Tour de Celeb: Louie’s cycling safety demo

[Flick of the Elbow]

Thought they all did really well, I wasn't expecting many of them to finish. A surprisingly enjoyable programme. Is there going to be a series 2 ?

 

[Slick]

I agree, not sure about a series 2 but I would definitely watch it.

 

[Dishy]

I would definatly watch season 2, wonder which z listers could take part

 

[Racing roadkill]

I fairness I think he was joking about risking his life trying to beat Darren Gough. They were more than a couple of minutes behind and he said he could only have gone a couple of minutes faster at max which was not enough.

Was he with Hugo when he got the puncture? I missed that, but OTOH if had slowed himself to Hugos pace they wouldnt even have been close.

That's the most difficult thing about riding with / as part of this type of 'challenge' team. Sometimes you have to slow right down, to get the aggregate times consistent. Everyone has to keep an eye on everyone else, and stronger team members with possibly better technical skills / mechanical knowledge, have to be willing to sacrifice their personal times / machinery, in order to get the group to the end in the most consistent time possible. There's no scope for 'heroics' from individuals. The Red team found that out the hard way. Even if Austin had slowed to Hugo's pace in order to keep him in view, keep him moving, they probably still would have got round quicker than the blue team. Anyway, it wasn't all that serious, so not to worry.

 

[Inertia]

That's the most difficult thing about riding with / as part of this type of 'challenge' team. Sometimes you have to slow right down, to get the aggregate times consistent. Everyone has to keep an eye on everyone else, and stronger team members with possibly better technical skills / mechanical knowledge, have to be willing to sacrifice their personal times / machinery, in order to get the group to the end in the most consistent time possible. There's no scope for 'heroics' from individuals. The Red team found that out the hard way. Even if Austin had slowed to Hugo's pace in order to keep him in view, keep him moving, they probably still would have got round quicker than the blue team. Anyway, it wasn't all that serious, so not to worry.

True enough but I thought you were being a little harsh on Austin, not that Im his greatest fan. Neither team seemed to show much teamwork, so in the end it was a tally up of their individual achievements.

I think Hugo had it right but it seems daft to me that he had spare tubes but had no idea how to change a tyre.

 

[blazed]

Austin did make me chuckle at the end. "If I'd gone a couple of minutes quicker, we could have won". No you complete tit, if you'd listened to the coaches, and worked as a team player, and not tried to be such a 'look at me, and how great I am' knobber, you could have given Hugo your bike, then sorted his puncture out, and carried on on his bike, until you caught him up, then swapped back, and saved yourself over half an hour. Hoisted by his own petard or what?

Eh? If Austin had stayed back and was with Hugo at the time of his punctures, he would have been way, way off the time he finished with. Even if he would have saved Hugo half hour that would not of made up for his own time penalty. It's not like Hugo's punctures happened in the first 10k.

In a competion where overall time wins, the best strategy would always be for the best rider to go as fast as possible. There's nothing Austin could have done to aid any of his teammates to a point it would have changed the outcome..

 

[Racing roadkill]

In a competion where overall time wins, the best strategy would always be for the best rider to go as fast as possible. There's nothing Austin could have done to aid any of his teammates to a point it would have changed the outcome..

And that's where so many people who haven't done these sorts of challenge / team rides go wrong. It sounds totally illogical to not send the strongest riders off into the wild blue yonder, but in reality, the exact opposite is the case. Unless the strongest rider is riding into another time zone, you are better off with a 'sweeper' who keeps the group together, and prevents gaps forming, so you maintain the draft. It's better to have a relatively slow moving cohesive pack, than a diffuse group, with one 'rocket' and big time gaps / draft breaks, in between.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

Anyone heard/read anything to explain their chain problems ? Both Louis and Jodie seemed to be in difficulty with them. You'd think that the programme would have employed a mechanic.

 

[mjr]

[QUOTE 4605565, member: 259"]I'm playing catch up with this programme, but it's been bloody good and it's been nice to see cycling portrayed as something normal - well, motivational, even.[/QUOTE]
I think you're watching a different show! Motivational perhaps, but it's trying to make it an extreme sport and creating danger by putting the celebs into dodgy situations.

 

[blazed]

[QUOTE 4605559, member: 43827"]Isn't this more likely to be correct if you have a team without such wide extremes of ability and confidence?
Those teams were never going to be able to draft given their inexperience, skills and lack of confidence.[/QUOTE]
Exactly. This isn't pro cycling. The best thing he could have done was smash it and make the best time possible. There is nothing he could have done to make the same time savings by staying with the slow riders. He finished hours ahead of the next fastesr rider and even more the slowest. How exactly could he have saved all those hours staying in the pack?

The other teams fastest rider also went off on her own. Two ex professional athletes at the highest level decided to go off on their own to set the best times. Obviously not got the nouse of roadkill.

 

[Milkfloat]

I think you're watching a different show! Motivational perhaps, but it's trying to make it an extreme sport and creating danger by putting the celebs into dodgy situations.

I would even say that it was not motivational, it portrayed cycling as more dangerous than jumping out of a plane without a parachute whilst tied to a tiger with a 2 year old pulling your hair. It really did make cycling appear harder than it really is - in reality you get on a bike, pedal and smile. None of this falling off every 2 minutes and crying. Yes the Etape is a toughly, but all the previous shows made us cyclists look like heros for surving an hour on a bike.

 

[Lpoolck]

I enjoyed it for what it was, an entertainment program, which happened to be about cycling. I am surprised they all made it to the end given some of their abilities! I also noticed Austin was wearing a GCN jersey, it was nice to see someone who had a strong passion for cycling on the TV.

 

[Justinslow]

I would even say that it was not motivational, it portrayed cycling as more dangerous than jumping out of a plane without a parachute whilst tied to a tiger with a 2 year old pulling your hair. It really did make cycling appear harder than it really is - in reality you get on a bike, pedal and smile. None of this falling off every 2 minutes and crying. Yes the Etape is a toughly, but all the previous shows made us cyclists look like heros for surving an hour on a bike.

It was just a show with bikes and people, why does it have to show bikes or cyclists in a "holy" light?
It was tough for some of them and yes, some had crashes, just like most cyclists I know.
I think it was great entertainment.
Which is exactly what TV shows should be.
"You get on a bike pedal and smile", yeah great telly songs of praise on wheels.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Just watched it, and of course I took it waaaay too seriously.

That posh bloke, he left his punctured tube at the side of the road, the nobber. Go back and fecking get it or you don't finish! And how on earth can your chain keep coming off on a big climb. You'll be in the little ring all the way, not touching the front mech. Who set that bike up?

Not that I was taking it seriously or anything.

I quite enjoyed it ... Even if it did portray cycling as a bizarre kind of torture where you fall off repeatedly, keep being sick and crying, and your bike doesn't work properly. But if it was true to life it wouldn't be very good telly.

 

[fossyant]

Annoying program, and Louie needed a good slap of reality. Someone asked me about it at work, about downhill speed and stuff (someone who doesn't cycle). Me,,, 'Yeh, it's fine doing 50-60 mph - considering they bottled it at much less. This lot were idiots and couldn't cycle very well.'

Says the man who is infamous at work for the broken spine and is still 'trying' to ride again - 'trying' is the word, but at least I'm doing better than those idiots. They didn't portray cycling well.