Around the 2nd weekend of June each year the Tour Divide race is held in North America. Mountain bikers from all over the world head to Banff in Canada, or Antelope Wells in New Mexico, to take on the 2,745 mile journey between the two locations.
The event is a self-supported off-road race that follows a well-defined path winding its way through the Rocky Mountains on dirt and gravel tracks. Participants attempting the course face a staggering 200,000 feet of climbing (the equivalent to cycling from sea level to the summit of Everest 7 times!) while carrying all of their own gear and managing food resupply as they pass through a small number of towns, and the occasional campers lodge, on route.
While the race is on eager ‘dotwatchers’ from around the globe follow the contest, and the position of each riders GPS spot tracker, in their internet browsers to keep pace with riders progress.
A few months after the race film makers begin to release their highly anticipated projects which tell the story of that years edition in vivid detail.
Divided from The Adventure Syndicate on Vimeo.
One such example is a film called Divided that documents the journey of Rickie Cotter and Lee Craigie from the UK as they take on the race. We absolutely loved this belter of a short film. It captures the highs and lows of their epic adventure while the thoroughly engaging personalities of the two riders shine through.
Hats of to the Adventure Syndicate too for producing such an engrossing film. It runs for 37 minutes but you will wish it was longer.
If you have not heard of them the Adventure Syndicate are worth a look. A not-for-profit organisation who use the inspiring stories of women adventuring by bike to encourage our audience to push their perceived limitations.
Enjoy!