The story behind a part-time Queenstowner who spent 33 hours on his bike here last year completing a rare feat is one of the feature films in next week’s Big Bike Film Night.
Included in the 10 short films which form part of this year’s 10th anniversary tour is Double Everest, which follows Brit Ben Hildred on his quest to bike up the Ben Lomond saddle 17-and-a-half times, starting from the edge of Lake Whakatipu and biking up through the Queenstown Bike Park .
The mammoth feat, completed last February, equated to 17,925m of climbing over 277km – just over twice the height of Mt Everest – and was captured on video by Jonny Ashworth and by photographer Callum Wood.
The line-up also includes docos about a community of cyclists from Alexandra, a determined father and daughter preparing for their greatest adventure together, a ride around Central Otago’s Lake Dunstan Trail, and 10 young people who embark on a bikepacking trip from Wellington to Wānaka.
Festival curator Brett Cotter says each year he aims to bring together the best biking short films from around the world to celebrate the “fun, the adventure and inspiration that bikes enable”.
The Big Bike Film Night’s being held at Arrowtown’s Athenaeum Hall this coming Tuesday, from 7pm.
Tickets, available from bigbikefilmnight.nz, cost $24 for adults, $18 for 17-and-unders, and $13 for under-12s.
