Ride Across America

"Peter B" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Sunday 6th at19:30 on BBC2. The Trans America cycle race, following a 53
year olds attempt.

Sorry if this has already been posted.

Pete

Thanks for that Pete - it's a programme I do not want to miss - I'll be
taping it - it features a rider from Thetford who is in Team RAF, so there
is local interest for the unfit family. It was due to go out in December,
but the beeb kept changing transmission date, which was an utter PITA.

Cheers, helen s

Peter B said:

Sunday 6th at19:30 on BBC2. The Trans America cycle race, following a 53
year olds attempt.

Sorry if this has already been posted.

Pete

Thanks for the heads up I did know about this. Don't forget the Obree
docu. on Tuesday

"Helen C Simmons" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Thanks for that Pete - it's a programme I do not want to miss

<snip>

Seconded - thanks for the heads-up.

Blurb from radiotimes.com -
<<< Documentary about a 53-year-old musician from London, who took on the
ultimate cycle race. Punishing climbs and dangerous high speed descents
through mountains, desert and searing temparatures [NB:sic] - the Race
Across America covers 3,000 miles in just 5 days.>>>

Makes the 30-miler I just did seem a bit weedy :-(

--
Chris Bardell
[Remove favourite mode of transport from email address]

"MSeries" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Peter B said:

Sunday 6th at19:30 on BBC2. The Trans America cycle race, following a 53
year olds attempt.

Sorry if this has already been posted.

Pete

Thanks for the heads up I did know about this. Don't forget the Obree
docu. on Tuesday

He doesn't stand a chance on getting in the team IMO ... 20:04 PM

"elyob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

He doesn't stand a chance on getting in the team IMO ... 20:04 PM

Yes, the correct decision was made in *not* having him on the team for the
actual event. Tough but fair. Good viewing, thoroughly enjoyed the
programme.

Cheers, helen s

He doesn't stand a chance on getting in the team IMO

A very good program, though I'm not sure what the point was, how was he
ever
going to improve his average (ie double it) in such a short space of
time?
Well done to his team, although it did not appear to big such a big
deal by
the number of spectators at the finish

The program brought home to me the difference between enjoying a ride
and living sleeping and eating cycling

Will probably be repeated at some ungodly hour later in the week.

On 6/2/05 8:04 pm, in article
[email hidden], "elyob"

Quoted message said:

"MSeries" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Peter B said:

Sunday 6th at19:30 on BBC2. The Trans America cycle race, following a 53
year olds attempt.

Sorry if this has already been posted.

Pete

Thanks for the heads up I did know about this. Don't forget the Obree
docu. on Tuesday

He doesn't stand a chance on getting in the team IMO ... 20:04 PM

He didn't. Was way off the pace and endurance required. Two months prep was
complete [censored]. It would have been tough for your average keen leisure
cyclist.

Appeared to do most of his training on a turbo so his bike handling skills
(and hill climbing ability) was complete [censored].

...d

"MartinM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

He doesn't stand a chance on getting in the team IMO

A very good program, though I'm not sure what the point was, how was he
ever
going to improve his average (ie double it) in such a short space of
time?
Well done to his team, although it did not appear to big such a big
deal by
the number of spectators at the finish

The program brought home to me the difference between enjoying a ride
and living sleeping and eating cycling

Will probably be repeated at some ungodly hour later in the week.

In previous editions of The Challenge, the "novice" has been accepted on to
the team for whatever endurance event was being covered. In at least one of
those, the novice ended up as part of a team which won the event. To me, it
showed just how demanding, hard and difficult cycling at the top level
really is - cycling is not for wimps ;-) The Race is actually a big event -
much coverage at start and at end in reality - but the Beeb wasn't
interested in that for the purposes of the programme. Also - the finish
lasts for days, because as well as the four-man temas, there are
mixed-teams, solos and I think, pairs (men's, women's & mixed), & HPV as
different categories within the race. Of course, all have different expected
finishing times and different race strategies for rest stops etc especially
where solo riders are concerned. So the finish isn't quite like the end of
the Tour de France in Paris :-)

It definitely showed that cycling competitively at the top level is not for
wimps!

Cheers, helen s

"Helen C Simmons" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In previous editions of The Challenge, the "novice" has been accepted on

to

Quoted message said:

the team for whatever endurance event was being covered. In at least one

of

Quoted message said:

those, the novice ended up as part of a team which won the event. To me,

it

Quoted message said:

showed just how demanding, hard and difficult cycling at the top level
really is - cycling is not for wimps ;-)

Indeed;
Quote from the program (during 32oC temperature)
"any club cyclist should have no problem in covering 25 miles in an hour"
That's me out for a start, even in UK temperatures ;-)

"David Martin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

On 6/2/05 8:04 pm, in article
[email hidden], "elyob"

Quoted message said:

"MSeries" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Peter B wrote:
> Sunday 6th at19:30 on BBC2. The Trans America cycle race, following a
> 53
> year olds attempt.
>
> Sorry if this has already been posted.
>
> Pete
>
>
>
>
Thanks for the heads up I did know about this. Don't forget the Obree
docu. on Tuesday

He doesn't stand a chance on getting in the team IMO ... 20:04 PM

He didn't. Was way off the pace and endurance required. Two months prep
was
complete [censored]. It would have been tough for your average keen leisure
cyclist.

Appeared to do most of his training on a turbo so his bike handling skills
(and hill climbing ability) was complete [censored].

..d

he was also a bitter [censored], "they tried to break me" yah whatever

On 6/2/05 9:31 pm, in article
[email hidden], "rob2"

Quoted message said:

"David Martin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 6/2/05 8:04 pm, in article
[email hidden], "elyob"

Quoted message said:

"MSeries" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> Peter B wrote:
>> Sunday 6th at19:30 on BBC2. The Trans America cycle race, following a
>> 53
>> year olds attempt.
>>
>> Sorry if this has already been posted.
>>
>> Pete
>>
>>
>>
>>
> Thanks for the heads up I did know about this. Don't forget the Obree
> docu. on Tuesday

He doesn't stand a chance on getting in the team IMO ... 20:04 PM

He didn't. Was way off the pace and endurance required. Two months prep
was
complete [censored]. It would have been tough for your average keen leisure
cyclist.

Appeared to do most of his training on a turbo so his bike handling skills
(and hill climbing ability) was complete [censored].

..d

he was also a bitter [censored], "they tried to break me" yah whatever

Had no idea of pacing for long distances, no long endurance and so on. It
was the wrong challenge and he wasn't given a chance to see just why he
really wasn't up to it.

200km audax would have been interesting, followed by a second the next day.

A better challenge would be to do LEL or PBP.

...d

"rob2" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"David Martin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

On 6/2/05 8:04 pm, in article
[email hidden], "elyob"

Quoted message said:

"MSeries" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> Peter B wrote:
>> Sunday 6th at19:30 on BBC2. The Trans America cycle race, following

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> 53
>> year olds attempt.
>>
>> Sorry if this has already been posted.
>>
>> Pete
>>
>>
>>
>>
> Thanks for the heads up I did know about this. Don't forget the Obree
> docu. on Tuesday

He doesn't stand a chance on getting in the team IMO ... 20:04 PM

He didn't. Was way off the pace and endurance required. Two months prep
was
complete [censored]. It would have been tough for your average keen leisure
cyclist.

Appeared to do most of his training on a turbo so his bike handling

skills

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

(and hill climbing ability) was complete [censored].

..d

he was also a bitter [censored], "they tried to break me" yah whatever

Yes, I thought he was a bit ungracious in the end - understandable - but I
think after he'd had a few days rest following in the car he had forgotten
about the pain the had encountered when cycling - so complaining that they
had only achieved a 20MPH average and that he could have done that was
nonsense.

Funny part was when he was struggling to change up to the large ring and the
Manager asked if he had had any problems with the large ring before and the
answer was "only when trying to pedal it" - good comment :-)

End of the day though - very tough event and he did well to attempt it
considering his age and cycling skills, he did better than I could have
done.

Helen C Simmons said:

To me, it
showed just how demanding, hard and difficult cycling at the top level
really is - cycling is not for wimps ;-) The Race is actually a big event -
much coverage at start and at end in reality - but the Beeb wasn't
interested in that for the purposes of the programme. Also - the finish
lasts for days, because as well as the four-man temas, there are
mixed-teams, solos and I think, pairs (men's, women's & mixed), & HPV as
different categories within the race. Of course, all have different expected
finishing times and different race strategies for rest stops etc especially
where solo riders are concerned. So the finish isn't quite like the end of
the Tour de France in Paris :-)

It definitely showed that cycling competitively at the top level is not for
wimps!

Cheers, helen s

Given the 24 hour qualification distances required for the solo event
it's not surprising the poor guy didn't succeed!
Age Men Women
18-49 years 425 miles 400 miles
50-59 400 miles 375 miles
60-69 375 miles 350 miles
He couldn't even do a pancake flat ten at evens and was completely
unprepared for the hills. His saddle seemed too low and very far back
and he kept his knees very wide. Body was very upright too ...
He had guts thats for sure and he has actually given unfit me some hope
for the future.
If they'd given hime two years to prepare for LEL or PBP, and a coach he
might have done a little better.
The negative effect it must have had on the RAF team was not in their
best interests either.
All the best
Dan Gregory
PS O'Bree tomorrow!

"David Martin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 6/2/05 9:31 pm, in article
[email hidden], "rob2"

Quoted message said:

he was also a bitter [censored], "they tried to break me" yah whatever

Had no idea of pacing for long distances, no long endurance and so on. It
was the wrong challenge and he wasn't given a chance to see just why he
really wasn't up to it.

I think that seeing as he hung on 'til the end he should have ridden a few
stages to see how hard it was.
His remark that he'd been led to believe he'd have to average 25mph while in
reality the RAF team only managed 20mph and therefore he could of done it
made me think he still hadn't grasped how hard it is to maintain 20mph for
any great period, unless you're truly a top cyclist.
But I suspect some of the editing. It was stated that he had to ride 5 hours
a day every day for training, anyone with a rudimentary understanding of
training knows that recovery periods are vital so I find it hard to believe
professional coaches would give him that regime. Unless they wanted to
knacker him of course.

Pete

"Peter B" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

It was stated that he had
to ride 5 hours a day every day for training, anyone with a
rudimentary understanding of training knows that recovery periods are
vital so I find it hard to believe professional coaches would give him
that regime. Unless they wanted to knacker him of course.

I guess it was the nature of the programme - i.e. can a 'normal' type be
converted into a top athlete in a limited amount of time?

What slightly disappointed me was the ultra-seriousness of the RAF guys.
Yeah, I know it's a big event, with major kudos points for the RAF, but
they all seemed pretty humourless & unsympathetic. I would have thought
that a bit of humour, empathy, etc. might have made the guy perform a bit
better & would have also improved the prog a lot. They all clearly knew
the guy might not make the cut, so why not have a bit of a laugh & share
the difficulties prior to final selection? No sign of that.

Like the team manager said, these guys eat/sleep/breathe cycling. Shame
they didn't eat/sleep/breathe a bit more human kindness & (dare I say it)
personality, social skills & depth.

On actual cycling matters, the guy clearly didn't have any bike-handling
skills, but there didn't seem to be any technique-type encouragement,
just the manager barking 'pedal faster'. Maybe that was the editing of
the prog, but I would have liked to have seen some more of the technique
training rather than the talking-head shrinks going on about 'firing the
trigger' & similar new-age/brown-rice/self-help bullsh!t. No trigger to
fire if you're dead on your [censored].

The guy suffered from major sour grapes at the end though - no way on
earth would he have completed the RAAM, unless it was in a hearse.

--
Chris Bardell
[Remove favourite mode of transport from email address]

"Chris Bardell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Peter B" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

It was stated that he had
to ride 5 hours a day every day for training, anyone with a
rudimentary understanding of training knows that recovery periods are
vital so I find it hard to believe professional coaches would give him
that regime. Unless they wanted to knacker him of course.

I guess it was the nature of the programme - i.e. can a 'normal' type be
converted into a top athlete in a limited amount of time?

What slightly disappointed me was the ultra-seriousness of the RAF guys.
Yeah, I know it's a big event, with major kudos points for the RAF, but
they all seemed pretty humourless & unsympathetic. I would have thought
that a bit of humour, empathy, etc. might have made the guy perform a bit
better & would have also improved the prog a lot. They all clearly knew
the guy might not make the cut, so why not have a bit of a laugh & share
the difficulties prior to final selection? No sign of that.

Think *editing of programme* Remember too that the coaches the novice was
given by the BBC didn't seem to be cyclists, so perhaps they didn't truly
understand what is required to make an endurance cyclist? Indeed it was
slack coaching *if* rest days weren't built in to the training regime, but
we don't know if that's actually the case. Heck, even Nathan gets a day a
week off the bike and physical exercise.

Quoted message said:

Like the team manager said, these guys eat/sleep/breathe cycling. Shame
they didn't eat/sleep/breathe a bit more human kindness & (dare I say it)
personality, social skills & depth.

I know one of the guys and he's remarkably human and incredibly encouraging
of others in cycling. But no, that didn't come across well in the programme.
Mind you, in previous editions, when the 'novice' was introduced to whatever
team he or she was becoming part of, there always seemed to be a 'distance'
between the newcomer and the established team. This one wasn't any different
in that respect.

Quoted message said:

On actual cycling matters, the guy clearly didn't have any bike-handling
skills, but there didn't seem to be any technique-type encouragement,
just the manager barking 'pedal faster'. Maybe that was the editing of
the prog, but I would have liked to have seen some more of the technique
training rather than the talking-head shrinks going on about 'firing the
trigger' & similar new-age/brown-rice/self-help bullsh!t. No trigger to
fire if you're dead on your [censored].

Yup - editing. Subject to editing of the programme, the novice did seem to
do most training miles on the turbo and that isn't the best way to learn to
climb hills.

Quoted message said:

The guy suffered from major sour grapes at the end though - no way on
earth would he have completed the RAAM, unless it was in a hearse.

The key for me is that having seen previous editions of the programme where
other novices were put into other endurance events, made the final team and
in at least one instance, the team won the event, it really did show how to
perform at the elite level in endurace cycling is *incredibly* demanding -
much more so than the programme makers possibly realised - after all, it's
just riding a bike for a long time, isn't it? ;-) Also it would have been
nice if the programme had pointed out that whilst the team came third, the
teams who beat them contained professional cyclists, whereas the RAF team
aren't professional cyclists - committed, elite cyclists yes, but they still
have their other jobs to do.

Perhaps this is me, but the novice never looked truly at one with the bike -
it was as if he was fighting the bikeby the handlebars rather than the bike
being an extension of him. But again, the camera can present an altered
image, so to speak.

Cheers, helen s

Quoted message said:

--
Chris Bardell
[Remove favourite mode of transport from email address]

"Chris Bardell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Peter B" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

It was stated that he had
to ride 5 hours a day every day for training, anyone with a
rudimentary understanding of training knows that recovery periods are
vital so I find it hard to believe professional coaches would give him
that regime. Unless they wanted to knacker him of course.

I guess it was the nature of the programme - i.e. can a 'normal' type be
converted into a top athlete in a limited amount of time?

But isn't that the nature of most "reality" TV programs these days? sounds
like they had already booked his and presumably the film crew's trip to the
US so had to keep up the pretence.
Bring back "In at the deep end".

"Helen C Simmons" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

<snip interesting stuff>

Interesting how programme edits can entirely change a person's apparent
personality. I didn't think that the RAFfers (or anyone for that matter)
could actually be that unsympathetic & unencouraging in real life,
without a big event to worry about. Still, maybe that's the elusive
'focus' that non-athletes like me can never even conceive? That said, I
don't think I ever saw one of them crack a smile after the team-chart
before the first TTs round the RAF base... Perhaps elite athletes (in any
discipline) need to disconnect the old 'soft skills' a bit, to
concentrate on their goals? In the context of how the programme presented
it, I reckon I'd have felt very lonely & isolated in the guy's place,
especially after the action moved to the US. But maybe that's what the
programme-makers intended all along? Rats in a cage, just like Big
Brother in a lot of ways.

Perhaps a really interesting programme would be a rough-cut of this prog,
prior to the final scalpel-edits. Maybe a couple of hours' worth. Might
make a good BBC vid/DVD, but limited market I guess. Maybe could show a
bit more of howe the RAF guys suffered on the road - no coverage at all
of that in the prog. Must have been a whole world of pain.

Helen, is your friend able to post anything about his take on the whole
prog / training / event? Realise he may be unwilling or unable to do so,
but the inside story is always the most interesting & strips away the TV
veneer.

--
Chris Bardell
[Remove favourite mode of transport from email address]

The best bit for me was when the conscript slagged off the RAF team in the
closing shots! He said if he had been in the team they would have won.No
way. He was good considering short time on a bike, but low gear on a flat
road when the other riders were in high?
Well it is impossible to do the turn round from 'slob' (word used carefully)
to pro racer in 2 months-is it not?
John

--

"Dan Gregory" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Helen C Simmons said:

To me, it showed just how demanding, hard and difficult cycling at the
top level really is - cycling is not for wimps ;-) The Race is actually a
big event - much coverage at start and at end in reality - but the Beeb
wasn't interested in that for the purposes of the programme. Also - the
finish lasts for days, because as well as the four-man temas, there are
mixed-teams, solos and I think, pairs (men's, women's & mixed), & HPV as
different categories within the race. Of course, all have different
expected finishing times and different race strategies for rest stops etc
especially where solo riders are concerned. So the finish isn't quite
like the end of the Tour de France in Paris :-)

It definitely showed that cycling competitively at the top level is not
for wimps!

Cheers, helen s

Given the 24 hour qualification distances required for the solo event it's
not surprising the poor guy didn't succeed!
Age Men Women
18-49 years 425 miles 400 miles
50-59 400 miles 375 miles
60-69 375 miles 350 miles
He couldn't even do a pancake flat ten at evens and was completely
unprepared for the hills. His saddle seemed too low and very far back
and he kept his knees very wide. Body was very upright too ...
He had guts thats for sure and he has actually given unfit me some hope
for the future.
If they'd given hime two years to prepare for LEL or PBP, and a coach he
might have done a little better.
The negative effect it must have had on the RAF team was not in their
best interests either.
All the best
Dan Gregory
PS O'Bree tomorrow!