Bike Movie - Transition

Since it's cyclocross season, I'll start with the cyclocross movies!  I've got four to review:

• Transition - An American Cyclocross Season
• Pure Sweet Hell
• Transition 2 - 'Cross the Pond
• Cyclofile #1

I'll start with my favorite - Transition

Transtition follows Adam Myerson in his 2004 cyclocross season.  He hits all the big races, including nationals in Portland, OR.  We, the viewer, get to see what it's like first hand to travel around the country as a cyclocross racer, and that's very entertaining.  We also "get" to hear Adam whine a whole lot, which is not really that entertaining.

Rider interviews are very candid, and include a lot of the big names of 2004.  These add to the fun of the movie.  If you want to see NASCAR like interviews where the drivers have on the sponsor gear and say the same old crap, you won't find them here.  But if you want to know what Trebon and Wicks are going to dress up as for Halloween, or what they think of the Portland mud, you're in luck.

These guys are hilarious.

As for Adam, his interviews get more and more annoying.  I understand the angle of the movie, following Adam contemplating transitioning from a pro bike racer to moving on to bigger things in the world.  However, it just annoyed the hell out of me.  I was after cool, motivational cyclocross footage, and this was not it.  Watch Adam's rants if you wish, I recommend you hit SKIP on your DVD remote every time you see a shot like this one.

Adam with sitting in a chair is your queue to hit the skip button.

Each major race is showcased in the same format - A brief intro with either slow motion footage and/or rider interviews, followed by some great race footage with an equally great soundtrack, followed by some follow up interviews.  Pretty well done, in my opinion.  It's nice seeing some high quality race footage.  Much better than youTube ;)

The film ends at the 2004 US National Championship in Portland, OR.  Having attended that race, I remember the epic mud, the drum core, the crazy crowd, and the Deaner.  The race footage is great, and it really captured the whole atmosphere well.   Just look at that screen shot to the right.  It's as good as it looks.

Transition is definitely worth adding to your collection for the occasional motivational race movie.  The interviews were (not including Adam's long ones) very entertaining.  The race footage and soundtrack were motivating.  This film isn't up there with bigger bike movies like Overcoming  or Hell on Wheels, but for a cyclocross film, this is very good.