Denver Filmmaker Chronicles Veterans Healing Through Cycling

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<p>(Michael de Yoanna/CPR News)</p>

"The pit of despair" is how Michael de Yoanna describes the countless stories he heard from veterans about the wounds of war: PTSD, depression and suicide have taken terrible tolls. De Yoanna, who lives in Denver and is also a producer and reporter for Colorado Matters, says he wanted to find a more hopeful angle to tell these stories. That's when he learned about veterans healing through cycling.

These wounded soldiers became the subject of his new documentary, "Recovering." It won two awards recently at the Trinidad Independent Film Festival, and circulates to several other festivals in the United States, as well as abroad, later this year. It screens in Salida on Saturday at the SteamPlant Event Center. De Yoanna spoke with Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner.