AllMovie

Bill Roulston is a middle-aged divorcee with an eighteen-year-old son, Nico. Bill and his ex-wife split up when Nico was only eight, and the divorce was ugly and contentious, driving a wedge between father and son that left wounds that have yet to heal. Wanting to mend fences with his son as he entered adulthood, Bill suggested that they take some time off and go on a bicycle trip, covering the 4,000 miles from Washington state to New York City using pedal power. Nico warily agrees, but he's never ridden more than ten miles at a stretch, and though Bill is a more enthusiastic cyclist, he's never been on a bike trip that lasted more than a day. Bill and Nico were joined by a small camera crew, and Dreamriders is a documentary Bill directed about their journey, focusing on the sometimes troubled but powerful relationship between father and son as well as the rigors of the journey and the beauty (and the mishaps) they encountered en route. Dreamriders was an official selection at the 2008 Sheffield International Documentary Festival.