5 Of The Best World Cycling Videos, And An Interview With The Curator


Blanche, the Dutch founder of the World Cycle Videos group on the video sharing website Vimeo, contacted me to see if I’d showcase some of the group’s videos.

I was skeptical. Cycle touring videos tend to appeal to the enthusiast, and vary wildly in quality. Most are quite boring (including plenty of my own), unless you already know the riders, or are researching that particular region. But there’s a huge breadth of material in Blanche’s group. More than a thousand videos have been posted to date, from practically every nation on Earth.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/1396719[/vimeo]

This is a fantastic, classic video from Tibet. You can’t argue with 242 likes and 65 comments.

“WorldCycle Videos was founded in spring 2008”, says Blanche. “I discovered that making videos was a great way to re-enjoy the adventures you live through when you’re on a cycle touring trip. Besides that, it’s a great way to show others how cycling is in a particular country. I liked watching other people’s cycle touring videos, so I searched for a way to share this passion with others. The WorldCycle Video group is now a really great platform for cycle touring. I asked a friend, John, to join as a moderator, and on we went. On a daily basis we get new videos and members from all over the world. Moderating has become a very pleasant job.”

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/30601991[/vimeo]

Blanche and her husband produced this short film from a country very close to my heart — Georgia.

“Quite often we get emails from people who think they’re not good enough to contribute to WorldCycle Videos. Our response to those emails is — rubbish! As long as you are passionate about cycle touring it will show in your video, no matter how bad your camera or editing skills are. Don’t feel daunted by the skills of some of the members of the group; they were beginners once and improved with every trip/video/slideshow. But watch out: making videos can be addictive!”

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/30248247[/vimeo]

I find the idea of cycling the Amazon intensely alluring. These slightly homoerotic-looking French blokes already did it.

“We hope WorldCycle Videos will become THE cycle touring platform. We try to be where the cyclists are — we have created Twitter and Facebook accounts and try to get our links posted on cycle touring websites. For instance, we’re members of a Dutch cycle touring club ‘De Wereldfietser’, who have a website and a magazine. On a weekly basis I write a small article about one of the videos for the website. We also started getting the videos sorted into nine regions to make searching for a particular video easier. The next idea would be to create a map and get the videos visualised by country. It’s a lot of work — maybe you can help?”

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/27394665[/vimeo]

A cute and very different kind of video from Japan.

Visit the WorldCycle Videos group and have a browse.

Oh — and if you only watch one video from this post, make it this one:

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/1835844[/vimeo]

Comments (skip to respond)

3 responses to “5 Of The Best World Cycling Videos, And An Interview With The Curator”

  1. Although not from World Cycling Videos it is an excellent teaser. Have a look.

    http://vimeo.com/35807934

  2. Thanxs for giving WorldCycle Videos and it’s members some attention Tom!
    ‘Homoerotic’ Amazon cyclers hahahaha! 😉

    1. Jeez Blanche, you’re everywhere :p

      And nice list, Tom. I’ve spent way too much time searching out and watching cycle touring videos, though WorldCycle Videos certainly has helped with that.

      Actually I have to say that my three favorite cycle touring videos I’ve found are your Mongolia videos, Mike Beauchamp’s The Cross Canada Project, and Mark Beaumont/BBC’s The Man Who Cycled the World / Americas, though I’m also looking forward to Sachi up there finishing hers.

Something to add?