BBC4 the other night

Managed to miss the Tommmy Simpson programme but recorded Belleville Rendezvous for watching later.

Any idea if Death on the Mountain is available on DVD or on-line as it's not showing on BBC iPlayer.

Rob Penn's programme was a good hours entertainment. Although after spending all that money could not believe that he put the front wheel in with the quick release on the right hand side (driveside) bit of a faux pas there.

The Simpson Docu was very good and as already mentioned we tend to forget just how good he was. When it was a massive step leaving England to try and become a Pro on the Continent he made it appear effortless.

However the highlight for me was the following night when they showed Belleville Rendezvous a fantastic piece of cycling themed animation.

Who needs Sky TV when the Beeb can pull stuff like this out of the bag.

I thought his bike was pig ugly too. What's with putting aero Cinelli bars on a steel frame? Still, horses for courses I guess

I enjoyed 'its all about the bike' (though I did wonder how Rapha got away with so much product placement on the beeb). I did enjoy the Simpson film too though it wasn't as engaging as I expected. For anyone that hasn't read it I'd recomend Fotheringham's book to give a real insight.

http://www.no-endeavour.cc/2010/07/when-dreams-turn-to-nightmares.html

Another thing that struck me in "Death on the Mountain" was that I'd always considered Tom Simpson to be ancient history, but with his contemporaries Vin Denson and Barry Hoban appearing in interviews, you realise that if it wasn't for his completely avoidable death he'd still be with us.

For me 'Death on the Mountain' will go down as one of the classic cycling documentaries. Alastair Laurence delivered a respectful analysis of Tom Simpson as a great rider and indeed public personality, yet pulled no punches in telling the facts that led to Simpson's ultimate demise. Wonderful journalism. Rob Penn's 'It's All About The Bike' could easily have been extended in to a series. Engaging guy, clearly passionate, yet I felt slightly cheated that we only received morsels of what must have been a fantastic journey. I guess I'll have to buy the book - as good as he was on TV I know he's a much better writer than he is a TV presenter. But then there's 'Britain By Bike'. Sigh. Hugely disappointing. It appears I misjudged Clare Balding's suitably for the role. Sadly she lacks the integrity required to ride in the shadow of Harold Brierfield, and I can't get the thought out of my mind that as soon as the cameras have stopped rolling she hops off the bike and into a Range Rover. Anyway, in the end, three cheers for BBC4 for broadcasting the programmes. Or should that be 4 cheers?

Totally agree that the Tom Simpson documentary was fascinating - providing that background on cycling at the time, and the fact they spoke to so many from the circuit then.

Also agree that I enjoy road.cc - just make sure I win a prize, some time! Heh heh.

watched the tom simpson documentary, which i thought was well put together and very balanced. i think we remember how he died a lot more than what a popular and talented rider he was.