The Man Who Cycled the Americas

jonginge
jonginge Posts: 5,945
edited May 2010 in Commuting chat
Just noticed the Mark Beaumont series starts tonight beeb 1 @ 10:35pm
FCN 2-4 "Shut up legs", Jens Voigt
Planet-x Scott
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Comments

  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    Nice catch!
    FCN 7/1
    Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,358
    That's past my bed time on a school night

    Iplayer it is
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • davis
    davis Posts: 2,506
    Lovely. Ta.
    Sometimes parts break. Sometimes you crash. Sometimes it’s your fault.
  • stuaff
    stuaff Posts: 1,736
    He's doing his show (about both the Americas ride and the circumnavigation) here in Pompey tomorrow night, might well go to that.
    Dahon Speed Pro TT; Trek Portland
    Viner Magnifica '08 ; Condor Squadra
    LeJOG in aid of the Royal British Legion. Please sponsor me at http://www.bmycharity.com/stuaffleck2011
  • Wrath Rob
    Wrath Rob Posts: 2,918
    Just turned this on and was going to post on here but you beat me to it. Had to laugh at the Americans who welcomed him in and then immediately had to pray for him
    FCN3: Titanium Qoroz.
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,064
    WheezyMcChubby wrote:
    That's past my bed time on a school night

    Iplayer it is

    Dude i'm only just getting home then, MTFU :P
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • metalmonkey
    metalmonkey Posts: 144
    That was awesome, enjoyed that!

    A few years ago when I was in the US, when i was working there in mounatins of NY my kids were like dude there is a bear up a tree. I'm like ok...

    So i walked outside to rear of the dining room to see two black bears. The mother bear was in the highest branch baby bear was lower down. We had several bear incidents that summer, that is the only time so far in my life I have chased by bear!

    Seeing actual wild animals in nature is one of the most awesome things ever! Its totally awesome, but this program is awesome too :D
  • wors
    wors Posts: 90
    go to see his show if you can, really good.
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    Damn - missed half of it. A bit crap what I saw though - just far too thinly spread. 1 hour to cover Alaska, Canada and mainland USA. Blink and you miss 5 states.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,064
    Thats all well and good but if he thinks he can turn up and join the SC stats he's very sadly mistaken :lol:
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,675
    just iPlayered it.

    Sweet.

    Mad man.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • Sewinman
    Sewinman Posts: 2,131
    I have been to that area and travelled about quite a bit - fair play to him because the distances are huge!

    I would love to know what is in his panniers bags - how many inner tubes does he take etc.
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,358
    itboffin wrote:
    WheezyMcChubby wrote:
    That's past my bed time on a school night

    Iplayer it is

    Dude i'm only just getting home then, MTFU :P


    You do know that you're allowed to head home before the last orders bell is rung.
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • mickbrown
    mickbrown Posts: 100
    Right that's decided it.

    I'm getting some butterfly bars
  • gert_lush
    gert_lush Posts: 634
    mickbrown wrote:
    Right that's decided it.

    I'm getting some butterfly bars

    2597741370_7ff5756e77.jpg
    :wink:
    FCN 8 mainly
    FCN 4 sometimes
  • solsurf
    solsurf Posts: 489
    Went and saw him speak on Saturday, What a great guy! In fact he made me feel like I should really give up everything up and do something useful. The comment I liked the most was "I'm not really a cyclist" If he's not a cyclist what the hell am I. :?

    If you get the chance go and see him.

    cheers,
    http://www.pogu.co.uk
  • jedster
    jedster Posts: 1,717
    I would love to know what is in his panniers bags - how many inner tubes does he take etc.

    I don't know if you saw the bit where he was moaning about getting a load of punctures - just had three in three days and was running out of tubes and patches but still a few hundred miles from a bike shop. His tyres looked a bit knackered and he swapped back to front to take the wear of the old back one.

    Thing is he was running the famously bomb-proof marathon pluses! Giving it some hammer.
  • roundthebend
    roundthebend Posts: 205
    What kind of format are his talks? Does he have a full on presentation about his adventures or is it more about his motivation to do such things? Or is it about the planning and preparation? Does he take questions from the audience?

    He's doing a couple of them quite near me and I fancy going along.
  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    itboffin wrote:
    Thats all well and good but if he thinks he can turn up and join the SC stats he's very sadly mistaken :lol:
    I was watching thinking how quick progression up the Stats board would be, doing something like that.

    Bit of a slow start - the bloke was supposed to cycling across America and here he is walking up a chuffing mountain. Get on with the biking man.
  • solsurf
    solsurf Posts: 489
    mostly about his adventures, and yes he is very generous with his time to talk to people.
    http://www.pogu.co.uk
  • Sewinman
    Sewinman Posts: 2,131
    jedster wrote:
    I would love to know what is in his panniers bags - how many inner tubes does he take etc.

    I don't know if you saw the bit where he was moaning about getting a load of punctures - just had three in three days and was running out of tubes and patches but still a few hundred miles from a bike shop. His tyres looked a bit knackered and he swapped back to front to take the wear of the old back one.

    Thing is he was running the famously bomb-proof marathon pluses! Giving it some hammer.

    Missed that bit. Just looked at his tour dates and he is not coming to London. :shock:
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,358
    Was he on one of those heavy,inefficient uncomfortable hybrids?
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • Agent57
    Agent57 Posts: 2,300
    solsurf wrote:
    Went and saw him speak on Saturday,
    If you get the chance go and see him.

    I had the chance on Saturday, since he was at The Platform in my home town (but you already know that). I didn't get a ticket though because I was at a Go-Ride conference in Leeds, and I didn't know what time I'd be getting back. Bah.
    MTB commuter / 531c commuter / CR1 Team 2009 / RockHopper Pro Disc / 10 mile PB: 25:52 (Jun 2014)
  • nick hanson
    nick hanson Posts: 1,655
    roundthebend wrote:
    What kind of format are his talks? Does he have a full on presentation about his adventures or is it more about his motivation to do such things? Or is it about the planning and preparation? Does he take questions from the audience?

    He's doing a couple of them quite near me and I fancy going along.
    Tell you what,pay up the money & go see him
    No point trying to find out too much beforehand
    Bit like asking everyone for their opinion on a book,it's storyline etc,then deciding if you will read it
    so many cols,so little time!
  • roundthebend
    roundthebend Posts: 205
    nick hanson wrote:
    roundthebend wrote:
    What kind of format are his talks? Does he have a full on presentation about his adventures or is it more about his motivation to do such things? Or is it about the planning and preparation? Does he take questions from the audience?

    He's doing a couple of them quite near me and I fancy going along.
    Tell you what,pay up the money & go see him
    No point trying to find out too much beforehand
    Bit like asking everyone for their opinion on a book,it's storyline etc,then deciding if you will read it

    That's a silly comment. :roll:
  • billiobob
    billiobob Posts: 3
    This is could have been a much more interesting tale with the superb scenery and the sheer distance covered but two things prevented it from being so. (1) Mark Beaumont and (2) Bill Patterson who does the commentary. Mark is a nice man but he is not very charismatic and the documentary has too much of his commentary such as talking about the shadow his bike makes on the other side of the road. Bill Patterson narrates as if any moment some disaster is going to happen and when it doesn't there is a sense of anticlimax. Maybe it will grow on me as I will continue to watch thanks to the wonders of Sky+.
  • roundthebend
    roundthebend Posts: 205
    billiobob wrote:
    This is could have been a much more interesting tale with the superb scenery and the sheer distance covered but two things prevented it from being so. (1) Mark Beaumont and (2) Bill Patterson who does the commentary. Mark is a nice man but he is not very charismatic and the documentary has too much of his commentary such as talking about the shadow his bike makes on the other side of the road. Bill Patterson narrates as if any moment some disaster is going to happen and when it doesn't there is a sense of anticlimax. Maybe it will grow on me as I will continue to watch thanks to the wonders of Sky+.

    Agreed. I watched Episode 1 last night (thanks to the wonders of V+ :wink: )

    We got a considerable amount of time dedicated to climbing Mt Mckinley which, as much as I love my mountains, wasn't why I was watching the programme. There wasn't enough time dedicated to showing the intriguing information like:

    - how he packs his kit onto the bike
    - what kit he carries
    - how he knows where he's going
    - how the filming is done
    - how the journey was planned - sponsorship?
    - what costs are involved (he stops to buy food and water, but who pays)
    - what aches/pains/illness does he have to endure
    - what his plans are should the bike get damaged beyond roadside repair


    Aside from that, let's see more of the spectacular scenery and less of the "interesting" people. I would have loved the guitar playing and the cowboy bit but not in a programme about cycling a long distance.
  • solsurf
    solsurf Posts: 489
    Kind of agree with the last 2 comments, Its a shame because his talk that I saw on Saturday was more of how he did it, sponsorship and his character really came out. I think for me the narrator really does ruin it for me. Mark is the opposite, the way he gave the talk he is both humble and very confident at the same time. If you get the chance to catch up with his tour its a good night out.
    http://www.pogu.co.uk
  • Stone Glider
    Stone Glider Posts: 1,227
    I enjoyed the programme but found the narration an irritant. A bit like that series they did on Yellowstone a while back. Brilliant photography superb scenery yet a narration so slow and ominous as to reduce me to tears of frustration. I could not watch it past the first episode.

    Why do these programmes have to emphasise the danger, risk, impending disaster at every turn? After a while the repetition dulls the effect, thereby diminishing the achievement. Better if they let the journey tell it's own storey.
    The older I get the faster I was
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,358
    Stone Glider wrote:
    I enjoyed the programme but found the narration an irritant. A bit like that series they did on Yellowstone a while back. Brilliant photography superb scenery yet a narration so slow and ominous as to reduce me to tears of frustration. I could not watch it past the first episode.

    Why do these programmes have to emphasise the danger, risk, impending disaster at every turn?     After a while the repetition dulls the effect, thereby diminishing the achievement. Better if they let the journey tell it's own storey.

    I believe its called jeopardy.

    Can't make a TV programme without it apparently
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!

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