| Bicycle Dreams | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Stephen Auerbach |
| Starring | Jure Robic Bob Breedlove Christopher MacDonald |
Production company | Auerfilms |
Release date |
|
Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Bicycle Dreams is a 2009 documentary film by director Stephen Auerbach about the Race Across America, a 3000-mile cross-country bicycle race. The film has won numerous film festival awards and had a successful screening tour.
The film covers the 2005 edition of the Race Across America. It focuses on several riders, including Jure Robic, Bob Breedlove, Cat Berge, Christopher MacDonald, and Patrick Autissier. From the starting line in San Diego, the film follows the riders across the country as they endure difficult weather, challenging terrain, and sleep deprivation. [1] Several days into the race, Breedlove, a race veteran and endurance cycling legend, is killed in a head-on collision with a pickup truck. The other riders must deal with the aftermath of the accident and decide whether to continue the race.
Bicycle Dreams was filmed during the 2005 edition of the Race Across America. The crew used 18 cameras, which they embedded within the riders’ crews to get more intimate footage. [2] In an interview about the production, director Stephen Auerbach said he endured stretches of 36 hours without sleep to document the race and to experience the same sleep deprivation as the riders. [3] The crew eventually shot 450 hours of raw footage. Auerbach chose to use little narration in the film, in order to preserve the authenticity of the race and keep the storytelling as “unvarnished” as possible. [4]
Bicycle Dreams has received exceptionally positive reviews. USA Today's Sal Ruibal noted that the film has "beautiful scenery and inspirational words from riders and coaches" while it "also probes deeper into the sport's heart of darkness." [5]
The film has received a number of film festival awards, including Best Feature Documentary honors at the Yosemite Film Festival, Las Vegas Film Festival, Lake Arrowhead Film Festival, Grand Rapids Film Festival, Solstice Film Festival, Fallbrook Film Festival, Tiburon Film Festival, Red Rock Film Festival, Los Angeles Sports Film Festival, Moscow Sports Film Festival, Canada International Film Festival and the Breckenridge Film Festival. [6]
Bicycle Dreams has been screening continuously across the United States since its release in 2009. It has also screened internationally in India, Australia, Turkey, Russia, and the United Kingdom. The film’s current tour, which began in January 2012, has taken it to dozens of cities across the country, often playing to full houses. [7]
Bicycle Dreams was released on DVD in 2009. [8]
A unicycle is a vehicle that touches the ground with only one wheel. The most common variation has a frame with a saddle, and has a pedal-driven direct-drive. A two speed hub is commercially available for faster unicycling. Unicycling is practiced professionally in circuses, by street performers, in festivals, and as a hobby. Unicycles have also been used to create new sports such as unicycle hockey. In recent years, unicycles have also been used in mountain unicycling, an activity similar to mountain biking or trials.
Easy Rider is a 1969 American independent road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda, and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South, carrying the proceeds from a cocaine deal. The success of Easy Rider helped spark the New Hollywood era of filmmaking during the early 1970s.
The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultra-distance road cycling race held across the United States that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race.
Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling sports include artistic cycling, cycle polo, freestyle BMX, mountain bike trials, hardcourt bike polo and cycleball. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the world governing body for cycling and international competitive cycling events. The International Human Powered Vehicle Association is the governing body for human-powered vehicles that imposes far fewer restrictions on their design than does the UCI. The UltraMarathon Cycling Association is the governing body for many ultra-distance cycling races.
RAGBRAI, short for Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, is a non-competitive bicycle tour across the U.S. state of Iowa from the western to eastern border. First held in 1973, RAGBRAI is the largest bike-touring event in the world.
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Lynn Breedlove is an American musician, writer, and performer who was born in Oakland, California.
Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary is a 1997 film directed by S. R. Bindler documenting an endurance competition that took place in Longview, Texas. The yearly competition pits twenty-four contestants against each other to see who can keep their hand on a pickup truck for the longest amount of time. Whoever endures the longest without leaning on the truck or squatting wins the truck. Five-minute breaks are issued every hour, and fifteen-minute breaks every six hours.
A Goldsprint is a bicycle rollers racing and social event. Riders on stationary bikes compete against each other in front of spectators.
Team Strawberry was a professional bicycle racing team that participated in experiments on human power/performance conducted by their primary sponsor, Balboa Instruments of Newport Beach, California. The Team was founded in 1988 by team captain Alan R. McDonald. It lasted 2 years for the purpose of testing Bicycle aerodynamics and power, human power measurement/logging, and competing in the 1989 HPV Race Across America. McDonald acquired New Zealand rider John Harvey, also an Ultra Marathon cyclist. They were later joined by Greg Ewing and Mike Haluza. During the 1989 RAAM, the team used the hi-tech prototype cyclocomputer called the "Power Pacer" designed by Balboa Instruments. The device measured each rider's individual performance in terms of power output and calories burned through an output device built into the rear wheel hub.
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Kvadrat is a 2013 documentary feature film written, co-produced, and directed by Anatoly Ivanov. The film explores the realities of techno DJing, in particular the experiences of Russian DJ Andrey Pushkarev. Filmed as a hybrid between a road-movie and a music video, Kvadrat depicts the festive atmosphere of techno night clubs, and reveals aspects of this profession less commonly portrayed. Shot in Switzerland, France, Hungary, Romania and Russia, the film omits the typical documentary elements: there are no interviews, no explanatory voice-over, facts or data is provided. It gives priority to the soundtrack of techno music, leaving the detailed interpretation to the viewer.
Lon Haldeman is an American ultramarathon cyclist. Nicknamed "Marathon Lon", He was the catalyst for ultra distance bicycle racing. His first achievement was in 1979 when he won the Wisconsin End to End Record covering 407 miles in 23 hours 7 minutes. In the 1982 Great American Bike Race, later renamed the Race Across America, he completely changed the parameters, cycling for 9 days and 20 hours with three other cycling pioneers John Howard, John Marino and Michael Shermer.
Rebecca Rusch is an American endurance professional athlete, seven-time World Champion, author, entrepreneur, Emmy Award winner, and motivational speaker. Rusch's career has spanned adventure sports including rock climbing, adventure racing, whitewater rafting, cross-country skiing and mountain biking.
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All the Wild Horses is a 2017 British documentary film directed by Ivo Marloh. The film follows a number of international riders from different countries as they compete in the 1,000 km (621 mi) Mongol Derby in Mongolia, a 10-day equestrian endurance race. The movie won multiple awards, including Best International Documentary Feature at its World premiere screening during the Galway Film Fleadh in Ireland in 2017.