Review: The Flying Scotsman

I had been anxiously awaiting the release of this 2006 movie on DVD for sometime. I was finally able to rent it last week. Running home from my local Blockbuster, I was convinced I was holding in my hand a new timeless cycling motion picture masterpiece, only to join the ranks of Rad, Quicksilver, American Flyers, and Breaking Away. However, after viewing, I was VERY let down.

How director Douglas Mackinnon can royally defile such a great, true story plot is beyond me!

The Cliffnotes plot breakdown: A frustrated, outcast young boy who is relentlessly teased gets his first bike for Christmas. The bike serves as a therapeutic remedy to the adolescent torture and becomes his vehicle for “greatness”. Fast forward to the future‡ the boy becomes a man and owns a struggling bike shop on the verge of going out of business. With a desire to do something great with his life, he decides to take a crack at achieving the world record for the hour TT on the track. With his much criticized self-designed bike he fails at his first attempt and achieves his goal shortly after. Quickly, his title is taken from him…he fights some inner-demons…deals with what appeared to be bi-polar disorder…is revisited by his childhood aggressors…attempts suicide…finds a reason to live again…and finally comes back to regain his title.

On paper, it seemed like a potentially great movie especially with the leverage that a true story label provides. However, the directing left huge gaps of unsupported plot lines, a major lack of character development, shameful montages, and a sub-par soundtrack.

I’m not sure what’s worse, stunt doubles that are extremely skilled but obviously not the real actor or the real actor doing his own stunts but without any cycling ability whatsoever. While Johnny Lee Miller’s (the main character) body may resemble that of a track racer, he cannot ride a bike well at all. The movie is actually insulting to anyone who has ever spent time on a road bike or the track for that matter. Every riding scene was painful to watch.


Poor riding and weak directing was not enough, this movie also had major historical discrepancies in equipment. For instance, the time frame is supposed to be 1992. However, at the beginning of the film he is spotted riding a Specialized Hard Rock MTB with a modern fork, 1 1/8 steer, and threadless stem! Now I may be a bike dork, but the director really should of consulted a bicycle historian. Also, later in the movie, there is a money shot of his Specialized carbon road shoes that are a current year (2007) model!

I really wanted to like this movie but I cannot endorse it…don’t waste your time. Stick to Kevin Bacon, cutters, Bart Taylor and his crew, and Kevin Costner; they will never let you down.

“Who Cares? I’m Flying” Award

Driven by the age-old heartbreak and devastation of the opposite sex, Alex single handedly conquered all 500+ miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway last week in an impressive 5 days.

We all self-medicate. Some people turn to drugs in times of inner turmoil, others turn to drinking, some clean there house obsessively…we cyclist ride stupid amounts of miles. Cadence is a “cure all” for pain. With every turn of the crank, every climb, and every elevated heartbeat, the anxieties, confusions, frustrations, and feelings of loss melt away. I can empathize.

Alex is an exemplary representation of the “Who Cares? I’m Flying” mentality and this should not go unnoticed!

Lets all raise our favorite mix tapes that remind us of past relationships, boxes of memories, old cards and notes, napkins that an old significant jotted something thoughtful and clever on, dried out flowers, etc. to Alex…you are this month’s recipient of the W.C.I.F.A.!

Check out his blog: http://alexdolpp.blogspot.com/ for the detailed report of his trip.

Teach to Live, Don’t Live to Teach

Today I committed the unthinkable; I went to work on a Sunday. I have been in a bad mood all day. The worst part is, it was voluntarily. Amongst the chaos of teaching in a building at max capacity, I somehow got in over my head in the necessary evils of special education: paperwork.

Understand, I am a teacher, I work roughly half the days out of the year. Yes some may say my job is “so rewarding” or “it must take a special person to do what you do”. Unarguably I do find personal satisfaction in the clichés of molding the minds of tomorrow, but it takes a more special person to work year round! I am completely content with my job and feel it was a great life route to pursue. Rest easy, this field of work was chosen with calculated intent. While I avidly reap all the “rewards” of such a selfless occupation, I do take pride in basking in the personal freedom this career enables.

You must enjoy what you do and I do. However, my job is my vehicle for sustaining a lifestyle outside of the realms of the workplace.

I have learned my lesson; I will NEVER go into work on a Sunday again.

Objectives

Frankie Andreu always said to never leave for a ride without some kind of objective in mind. During the season, I do try my best to adhere to this school of thought. However, recent days have left me striving to identify any reasons to ride other than personal enjoyment.

Although the fall weather has been hot and muggy, I have found one riding objective that has proven sure to soothe the soul. I know you all do it and I know everyone looks forward to it during the fall season…most of us have probably been doing it since the first time we started rolling around on two wheels. I’m talking about the therapeutic sound of fall leafs crunching below our tires. Yesterday, I embarked on a solo 70 mile mtb ride with the intent of nothing more than hunting down as many crunchy leafs as I could and rolling over them as if I were playing connect the dots with my two-wheeled steed. It was whimsical, childlike and reassuring of why I am so drawn to the careless self-propelled feeling of traveling around my environment on a symphony of orchestrated carbon fiber, aluminum, and me. At times, I even slip into a meditative Zen-like state where I forget about all worries, anxieties, and that I am even riding a bike at the moment.

So it is with my suggestion that I recommend all of you cycling junkies to sometime between intervals, recovery rides, race preps, and hammerfests, to go out with the intent of nothing more than hunting down the fruits of autumn.

An Inconvenient Truth!

This is the first time I’ve ever had to bust out the GB in October! Global warming is a b@&ch!