Originally Posted by
delver
http://video.google.com/videosearch?...num=4&ct=title
has anyone researched the company? some of their stuff seems so irreverent...
most of the "flyers I found are on fixed gear, messenger, and hipster bike forums/blogs.
makes me wonder if they actualy are looking for experienced tourers.(not that hipster messengers fixed gear riders could not do it) But I wonder if, based on thier style, they would rather have a bunch of gasping people in tight jeans laying about in ditches.
Just a thought, I am daydreaming just as much as anyone. IF anybody has any other solid contact info or insights this may bea good place to share them, aside from the cutthroat competition applying involves
They do seem to have sponsored a few other rides of shorter duration though, so who knows. I think that anyone who gets accepted should go into it with eyes wide open, get a contract of some sort, and have a bailout plan of their own.
Hey! I resemble that remark!
What makes my experiences of touring cross-country on a dumpstered fixed-gear conversion (albeit a px-10) with little mechanical knowledge any less remarkable than that of an "experienced tourer"? You're holding yourself to a pretty high standard for a bike ride. It's not a race. If their routes are about 3500 miles or so, that's 60 miles a day for two months- not a hard pace at all. In fact, if it was all pro riders or "Adventure-Cycling certified Cat1 tourers" (
) the ride wouldn't be very interesting at all. It's the problems, the difficulty, the humor in things breaking, sweat & discomfort that makes for good tv/good advertising/good short films.
I know nothing about the vodka company, but the Bike Film Fest are the ones organizing the tour. I'm fairly certain there will not be a touring company supporting the ride, but [this is an assumption] instead some filmmakers/sponsors following along to document, since it would be futile to fund the whole thing and not get great shots of it. They could probably use that van as mechanical/sag vehicle should need be, but I would assume this ride to be no-frills.
Also, if you are not familiar, I would suggest checking out the Film Fest site. Understand they are gearing up for playing in dozens of cities worldwide at the moment, apart from organizing this ride, so be patient for the replies. They put out a dvd of favorite films last year - you might want to check it out to see what the organization is like. It's not all "hipster messenger types" that attend - i've seen that when i've attended screenings in both NYC and Minneapolis.