See the Film “Able.” at Free Cycles, Featuring Missoula Paralympian Meg Fisher

I met Meg Fisher years ago in a bike shop in Missoula. We only met briefly but in that short time, I could already tell she was funny and full of the kind of spark that makes a person stand out on their own merits.

Years later I'm excited to share that she's been featured in a documentary film that will premiere at Free Cycles.

But if you're not familiar with Fisher, you'll probably be as impressed as filmmaker Gretchen Powers was after meeting her for the first time.

"Immediately I was kind of like, wow, this woman is really awesome. But I didn't know a whole bunch about her story. So I go home that night and look her up and I'm like, holy cow, this woman has four Paralympic medals," Powers said. 

Then she learned that Fisher was planning to complete the LeadBoat challenge, a grueling race that mashes up hundreds of miles of mountain biking and gravel riding in back-to-back events. And if she completed the race, she'd be the first paracyclist to do it.

That was a story Powers wanted to tell.

Powers followed Fisher for 72 hours straight, doing her best to "leapfrog" Fisher as she drove along in her car. "It was a lot of driving and then waiting and then driving and a lot of hurry up and wait." 

But just as an athletic event like this required Fisher to acclimate to the elevation in Colorado, Powers had to acclimate to the environment, too.

"The entire race happens I think above 10,000 feet so it's quite high and as a filmmaker, you have to take that into account. My body is also operating at that altitude and hiking my gear up single-track trail, I got a lot more winded than I would have," Powers said. "I do a lot of cycling myself and I'm a pretty active person. I like to joke that I'm training so that I can be really, really good at my job, not so much so that I can go out and race." 

Powers also shared how Fisher's career inspired her to make the film as well.

"She's gone to the Paralympics twice. She already has all these accolades for being an incredible cyclist. And to watch her pivot her career as she retired from the national team after Rio and is now, chasing down these things. Her mission and her motto is really to try to show people that they're capable of more than they know. This idea that, if I can do it, anyone can do it. 

"I think I was really excited to capture a very intimate portrayal of what it looks like and what goes into the behind-the-scenes of preparing for an event like this. You know, that it's not just showing up at the start line."  

One of the last pieces of the film to come together was the title, "Able." Powers shared that it came from a place of wanting people to see this story and understand that we're all capable of more than we know.

You can watch Fisher's journey as filmed by Powers in the film "Able." on Thursday, July 25 at 7:30 pm at Free Cycles in Missoula. The film will be followed by a Q&A.