"350 Miles... 7 Days... By Hand!"
Winner of 2005 Austin Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities Media Award
"350 Miles...7 Days...By Hand!" won the 2005 Austin Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities (AMCPD) Media Award. The AMCPD found the way the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities (CTD) raised awareness of the capabilities and will of people with disabilities through Mikail Davenport's 350 mile handcycle ultra marathon from South Padre to Austin very impressive. Diverse and extensive media coverage included TV, radio, print and internet. CTD used People First language in all media alerts and press releases. The images of Mikail dealing with physical exhaustion, heat, cold, rain, traffic and road construction are powerful and convey that his feat was at the limits of human capability, regardless of disability. In a glorious last mile up Congress Avenue to the State Capitol, kids with disabilities using racing wheelchairs and Mayor Will Wynn on his bike joined Mikail on the final leg of his journey. A crowd of over 200 welcomed the group, including multiple media outlets.
SPEAKERS
Mikail Davenport
Mikail Davenport and John Cates were the speakers for "350 Miles... 7 Days... By Hand!". Mikail, the man who made the 350 mile handcycle marathon talked about the trials and triumphs of the ride. He talked about his motivations for the ride and how successful he felt it was.
John Cates
John Cates, a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, is the man who filmed the ride itself. He talked about both the experience of the ride and the creation of the documentary. John accompanied Mikail throughout the ride. He filmed Mikail's travels from the coast to the capitol. John carefully selected some of the most dramatic moments of the ride to include in this documentary.
350 miles...7 Days...By Hand! (2005)
The story of Capitol Ride '05
In this documentary short, emerging Austin filmmaker John Cates chronicles the story of how polio and cancer survivor Mikail Davenport completed a phenomenal achievement, cycling 350 miles over the course of just seven days – without the use of his legs.
Davenport, 56, is a native Texan who contracted polio at age two. In 2002, doctors removed 1/3 of his lung due to cancer. He began hand cycling from South Padre Island on March 1, 2005, reaching the south steps of the State Capitol in Austin on March 8.
Cates shadowed Davenport on the grueling 350 mile trip that alternated between unrelenting heat and drenching rain storms, often shooting film from the back of a moving pickup truck. Cates examines why Davenport would attempt a feat at the limits of human capacity, culminating with the finishing stretch up Congress Avenue accompanied by kids in racing wheelchairs and Austin Mayor Will Wynn.
John Cates and Mikail Davenport spoke before the world premiere screening of “350 Miles…7 Days…By Hand!” at the Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival. More information on the Capitol Ride ’05 can be found at: www.cotwd.org/capride.html.
