Wheels to Reels: Pure Sweet Hell

Date

Wednesday 20 June 8.15pm

Location

Metro Cinema, The Heap Lecture Theatre
The University Of Derby, Kedleston Road
Derby
Derbyshire

Level

No certificate. All welcome.

Details

Pure Sweet Hell
Dirs: Brian Vernor, Willie K. Bullion
USA 2005, 58mins
Documentary


In winter most people store their bicycles and wait for the cold and wet to go away, but for the sport of cyclocross winter is the peak time of year. PURE SWEET HELL shows us just how dramatic cyclocross races are when held in rain, sleet, snow, and freezing temperatures.


Resembling a steeplechase, racers negotiate a one to two mile course of dirt roads, pavement and steep hills which force riders to dismount and run with their bicycles strewn across their shoulders. The one hour races, short by cycling standards, are all-out tests of anaerobic suffering. Growing in the United States for the past thirty years, cyclocross has gained a dedicated following which is celebrated and revered in this documentary by first time directors Vernor and Bullion.


Focusing more on the community of the sport than on any one star, PURE SWEET HELL uses the perspectives of athletes and race promoters for voiceover narration while offering a mix of race action, behind the scenes training, vintage stills and film, and a look at welding a custom cyclocross bike. Shot entirely on Super 8 and incorporating a soundtrack of rock experimentations by Oma Yang and neo-folkster Phil Elverum of the Microphones, PURE SWEET HELL explores the passion, pain, and thrill of cyclocross racing, while providing an intimate view of the kinship and clashes that comprise this unique discipline of cycling.

There are FREE film tickets available to all riders joining the National Bike Week MTB Ride preceding this screening. Contact Andy on 01332 716060 for details.

Free Prize Draw to Win a Bike! Enter your email address at any Wheels to Reels screening for your chance to win.

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