'Inspired to Ride' & 'Ride the Divide'
Documentaries about bicycle riding have something in common with one or two other subjects: I'd rather be doing it than watching it. Still, the raw superhuman achievement on display in the Parkway's double feature of "Inspired to Ride" and "Ride the Divide" is worth a vicarious peek. The newer film, "Inspired," profiles riders in 2014's inaugural Trans Am Bike Race, which covered 4,233 miles from coast to coast along the TransAmerica Trail — no support crew, no prize money, just a two-wheeled obsession. Not hard-core enough for you? "Ride the Divide" (2010) follows mountain bikers on a 2,700-mile journey from Canada to Mexico along the Continental Divide — which sounds like way more of a slog. Mexican food and Corona beer from adjacent Pepitos (allowed in the theater) could make this a fun pit stop after your own weekend ride. ("Ride the Divide": 5:15 p.m. July 30-Aug. 2, 7 p.m. Aug. 6-9. "Inspired to Ride": 7 p.m. July 30-Aug. 2; 9 p.m. Aug. 6-9. $3-$5. Parkway Theater, 4817 Chicago Av. S., Mpls. theparkwaytheater.com.)
