VIDEO: BBC's 1991 Documentary, Bicycle by York Films

When I posted the 4-part BBC video series Ride of My Life - Story of the Bicycle, I mentioned that there had been an earlier BBC documentary. Some of you asked me for more information. I remember it as my favorite bicycle documentary, so I wanted to find it. I thought the name was The Bicycle, but searches turned up no clues.

Finally, thanks to David B. Perry's wonderful book Bike Cult, I learned that it was called Bicycle, that it aired in 1991 and was produced by David Taylor of York Films. It ran 120 minutes and was comprised of: Part 1: Invention; Part 2: Wheels of Change; Part 3: The Ultimate Sport; Part 4: The Business; Part 5: Free Spirits and Part 6: Vehicle for a Small Planet. At the time the video appeared we reviewed it in Bicycling Magazine calling it "the best cycling documentary ever." No wonder I remember it so favorably.

It was easy to find York Films online and they were kind enough to share video snippets from the different parts of the documentary on YouTube that I've embedded below so you can get a feel for what an excellent work Bicycle is. You can also watch them on their site here - with a bit more information and even better, you can purchase a DVD of Bicycle from their online store!



The link to this video is: http://youtu.be/rLpab0rLoEU



Link to video: http://youtu.be/P-gSshu3aLU



Link to video: http://youtu.be/mS_1QnjKb7s



Link to video: http://youtu.be/nCG7-CcB8Uk



Link to video: http://youtu.be/WGzONrIDDp4



Link to video: http://youtu.be/Sgtsx-__BjE