Culture Show

I'm ranting at myself.

my brother rides a geared bike and says that he's always getting dirty looks from fixed riders. London's generally full of haters though.

So, is anyone going to explain exactly why they think the programme was crap? I would expect a mentally retarded five year old to say "It's crap" without any explanation, but not an adult. What were you expecting? What was wrong with it and what would have made it better?

I like bikes.

I like sinuous carbon speed machines,
I like old english lugged frames,
I like purple sparkly keirin frames that remind me of my favourite dinky car when i was a kid,
I like watching people with far greater skill do things on bikes that make me wince,
I like rollingin a big group thro unexplored bits of london at 3 in the morning,
I like racing my mates downhill at stupid speeds wheter i win or lose,

I like that bikes are a common thread that can bring a really disparate group of people together with all the passion, skill and knowledge that each little niche owns

interesting as in a bunch of diverse people dicking around on bikes and having a laugh? or interesting as in some of the people participating will get a bit annoyed at the non-messengers gatecrashing what was once their 'scene'?
i hear on the grapevine that not everyone is happy about alleycat racing going 'mainstream'.[/quote]

And the reason why is........... http://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=391217 very very sad.......

As far as I know the first one.

I just like bikes

There's enough cliques in the mtb world I didn't realise there were more in the road scene.

I only ended up riding fixed due to a mate giving me a bike - his old work bike [curryer TM].

It is all a bit funny though. My Mrs can't work out what all the fuss is about..

Anyway, it's all bikes init

"So, is anyone going to explain exactly why they think the programme was crap? I would expect a mentally retarded five year old to say "It's crap" without any explanation, but not an adult. What were you expecting? What was wrong with it and what would have made it better?"

i thought it was crap because it didn't convey the thrill and excitement that you get bombing along at 30mph under you own steam with a group of like minded people.
it showed the joy of drinking cheap beer and laughing with the above mentioned people but it's the joy of cycling that it missed out on for me. a lot of cycling vids just make me want to get out and ride this didn't.
but the idea wasn't to encourage cycling just give an insight into a section of society that joe public has no idea about.
it seems messengers liked it though but what messengers think or avid fixed gear or singlespeed road cyclists think is not the point as the program is aimed at people with no idea of what an alleycat or fixed wheel bicycle is. it's not there to preach to converted but inform the bourgeoisie

I just didn't think it had any real narrative, or explaination as to why they wanted to be doing this? What brought them together, why alleycats happened etc...

It was just bit light on content

it was a video on a sub culture not a cycling video, or an alleycat video. it was more about culture, hence it was shown on the culture show

everyones missing the point!!!

look at Joss Stones legs, WOW.

MrSmith "So, is anyone going to explain exactly why they think the programme was crap? I would expect a mentally retarded five year old to say "It's crap" without any explanation, but not an adult. What were you expecting? What was wrong with it and what would have made it better?"

i thought it was crap because it didn't convey the thrill and excitement that you get bombing along at 30mph under you own steam with a group of like minded people.
it showed the joy of drinking cheap beer and laughing with the above mentioned people but it's the joy of cycling that it missed out on for me. a lot of cycling vids just make me want to get out and ride this didn't.
but the idea wasn't to encourage cycling just give an insight into a section of society that joe public has no idea about.
it seems messengers liked it though but what messengers think or avid fixed gear or singlespeed road cyclists think is not the point as the program is aimed at people with no idea of what an alleycat or fixed wheel bicycle is. it's not there to preach to converted but inform the bourgeoisie

agreed. it was poorly produced, badly thought-out television.

TheBrick(Tommy) I don't quite get what everyone was expecting.

Nope I still don't get why everyone is so upset about this 5 min film.

nimhbus christ, when will people stop talking about couriers in general? I for one ( and i know i speak for plenty here ) am in no way interested in them, nor have i ever been. I got interested in fixed gear bikes because it's a really interesting cycling concept, and i was already quite keen cyclist. the fact that some scruffy herberts may or may not use them to deliver parcels to people in advertising really is neither here nor there to me.

I don't idolise postmen either. The shorts and red bag were my idea, and you can't prove otherwise.

Alley cats
spoke cards
social track days
modern fixed-wheel bikes used as work / commuting bikes and not just track / training machines
brakeless street riding
bike polo
roller-racing resurgence
fixed wheel trick comps, skids, trackstands etc.....
trade specific "satchels"

the list is endless.....all pioneered by the courier community and most probably uniquely until very recently....if you are interested in any of the above couriers will always be referenced....it's not necessarily worship..... and I was never a scruffy herbert during my coureer....another mis-perception?

yeah. i'm not interested in any of the above.

i don't think the courier community pioneered bike polo
history of bike polo

@Mrsmith
No-one will be gatecrashing this alleycat.Everyone is welcome to race.

should've used the word "resurgence of bike polo in the form of urban bike polo".....which is certainly is the case in London with Ross and others playing regularly 2 or 3 years ago..

yay winston!!!!

MrSmith i don't think the courier community pioneered bike polo
history of bike polo

They pioneered the 'modern urban' version of it. Specially in Switzerland and the USA. Just like rollerracing was wildly popular in the 60's, 70's and early 80's and then died of untill it came back in (again Switzerland under the name Goldsprints) and London with the fab Rollapaluza.

overdrive @Mrsmith
No-one will be gatecrashing this alleycat.Everyone is welcome to race.

cool.

nimhbus yeah. i'm not interested in any of the above.

Maybe not, but I would guess that quite a few people on this forum are.......dontcha think???

i see. I didn't realise there was an 'urban' version, i thought bike polo was bike polo.

Mr Smith: What have the couriers ever done for us?
Winston: Alley cats
Mr Smith: Well apart from Alley cats. What have the couriers ever done for us?
Winston: spoke cards
Mr Smith: Well apart from Alley cats and spoke cards. What have the couriers ever done for us?
Winston: social track days
Mr Smith: Well apart from Alley cats, spoke cards and social track days. What have the couriers ever done for us?
Winston: modern fixed-wheel bikes used as work / commuting bikes and not just track / training machines
Mr Smith: Well apart from Alley cats, spoke cards, social track days and modern fixed-wheel bikes used as work / commuting bikes and not just track / training machines. What have the couriers ever done for us?
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e.t.c

EDIT :-) for Mr Smith XXX

MrSmith i see. I didn't realise there was an 'urban' version, i thought bike polo was bike polo.
:) you know what I mean though....

From what I've seen and heard, what is played at Brick Lane is different to grass court bike polo......different rules and it looks different too....I've yet to play hard court but grass court seems a lot more "rough and tumble" to me....at least from what I can remember of the bruises I received whilst playing at HH.

Traditional bike polo.....on grass, still exists with it's own traditional rules and world champs with teams from India, Pakisan, France, USA, Uk etc all taking part....this seems to be a completely different "scene" to what is happening at Brick Lane...NYC etc.