Plot
Sports physician Marcus Sommers (Costner) persuades his younger brother David (Grant) to come with him and train for a bicycle race across the Rocky Mountains, called "The Hell of the West". However, there is a history of cerebral aneurysm in their family (which killed their father).
The two brothers have gone in very different directions. Marcus, already alienated from their mother, is suffering from symptoms of a cerebral aneurysm, and the condition may now be affecting David as well.
The first half of the film focuses on the family's history and background of the plot. Realizing they may not have much time left, the two brothers, along with Marcus' girlfriend Sarah (Chong), embark on a cross country journey to the bicycle race in Colorado. Along the way, David picks up a beautiful, hippie hitchhiker named Becky (Paul). While training during the trip, the brothers have an impromptu bikes vs. horses race, and the group has run-ins with old cycling buddies.
The second half of the film focuses on the three stage race. Set in the Colorado Rockies with mountain and prairie backdrops, the brothers compete against the world's top cyclists on dangerous courses at break-neck speeds. Marcus, intending to hide his condition from his brother, eventually suffers an aneurysm and falls out of the race. David faces a dilemma: to quit and look after his family, or continue and try to defy the odds and win the race. To do that, David will have to conquer one of the toughest stages of the race, the "Tour of the Moon" at Colorado National Monument.
Read more about this topic: American Flyers
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“The plot was most interesting. It belonged to no particular age, people, or country, and was perhaps the more delightful on that account, as nobody’s previous information could afford the remotest glimmering of what would ever come of it.”
—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)
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