Ride the Divide (2010)

2700 miles from Canada to Mexico... on a bike! Extreme endurance stuff!! If you enjoy a challenge and like bikes, this is the documentary for you. It's made very much on the fly and is really just a document more than anything, but there's enough polish to help it along and the people are honest, tough and put it all out there. Guy Martins book talks about it and his own account is awesome, but it's great to see it on film, if just for the scenery alone. Not sure I'd be able to do this, but the thought is pretty cool.

This was one of the most colorful, humorous and informative documentaries I have ever had the pleasure to watch. You'll have the pleasure of meeting almost everyone that participated in the journey first-hand. You'll love the story, you'll love the film. I have had the pleasure of meeting Mike, the director, to ask him questions about the film. He was verbose about the questions I asked about the film and he was glad to answer them. This is a great film that the entire family can enjoy - even the youngsters. I plan on doing the divide some day - and I'll be sure to film it for the crew so they can laugh at me :)Enjoy!

I really wanted to like this film, the subject is so interesting (especially to a cyclist)but the film has very little focus. The film makers seem unsure what the focus of the film is (despite the blurb), sometimes we focus on the ride, sometimes the places we are going through, sometimes the film makers themselves. We meet riders that we never visit again or only for two seconds, riders that often seem interesting and engaging. We listen to phone conversations about or with people that we have no idea who they are and we switch focus on to different riders all the time but with no depth or follow up. It misses the human element, there is very little back story to the riders, how they trained and prepared for the event or why they are doing it. The emotions and struggles they go through is very poorly covered and with little understanding, the whole event and feelings of an event like this seem to come as a constant surprise to the film makers. We don't even get to know who came where in the results. Mary's story is the only one that is almost followed through but even then it's patchy and very surface. It's a real shame, this film and subject could be so interesting but a lack of focus, preparation and editing leave this one of the most disappointing films I have seen by no means the worst, it's still watchable but just too surface and nothing really to engage you.

Until I came across this film on Netflix streaming movies I had no clue that this "race" was even held. Seeing the film apparently it is held every year, for how long I don't know. This one is the 2010 competition.Sixteen riders, 15 men and 1 woman, left Banff and headed to Mexico along the Continental Divide. For those who may not know the significance of the "divide", it represents the very jagged north- south line where water on the east side flows eventually to the Atlantic and water on the west side flows to the Pacific. The highest peaks in the USA, mostly in Colorado, are along the Divide.But there is no road or trail for bicycles that actually runs on the Divide, so what they really are doing is traveling a path that follows the Divide and at times crossing the Divide.The film is done well and is interesting, but I feel it has one big flaw ... it never focuses on some of the key landmarks along the way. For examples Waterton in Canada and Glacier in Montana. Where did they cross the Divide? What elevations? Also in Colorado, did they go through Rocky Mountain Park and ride the trail ridge road, or did they have to bypass it? Did they ride over Independence Pass, or bypass it? I know they went through Salida, but overall I would have found the film even more interesting if they had focused a bit more on the actual route. But the film shows how difficult the "race" is. Many of them dropped out, by the end probably over half although the film doesn't make that very clear. Some had injuries and couldn't continue, some couldn't take the loneliness, or just the effort required each day for about 3 weeks.But the hero of the film is Matthew Lee who went on to win. (He also won in other years.) Matthew is just the perfect type of person for this kind of adventure. Even though his wife was due to have a baby shortly, and he was clearly a family man, he also relished the challenge and being out there, by himself, with time to reflect on life, he started each day with a smile and just pedalled on. And he mused, as hard as the "Ride the Divide" race is, it likely doesn't compete with the task of being a parent. I enjoyed following Matthew's trek along the Divide. Also the lady who had swelling in her legs, actually dropped out, but after talking with her husband went back and finished the race, I believe 9 days after Matthew.