At The Movies

I'm really hoping to have a chance tomorrow morning to get some painting done, but we'll see. In the meantime I thought I'd point out some excellent vintage cycling film that has been made available online. Even if you're not big on cycling history, these movies have some really interesting things that you just don't get to see when you watch a bicycle race on TV. Sure, improvements have been made in the way a professional cyclist prepares, but you can see that the same basic organization of the team on race day is still there. Just click on the title links in bold type and enjoy - you officially qualify as hard-core cycling fan if you watch ALL of these in one day!

A Sunday In Hell  is a great documentary that just happens to be about the 1976 Paris-Roubaix. "The Hell of the North" is the most dramatic of the spring classics, with much of its latter portion having narrow, cobbled tracks that choke with dust on dry days and become slick and muddy in rain. The winner is often the one who is the most fortunate to avoid tire punctures and/or crashes. Eddy Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck, Freddy Maertins, Raymond Poulidor, Bernard Thevenet and Francesco Moser are among the cycling greats shown.

Stars and Watercarriers and The Greatest Show On Earth are films highlighting the 1973 and 1974 Tours of Italy (Giro d’Italia). Both feature excellent race action with greats like Merckx, Moser and Felice Gimondi. The films also contain behind-the-scenes footage of team mechanical and medical staff, and a comical look at the responsibilities of the race director. My favorite scenes are the high speed descents, watching the older sedans struggle to keep up as the more nimble bicycles are negotiated around the tight hairpin turns.

An enjoyable segment of the ’74 film shows the domestiques (lower-level riders who do the “dirty work”) at a time that they were allowed to raid bars and restaurants along the route. Many owners thought this was an honor, and were happy to watch the cyclists take off with a supply of soda, beer, wine and mineral water to share among their teammates. It’s quite amusing watching the riders with their jerseys all stretched out with several bottles crammed inside. I will warn viewers ahead of time, particularly those with dental issues, that not all of their methods of bottle-opening will be fun to watch. NOTE: the first film comes in several parts, unfortunately with a lengthy title which doesn't always display the segment number. You can move your mouse over the title selections on the right of the page, and the full title with the episode number will pop up, so you can follow them in succession.

The last film is a montage of a YouTuber's picks for top thirty cyclists of all time. He has a fantastic collection of footage with an interesting soundtrack accompanying each of his choices. I’ve supplied the link to the three parts of the video because they don’t show up in succession onscreen:

Top 30 Part One      Top 30 Part Two 

Top 30 Part Three

I'll leave you to identify the cyclists pictured above, but on the left is Ireland's legendary Sean Kelly. His hometown of Carrick on Suir (pronounced like the word "sure") was the inspiration for my son's name. Carrick means "rock" and the Suir is the river in that particular area.