By Brett DeNeve:
Whether it was a friend’s house, work, school, or a 400 mile tour to Cape Cod, Pearson Constantino chose to arrive at his destination via his bicycle. He was out for a ride one morning when an SUV hit him from behind and kept going. There were no witnesses to the incident. After two weeks of hospital care he just couldn’t get the thought of riding cross-country out of his head.
Directed and edited by Williamsville local Julia Wrona, this film tells the inspiring story of Pearson Constantino’s road to recovery after being a victim of a hit-and-run and how he chose to come back from the accident stronger than ever, spreading the word of cyclist-safe driving habits along his cross-country ride with his brother, Pete Constantino. The brothers traveled using Route 20 from Newport, Oregon to Cape Cod, Massachusetts passing through Orchard Park, by Ralph Wilson Stadium.
This documentary tells the tale of human resilience; a cyclist determined to achieve his dreams regardless of the forces out of his control and a brother who’s love is transcended through his never-swaying eyes, keeping watch on his brother with prayers of his injuries not coming back to haunt him throughout their journey.
The Long Bike Back is making its Buffalo Film Festival debut today at The Screening Room, located at 4524 Bailey Avenue.
Pearson has been tweeting about this film and seems genuinely excited to positively influence biker-safety education. The film’s Facebook features a recent post raving about Iowa’s recently passed law requiring drivers to change lanes when passing a bicyclist versus most states’ 3-feet requirement, hopefully paving the way for more states to take an initiative.
Aside from cyclist-related things, Pearson also tweeted a link to his avant garde, electronica, post-rock jazz alternative band, Lethal Injection, and their album titled “To (the worship of violence).” I apologize for the mouthful of genres but each of the fourteen tracks has its own feel to it, with a generous range of tonality within each track as well.
Pearson is featured on bass at times, guitar at others as well as the lead engineer on the project as he took it upon himself to re-vamp the entire release from its previous state, recorded in late August of last year in Brooklyn, NY, to what it is now. The cover art, taken by Julia Wrona, is a photograph of a worn-down white church in the middle of a dried-out field. I haven’t stopped listening to track nine, “Depolarization,” with track three, “Chapman’s Protocol of 1977” coming in at a close second place.
Pearson, consider the album downloaded and right at the top of my “distance run” playlist. I may not bike avidly, but I can definitely relate to the endorphin flood.
You can check out The Long Bike Back’s website here. Or Facebook.
Check out the trailer below…