Velo Club Monterey member Charlie Humphrey and Jennifer Kalich of Salinas both crossed the finish line in the Race Across America, a race documented in this film.  Charlie and Jennifer participated with Team Donate Life – Connor’s Hope, riding 6 days, 3,005 miles.

Read about Jennifer’s experience in Karen Kefauver’s story in the 12/2/11 Santa Cruz Sentinel, “Race Across America tests both muscles and the mind.”

Then come watch what Charlie, Jennifer, and others like them experienced in this life-changing event–and  gain inspiration for “the impossible” in your own life.

Earth Cycles of Santa Cruz, our neighbors to the north, are sponsoring a Monterey Bay showing of “Bicycle Dreams” as a People Power fundraiser!

People Power of Santa Cruz

People Power activities include the Green Ways to School youth cycling program, which they co-sponsor with Santa Cruz Transportation Hub.  Visit the People Power website to learn more, and view this Bicycle Dreams RAA – Santa Cruz Poster.  People Power’s goal is “to demonstrate that better alternatives to the car exist, while improving conditions for bicyclists in Santa Cruz County.”

More details on the film below.

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About conditions for cyclists throughout the Monterey Bay region:  Of course, many Monterey County residents bicycle in Santa Cruz County, just as Santa Cruz folks bicycle in Monterey. Check out some of our Santa Cruz neighbors who bike Monterey County now.

Did you know steps are being taken to better connect our counties via a Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail network?  Public workshops December 13, 14, and 15 are a great opportunity to give your input and show your support.

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Bicycle Dreams

Award-Winning Documentary Film

about Race Across America

“If you’ve ever dreamed of challenging yourself to a place far beyond what you previously thought was possible, Bicycle Dreams is a film you must see. It’s beautiful, thought provoking, exciting, emotional and scary. The experience of watching this film will leave you with a new perspective on life that will remain with you for a very long time to come.”– Bicycle Touring Pro

Bicycle Dreams, the award-winning feature-length documentary about the Race Across America (RAAM), will premiere in Santa Cruz at the Rio Theatre on Thursday, December 8 at 7 p.m.  Tickets will be $10 in advance and $15 at the door the night of the show. To purchase advance tickets, order online at www.imathlete.com/events/bicycledreams.com.

The film, which has won numerous awards at film festivals all over the world, “is an up-close look at what RAAM riders go through,” says Stephen Auerbach, the director and producer of Bicycle Dreams. “They deal with searing desert heat, agonizing mountain climbs, and endless stretches of open road. And they do it all while battling extreme exhaustion and sleep deprivation. It’s a great subject for a film.”

“Bicycle Dreams is a spectacular and heartfelt film that offers a riveting portrait of extreme courage in the face of inhuman obstacles,” writes TheLoveOfMovies.com. “It is an artistic triumph that renewed my belief in the power of desire and the strength of the human will.”

“We are very excited to be able to bring Bicycle Dreams to so many locations along the route that have never had access to the film before,” says Auerbach. “Viewers will be overwhelmed by the amount of pain and suffering these riders go through.”

To capture the mammoth scope of the race, Auerbach worked around the clock with a complement of 18 cameras. Embedded camera operators traveled inside the racers’ support crew vehicles, gaining unprecedented access to the cyclists and their teams. Their footage captured emotional and physical breakdowns, late-night strategy sessions, and great moments of personal triumph, all in intimate detail. Auerbach then took on the enormous task of editing hundreds of hours of material and forming it into a powerful and inspiring look inside the most difficult race on the planet.

Bicycle Dreams has won major awards at the Fallbrook and Breckenridge film festivals, as well as the Yosemite, Grand Rapids, Red Rock and All Sports LA film festivals, among many others.

Most recently the film added the Best Foreign Film trophy from the Krasnogorski International Festival of Sports Films in Moscow and was also invited to be included in the 2011 World Cinema Showcase in New Zealand as well as the Mountain Film Festival in Istanbul, Turkey. And before that it made its Australian debut at the Big Pond Film Festival in Adelaide.

Critical acclaim for the film continues to pour in from all sources.

“An astonishing documentary,” declares Pez Cycling. “This film is a ride of many stark contrasts; when it ended I felt both shattered and triumphant. I realized I was experiencing its genius. A central theme of Bicycle Dreams is the profoundly inspiring strength of the human in facing monumental challenge and tragedy. Bicycle Dreams is a race of truth.”

“This film isn’t for those who want to shy away from the tragic side of the human experience, unwilling to risk the cracking of their shell of denial, not willing to risk their coping mechanism,” writes Cycling-Review.com. “Bicycle Dreams captures the human condition like few other films. Bicycle Dreams moves us to break through the barrier of the fear of death. I have seldom found a film that captures this ‘life drama’ as powerfully as does Bicycle Dreams.”

Adds Podium Café, “Bicycle Dreams is the ultimate inner journey. If you thought the life of a cyclist was an internal struggle, wait until you see what Auerbach unearths in this film. Bicycle Dreams is an unprecedented exploration of the subject of the suffering on the bike.”

About.com writes, “As we fall deeper and deeper into Bicycle Dreams, what we witness grows more terrifying, yet more compelling. Auerbach’s masterful direction exposes the raw lessons that drive people to push beyond the limits of human endurance. Revealing what lies at the heart of every impossible human endeavor is what Bicycle Dreams is all about.”

Bicycle Dreams also has been named one of the top 10 adventure films of all time by both The Matador Network and Playground Magazine, calling it the best bicycle film since “Breaking Away.”

More info

For more information on the film, go to www.bicycledreamsmovie.com.

Media contact: Garry Harrington 603-209-5010  bicycledreamsmovie@hotmail.com

For more info about People Power, visit the People Power website or contact Scott Campbell of Earth Cycles of Santa Cruz, 831-429-9040.

Thank you to Scott Campbell of Earth Cycles for providing this press release and to Garry Harrington of Bicycle Dreams for the photo and poster images.

Thanks to Burnham Coaching for responding to my inquiry about Monterey County participants by sharing news about their athlete Jennifer Kalich.