Customer Reviews

Bicycling through History #1: Early Colonial Washington, The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

At first, I thought that I couldn't possibly write a review of this video. I didn't want to be mean. Then I realized that I had to do so, if for no other reason, just to be sure that nobody would be fooled by the glowing "five-star" reviews of the videographer's friends....

In short, I would describe this video (and perhaps the entire series of eight they've done so far!) not with five-stars, but rather deserving the full five martinis -- that is the number of drinks you'll need to get through the experience if you buy this DVD.

Among my "Top 10" bits you surely must not miss:

10. Where Vickie, the helmetless (!!) rider who "stars" in the film, at one point comments that the camera battery is probably running out, so they'll have to stop filming, thus ending a segment....

9. The repeated and excessively rapid zooms of the camera that give scant milliseconds of time to sites of historic interest as Vickie rides on by. Indeed, most places are passed without comment! Indeed, no research or forethought appears to have gone into this video; they just film as they go, riding and commenting seemingly almost at random, oftimes not even knowing where they are or what they're looking at.

8. The segments where we follow Vickie's backside as she rides along bike trails that could as easily be in Maine, North Carolina, Ohio or, for that matter, the Ukraine.

7. The mismatched music track drones away in the background; for instance, at one point, something like the William Tell Overture thunders away, leading the viewer to perhaps expect an impending bicycle accident or explosion along the bike trail.

7 and a Half. When Vickie comments that the video itself is "filmed by my 48-year old boyfriend who thinks we'll be millionaires by doing these cheap videos... so please help us reach our goal..." or somesuch (I have to paraphrase here, as I cannot bear to watch this video another time to get the exact quote).

6. The depressing sneer on Vickie's face as she rides along, every now and then making really astounding comments like (and I'm not kidding here), "That sign says 'No Trespassing'," or while huffing along, she suddenly sticks her tongue out, dismounts from her bike and says, "that was a short hill."

5 and a Half. The wonderful moment where Vickie, in mid-sentence , suddenly interrupts herself and points skyward, saying, "Do you hear that?" -- the camera zooms up to a DC-9 passenger jet as it flies low overhead, both drowning out and distracting her from the rest of whatever she was going to say.

5. When Vickie, while riding along the C

Boring, Boring, Boring. This woman did not want to do this DVD. She seems to be half asleep most of the time. Nice to have a DVD on this subject (riding a bike and letting us see) but someone who wants to be on the bike would be nice.

Wow...that was by far the worst video I have ever seen. Don't get me wrong it has absolutely ZERO educational and informational value, but it is the funniest thing I have ever seen. I haven't laughed so hard in my life. Keep cranking out more! I'll just check them out at the library after a hard day.

This is definitely something different. The DVD was hypnotic.
I kept wanting to get up and start riding a bicycle, but the trails on screen are so much better than the ones where I live. It seems like a combination of an exercise video and a PBS documentary.The music added to the experience with the old sounding instruments.
The preview for the next DVD in the series looks even better. I can't wait to see that one.

The DVD was fun to watch. It almost hypnotized me. I thought I
was riding right along on a bicycle. The history was interesting and fun to learn about. I like the part about the Revolutionary War. The music was kind of weird, but I guess that was what it sounded like in the old days.
I look forward to the next one in the series.