Need track for new BBC documentary
Andrew.BBC
Posts: 4
Hello adrenaline-junkies,
I'm working for the BBC on a new documentary, which will show how human beings have adapated the planet to sustain 7 billion people. In part of the doc we will describe how roads have sped up our development by providing quicker and easier ways to travel.
To make this simple idea more exciting we are going to stage a race between our presenter and a professional mountain biker. Our presenter will take the road on his own bicycle and (hopefully!) beat the pro mountain biker who will be off-road.
I'm looking for a UK-based track in which we could shoot this scene, and I was wondering if the people on this forum, who have some experience of the tracks, can recommend anywhere. We want to make the scene as exciting as possible, so the off-road element should have some twists, turns, jumps etc. It also needs to have the road running close by the track to make it a proper race.
Hopefully you get an idea of what we're trying to do. If it's unclear, just ask me some questions and I'll give you some more information. The shooting will take place between now and June so the tracks will have to be open at some point during this time.
Any information you can provide me will be valuable.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Best,
Andrew
P.S. I was going to cross-post this thread into the forum focused on tracks and rides. Does this abide by forum rules?
I'm working for the BBC on a new documentary, which will show how human beings have adapated the planet to sustain 7 billion people. In part of the doc we will describe how roads have sped up our development by providing quicker and easier ways to travel.
To make this simple idea more exciting we are going to stage a race between our presenter and a professional mountain biker. Our presenter will take the road on his own bicycle and (hopefully!) beat the pro mountain biker who will be off-road.
I'm looking for a UK-based track in which we could shoot this scene, and I was wondering if the people on this forum, who have some experience of the tracks, can recommend anywhere. We want to make the scene as exciting as possible, so the off-road element should have some twists, turns, jumps etc. It also needs to have the road running close by the track to make it a proper race.
Hopefully you get an idea of what we're trying to do. If it's unclear, just ask me some questions and I'll give you some more information. The shooting will take place between now and June so the tracks will have to be open at some point during this time.
Any information you can provide me will be valuable.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Best,
Andrew
P.S. I was going to cross-post this thread into the forum focused on tracks and rides. Does this abide by forum rules?
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Doubt anyone will mind, but if you want some unmentionable suggestions, put it in Crudcatcher as well.I don't do smileys.
There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda
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Parktools0 -
Nant Gwrtheyrn? Not sure how long it would take to ride down the road compared to the downhill track, but they run side by side, and the road is pretty new/in good condition, the downhill is pretty gnarly/steep and has some jumps etc at the bottom. Could be good. Or maybe Cwmcarn? Dunno what the road there is like though.0
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ilovedirt wrote:Nant Gwrtheyrn? Not sure how long it would take to ride down the road compared to the downhill track, but they run side by side, and the road is pretty new/in good condition, the downhill is pretty gnarly/steep and has some jumps etc at the bottom. Could be good. Or maybe Cwmcarn? Dunno what the road there is like though.
Cwmcarn would not work really as the road is long, the DH is short.
HOWEVER
Road vs XC from picnic area (Car Park1) down to the entrance of the scenic drive in reverse ( both road and trail) would be pretty good camera, the trail crosses the road too on switchback (not good in the summer though as you would not be able to get roadie and MTB in shot due to foliage) but could be pretty epic of done right, especially if MTB and roadie were actually on a head on collision during the road crossing, which they easily could be.0 -
well..
Cannock chase has a few trails that run along side the road.. and intertwine...Always remember.... Wherever you go, there you are.
Ghost AMR 7500 2012
De Rosa R8380 -
Barry knows best in the Surrey hills. Track with a road above and below. Nice DH with berms, jumps etc.A Flock of Birds
+ some other bikes.0 -
I really, really can't help but ask who the presenter will be, and when the documentary will be out. I'm quite nosy/or enthusiastic for documentary's0
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benpinnick wrote:Barry knows best in the Surrey hills. Track with a road above and below. Nice DH with berms, jumps etc.
Shame it's not Top Gear. Good place to test an Audi, apparently.0 -
The whole concept sounds really really dumb. Why doesn't your presenter do the both and find out which is toughest.Don't think, BE:0
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wobbem wrote:The whole concept sounds really really dumb. Why doesn't your presenter do the both and find out which is toughest.
Haha, that would be quite a presenter if he/she could do some fairly (from what it sounds) experienced stuff on a mtb. Jumps and drops and generally looking cool...0 -
Mam Tor down to Edale by road vs Mam Tor down to Edale off-road (starting at the top of the climb)
Not quite side by side but would be quite exiting and with stunning scenery with no trees to make filming difficult.
Edit: forgot the link - here
To be honest load of places in the Peak District would be good for this.0 -
What sort of distance are you looking at? Or what sort of time to complete the run?
There are a few like that round here. A short one would be
3.8 miles by road, around the local plantation
1.9 miles off-road, through the local plantation. Start/finish line is the same for both.
Another option would be to do the Isle of Man end2end route. It's one end of the island to the other, about 75km. A pro can do it in just under 3hrs. Most normal people are around 5hrs.
It's pretty easy to find a comparable road route that should give the desired result depending on how fit your presenter is.
Pretty much every different terrain you could imagine. Loads of good spots for a bit of action filming. They show the End2End on Sky sports every year, so there are plenty of graphics already circulating for the route. Greenlight would be the company to contact for that I think.
They're actually showing the End2End in a few weeks on sky if you want to see what it looks like.
Pic of the MTB route, you get the idea.
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surely if your using a professional mountain biker he should know somewhere you can use ?Specialized Hardrock Sport Disc 10- CANYON Nerve AM 6 20110
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Seem to remember a magazine doing something very similar not so long ago to do with commuting to work. Wasn't a proper trail as such but the same principle. Conclusion was as expected, road was faster but off road was far more fun!0
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TheNorthernTrain wrote:Seem to remember a magazine doing something very similar not so long ago to do with commuting to work. Wasn't a proper trail as such but the same principle. Conclusion was as expected, road was faster but off road was far more fun!
Yes, it was MBUK, a promo for Voodoo.
linky0 -
Hi,
I can recomend the new trail at Ashton Court. It has a very good flowing track with sections where the road run along side it around the edge of the course. The track was recently re-done so it in great condition.
BBC Bristol is also a few miles down the road, Don't know if that makes things easier for location selection?
See here http://www.betterbybike.info/sites/defa ... routes.jpg
Hope this helps0 -
If you were willing to make it a long-distance race, how about the South Downs Way? Not exactly radical, but it would probably prove the point you want to make about roads.0
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TG place is nearby, surprised they haven't tried yet. In fact, Car vs Mountain bike on Top Gear. Hmm, is this what we're talking about here?El Zomba wrote:benpinnick wrote:Barry knows best in the Surrey hills. Track with a road above and below. Nice DH with berms, jumps etc.
Shame it's not Top Gear. Good place to test an Audi, apparently.
Watch out Specialized owners if they ever do :P0 -
If I recall correctly, they raced one of the Athertons. Can't remember who won it though.0
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was gee a very young gee atherton and he won..
videowww.bearbackbiking.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrDelcol#play/uploads
hd vids
http://www.youtube.com/user/topasassin#play/uploads
http://www.vimeo.com/user2514116/videos0 -
If you fancy a wee foreign jolly, lots of big french road climbs have off road descents running more or less parallel. Col de Bales frinstance down to Luchon. Though the road rider would annihilate the offroad rider on most.Uncompromising extremist0
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Andrew, will the presenter be riding a road bike per chance?0
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Thanks for all the great information! I'll be researching all the locations you've given over the next few days.
supersonic - As our presenter will be using a flat road, I believe he will be using a road bike. Why do you ask?
Best Regards,
Andrew0 -
It seems that the BBC is pitching MTBing as an archaic way to travel, and the Road as the up to date fastest way. Which is true, it generally is the fastest way, but this misses the point - MTBing is sport and/or leisure activity, very few of us actually mountain bike as a way of getting from one place to another. The MTB hasn't a hope of winning if the MTB track is of a decent standard. My worry is that the programme, if not done correctly, could damage the image of the sport with the typical beeb viewer.
Most cycling we see on the BBC is road and track cycling, the latter of which very few in the country do, and both do not have as many as participate in MTBing for sport or leisure. While it would be nice to see more MTB on the tv, I am not sure this is the best way to do it. Does the BBC have any plans to show any MTB races this year? Given it is more popular than the other forms of cycling you show (as a sport)?
At least give the the presenter the same bike as the mountain biker! Let's not make it MTB vs Road bike, and push through what the bikes are designed for and the sport in general.0 -
Would be nice to see MTB represented as something other than an annoyance to walkers, locals and landowners too as it has been a lot in the press (inc the BBC). Though to be fair I did see coverage of Gawton on Country Tracks and was quite positive story even on the environmental aspects.0
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Andrew.BBC wrote:I'm working for the BBC on a new documentary, which will show how human beings have adapated the planet to sustain 7 billion people. In part of the doc we will describe how roads have sped up our development by providing quicker and easier ways to travel.
To make this simple idea more exciting we are going to stage a race between our presenter and a professional mountain biker. Our presenter will take the road on his own bicycle and (hopefully!) beat the pro mountain biker who will be off-road.
I fail to see how this relates to the ability of the planet to sustain 7 billion people?
I think if you want to show how roads have sped up our devlopment, you would do better to look at how transporting goods over rough tracks by horse & cart was slow and they got broken or went off (in the case of food) and how this method couldnt deal with mass transport. Then look at how canals initially solved many of those problems and started the industrial revolution which then made them redundant by creating railways and then roads.
How cycling down a road quicker than you can cycle off-road shows anthing relevant to roads helping to speed up development of the planet or increasing its ability to sustain lots of people escapes me. am I the only one that doesnt get it?
Still not really relevant to the topic, but at least more suitable as a comparison of progress, would be to show a horseback rider going cross country compared to a car on a road.
Would be a cool piece of footage to watch though.0 -
supersonic wrote:It seems that the BBC is pitching MTBing as an archaic way to travel, and the Road as the up to date fastest way. Which is true, it generally is the fastest way, but this misses the point - MTBing is sport and/or leisure activity, very few of us actually mountain bike as a way of getting from one place to another. The MTB hasn't a hope of winning if the MTB track is of a decent standard. My worry is that the programme, if not done correctly, could damage the image of the sport with the typical beeb viewer.
Most cycling we see on the BBC is road and track cycling, the latter of which very few in the country do, and both do not have as many as participate in MTBing for sport or leisure. While it would be nice to see more MTB on the tv, I am not sure this is the best way to do it. Does the BBC have any plans to show any MTB races this year? Given it is more popular than the other forms of cycling you show (as a sport)?
At least give the the presenter the same bike as the mountain biker! Let's not make it MTB vs Road bike, and push through what the bikes are designed for and the sport in general.
This is what i was getting at.Don't think, BE:0 -
Why not have 2 riders, mtb and roadie spec do both ie swap roles half way. .....Methinks I would know who would winDon't think, BE:0
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Supersonic - Thank you for your post. Our presenter is a keen cyclist, therefore would be really excited to include one of his own passions in the film. In this section of the programme we are looking to give a visual demonstration of how roads are generally much easier and faster to travel on than the natural landscape – whether that be through forests, over hills or across rivers. We are not suggesting that any form of travel which uses the natural landscape is old fashioned. We want to showcase off-road cycling as a challenging and skilled sport, one which we will feature as a professional undertaking. Our expectation is that the mountain biking sequence will be truly spectacular, heart in mouth stuff, and not denigrate the sport in any way.
I am afraid I do not know whether the BBC will be featuring more MTBing in the schedules as I do not work in this area.0 -
Nant Gwrtheyrn!! Stunning landscape/scenery, gnarly downhill track, cool jumps at the bottom. What more do you want?0
