Cycling Films online

Taken from the Blazing Saddles Column in the Tayside Courier Weekend Supplement 3.11.12

Scot Tares finds as the nights draw in you can still get your fix of cycling on-line.

“Biking is my art form-my self expression” – Missy Giove

As a youngster I remember eagerly awaiting those rare Channel 4 broadcasts of the Kellog’s cycle race series and the Tour de France. It was the only time I, and many others from that generation could watch cycle racing and we gleaned the rest of our knowledge from the results pages of Cycling Weekly magazine. Move on quarter of a century and the internet is awash with cycling related video clips and footage. During July I wrote about the Tour de France and I wanted to confirm my ageing knowledge of Chris Boardman’s Prologue Time-Trial Crash in 1995. A quick search on You Tube and the whole episode of that TV broadcast was available to watch. I then wasted several more hours trawling the internet for more videos of childhood heroes, such as Robert Millar and Greg Lemond. Today the depth and breadth of cycling related films available is fantastic; from home videos and amateur race films to HD quality full length films; there is literally something for everyone. If you want to know how to change a bottom bracket, there will be video instruction; if you want to know how to pull a lateral bunny-hop, there will be a film of some eight-year-old showing you how to do it. Sometimes it feels like too much information of course, and the instant access to everything can leave me feeling a bit cold and dazed and missing the days when there was a personal voyage of discovery to be had; the reward for your effort being that once discovered, the image, story or video was more treasured and therefore more memorable. But this is just the ramblings of a hopeless old romantic and, to be honest I can’t get enough of the deluge of cycling films on-line.

One of my favourite online cycling films of the moment is “Boy”, a very moving, Olympic-inspired video starring Timothy Spall that will have you reaching for the tissues: http://youtu.be/yHkOIFyC26E

And here are some others worth checking out:

An internet sensation; this video went viral and launched the name of Danny McCaskill to the world: http://youtu.be/Z19zFlPah-o
Martyn Ashton does some trials riding on a Pinarello Road Bike: http://youtu.be/7ZmJtYaUTa0
Freeride mountainbiking at its best with Chris Sorge taking on the steep cliffs of Virgin, Utah: http://youtu.be/uExosD9J0LA
If only every Mountainbike video was shot like this: http://youtu.be/0zLuqKNKOqs
Girls and fixed wheels – Juliet Elliot: http://youtu.be/x4l_E-Xfw1w
Reducing traffic congestion through the eyes of a bike: http://bit.ly/QXk9j6

This is just a small selection of my favourites. Now the nights are drawing in and there are less opportunities to get out and ride, why not sit back, get on-line and enjoy some quality viewing that we could only dream about 20 years ago.

Scot Tares

Twitter: @SkinnyTyres

Where to Ride: A road ride out past Scone Palace


Where to ride: Stormontfield A short, but lovely circular road route starting along the banks of the Tay
Location:	OS Landranger Map 53 NO 120 269
Distance:	9 miles/ 15km
Details:	A great route, whether ridden clockwise or anti-clockwise. The section on the A93 has more traffic, but the unclassified road through Stormont field is a delight.