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Bloody glad I don't ride in London though
OK the start of the article wasn't very funny but it's highlighting some very good points at the moment.
I love riding in London and much as they ham everything else up, bus drivers are generally some of the better drivers on London Street s. And of course good riding keeps you out of conflict with them as with any other road users
They are spot on about bus drivers though. There are some right misanthropists behind the wheel in those bloody great things
London riding is fine, a sight safer than negotiating all the potholes around here.
Hmmm, I think I'd rather watch a compilation of "Star In A Reasonably Priced Car", even the one with Geri Haliwell.
Yes - I can see that there were some 'small issues' with their lane positioning. It's just not funny though - they've got the opportuntity to get a message across to x million drivers in the UK and they're just pissing about. I *know* that's the TG way, but still...
proper lol at the 'read and green, learn the difference'!
Righteousness lol!
personally, given the recent spate of deaths on London's road, this is ill thought out, in bad taste, and essentially, not very funny.
surprised Boardman put his name to it to be honest.
what do people expect, every other "Ad" they done in the past, they taken the piss and come up with stupid ideas etc.
Why would any one think it be any different?
I do think is has been some real funny moments,
Armstrong poster and I real think the RED and Green one was very good and I think they should air it!
warton - Member
personally, given the recent spate of deaths on London's road, this is ill thought out, in bad taste, and essentially, not very funny.surprised Boardman put his name to it to be honest.
This. And then some.
piedi di formaggio - Member
proper lol at the 'read and green, learn the difference'!POSTED 1 MINUTE AGO #
+1
I was worried it wouldn't be a pi$$ take.
As warton says. Even my Mrs thinks its in bad taste.
I really enjoyed it, it was funny, I laughed a lot, and it all led up beautifully to a serious point being made about how to treat cyclists.
.that wasn't made?
EDIT: Just saying that it would have had a lot of the viewers on board, and it's a shame that an opportunity missed really.
I ride in London every day of the working week. I found it funny. People really need to take Topgear for what it is - light entertainment with a lot of pisstaking and some bits about cars.
It was never going to be serious and I really don't understand why people are getting their knickers tied up in knots about it
MTB Rob - Member
what do people expect
I [s]expected[/s] hoped they might have taken the opportunity to talk to the x million car drivers (some of whom are doubtless cyclists too) that watch it and help things along a little. Not too much to ask?
It could probably have been done with a little wit but we're ultimately talking about dead people here - sons, daughters, dads, mates - we're not pissing about.
Bloke riding by in flames made me laugh.
I think JC stopped liked driving in his 30's. I was a big fan of his column in the early 90's.
If I ever meet him I will slap him like a village idiot.
I love cars. I also want my son to cycle, drive and ride motorbikes but I truly think he and the two others are self-serving pricks.
It was really funny the whole show is pisstaking and light hearted entertainment
proper lol at the 'read and green, learn the difference'!
again LOL.
well filmed as per usual,funny,and well edited,and at leat it got cycling onto mainstream tv that will be shown round the world
I struggled to find it funny, I wonder how many of the drivers that comprimise my safety each week will feel their attitudes vindicated?
Too many cycist deaths for this to be funny IMO - no shame for me in not "having a prespective" if that's what it gets called.
Maybe there were two versions of the show aired and I got the one that wasn't amusing.
I like miss argyll socks
Nice. Shame the cycling bit was such a mess.
So by the same logic, they should never do anything funny about cars, 'cos people are killed in those way too often as well?
It's just supposed to be a bit of fun
12
In what way was it fun?
So by the same logic, they should never do anything funny about cars, 'cos people are killed in those way too often as well?
showing a squashed bike, in the gutter, to get a cheap laugh in a feature about cycling in london is hardly funny.
Burma special looks good to me!
Also liked the red / green and thought their final 'serious' bike film was a reasonable one - and Boardman et al must have known what was coming their way.
Want that Porsche and that Mclaren
Before this gets WAY out of control (and I've witnessed a very good friend go over the bonnet of a ford sierra many years ago) - it was funny, right up until the point they missed making any serious point.
It strikes me more than anything, than a great, humorous build up to make a great point, wasn't made, and therefore a bit of shitty piece of VT and a massively wasted opportunity.
Which points in the last film did you consider reasonable Markie?
To me Clarkson is the driver vs. cyclist version of "now I'm not racist but..."
That's why it wasnt funny.
The Porsche film is what Top Gear does best. The whole Last Of The Summer Wine routine is getting a bit tired.
That lots of people cycle, that this means there aren't those same lots of people in cars, that this reduces congestion, that cyclist need space.
Ok.
Thanks.
Came across to me as very us & them.
And the best they could come up with is that 'they' should be grateful to 'us'?
Not one positive, pro cycling message in the whole section.
Cycling is dangerous.
Cyclists are not quite as good as the rest of us.
Cycling is painfull.
Car drivers are all saints.
Public transport is dangerous.
Give them an inch etc.
It seemed designed purely to reinforce the prejudices of non cyclists.
Harry, if you don't like it, don't go online to flame it!
A missed opportunity to get any of the positives about cycling across to the masses... and I'm not sure any of the relatives of those who died last year would be chuckling at the throwaway comments about cyclists getting hurt...
Pandered to too many negative stereotypes and too London-centric. FWIW, when TfL published a study (teams of researchers standing on multiple junctions counting cyclists) in 2007, 84% of cyclists stopped at red lights.
Boardman et al massively missed the opportunity to put out all the positive messages and stats. That fake disapproval to the 'films' was weak - they really should have countered with a load of myth-busting facts.
Maybe it comes across as taking it too seriously but given every regular cyclist I know has tales of harassment and near-collision and the main reason people give for not cycling is fear of getting hurt, I'm not convinced light-hearted humour's quite the solution TBH
The good point about Top Gear doing a cycling piece however is that Clarkson and BBC have clearly realised that being anti-cyclist is inappropriate and out of touch... as more and more people take up cycling despite the negativity, the tide is clearly turning and the antis are realising they'll just look stupid if they carry on being anti... so we're definitely making progress even if it's not always obvious...
A new low for Top Gear in my opinion.
I just hope the TG relationship with cycling ends there - no good can come from this.
in 2007, 84% of cyclists stopped at red lights.
They should redo that study, things have changed, a lot.
You are assuming that CB and the others didn't do this and everything that was filmed was put in the final cut
Cycling has no reason to be on Top Gear, it's a motoring programme
We have threads on here taking the piss out of a potential war in Ukraine and we get het up about Top Gear???
We have threads on here taking the piss out of a potential war in Ukraine and we get het up about Top Gear???
We have threads on here about how to replace lead water pipes; get some perspective!
They should redo that study, things have changed, a lot
They should - the absence of official figures mean people fill the vacuum with personal anecdote - which more often than not will come from confirmation bias and availability bias ie: people seeing what they want to... which I assume you are, as much as the next person...
Oh and they should have talked about Bikeability and the fact it's often free of charge - their riding skills were exceptionally poor... the point about cycling in traffic is it gets a lot easier when you do it skilfully...
I thought it was a light entertainment show, according to the fans? 😀
I wish you'd make your minds up.