HotHouse Theatre presents Brink Productions. “Life is short, but the Tour de France is long … and hilariously painful!’’ Over 200 years ago a volcano erupts over Indonesia spreading an ash cloud all the way to Europe. In a moment of inspiration after the death of his horse, inventor Karl Von Drais devises a two-wheeled, man-powered mode of transport, the humble bicycle. Flash forward to the present day where you meet Hew, an aspiring cyclist stuck in a rut of dead-end jobs and missed opportunities. He harbours a pathological envy of his successful high school friend, Jake, now a professional cyclist. The story of Hew runs parallel with that of two-time Tour de France champion Gino Bartali, who risked his life during WWII to secretly transport documents to save Jewish people in Northern Italy. A chain of uphill battles, twists and turns leads to a most unlikely meeting on a mountain. Written by and starring Hew Parham, this gem of a show weaves together a series of outrageous characters and stories across time and space in an absurdly hysterical, yet ultimately moving portrait of the quest for glory and heroism.