Doug Smith, Dorset UK wrote:
>I am surprised that there hasn't been a reply or response to this posti
ng,
well not on list anyway!<
-- and wrote in regard to the video clip on youtube, see link below give n us by John Hudson, originator of this thread.
Doug, John-- It's true, no one had yet spoken of this newly-found artifact! I tease m yself as much as any one else when I note we've had fewer posts lately f rom one or two of our Stateside heavily UK-oriented cyclists on whom we may previously have too much relied (I say this with a smile, a tenderne ss, and a feeling of fond indulgence for on-list partisanship in general --I am resembling the buddha just now, or La Giaconda even, with a wistf ulness and a distant look in my eye)--so I tender this attempt to step i nto the breach.
I am eagerly anticipating having a look at this item, apparently a CTC ( Cyclists' Touring Club) -related 1955 documentary / short film; thanks s o much for bringing it to attention on the list. I have a date to meet a friend on sunday to check this out, someone with a faster internet conn ection! Because the whole thing sounds like it has to be a blast of a do se of period fun--not only for the images, but probably for the narratio n as well, and the entire overall aesthetic of the thing. Not unlike my regard for the whole era; not only its machinery, but all the cultural s ignifiers as well. Any incidental views of the British countryside and l andscape will only be a plus. Ah yes, slow downloads! Regrets if my last post re: Zeus was obsolete wh en I sent it--yet subscribing in digest form is the culprit there, rathe r than dial-up--though a dial-up internet connection IS why have yet to check out those day-trippers.
I'm largely a day-tripper myself (though not just a sunday driver, yeh), but I've just been sent a one-man tent (my brother replaced his), so I' m one step closer to actual cyclo-tourism of the more long-range, overni ght sort. I have a great admiration and respect for the classic UK and c ontinental modes of cyclo-camping, club riding, randonneuring--and hope I am a worthy heir to these traditions, not only an owner of bikes. I bo rrow from this culture to create my own personal culture, and am gratefu l about this inheritance, which can serve me in the remaining years and decades of my life. OK, please no one reference H. Goering's views on th e word "culture"--I've referenced it pre-emptively! I've used the term a lot today, but it's a good and useful word when you're talking [of] the admirable practices of a whole lot of people over a long period of time . I'm certain I'm going to love this film clip. I can only wonder, too, if a bike or two that appears in the film is not, now, literally here with one or two of us on the CR list. OK, those may be long odds, but our ma chines are nothing if not time travelers, and somewhat defiant of odds. I've imported a few bikes and frames to the US from the UK, via eBay sal es--two of them have CTC decals, and both are from the fifties. Of cours e one will never recognize a specific bike, but it is inevitable to muse over the past scenes in which our fifty-year-old machines took part. If only each one of them came with some sort of logbook, or if I could per form some kind of seance over them in which their former experiences, tr avels and owners--dare I say, build incarnations--might be revealed. At any rate, returning to the subject of the film, there must be many in terested parties on the list, and I feel sure some discussion will get g oing after more have had a chance to view the piece. Perhaps some got go ing on youtube for the first time, and have yet to return! A sample of n early everything seems to be on there, even some bands I was playing in as a teenager. Infinity is again making my head swim. Tom Ward On Manhattan isle, New York, NY -- USA * * * John Hudson of London wrote:- Some friends of mine at the bicycle film festival came across this docum enta ry from 1955, about day tripping club cyclists from the CTC,
and I thought there might be some interest on the list, or at least peop le
with 15 minutes to kill watching old british touring bikes.
Its in 2 parts: http://youtube.com/
I am surprised that there has 'nt been a reply or response to this posti ng, well not on list anyway!
Over the years I and others in the UK have made efforts to try and expla in
to the folks in the States the kind of club life and bikes we rode. Ther e i s
nothing like experiencing the real thing and those two films get as near to
reality as anyone could get. The pictures are as I remember those days
which give a true picture of cycling here in the years of a bygone era .
I know there are many folks in the States who are always interested in o ur cycling history and wanting to learn more. These films go a long way to
fulfilling that interest and give another insight of how it was really l ike here
in the UK.
Doug Smith
North Dorset
UK