I'm a Kind of Mechanised Tramp

[HLaB]

I wouldn't be surprised if this has been posted before, after all its a 1971 documentary. I enjoyed it however, and I hope you do:

I'm A Kind of Mechanised Tramp - Part 1

I'm A Kind of Mechanised Tramp - Part 2

 

[Fnaar]

Great stuff! Thanks for posting!

 

[avalon]

Great story. will watch it all when I have time. Does anyone know if he's still around.

 

[Dayvo]

What an excellent documentary! The patron saint of tourers!

I found these: http://epicureancyclist.com/?p=343

http://www.bikebrothers.co.uk/billandjackie_p01.htm


and what a GREAT quote: “At the end of the day if you have travelled and did something hard you’re ready for something to eat, and then when you’ve got something to eat and you feel that wee bit of tiredness coming over yourself you say “I have achieved something on my own two legs” you’ve moved your body, because everybody’s body is made to withstand a certain amount of punishment and this punishment is good for you, I’d think, because people are getting to soft nowadays, they are sitting in big chairs watching TV or they are sitting in motor-cars, they’re sitting everywhere. But maybe out there on the weekend we punish ourselves to our own satisfaction but its not punishment, to us its pleasure because when we think its getting to hard we ease up that wee wee wee bit and we still carry on although there might be an another hour at the end of the day but what’s an hour when you‘ve had a day of pleasure?”

Another enjoyable, albeit long, read in a similar vein: http://www.tachras.co.uk/journal/articles2/greyman/grey1.htm

 

[upsidedown]

Cheers that's just killed a train journey !

 

[just jim]

Thanks, great link.

 

[ComedyPilot]

What a brilliant film.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

That’s a lovely find - thanks for sharing it!

 

[mgarl10024]

Excellent clips - thank you for sharing those.

What struck me was how little had changed since 1971 (40 years!), in that he felt that people were getting too soft, using cars too much and were spending too much time watching TV.
Attitudes to cyclists also seemed much nicer - though I'm not sure if that was because of the time or the area?

 

[guitarpete247]

Great story. will watch it all when I have time. Does anyone know if he's still around.

I did a little looking and one site has a post from his neice in 2010 saying "... it's a while since we lost uncle Bill ...". alot of people seemed to have a lot of respect for him. He seemed to have been well liked and a great character. I remeber reading of the "Rough Stuff Fellowship" in the early '70's when I was a member of the CTC.

 

[mgarl10024]

Great story. will watch it all when I have time. Does anyone know if he's still around.

I did a little looking and one site has a post from his neice in 2010 saying "... it's a while since we lost uncle Bill ...". alot of people seemed to have a lot of respect for him.

I'd wondered this too, so thanks guitarpete247 for finding that out. I did think that if he came out of the army in the 40s, then he'd be getting on a bit.

What was he doing with the hammering of a screwdriver into his cassette?

 

[DTD]

That's an uncanny and very welcome link. I remember seeing the film – must have been a repeat – as it would have been in the late 70s. Recently I was thinking about it and here it is! Thank you.

 

[Crackle]

Great links HLAB, lovely to watch, what a great bloke.

Funny, the first few times I went for a long ride with friends, we took a cooker and bacon and eggs and things, must'a been a 70's thing

 

[betty swollocks]

Absolute little gems: thanks for sharing!!