Last summer, three local guys in their mid-20s traveled 6,000 miles cross-country on bicycles.
As if that feat wasn?t tough enough, they did it on bikes built to force them to pedal constantly.
Phillip Knowlton, professional film editor and the trio?s college buddy, captured the strenuous trek with two cameras.
Knowlton unveils a 90-minute documentary laced with animation about the trip Saturday at the historic Senator Theatre. Three-time Tour de France winner Greg Lemond narrates the film.
Knowlton followed the group with his brother in a battered support car, relying on a bungee cord to keep the hood in place.
“We came across every kind of person you can imagine on the trip,” said Knowlton, whose friends call him PhillyK. “People we barely knew took us into their homes. I can?t think of one group who wasn?t really excited about what we were doing.”
On the road, clocking about 100 miles a day, the group encountered inspiring travelers who cycle the country alone, said bicyclist and Type 1 diabetic Adam Driscoll.
Driscoll hopes the ride from northwest Washington state to Ocean City shows diabetics are not limited by their disease; they can complete exhausting endurance tests, he said.
Driscoll and fellow rider Patrick Blair founded the nonprofit organization Adventures for the Cure ? also the title of the documentary ? to raise funds and bring attention to the American Diabetes Association and Kupenda for the Children, Driscoll said. “Pat and I had these great jobs working for the Treasury Department and Northrop Grumman but didn?t feel like we were really helping anyone.”
All proceeds from Adventures? world premiere will benefit the ADA and Kupenda for the Children, a nonprofit organization that provides schooling, medical facilities and supportive relationships for African children with disabilities such as cerebral palsy, deafness, deformed or missing limbs, spinal bifida, autism and epilepsy.
To take their minds off their grueling journey, the University of Maryland Baltimore County graduates visited a karaoke bar in every state, where they sang a lot of Tom Petty covers, Knowlton said.
Knowlton plans to screen the documentary at upcoming film festivals such as South by Southwest.
“PhillyK is very talented. He?s edited music videos and movies, like the Beastie Boys? ?Amazing,? “Driscoll said. “This movie is to show off what he can do and it?s really going to be ? amazing.”
IF YOU GO
“Adventures for the Cure”
» When: 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday
» Where: Senator Theatre, 5904 York Road, Baltimore
» Info: $10; proceeds benefit the American Diabetes Association and Kupenda for the Children
