Anyone watch Speed With Guy Martin.....

couerdelion

A bit early to add to the Sky+ but Guy Martin has a new series out called "Speed". One of the episodes he tries to break the British cycle speed record on a weird enough looking bike. I like Guy Martin's presenting style so should be good!

Darkglasses

couerdelion wrote: »

A bit early to add to the Sky+ but Guy Martin has a new series out called "Speed". One of the episodes he tries to break the British cycle speed record on a weird enough looking bike. I like Guy Martin's presenting style so should be good!

No drop bars or aero bars? Wide tyres? Interesting..

couerdelion

Darkglasses wrote: »

No drop bars or aero bars? Wide tyres? Interesting..

He seems to be doing the attempt in a slipstream so doesn't need aero.

"Guy recruits an unlikely team made up of a truck racer, an Olympic gold medallist, a bicycle builder and a design engineer more used to working on next-generation military aircraft. Together they work out how to modify a 1000-horsepower racing lorry to create a large enough slipstream for Guy to cycle in, and build a unique bicycle gearing system capable of triple-figure speeds.

As he lines up at Pendine Sands in Wales – the scene of Sir Malcolm Campbell’s historic land speed record attempts in Bluebird – it is without question the most dangerous thing this Isle of Man TT racer has ever done. ."


Some more pics here

Beasty

Similar to Fred's setup

Darkglasses

couerdelion wrote: »

He seems to be doing the attempt in a slipstream so doesn't need aero.

Cheating, got it

inc21

He badly need's haircut and a shave I think. Even in slipstream at that speed he's facial hair is going to rip his face off.

detones

Hate to get stuck at a red light on that yoke. I struggle to start off in the big ring!

Wishbone Ash

detones wrote: »

Hate to get stuck at a red light on that yoke. I struggle to start off in the big ring!

I'm thinking about the lights at the church on the village side of Howth! :eek:

Harrybelafonte

couerdelion wrote: »

A bit early to add to the Sky+ but Guy Martin has a new series out called "Speed". One of the episodes he tries to break the British cycle speed record on a weird enough looking bike. I like Guy Martin's presenting style so should be good!

He really needs the help of coach, champ and all around good guy David LeGrys:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q77GMkXzOVE

Still going strong too, despite at least one brush with death.

Beasty

LeGrys setting the UK speed record on the M42 (presumably before it was opened!!) at 110mph

Harrybelafonte

Beasty wrote: »

LeGrys setting the UK speed record on the M42 (presumably before it was opened!!) at 110mph

SD1's all over

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkJA6Fi6CaU

couerdelion

Beasty wrote: »

LeGrys setting the UK speed record on the M42 (presumably before it was opened!!) at 110mph

It looks like they shut the M42 specially for that attempt, can't see that happening these days... I wonder if they'll shut the M50 for me so I can have a lash. Between the N2 and N3 it's slightly downhill and if I can get a tail wind...

Beasty

couerdelion wrote: »

It looks like they shut the M42 specially for that attempt, can't see that happening these days... I wonder if they'll shut the M50 for me so I can have a lash. Between the N2 and N3 it's slightly downhill and if I can get a tail wind...

Well if you offer the appropriate authority enough cash (enough to take a big chunk of the national debt off say) then anything's possible

They only completed the M42 in 1989 - can't see they would have closed it for this - I presume it was done on a new section before it was opened

couerdelion

Beasty wrote: »

Well if you offer the appropriate authority enough cash (enough to take a big chunk of the national debt off say) then anything's possible

They only completed the M42 in 1989 - can't see they would have closed it for this - I presume it was done on a new section before it was opened

I might be wrong (it's not rare ), just looked like cars following him and others waiting to go at the end.

Harrybelafonte

couerdelion wrote: »

I might be wrong (it's not rare ), just looked like cars following him and others waiting to go at the end.

All cars following him were Rover SD1s though. Bit of a coincidence.

Mint Sauce

on C4 tonight.

Cycling at over 100mph for a flat mile.

Thats MPH, not KPH.

Makes my 70kph odd down a hill pretty meaningless.

:eek:

Sir Arthur Daley

Excellent show, some bike and some truck, proper big boys toys there.

inc21

Watching it now on 4Seven. Thanks OP

Mint Sauce

inc21 wrote: »

Watching it now on 4Seven. Thanks OP

Is it on there already? 4Seven just seems to be 4+2 at times.



Was watching it on 4+1 my self.

Beasty

Available here

Dave LeGrys has already said he wants the record back, and is looking for sponsors ...

Beasty

I've moved related posts from the off-topic thread

lennymc

guy martin is a legend in motorbiking circles. the guy (haha) is just a breath of fresh air. Met him a few years ago when he was racing the motorbike in skerries. proper nutjob.

inc21

Why did they do it on sand? Surely there is 3 mile long straight bit of road in UK

eeeee

inc21 wrote: »

Why did they do it on sand? Surely there is 3 mile long straight bit of road in UK

This. It seemed like the hardest way to do it.

He is also mental. Entertaining but full on proper mental! His reaction to becoming a missile at 170mph at the TT was hilarious-didn't knock a hop off him, even in the hospital bed!

Mugser

It's on the 4OD section on the sky 'on-demand' on the sky box for anyone interested.
Good watch.

funkey_monkey

inc21 wrote: »

Why did they do it on sand? Surely there is 3 mile long straight bit of road in UK

Road closures are much more difficult to obtain in GB than in Ireland (north or south). Hence the lack of road racing and all rallies being held in forests.

inc21

funkey_monkey wrote: »

Road closures are much more difficult to obtain in GB than in Ireland (north or south). Hence the lack of road racing and all rallies being held in forests.

Still seems odd though

Captain Havoc

Just watched it there, that was really good. My flatmate and I were glued to it (he likes his engineering stuff).

Beasty

It's not just any road though - Le Grys set the record the day before they opened the M42 - you don't get new motorway openings very often nowadays. I'm also guessing there must be some stipulation regarding how flat the course is.

It may well be easier to get a road closure over here - I might even make the suggestion to Le Grys if he does decide to take it on again;)

inc21

Fair play to him anyway. For somebody not cycling for living, to go that fast is impressive.

Beasty

inc21 wrote: »

Fair play to him anyway. For somebody not cycling for living, to go that fast is impressive.

That's why I think Le Grys will go for the record again. With the same sort of support (and on tarmac, or salt flats) I think he'll hammer the record (even though he's in his late 50s now - he's still a class rider). His previous record was set with what looks like a much less efficient drafting system than Guy Martin was able to take advantage of

inc21

Any footage about Le Grys record attempt?

Beasty

inc21 wrote: »

Any footage about Le Grys record attempt?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmpxJWAJbFM

inc21

Found that alright ^^^
Is there any backstory for him, same kind of way Guy had it. It would be interesting to watch and compare the two.

Beasty

The only "back" story is he broke his in a tandem crash at the 1978 Commonwealth Games which effectively finished his track career

He turned pro for a while then set up as a coach. However he made a return to track cycling with the World Masters winning numerous golds over the years. He remains a top track cycling coach

inc21

All edited now.
Story about his back, very interesting also unfortunate. Thanks Beasty

funkey_monkey

inc21 wrote: »

Still seems odd though

I was surprised too. I thought there would be too much drag from the sand. However, I don't think there would be any road in NI suitable for the attempt and they probably wanted to do it on the 'mainland'.

The lack of road closure legislation in GB is how the IOM TT came about. The GB Rally is always held in forests whereas when the WRC came to Ireland it was held on closed public roads. Although I'm sure there are exceptions, if Rally GB can't get a road closure order then I doubt if C4 and Guy Martin would be able to.

Captain Havoc

I assume they wanted to do the record in Great Britain and as NI isn't technically GB (it's United Kingdom). You'd like to think that they would be accommodated on a motorway at 3am.

inc21

Another 10km/h easily on smooth black stuff

Beasty

Captain Havoc wrote: »

I assume they wanted to do the record in Great Britain and as NI isn't technically GB (it's United Kingdom). You'd like to think that they would be accommodated on a motorway at 3am.

Don't think I've ever heard of a motorway being closed in GB for a sporting event - may even need a special act of Parliament. Even then the motoring lobby would be up in arms about it. Virtually all GB motorways have traffic (particlarly articulated trucks making deliveries) through the night - closing them for repairs/upgrades is difficult enough

Scrappy600

Befor I started cycling I raced supersports 600's in Mondello and have followed Guy for a long long time. He's a brilliant character and is extremely entertaining to watch. Rest of the series should be very good if last nights episode is anything to go by.

couerdelion

Beasty wrote: »

Don't think I've ever heard of a motorway being closed in GB for a sporting event

London marathon?

Edit: Ah that's not on motorways...

Beasty

couerdelion wrote: »

London marathon?

Edit: Ah that's not on motorways...

Actually I think they do close a short section of inner-city motorway in Newcastle for the Great North Run

RossieMan

ah balls. Anyone know when its being repeated?

i cant steam things, at all, stupid 1mb connection

detones

Just watched this and it was entertaining alright. However as a physical feat I'd really wonder how impressive this was. Guys own test results as an athlete were average. I suppose the impressive part would be the balls it takes to do this. However I'd summise that most Amateur racing cyclist could physically do this if they were brave/mad enough.

Vizzy

detones wrote: »

Just watched this and it was entertaining alright. However as a physical feat I'd really wonder how impressive this was. Guys own test results as an athlete were average. I suppose the impressive part would be the balls it takes to do this. However I'd summise that most Amateur racing cyclist could physically do this if they were brave/mad enough.

I wonder though ?
Guy Martin would have a fairly high level of latent fitness anyway.
I'd say that the real key to this is his natural bike handling(from the motorbikes) and most importantly his complete lack of fear.
Sure a good amateur cyclist would give it a go but you could say the same about downhill racing.
Sure how hard is it to just sit up on a bike and let it go down the side of a mountain?:D

Mint Sauce

Vizzy wrote: »

I wonder though ?
Guy Martin would have a fairly high level of latent fitness anyway.
I'd say that the real key to this is his natural bike handling(from the motorbikes) and most importantly his complete lack of fear.
Sure a good amateur cyclist would give it a go but you could say the same about downhill racing.
Sure how hard is it to just sit up on a bike and let it go down the side of a mountain?:D

I thought it was better to crouch down right over the cross bar.



Although the speed wobble at just under 80km was enough for me to add a little extra pressure to the brakes.

afatbollix

Im involved in organising rallys in the UK. They can close a road for events like the London surrey bike ride and the Tour of Britian but the traffic laws stay in place. So speed limits still apply.

They can close roads in Scotland as they run a rally up there on public roads.

A funny story is that Wales rally GB ran a 200 metre section of road in 2008 and a tick arse of a cop sat at the end with a speed gun. He caught all the top guys at about 90MPH. They all landed for the event in 2009 and most were hauled into court and banned for a year but thankfully he did it inclusive of when they did it so were able to take part in the event.


The roads in the UK are alot more busy than the Republic. No chance of closing a motorway these days.

detones

Vizzy wrote: »

I wonder though ?
Guy Martin would have a fairly high level of latent fitness anyway.
I'd say that the real key to this is his natural bike handling(from the motorbikes) and most importantly his complete lack of fear.
Sure a good amateur cyclist would give it a go but you could say the same about downhill racing.
Sure how hard is it to just sit up on a bike and let it go down the side of a mountain?:D

To be honest it all just seemed a bit easy. The edited show over an hour probably didn't help but it just seemed to happen without any real drama. Quick bit of training on a turbo hop on the tarmac for a test and he already hits over 100. Then for the actual run on sand the same thing. There was no real sacrifice or hardship to achieve this, no big failures were he picked himself back up again. No real moments where he thought he'd never do it. I suppose the show gave us no real concept of time passes though.

Captain Havoc

detones wrote: »

To be honest it all just seemed a bit easy. The edited show over an hour probably didn't help but it just seemed to happen without any real drama. Quick bit of training on a turbo hop on the tarmac for a test and he already hits over 100. Then for the actual run on sand the same thing. There was no real sacrifice or hardship to achieve this, no big failures were he picked himself back up again. No real moments where he thought he'd never do it. I suppose the show gave us no real concept of time passes though.

No, they briefly mentioned he had five months to prepare. I think the bit where he's told he has average fitness does make it seem like anyone could have a crack at it.

funkey_monkey

Note to everyone:

This Sunday @ 8:00pm on C4 the second episode in this series will be shown:

Guy attempts to set the world record for riding a motorcycle on the surface of water.

With the help of a Cambridge professor and a team of marine engineers, Guy's stunt hinges on Sir Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion: that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

If he can maintain enough speed on his bike, the 250-year-old theory says he should be able to achieve the seemingly impossible: to ride on water.

The team master the engineering on the back wheel and the extra fittings on the bike to enable it to skim across the surface of a lake.

Crashing is inevitable, so Guy endures a rigorous training schedule, trying to escape underwater from a submersion rig and then conducting a series of dizzying trial runs, hitting the water at 30mph head first.

The final record attempt takes place at Bala Lake in Snowdonia - which is so deep a 10-storey building could be submerged in it - with Guy surrounded by an army of rescue teams and emergency divers.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/speed-with-guy-martin/episode-guide