‘Shift’ captures a more human side of annual bicycle ride in Iowa

Instead of a rolling week-long party without Uber, it’s a place where riders meet new friends, experience resets and learn plenty about themselves – a tall order, considering most seem like they just want to have fun.

Directed by Courtney Crowder and Kelsey Kremer, the Des Moines Register documentary focuses on a handful of people who have embraced the ride and emerged richer for it.

Among the group: Torie Giffin, a Colorado resort owner who takes her son Daniel on the ride while he’s going through chemotherapy; Adam Lineberry, a recovering opioid addict who’s raising money to build a rehab center; Dayna Chandler, a veteran rider who wants to make cycling safe for women of color; and Andrew Boddicker and Ian Zahren, a Lansing, Iowa, couple who co-chair their community’s committee and demonstrate how great a small town can be.

For veteran riders, “Shift” is a smart look at the RAGBRAI they may have missed. For newcomers, it’s a primer of sorts about that crazy bike ride through Iowa during the hottest days of summer. Veteran columnist Chuck Offenburger provides a bit of background at the start of the film (RAGBRAI celebrates its 50th this year), then yields the road to those people in the mix.

While you do get to see some of the craziness in towns along the route, “Shift” doesn’t focus on the goofiness that tends to define the ride. It’s more interested in the people.

Crowder and Kremer get beautiful shots of hundreds of bikers rolling across the state, but they also get those up close-and-personal moments with their subjects. Daniel, for example, is called a cheater because he’s using an e-bike. When social media details his story, Iowa responds in an overwhelming way and shows just how welcoming the state can be.

“RAGBRAI reveals your character or builds your character,” Chandler says.

It’s a telling assessment that suggests all is not one big party. As you see Chandler introduce herself to others, you get a sense of the isolation someone can feel among thousands of participants. When you meet Lineberry and his son Liam you discover a mission that exercises more than muscles.

In Lansing, Zahren and Boddicker reveal the work that goes into getting a stop ready for the masses. They also show how a community reacts to a same-sex couple and how stereotypes don’t have to thrive.

While it’s much shorter than a day on RAGBRAI (it’s less than an hour), “Shift” offers a slice of goodness to those who may have misjudged the Iowa tradition. It’s also the best stop on the route that doesn’t offer a piece of pie.