Cycling topic coming soon on BBC4

Marky

Has this been covered before in Bike Radar forums? Sorry if it already has.

Coming during the next month, I believe, are a couple of BBC4 programs covering cycling around Britain. So it'll be available online via BBC iplayer as well as TV of course.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/comingup/britain-by-bike/

Looking forward to it.

Brian-Mc

This is due to be aired on 20th July at 8.30pm
It features an interview with my Grandmother, who knew Harold Briercliffe and his wife Mamie really well. My Gran has a real history around cycling being one of the founder members of Hitchin Nomads CC, working as a cycle mechanic for many years and competing in many TT and road races despite having broken her back at a young age. She kept cycling up till only a few years ago and recently celebrated her 93rd Birthday, yet still can recount pre-warcycling stories of rides to the Isle of Wight and back in a day, and Marshalling a feed station for 24 hours during National Championships.
She's been watching the live footage of Le Tour every day and I hope that i still have half the passion for cycling that she does if i ever get close to that age!

dilemna

Brian-Mc wrote:

This is due to be aired on 20th July at 8.30pm
It features an interview with my Grandmother, who knew Harold Briercliffe and his wife Mamie really well. My Gran has a real history around cycling being one of the founder members of Hitchin Nomads CC, working as a cycle mechanic for many years and competing in many TT and road races despite having broken her back at a young age. She kept cycling up till only a few years ago and recently celebrated her 93rd Birthday, yet still can recount pre-warcycling stories of rides to the Isle of Wight and back in a day, and Marshalling a feed station for 24 hours during National Championships.
She's been watching the live footage of Le Tour every day and I hope that i still have half the passion for cycling that she does if i ever get close to that age!

I am full of respect for your grandmother and her fascinating story of involvement in cycling throughout her life, but in all honesty this will be another of those BBC programmes that treats cycling as a fringe crank activity and a sport for nutters who love to punish themselves. Away from this there is a really nasty tone from the BBC when it comes to featuring cycling as a regular means of transport and they seem to go out of their way to promote those who are advocates of "They (cyclists) shouldn't be on the roads, run 'em off it!" mantra such as Jeremy Clarkson or that dipsh1t James Martin who advised to run us down or that other scrote at the BBC that was recently mentioned on here for derogatory comments toward cyclists. The BBC always reports collisions where cyclists have been involved as likely being the cyclists' faults then allowing DM nutters to rant in comments that we don't pay "road tax" so shouldn't be allowed to use the road, we deserve everything we get, etc, etc.

I shan't be watching or listening to this programme.

Wooliferkins

I doubt it dilemna, going on the "Ramblings" series that Claire Balding presents. She certainly presents walking and the outdoors in a balanced way. Mark Beaumont wasn't presented as a crank in either of his series. The only one that comes to mind was the "reality" series where the Tarquins and Jocastas thought they could get a novice through RAAM. I thought that was unfair on the guy and the RAF team. (I think that may have been C4 though)

Top Gear is a lighthearted, blokey show for petrol heads you can hardly be surprised/outraged by what you get. Imagine a similar format with cycling. Hybrids and trikes would blown up every other week, riders who wore rainbow jerseys derided and fakengers slated weekly.

dilemna

Wooliferkins wrote:

I doubt it dilemna, going on the "Ramblings" series that Claire Balding presents. She certainly presents walking and the outdoors in a balanced way. Mark Beaumont wasn't presented as a crank in either of his series. The only one that comes to mind was the "reality" series where the Tarquins and Jocastas thought they could get a novice through RAAM. I thought that was unfair on the guy and the RAF team. (I think that may have been C4 though)

Top Gear is a lighthearted, blokey show for petrol heads you can hardly be surprised/outraged by what you get. Imagine a similar format with cycling. Hybrids and trikes would blown up every other week, riders who wore rainbow jerseys derided and fakengers slated weekly.

TG is not light hearted. There are thousands of ignorant knuckle draggers who watch the show who cannot distinguish between supposed humour and behaving in an anti-social or dangerous life threatening manner when they are driving their vehicles. The BBC needs to adopt a much better attitude to road safety which would mean censuring the idiots on Top Gear or the dipstick James Martin when they make idiotic comments inciting motons to run down cyclists.

Pross

Are there? I'm not sure who they are then - everyone I know who watches it treats it as light entertainment. I think you may be setting the audience to fit your own prejudices there! The BBC have covered quite a lot of cycling recently from the Sport Relief JOGLE to the World Track Champs and Road Race.

Bunneh

I love TopGear and fully understand the hunour side of it but I can believe that there are some knuckle draggers (which is a brilliant term) who will take it literal. There was a load of complaints about the caravan burning down, which was a set piece and even I saw that as a bit of fun. Sadly some people are a little dim and can't always connect the dots.

dilemna

Pross wrote:

Are there? I'm not sure who they are then - everyone I know who watches it treats it as light entertainment. I think you may be setting the audience to fit your own prejudices there! The BBC have covered quite a lot of cycling recently from the Sport Relief JOGLE to the World Track Champs and Road Race.

Oh just give up ........

Cleat Eastwood

dilemna wrote:

make idiotic comments inciting motons .

I want to be a moton. How do I become one?

plowmar

Errrr just a thought but how about watching it and then pulling it apart .

Cleat Eastwood

Brian-Mc wrote:

This is due to be aired on 20th July at 8.30pm
It features an interview with my Grandmother, who knew Harold Briercliffe and his wife Mamie really well. My Gran has a real history around cycling being one of the founder members of Hitchin Nomads CC, working as a cycle mechanic for many years and competing in many TT and road races despite having broken her back at a young age. She kept cycling up till only a few years ago and recently celebrated her 93rd Birthday, yet still can recount pre-warcycling stories of rides to the Isle of Wight and back in a day, and Marshalling a feed station for 24 hours during National Championships.
She's been watching the live footage of Le Tour every day and I hope that i still have half the passion for cycling that she does if i ever get close to that age!

That is BRILLIANT, a belated happy cycling birthday to your amazing gran.

Mike67

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

dilemna wrote:

make idiotic comments inciting motons .

I want to be a moton. How do I become one?

Easy, you just need to be a moron who carnt spoll.

Either that or it's another sub-atomic particle they've discovered in Switzerland...for that you would need to break into the Hadron collider

Wooliferkins

And..............relax.

I will watch purely because i think it will be about cycle touring which i luuuurve. It relaxes me it's my personal cycling joy,and I try to keep my teddy in my carradice pannier. I guess I might be a bit inspired esp by B Mc's Gran. I guess you wouldn't have posted if you were displeased. It might be be best cycling programme;.............. in the world

STEFANOS4784

Bump, cheers for the tip

crumbschief

Super Gran,good to hear.

SteppenHerring

Re. Top Gear: Stewart Lee (who I like) tried to take on the Top Gear attitude of "it's only a joke". The papers took it badly. Article: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/news/a190205/stewart-lee-explains-richard-hammond-gag.html

As Al Murray the Pub Landlord illustrates, the knuckle dragging audience really can't tell the difference between someone making a joke of their opinions and someone confirming them.

Crapaud

Britain by Bike

What a load of amateurish bollox! More like a tourist information You Tube promo. And the bike was incidental. Vaccuous twaddle!

Le Commentateur

When I am touring through some glorious landscape, the bike does seem kind of incidental. It's being out there that is important, not what material the frame is made of, or what speed I can average up a 10 km climb.

northernneil

SteppenHerring wrote:

Re. Top Gear: Stewart Lee (who I like) tried to take on the Top Gear attitude of "it's only a joke". The papers took it badly. Article: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/news/a190205/stewart-lee-explains-richard-hammond-gag.html

As Al Murray the Pub Landlord illustrates, the knuckle dragging audience really can't tell the difference between someone making a joke of their opinions and someone confirming them.

to be fair to top gear the one time they featured a bike it was a race .... and the bike won easily
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBJaMzatz8o

sampurnell

I actually quite enjoyed this - it looks like a lovely ride along the north coast.
Brian-Mc, will there be more from your Nan? i enjoyed the interview but thought there would of been more footage of someone who knew and set up a cycle club with the gentleman who is writing the book the show is based on?

grammar nazis should enjoy that last attempted sentance!

Also Crapaud, wtf are you talking about? the book this is based on is a CYCLE TOURISM BOOK, also its presented by Clare Balding - do you expect her to don a skinsuit and do the whole thing in on stint on a full TT rig?

Crapaud

sampurnell wrote:

... Also Crapaud, wtf are you talking about? the book this is based on is a CYCLE TOURISM BOOK, ...

Thankfully, I was aware of that as I'd never have known because there was so little about it in the programme.

sampurnell wrote:

... also its presented by Clare Balding - do you expect her to don a skinsuit and do the whole thing in on stint on a full TT rig?

I'd expect her to present it in an informative and engaging manner, neither of which she did. They should've given it to Nick Crane or Adam Hart-Davis. Balding was censored .

deptfordmarmoset

The Scottish chap who presented Coast (sorry, I've forgotten his name) would have been a far better presenter for this - more energetic, a much deeper historical perspective and he would look more like a cyclist. He might even have tackled a few hills on screen....

EDIT: Thanks Google, it's Neil Oliver...

amaferanga

It was absolute drivel.

Brian-Mc

sampurnell wrote:

I actually quite enjoyed this - it looks like a lovely ride along the north coast.
Brian-Mc, will there be more from your Nan? i enjoyed the interview but thought there would have been more footage of someone who knew and set up a cycle club with the gentleman who is writing the book the show is based on?

Hopefully there will be Sam. My Gran was interviewed for a good few hours and had loads of stories to tell of Harold and cycling from pre-war to pretty much today.

beverick

amaferanga wrote:

It was absolute drivel.

It was pretty poor stuff. I only found it interesting because we stayed in Lynmouth in June. Lynmouth has to be one of the prettiest settings in the country and the valley of the rocks is a stunning place.

The guy's reaction when CB mentioned she was going to Ilfracombe was amusing. The uninformed wouldn't have read anything into his response but those who know the town would have translated it immediately into "Why on earth do you want to go to that sh*thole....".

Bob

Le Commentateur

Just watching it now on iPlayer.

I'm thinking that Clare Balding's vocal style at the beginning is trying too hard to emulate Julia Bradbury, whose two Wainwright Walks series were very popular.

Think I'd prefer JB on the bike, but I guess you can't have everything.

Le Commentateur

Actually the whole structure is very like the Wainwright programs. I wonder if the same production company was involved?

shouldbeinbed

dilemna wrote:

Wooliferkins wrote:

I doubt it dilemna, going on the "Ramblings" series that Claire Balding presents. She certainly presents walking and the outdoors in a balanced way. Mark Beaumont wasn't presented as a crank in either of his series. The only one that comes to mind was the "reality" series where the Tarquins and Jocastas thought they could get a novice through RAAM. I thought that was unfair on the guy and the RAF team. (I think that may have been C4 though)

Top Gear is a lighthearted, blokey show for petrol heads you can hardly be surprised/outraged by what you get. Imagine a similar format with cycling. Hybrids and trikes would blown up every other week, riders who wore rainbow jerseys derided and fakengers slated weekly.

TG is not light hearted. There are thousands of ignorant knuckle draggers who watch the show who cannot distinguish between supposed humour and behaving in an anti-social or dangerous life threatening manner when they are driving their vehicles. The BBC needs to adopt a much better attitude to road safety which would mean censuring the idiots on Top Gear or the dipstick James Martin when they make idiotic comments inciting motons to run down cyclists.

In defence of this rant (I hate the term motons, you put yourself into clarkson martin category with that, what silly name are are we to them? cycretins, bikunts?)

Some baddy from Hollyoaks got their head kicked in round here recently by someone unable to distinguish acting (well, being in hollyoaks) from reality.

the bloke that drove Gail Tildsley into the canal got grief on the streets and Tony Blair stood up in the house of commons and made a comment about the Coronation Street 1 when Derdrie Barlow was in prison.

most of us know the difference but there are people out there that for whatever reason blur the lines.