Grace & The Great Divide: an Interview with Filmmaker Kris Wheeler
In 2018, Grace Ragland took on the Tour Divide, a 2,745-mile mountain bike race from Canada to Mexico. Most riders are intimidated by the mileage or the mountains, but Grace was up against much more than that — more than she even knew at the time. Grace passed away in January 2020, but the story of her inspiring ride along the spine of North America lives on in the form of an upcoming short film. We spoke with Kris Wheeler, the filmmaker behind the project, about what this film means and how you can help bring it to life.
SALSA – Kris, please introduce yourself and share a bit of your background.
KRIS – I’m a native of North Georgia (home to some of the best mountain biking in the country, by the way). A few career stops over the years took me to other states at times, but I’ve been back home for years now.
My two greatest passions are riding my bike and filmmaking (documentary filmmaking to be specific). I’m also a commercial content creator. I’m an all-around passion junkie, I guess you could say. My background is in journalism, and I came up through the newspaper ranks as a reporter, which led to publishing magazines, but I always had film ideas playing in my head. Ultimately, I just went for it, making the transition from the print world to film and video work back in 2007.
My most recent projects include: “Revival: The Sam Bush Story”; “Ride To Extraordinary”; and “Undiscovered” — all currently streaming on Amazon.
SALSA – The film you are working on, “Grace & The Great Divide”, is clearly a passion project. Would you share why it matters to you?
KRIS – The word “passion” gets tossed around a lot these days, and often pretty casually. But I’d like to think it’s the word that best describes my desire to tell Grace Ragland’s story (which I’ve wanted to do since meeting her back in 2009). It’s extraordinary. It “matters,” for reasons that go far beyond her ride in the 2018 Tour Divide.
But all of our stories “matter,” right? Even when we don’t think we are worthy. We are. How do we define our self-worth? What matters to us, and why? Those questions, self-perceptions, the consequences — and how they shaped Grace’s journey — are what drive me to share her story with the world.
SALSA – Bicycling and the Great Divide MTB Route are obviously part of this film, but we’re guessing there is more to this story that will interest riders and non-riders alike. Would you speak to that?
KRIS – Once you start watching the film’s first teaser, it doesn’t take long to figure out that this isn’t another “Ride The Divide” or “Ride To Extraordinary”. In fact, it’s nothing remotely close to the typical cycling adventure film. It’s not about setting records, how fast you can ride or how far you can go. At the heart of this story is something that’s universal to pretty much all of us: family. There’s a great quote about family that says, “it doesn’t have to be perfect. It just needs to be united.”
And while the Tour Divide plays a seemingly pre-ordained role in this story, it’s more about the improbable journey, events, and episodes in Grace’s life that led to the pivotal moment that found her departing Banff, Canada and the vast distance that separated her from what she loved most…and had lost. The stakes that hung in the balance could not have been greater. To be clear, the Tour Divide’s role in Grace’s story is essential. The route is what I would describe as the “wizard with the special powers.”
SALSA – Life can be messy, and the world, through social media and in other ways, paints an unrealistic picture of just what life really involves. The trailer alludes to Grace, like many of us, having a messy life. What is to be gained by sharing those moments and stories?
KRIS – I would be doing a disservice to Grace if I crafted her story into a watered-down highlight reel of all her inspiring accomplishments. And there are many. Her story is truly extraordinary (and that’s not hyperbole). But it’s the whole story that matters — how she navigated and ultimately grew from the messy parts that define her remarkable journey through life.
And by “messy,” please understand it’s no messier than what most of us experience at some point. To be clear, Grace was a joyous inspiration (superhero) to so many — a model of courage, a force of nature, tough-as-nails mountain biker, funny, a second mom to the kids she coached…I could go on and on. She was beloved.
There are parts of this story that reveal “all hope is lost” moments (and not just Grace’s). This is the hopelessness that can accompany life’s messy episodes. What I hope is “gained” is pretty simple, really: it’s nothing more than coming to terms with the inescapable fact that life gets messy at times. And that’s OK.
SALSA – When the film is made and released, what do you believe the audience will take from it?
KRIS – Don’t fear being human. That’s it, really. Beyond that, there’s no intentionality or agenda motivating takeaways or lessons learned.
“How we see ourselves is the foundation for our values, our choices, our relationships with each other, and our relationship with the rest of nature,” is something I read recently. That sentence feels profound to me and speaks volumes about this story.
Everyone will experience the film and Grace’s story differently. Most of us have been touched by either disease, failed relationships, depression, etc. Grace’s story is complicated but it was an authentic life — rising above the dark moments and the threshold guardians with indomitable will and courage. Two of Grace’s favorite mantras were, “Find a way,” and “To finish is to win.” She would often remark, “I’m just Grace.” It’s a pretty wonderful recipe for life, if you ask me.
SALSA – What are the major challenges and rewards you’ve experienced while working on this film?
KRIS – I’ll start with rewards. The fact that Grace’s family and Steve Justice (the co-author of Divide By One: A Memoir) have entrusted me with Grace’s story is such a privilege. It’s not an easy story to tell, but I feel honored to have the opportunity.
At this point in production, nothing brings me more happiness than seeing Grace’s bike (a 2018 Salsa Cutthroat Rival) back out on the Great Divide MTB Route. Grace’s family has graciously allowed us to use her bike, helmet, clothes, and the bikepacking gear she had on her TD ride. This allows us to be super accurate with the reenactment scenes. Every time her bike is involved in a shoot, I feel like Grace is somewhere, looking down at us, with a big smile on her face. Believe it or not, she most often manages to make her presence known. It sounds crazy, but it’s true (trust me on this, I have stories :) ).
The greatest challenge at the moment is that I’m currently wearing too many hats. To date, I’ve self-funded the project, so I’m being as conservative as possible with budgeting our most immediate needs. But it’s a lot of hats: directing, producing, editing, managing our crowdfunding campaign, et al. I’ll resist the temptation to go on. But I believe so strongly in the power of Grace’s story that I’m willing to pour all of me into this effort.
SALSA – Final question: As an independent filmmaker, would you tell us what your days are like trying to fundraise, plan, and do all the stuff we aren’t even aware of in an attempt to complete “Grace & The Great Divide”?
KRIS – How much space do I have to answer that question? :) I think my answer to the previous question pretty much covers it. Let’s just say I could use more time on my bike. I’m currently most consumed with the crowdfunding campaign. We hope folks will watch the teaser, see the power in Grace’s story and consider chipping in. If you’re not in a position to donate, we hope you will consider helping us spread the word. However you choose to help, we want you to know you’re going to have a hand in bringing a truly special project to fruition.
The film’s budgeting needs will ultimately require significant funding. We took a similar path with our film, “Revival: The Sam Bush Story”. Just like we’ve done with Grace’s story, we made a teaser/sizzle reel. An executive producer watched it, loved it, and came on board to fund the project. Revival earned four “best” documentary awards on the indie circuit and was a Top-10 Best Seller on Amazon following its commercial premiere. I don’t say that to boast, but rather to let our contributors know their donations are entrusted to a team of experienced and committed filmmakers.
I should mention our crowdfunding campaign offers corporate sponsorship opportunities as well — starting at $1,000 up to Executive Producer roles. If you’re interested in those opportunities, please visit the campaign or email me for more info at liquidcoastfilms@gmail.com.
As you can see, there’s nothing glamorous about indie filmmaking. We’re working our tails off to make this happen. It requires a ton of personal sacrifice and hard work. But I love the purity of it all. Few things beat sitting in the back of a sold-out theater, watching as folks are being moved by the story you brought to that screen. I’ve been blessed to have that experience.
I think “Grace & The Great Divide” will be that kind of film. I mentioned it before and I’ll say it again: Grace’s story should be shared with the world. And I’m committed to making that happen. She deserves it.
If you’re interested in Grace’s incredible story, you can watch the teaser and donate to help bring the full film to life: https://bit.ly/3xIkeFX