At the 2019 Bucks County Classic we were working with filmmaker Ryan Canney of Riverbank Creative to make a short film about the athletes competing for the Bike Works p/b Fred Beans Cycling Team. Chris Baccash of Doylestown had his best ever result that day, but a few short weeks later was diagnosed with brain cancer and underwent surgeries and treatment at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Ryan and Chris were high school classmates at CB East, and Ryan documented the time of Chris' treatment and subsequent recovery. During that time Chris set a goal of completing America's hardest mountain bike race, the Lifetime Leadville 100 Trail Mountain Bike Race. Chris was sponsored for the race by the Challenged Athlete Foundation, joined by teammates Jason Wood, Chris Meacham, and Dr. Robert Riesenberger in that endeavor. With the support of Giant Bicycles USA, GoPro, Capella Fahoome, and our bike community we created the film Mountains We Climb to tell this story of healing and hope. The film premiered in Doylestown's iconic County Theater in 2021 as a selected entry of the international Bicycle Film Festival. It was the first event at the theater following the Covid pandemic mitigation.

The film has since been selected and screened at the Southside Film Festival, the Garden State Film Festival, and the New Hope Film Festival. Mountains We Climb was awarded "Best of Show" at the 2023 Bucks Fever Film Festival. It seemed surrendipitous that the film closed out it's film festival run right back at Doylestown's County Theater and went out a winner. The film was also shown through the Outside+ streaming service.

Since the film Chris has left his previous career to complete a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in their Positive Psychology Program. He teaches math at a small private academy in Doylestown and speaks in corporate and health care settings about using the film and experience to impact the lives of others. Mike Maney and Brian Boger interviewed Chris on our "Bald Guys on Bikes" video podcast below to catch up on all Chris' news.

We are so happy to finally make Mountains We Climb open to public viewing. We'll forever be grateful to everyone who helped us make this program possible and provided support along the way, with a special note to our friends, sponsors, and teammates through the Bike Works shops, the Bike Works p/b Fred Beans Cycling Team, and our Bucks County cycling community. We hope you enjoy the film!