The Hard Road

The Hard Road is a documentary that focuses on a first year pro-cycling team in the United States. While all eight members come from different backgrounds, they fight for a common goal. The Hard Road allows the viewer to see what it's like in the lives of a professional cyclist, from the hardships to the successes. The team members come to know what effort, hard work and drive really are.

Released 2004; Runtime 120 minutes

Concepts

• Anxiety & Stress: One of the members talks about not being able to sleep and how much he worried and thought about the race.
• Career Issues: The documentary highlights how difficult it is to be a professional cyclist, which only pays $10,000 and requires people to either also work or be supported by someone else.
• Attention & Focus: When you're riding alone or with a team, a certain level of concentration must always be maintained, and one of the riders commented that the cyclist needs to think about a race intellectually, instead of the pain involved.
• Pursuing Your Dream: Everyone on the team has a chance to finally live their dream, even though they are going down a "hard road" to achieve their goals.
• Leadership: The veterans on the team clearly played leadership roles during the races, using their experience and learned knowledge to help the rookies.
• Parents & Family: Some of the team were married and the documentary explored how their families and marriages were affected by their pursuit of being a professional cyclist.
• Team Cohesion: During a practice ride, the team evaluated the situations that could occur and strategized how to overcome those challenges so that each rider could be successful.