Inspirational bicycling movies?
 

Ok, the long, cold, dark winter has set in in Ohio and I've been reduced to doing all my cycling indoors. Lucky for me, my lovely wife bought me a video ipod last year and I have the ability to watch some inspirational cycling-themed videos to keep me inspired while I log countless "miles" on the elliptical and stationary bike.

I have my favorite, dated, but still good: American Flyers already loaded.

Anyone have any other favorite cycling movies they can suggest?

Thanks in advance!

-John

Breaking Away.

PeeWee's Big Adventure! Just kidding.:roflmao2:

American Flyer's and Breaking Away pretty much cover my knowledge. You can download all kinds of clips from different TdF stages and you can rent DVD's that are highlights of entire TdF's.

You Tube can give you plenty of short clips as well.

E.t.

A great movie with a brief shot of a bike is North by Northwest.

Breaking Away probably remains the best ever 'bike' movie, although I find the scene with the protagonist racing a truck a little hard to accept.

American Flyer's, RAD, and the misc NWD and other bike videos I have!

RAD, and E.T. for sure, never realized how much i liked the biking in E.T. until they started showing it on every possible hbo channel on directv.

It was real. Here's an interview with one of the bike racer extras that were in the movie

http://spokepost.com/news/story/1666/?catViewAll=9

SP: This is good stuff. Most cyclists realize that the Little-500 wasn't just in the movie. They probaby don't get the scope of it when you say 30 to 40 thousand fans...

Wayne Stetina: That was filmed in the stadium that I raced in. The movie was in 1978 and my brother Dale and I were at the World's at Neuremburg Ring in Germany. We went to the Tour of Switzerland, then raced the world's in Germany that year. My two younger brothers and my dad were extras in the road race scenes. One of my former roommates from Delta Chi was the double for Dennis Christopher. Everytime you see the really muscular guy, that was supposed to be the star going fast...that's Gary Ribar, he's a Hall of Fame rider. So when you see the guy in the small chainring, behind the semi...that's the "star". When you see the guy that's really going 60 mph, that's Gary [chuckle]. He was frequently top-10 on a nation level.

The 40 Year Old Virgin.

The Flying Scotsman

I watch DVD's of anything while bicycling on my rollers. Usually something action packed to keep the energy up. The last two weeks have been crappy for me for riding outside, so I am back on the rollers. I need to borrow some DVD's, so I can watch something different. My DVD selection is pretty old.

A lot of these 'bike movies' are good films, such as ET and Pee Wee's Big Adventure, but looking at them as a cyclist I find one thing annoying. Most movies that involve cycling consider bikes as toys for children. Even the raunchy 40 Year Old Virgin uses the protagonist's cycling to highlight his childlike innocence.

Historian, if you can now conclude how mainstream American culture views bikes from your above statement, I'll give you a nickel! :) A co-worker was telling me about a conversation with her daughter who's 7. The girl is getting a new bike in the spring since she outgrew the old one. She was a little surprised to be getting a new one so soon (2 years). My co-worker told her something like: "Well, we'll buy you a few more bikes in the next years and then you'll be 16, get your license, and you can get a car and not worry about it anymore". bike <<< car, right?

The Bicycle Thief

It will inspire you to use a lock.

I'm told the 1999 film of Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night's Dream features a lot of bikes. The screenplay moves the play into the late 19th century.

A site with very well-done reviews of bicycle themed films:

http://www.biketraffic.org/content.php?id=219_0_6_0

A Sunday in Hell. A documentary (about Paris-Roubaix) rather than a drama, but still pretty inspiring. I found a copy of it online.

Triplets of Belleville.

+1 on Ameican Flyers, even if the acting is not so good. TDF videos are a must. Thank God for Versus and Tvo,(however the heck you spell it). I make sure to record anything that has antthing to do with cycling.

RAD for sure...:love:

Overcoming and Hell on Wheels
http://www.amazon.com/WCP-Overcoming...7065893&sr=8-7
http://www.amazon.com/Hell-Wheels-Ro...ef=pd_sim_sg_1
Both follow the 2004 TDF. Overcoming follows CSC and Hell on Wheels follows T-Mobile.

For Domestic cycling Pro and Hard Road
http://www.prothemovie.com/default.aspx?layout=buy
Hard road follows a first year team and Pro goes to Philly for week.