Long Distance Cyclist On The Telly.

[MessenJah]

1) What the f does she expect? Would she enjoy doing what he did?

2) Does she think he circumnavigated the world as part of a leisurely, enjoyable world tour?

3) Is she that stupid that she takes TV at face value?

 

[Cathryn]

Frame did well...wheels didn't seem that strong!!

I'd forgotten the CTC article. We're watching the fourth episode now...I'll dig it out afterwards.

 

[Dayvo]

Whenever I hear critics, I think of them like eunachs. Very good at watching and picking fault, but haven't got the balls (if you excuse the expression) to do it themselves. There are very few people in this world that can ride over 100 miles in a day. Even less in this country alone. Then to do that day after day for 5 months + and break the Guiness WORLD Record, takes a special breed. Mr Beaumont is one person that not only thought about it, dreamt about it, he actually got OFF HIS ASS and DID IT. People in the media need people like Mark Beaumont to do things like that to create interest in increasingly STALE tv listings.

Well said, er, written, CP!

 

[just jim]

Funny how they end up under a pile somewhere!!

 

[just jim]

I gotta get more orginasised....

 

[Mr Phoebus]

He's got true grit carrying on and seeing it through with loads of weeping arse sores.

 

[Cathryn]

Just watched the last one. Speechless...what a bloke!

 

[jassy-x]

Just watched the last one. Speechless...what a bloke!

....was pretty inspiring stuff Cathryn....left me wanting to see more, and as I said on a previous thread on this subject...I would like to see the beeb release a dvd with more material if they have it (provided it wasn't in the stolen camera)

 

[Hugo15]

Just watched these on I-Player. Great programme. I would struggle to crank out 100 miles in a day. To do this for day after day is amazing. His mental strength is something to behold.

 

[just jim]

I think the spider (a Huntsman) he bashed to bits in part 3 is "not deadly to humans".

On the other hand...

 

[jassy-x]

I think the spider (a Huntsman) he bashed to bits in part 3 is "not deadly to humans".

On the other hand...

....I remember thinking at the time that he didn't need to do that ....the spider looked as if it was heading off into the bush....maybe he was releasing some pent up frustration ??.....

 

[buggi]

i watched it and i thought it was pretty balanced. on my "EPIC" journey to Paris (which was epic enough for me) you do have those times when you lose heart. this time, i went not having done any training because of my broken collar bone and on the 2nd day there was a point when i just wanted to throw the towel in, and get on the van. it was 30 degrees heat and i was just like "why the hell am i here when i should have pulled out because of my lack of training/injury" but i didn't and all the pain is worth it just for the end result.

my point being when you are on these rides you see people as they really are, at their lowest, at their funniest, at their moaniest, and at their highest. this guy did moan sometimes but i totally sympathised, but there were times when he was like WOW THERE IS NO OTHER PLACE I'D RATHER BE.

i reckon the best thing you can do is get her on a 100 miler. let her whinge all the way and then see the elation she feels at the end. then she will truly understand you have to experience the lows to feel the highs.

 

[Noodley]

Christ if you think he was moaning you want to hear me! Everything can seem great after the ride, but during it there can be times I want to throw my bike away. I thought the documentary was balanced, albeit very short and unable to convey just what an ordeal it was. After all, that pair of bikers (Ewan McGregor and the other bloke) made out they were suffering when they had a camera crew and support and hotel rooms and agents and etc, etc...and got a long series out of it, with "jollies" along the way.

Now, I am sure the bikers endured hardship, but it would barely register on the Beaumont scale...(you see what I did there, eh, eh? )

 

[Andy in Sig]

i reckon the best thing you can do is get her on a 100 miler. let her whinge all the way and then see the elation she feels at the end. then she will truly understand you have to experience the lows to feel the highs.

Like I said she's a non-cyclist and is pretty chuffed with herself for having done a 40 km day ride when on her hols a few weeks ago. She enjoyed that and probably can't understand why 100 miles a day, repeatedly, might not be one great big barrel of laughs.

All that said (and bearing in mind that I will have to wait for the DVD to see it), I tend to the view that when the going gets tough the old stiff upper lip is the only approach i.e. don't whinge and get on with it in grim, determined silence, a sort of Scott's polar expedition approach. From a purely personal taste point of view, I don't like the fashionable idea that we are all supposed to have our emotions permanently on display or at least I think it's better to show toughness in adversity even if you're whimpering like a whipped puppy inside. As a sergeant major once told me: "If you've got the energy to whinge, you're not working hard enough." It's remembering that sort of principle that actually helps you get through the hard times.

Mind you I've never set myself a task of that magnitude and do not know how I would perform until I actually tried it.

 

[summerdays]

I didn't think he was moaning really, just telling it as it is, and occasionally he was low, but I guess he needed someone to talk/complain to occasionally - and for him that was the video. Mentally that must be incrediably hard to be on your own for that period of time.

I too hope that there is a DVD with other bits of footage on it.