[Bikecoop-announce] Tonight: Bicycle Dreams movie, IMC shop closed

[Phil Graff]

Hello all,

Tonight's Mechanic's Night hours (members-only) are *cancelled *due to a
special event: Bicycle Dreams, a documentary about the Race Across America,
will be shown at the Art Theatre in Champaign tonight to benefit Champaign
County Bikes and The Bike Project.  More info below.

Thanks,
Phil Graff
Volunteer, The Bike Project

*BICYCLE DREAMS**,
  AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY FILM ABOUT RACE ACROSS AMERICA, COMING TO
CHAMPAIGN-URBANA ON FEB. 15* **

*Bicycle Dreams*, the award-winning feature-length documentary about the
Race Across America (RAAM), will premiere in Champaign-Urbana at The Art
Theater in Champaign on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. as part of the film’s
ongoing nationwide winter tour. The screening is presented by the Bike
Project of Urbana-Champaign and Champaign County Bikes.

The event was added to fill an opening in the film’s current Winter Tour
2012, which has been selling out theaters from coast to coast.
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.”

And finally, *Bicycle Touring Pro *comments, “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 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.”

Tickets will be $11 in advance and $15 at the door the night of the show.
To purchase advance tickets, order online at
www.imathlete.com/events/bicycledreams. Tickets will not be available at
The Art Theater except on the evening of the event. The Art Theater is
located at 126 West Church St. in Champaign.

The Bike Project co-op offers a space, tools and community to repair bikes,
share knowledge, hold classes and advocate for bikes in Urbana-Champaign.
There are two locations, the Campus Bike Project at 608 East Pennsylvania
Ave. in Champaign and the Urbana (IMC) Bike Project at 202 South Broadway
in Urbana. For information, visit www.thebikeproject.org.

The mission of Champaign County Bikes is to encourage and facilitate
bicycling as transportation and recreation, and to promote public awareness
of the benefits that bicycling brings to the community. Among its goals is
to re-awaken Champaign County as to the rights of cyclists and sharing the
road safely, and to encourage responsible cycling. For information, visit
www.champaigncountybikes.org.

For more information on the film, go to www.bicycledreamsmovie.com, or
visit us on Facebook.

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