Maybe the most important film I ever make.
An epic cross country America documentary film.
This films team JDRF as they race bicycles across the entire country in the 2006 RAAM race.
In fact, the four cyclists are both two tandem bicycle pairs.
The route and scenic vistas are almost out of this world stunningly beautiful.
So many gorgeous backdrops to mention but here’s an attempt:
The pier at California Pacific Ocean start
Borrego Springs desert area
Colorado rockies peak brutal climb and screaming multi hour up 60 mph downhill
midwest cornfields and rolling hills
Appalachian mountains and peak

The films goes thru many iterations. It starts as a potential TV series of 6.5 length altogether to be split into segments. Arduous editing and painful cuts slash it down tighter and tighter.
It eventually after several screenings getting shorter and shorter clocks in at it’s shortest at 2 Hours and 17 minutes total run length.

I probably have a few more cuts to make. But one of the key interviews with Rachel McGrady is about as short as I can cut it – and it’s still probably too long. But it’s absolutely pivot point key in this film.

Aside from the beauty and the natural drama of a race this insane, this films also chronicles a destruction of interpersonal connections due in large part to extreme stress from extreme sleep deprivation. There are 4 racers, and a 17 person crew in two full size minivans and one giant RV supporting it all. And we all suffer brutally for 9 days of nearly no rest.
I came onboard with the agreement I would only observe and have access to film everything (expect bathroom stuff). But that goes out the window when we get our first flat tire in a minivan in California. In fact, I get directly involved at 2am and locate a tire plug kit and patch the rental minivan tire to keep us going. This plug kits keeps us solidly moving all the way across the country and we turn the rental in with the plug in it’s tire.

And the extreme sleep deprivation is profound and profoundly disturbing to the crew. I have to get involved as a driver to probably literally save us all. There is only so much you can do after so many days of 1-3 hours of sleep a day in a moving vehicle. The drivers are wasted by Colorado and I have to take major turns at the wheel and force them to sleep. Several of us hallucinate driving. One driver is almost attacked (and winds up crying) after this driver turns around – with a horse trailer no less – and chases us down. He overtakes us and hits his brakes to a dead stop in the road. Our driver is so tired he stops and doesn’t react. He doesn’t attempt to go anywhere. I vividly recall this guy in cowboy boots stomping up to the car and berating our driver about being completely in his lane (he was) and almost killing him and his horse and there’s no medical facilities anywhere around. Was a scary and humbling moment to say the least.

I also had to negotiate with another volunteer and driver to not leave and fly home when she breaks down after a driver hit and killed a raccoon – that was the final straw for her. I prevail and convince her to stay on, and she does make the rest of the trip.

There’s an epic fight on film covered. Police show up.
I also did not record a third flight. It was pretty bad. I wound up physically getting between an ex marine and our humble mild mannered crew chief George as this person is chasing him around the motor home. I figured (correctly) he wouldn’t try to harm me so I could get in the way.
Anyway, he’s a really good guy at his core, this race just pushes everyone all the way to the extreme limit.