Race Across America is a 3000+ mile, non-stop, cycling race that starts in Oceanside California and ends in Annapolis, Maryland. In its 38 year history, less than 400 solo riders and their teams have made it to the finish line. Riders must survive the scorching heat of the Mojave and Arizona deserts and the altitude that comes with 175,000 ft of climbing over 3 mountain ranges.
Joe Barr is a 60 year old world endurance cyclist from Ireland. He has been racing bikes his whole life and is one of the few cyclists to successfully cross over from mainstream racing to endurance racing. He has won the 1450 mile, non-stop Race Around Ireland twice and numerous other World Cup events. He is a man composed of grit and no stranger to harsh terrain.
Joe and team have been to the Race Across America start line 3 times. In 2012 altitude sickness in the Colorado Rockies nearly cost him his life and he was forced to abandon the race. But Joe doesn't care much for unfinished business so he returned in 2014 to finish 2nd in his category and 10th overall.
In 2019 Joe arrived at the start line with an ambitious goal to finish in the top 5 only to find that the race had other plans.
This is an inspiring and heart wrenching watch as Joe and team have to dig deeper than ever before to try to reach the finish line of what is considered the toughest endurance cycling race in the world.
As well as capturing the 2019 RAAM experience, this documentary includes Joe's reflections 2 years later amidst plans to go return, once more, in 2022.
27 май 2022
