It was an interesting turn of the tables. Instead of me asking a cycling blogger to take a look (or in my case, a ride through) one of my Global Ride DVDs to render an opinion, I was being asked by Stephen Auerbach to review his film about the Race Across America (RAAM). Before I give you my take on it, let me tell you how I watched it. Yeah, you’re already ahead of me, I watched it while riding my Keiser M3 indoor bike. It’s better than that though, I actually held a class on a Friday night, and had many fellow riders join me for a “movie night” of another kind.

To my surprise, we not only had serious cyclists come out (those I expected), but we also had casual recreational riders, and even some who only ride indoors – self called “spinners” who joined us to watch Bicycle Dreams. With such a varied group, I gave everyone permission to leave whenever they (or their cheeky friends) decided they had enough. Since most of our classes are under an hour, I did not expect to get more than half to stay through to the end. Well, this movie was so compelling and emotionally engaging, not a single person left, nor stopped their pedals till it was completely over. I was amazed. That was the inspiring effect this film had on every single person there.

I’ve been interested in the RAAM for a number of years. I even copyrighted an idea I had for a reality TV story where I was going to take 8 people who never rode a bike, and train them to do this as a team… (I ultimately never got any backers). So I went into watching this with a bit of background already established. However, no matter how much you read about RAAM, or how many youtube videos you watch about it, you will probably never get the feeling of doing it like Bicycle Dreams delivered (unless you actually do it yourself).

The producers of Bicycle Dreams provided a tremendous mix of the highs and lows of this incredible race. Even as I type the word “race”, it seems almost silly to call it that. This is so different than any type of race that anyone has ever seen or participated in. RAAM is more like an exploration of in-human endurance, tenacity, desire, sleep deprivation, pain tolerance, and physical assault and abuse of every kind. Yes, believe it or not, people voluntarily do this every year.

I love to ride my bike. I love this country. I want to see this entire country on my bike, from coast to coast… in about 2 or 3 months time though. Doing it in 10 days or less is an accomplishment so monumental, it begs the question – “Who are these people!?!” This is also what this film does so well; showing you just the kind of individuals that decide to ride RAAM solo. They are not professional cyclists and athletes, but yes, they all have cycling backgrounds and extensive experience riding. It is however, qualities much beyond that which separate them from you and me.

If you are reading this blog, you either ride inside or outdoors, or both. Mark my words, this movie will leave an impression on you that you will never forget, and if you are like me, you’ll find it worth watching multiple times. In my case, I plan to make it the kick off film for Winter Training from now on. Whatever pain we put ourselves through to prepare for the upcoming season, it will never come close to what these gladiators do.

One word of caution though. You may never be comfortable complaining about any aspect of your biking again. As the saying goes, don’t sweat the small stuff… and compared to RAAM, it’s all small stuff.