There's a new bicycling film — “The Long Bike Back” — that tells the story of two brothers who fulfill a life-long dream to ride their bicycles cross-country after one survives a near-fatal hit and run crash.
As you can see from the trailer, at left, Pearson and Peter Constantino launched plans for their bicycle travels after Pearson was left for dead at the side of the road by a SUV driver in June 2006.
A little more than two years later, Pearson and Peter take off from Newport, Oregon, with a small film and support crew trailing in a van to record their experiences along US Route 20 to Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Pearson's wife, filmmaker Julia Wrona, directed the film that tells about the brothers' adventures and Pearson's battle back from life-threatening injuries.
Advocacy
Pearson and Peter are among the many voices out there reminding motorists how a moment of inattention can cause disasterous consequences, and that road design can be improved to take bicycles into account.
Riding near his home in Greenburgh, New York, a collision with an SUV left Pearson with a shattered hip, broken back and concussion. Pearson credits his helmet with saving his life.
In the hospital, Pearson and Peter decide to ride the 3,500-mile Route 20 trans-America highway. They had grown up near the road and had talked about the trip as boys when their father instilled a love of bicycles in them.
11 states
They set off on Aug. 12, 2008, and passed through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts before arriving in Cape Cod on Oct. 1.
In spite of regular medication, Pearson was in constant pain during the bike tour. Julia and her friend shot video from a van that followed them with their gear.
Pearson and Peter talked to many school groups about bicycle and vehicular safety on their trip.
Blog
Checking their Long Bike Back blog, one day September 19, stands out for me. In the morning, they met the father of an 18-year-old who was killed by a drunken driver while he trained for his college cycling team. Later in the day, near Cleveland, Ohio, they almost become statistics:
“About 15 miles or so left in our ride, I was struck by a minivan. When I saw the green van cut a few feet in front of me, I yanked my brakes and unclipped, I knew it was going to hurt. My front tire got clipped and the bar end of my handle bars jabbed me directly on the left side of groin/pelvis, not more than a couple of centimeters from my where my leg and pelvis had separated the last time I was struck by a car. When I looked back at Pete he was under the bumper of another car, we gave each other a typical “You’re ok” nod, as we knew it was ass-kicking time. The driver had turned into the bank they were headed for. I instantly took my helmet off and threw it at the car, striking its rear window. Yelling for them not to go any further, I realized I was walking very well. Pete was already at the window of the driver, who turned out to be an older woman on her cell phone, completely shocked and unknowing and uncaring that she had just hit us. After we told her how dangerous what she had done to us was, she really didn’t care and just wanted to get on with her business. Beside myself, I sat down on the curb and took a few minutes to calm down. I checked over both bikes and made sure Pete didn’t get hurt either. Although he would never let on if anything was bothering him.”
Along with other pursuits, the brothers are now making educational and motivational presentations based on their experiences. They're tailoring their talks to school children, drivers ed classes and corporate retreats.
The film also has been edited and is complete. More information is available at Ailujon Films and at YouTube.
See the trip's website, The Long Bike Back, for more information about the bike tour.
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