Blistered feet. A long walk through snow. Trying to accomplish what no other woman has ever done before.
These are all elements of "Ride the Divide," an independent film about a 2,700-mile mountain bike race from Canada to Mexico.
"I'd say it's as difficult as they bill it to be," said Erik Rippon, president of Chattanooga's Southern Off Road Bicycle Association.
IF YOU GO
What: A Chattanooga showing of the mountain bike film "Ride the Divide"When: 7 p.m. ThursdayWhere: Rave East Ridge cinemas, 5080 South TerraceTickets: $15 at the door, $10 in advance at www.IMAthlete.com/Events/RideTheDividemovie
The film, "Ride the Divide," will be shown Thursday in Chattanooga and 10 percent of the proceeds will go toward SORBA Chattanooga. Suck Creek Cycle helped sponsor the event.
The film is about three people - Mike the rookie, Mary the first female rider and Matt the favorite - who ride the epic Tour Divide, a grueling mountain bike race held in June that follows along the Continental Divide and features more than 200,000 feet of climbing.
Garry Harrington, promoter of the film, said he has shown it 50 times across the country. This week, he will show it in Atlanta and Birmingham before coming to Chattanooga.
"Everywhere I've gone, people are just blown away," he said.
Producer Mike Dion and director Hunter Weeks filmed the documentary in 2008. Dion - who is Mike the rookie in the movie - said he fell in love with the idea of riding the race in 2005 as he sat at work watching race results on a website.
He said the idea of riding across the Rocky Mountains and filming it appealed to him.
"That in itself, we knew it was pretty magnificent," he said.
Mike Skiles, owner of Suck Creek Cycles, said he wants to help SORBA Chattanooga. He said he can't wait to see the movie.
"It's going to be fun," he said. "It's a great story."
Rippon said most of the proceeds probably will go to a fund to help expand the Raccoon Mountain trail system. He said he used to watch the online race results himself.
"It's pretty neat to see some video of the event," he said.
Contact Cliff Hightower at chightower@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/CliffHightower.