New Documentary Follows Father-Son Bike Trip from St. Louis to Chicago, Exploring Black Health Inequities Along the Journey

Bike Vessel premieres Monday, February 24 at 9:00 pm on WTTW and is available to stream via the PBS app.

Eric D. Seals’ father, Donnie, Sr., had one request for his son when he proposed making a documentary about his health journey.

“He was like, ‘You’re not going to be having me out here looking stupid?’ I said, ‘I’m only going to put content in the film that’s going to benefit the story and hopefully change somebody’s life. Now, if you look stupid while you do that, then that’s fine with me,’” Seals recalls with a laugh.

Eric is the director, editor, and one of the subjects of a new documentary, Bike Vessel, premiering on February 24 at 9:00 pm on WTTW. The documentary follows Eric and Donnie Sr., as they embark on an ambitious 350-mile bike ride from St. Louis to Chicago in just 4 days. 

The ride marked the five-year anniversary of when Donnie, Sr. bought a bicycle to improve his health. Some 20 years prior, Donnie, Sr. suffered a heart attack and almost died, and had three subsequent open-heart surgeries in the following years. He developed a love of bicycling, with Eric often accompanying him on his rides. The film is at once a family story, a sports documentary, and an exploration of the healthcare inequities Black men face.

WTTW spoke to Eric D. Seals about the film.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. 

How did you get the idea for this film? Did the idea for the bike ride or for the film come first?

Eric D. Seals: The film came first and it actually wasn’t a film at all. My wife likes to play tennis and my dad found out and he said, “I can hit the ball back to you,” because he loved playing tennis back in the day. I decided to bring my camera. I do a lot of home videos since my dad doesn’t do them anymore. I showed him the footage with no inkling of what was going to happen next. But he just got super depressed when I showed him the footage. And he’s like, “Man, I haven’t seen myself on camera in a long time. I need to go make a change. I’m going to go buy a bike tomorrow.” And I'm like, that sounds like a horrible idea! You’ve had three open heart surgeries. I don't think getting a bike is probably the next best move. He decided he was going to do it anyway because he's hard-headed like me. 

He started working at it. He would call me every day. He said, “I can barely get around the block.” At this point, I’m still not thinking about a documentary. But it got to the point where I started getting inspired myself. So I started telling people about what I’m doing. And they’re like, “Oh, you should make a full story out of that!”  I decided to start riding with him as well because he started riding at 65 at the time. And I was in my mid-30s, and I needed to change my life. Otherwise, I’m gonna fall victim to those same health issues. And so that’s when I said, OK, I’m going to make a full project out of this. I knew that his story was unique at the time. 

A ride like this is a huge physical feat. What were some of the mental challenges in training for and doing a ride like this?

Seals: As a filmmaker and a participant in this film, it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done; don't ask me for a part two. The amount of energy that I put into this as a filmmaker is everything that I have. When we were on the trip, we had about 10 people with us in two different vehicles. And I had to actually do the ride on top of working with my father. My dad and I were actually very close. But we’re also the same person, which means that when we argue or bump heads, we’re arguing with ourselves. Thankfully for the trip, we didn’t have any big altercations as a father and son. But definitely during the training, we fell short.

The actual riding, riding four consecutive days for 10 to 12 hours – the physical was hard, but the mental was the hardest part because you’re just riding all day and you’re bored. We wouldn’t talk that much either because that expends energy. I started my day with interviews. I ended my day with interviews. So I had to switch my brain and go into director mode and work with my crew, who was incredible. They did an amazing job. But on day three when I ended up getting all those [flat tires], I was like, I quit. I literally told my dad, “This has been cute. This has been fun, but I’m done. I can’t do this anymore.” The only reason I kept going is because my dad was like, “Well, I’m not quitting. Are you going to let me ride by myself?” I’m like, “Damn, I’m not!” So we definitely leaned on each other at different times throughout the ride.  

You say in the documentary that one of your biggest hurdles was working on teamwork and cooperation with your dad. What did you learn about your dad throughout filming? 

Seals: He’s super competitive! I knew he was competitive, but he’s just overly competitive. He doesn’t want to be seen as the weak person. He doesn’t care when we’re out riding that he’s had three open heart surgeries. When he’s riding with a group, he doesn’t like anybody to slow down to stay back with him. He doesn’t like anybody to feel sorry for him. He’s just like, treat me like any other person that’s riding that hasn’t had the same ailment that I have. 

This is my first time interviewing him about what he went through in his early 40s and 50s. As a family and as a son, I've never sat down and said, “Dad, how did you feel during that time? What were you going through?” As a family, we got a lot closer because this is the first time I sat down and asked questions. I didn’t think about my mom being a third grade school teacher, essentially carrying the household at that point when my dad was out of work. It opened up a door to a lot of healing that we didn’t know we needed.  

In addition to being a family story and a sports documentary, this film is about health inequities that Black men face. During filming, your dad also lost his sister. What do you want viewers to take away about inequities in health?  

Seals: I grew up in a middle-class household, and we still weren’t eating the best and having the best health conversations. It’s not just an economic thing. It’s also rooted in history – when we look at Black people and their connections to their family and soul food. We learned through some of our expert interviews [in the documentary] that some of the food that we ate was to consume a lot of calories so that slaves could stay on the field longer. So if I can take a single piece of meat, and then I put breading on it and fry it, that’s going to raise the caloric intake of it. So you pass that down from generation to generation. My grandmother, hearing that we don’t eat red meat in this family anymore or we don’t drink two percent milk, she was like, “What are you talking about? Why would you do that?” That’s not just my family. That’s many families. 

What does your dad think about the film?

Seals: When I showed him the first cut, he said, “OK, you didn’t make me look stupid.” I guess that’s a compliment! But in general, he loves it now because when we did our film festival run, we couldn’t get him out of the theater because there were so many people who were either starting their journey because of the movie or already on their journey. That’s what it was all about. If this dude is 70, and he can make it, then damn near all of us can make it if we try. 

What do you hope people take away from Bike Vessel?

Seals: First, I’m taking it from one of the doctors: It’s not too late. If you’re above ground, it’s not too late. Second, We really learned through my dad’s story that it doesn’t have to be cycling. It can be ballroom dancing. It can be pickleball. It can be tennis. It can be walking. Anything that’s going to get you out of the house and it's something that you enjoy is a win. He chose cycling. But for you, whatever it is, find your vessel. And that’s why we call it Bike Vessel, because his vessel to better health was a bike. But for somebody else, it might be another thing. The third thing would be the power of what you ingest is more powerful than any exercise you can ever do.