Recap of the Ride the Divide Returns Film Festival in Boulder, Colorado
In 2010, Ride the Divide—a documentary about the 2008 Tour Divide—won the “Best Adventure Film” award at the Vail Film Festival and quickly became a cult classic. This race, now revered as the granddaddy of cross-country bikepacking, holds a special place in my heart, as I was one of the original eight finishers out of 16 starters. During the pandemic, producer Mike Dion envisioned a sequel. What began as an idea to simply add a few scenes to the beloved film soon evolved into something far more ambitious. The result was Ride the Divide Returns, a sequel filled with previously unseen footage, expanded coverage, and new storylines from that same epic event.
The world premiere of this long-awaited sequel took place on June 15 during a Double Feature Film Festival at eTown Hall in Boulder, Colorado, where both the original film and *Ride the Divide Returns* were showcased.
To celebrate the occasion, I meticulously restored my yellow 1996 Cannondale F700—the very bike I rode during the inaugural Tour Divide. I painstakingly returned it to its original race configuration, guided by this photo:
going as far as painting the middle chainring black, removing bar-end extensions, and finding an old-school wireless cyclometer that I had donated years ago to the Fort Collins Bike Co-op. Remarkably, I found and repurchased the same unit. The restoration process even extended to stripping and clear-coating an aluminum rear frame rack to match the original’s silver finish. After touching up the frame with carefully mixed paint, waxing the chain, and securing a dry bag and tent to the bike, it was ready for the 57.7-mile ride to Boulder.
I left at 9:30 a.m. The distance was 57.7 miles. The bike rode perfectly except the rear shifting was not the most precise, consistently overshifting in some gears. I used my Garmin Forerunner 645 Music watch for navigation, using the Garmin Connect app to magically create a route beforehand that was then sync’d with the device. Despite the small screen and lack of map detail, following the breadcrumb trail was adequate. If only this technology existed back in 2008!
The bike was even respectively fast—certainly faster than the Raleigh M30 mountain bike I had ridden in the Delta Century the month before. I was even keeping up or passing some cyclists on road bikes.
I got to a hotel in Boulder a few blocks away from the event at 2:15 p.m., in time to shower before heading over to eTown Hall. My friend Eddie was there to greet me, and I was thrilled to see other racers from the inaugural Tour Divide, including Mary Metcalf, David Nice, and Mike Dion himself. Some of my other friends, like E, Manuel, and Mel, joined us for the pre-event at 3:00 p.m., and my friend Matt arrived in time for the 6:30 p.m. screening of the new film.
The festival’s schedule included a 4:00 p.m. showing of the original Ride the Divide film, followed by a reflective discussion with the cast and crew about the 15+ years since the inaugural Tour Divide. Then, at 6:30 p.m., the main event: the world premiere of Ride the Divide Returns.
While I only made a brief appearance in the original Ride the Divide (2010), this time I was featured more in Ride the Divide Returns. My name was mentioned a dozen times, and the film showcased several low-resolution photos I had taken during the race in 2008. Through the magic of generative AI, the filmmakers were able to enhance the quality of these photos to make them suitable for a 2024 release. The film featured numerous images of my Cannondale, as well as a few shots of me during the race.
One of the highlights of the film for me was the way it contrasted my experience with those of other riders who were struggling nine days into the race race. The videographers noted a couple of times, “But man, good ol’ Felix Wong of Fort Collins came back out of nowhere!” Later, Mary was shown lamenting the state of her body and bike while wondering how I was faring—a moment that was followed by more shots of my Cannondale as I raved at how well the bike was riding after the Orange Peel Bike Shop of Steamboat Springs performed some service on it.
The premiere was an incredible experience and undoubtedly the highlight of my year. Mike Dion and those who assisted him did a fantastic job with the film, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I had expected Ride the Divide Returns to be mostly B-roll footage, but after watching it twice, I think I might even prefer it to the original. My friends who attended the event also had a great time, making this a night to remember.
The movie was followed by a 45-minute Q&A session, which I got to participate in along with Dave Nice, Mary Metcalf, and Mike Dion. Adrian “Super Vegan” Stignaciu, Chris Pleko, Stephen Gleasner, and videographer Hunter Weeks also Zoomed in. We answered questions from the audience, including what we took away from race, what were are favorite parts of the route, and navigational issues. I even had an opportunity to talk about the old Cannondale.
I still had the ride back to Fort Collins the next day, and thankfully, it went as smoothly as the ride down, with no mechanical issues. Despite its age, the Cannondale F700 was far from slow, and riding it over the last couple of days brought back some great memories of the Tour Divide.
Mentions
I was mentioned in the new movie at 2:38, 9:49, 36:24, 37:05, 40:09, 44:09, 1:06:14, 1:06:19, 1:08:48, 1:09:22, 1:29:13, 1:29:25, and the credits.
How to Watch
You can stream (for a nominal fee) both Ride the Divide (2010) and Ride the Divide Returns (2024) at ridethedividereturns.com.
I hope you enjoy the movies as much as I did!
