, completely alone, totally unsupported, and with no scheduled breaks or time-outs for more than 2,700 miles across some of America’s most isolated environments is another.
Ride The Divide is a Documentary Channel film by Mike Dion about The Great Divide Mountain Bike Race – a race in which participants ride sparsely packed mountain bikes from Canada to Mexico along the Continental Divide in North America’s Rocky Mountains.
The movie, which was shot during The Great Divide Mountain Bike Race of 2008, follows the story of three brave cyclists: Mike Dion, who drops out of the race relatively early on; Mary Metcalf-Collier, the first woman to ever attempt the challenging course (and finish); and Matthew Lee, a four-time winner of previous Great Divide Race competitions.
The film, which is beautifully shot and edited, shows not only how difficult a race of this type can be, but also just how challenging it is to film an event such as this. With riders stretched out across hundreds of miles, often times in completely different states, the Ride The Divide filmmakers faced a nearly impossible feat – to capture the wonder that is the Great Divide, while at the same time telling the story of our heroic Divide racers.
When the filmmakers miss the start of the race on day number one, I feared that the rest of the film might be a series of recaps and talking heads. But once the filmmakers quickly catch up to our racing heroes, the story takes off and pleasantly carries you all the way to the end.
While the film’s scenery is often times incredible and the stories of our racers somewhat daunting, what Ride The Divide really does is make you realize just how difficult a race of this type can be – both mentally and physically. But, more importantly, Ride The Divide captures the spirit of the Rocky Mountains and when it’s all over, you too will want to head out on your bike and experience many of the places featured in the film.
Ride The Divide is not just a movie about an incredibly difficult race through some of America’s most scenic landscapes, but a story of self – delving deep into what it is exactly that pushes us to do the seemingly impossible and keep going (or give up) when times get tough.
Mike Dion’s Ride The Divide is an epic experience that should not be missed.
More info at: www.RideTheDivideMovie.com
