Rapha Continental: Assynt from RAPHA on Vimeo.
This may be just a feature-length long advert for Rapha road wear but if you’re gonna do it, here’s how to do it. The Rapha Continental have a series of short films of cyclists around the world and this time they’re in the UK. This truly is a beautiful piece of work. From the colours of the surrounding rugged rocks and mountains, lochs and sky to the relatively delicate texture of the man-made road, there is so much to look at and admire. The grey of the sky and how it meets the grey of the Loch with only a shimmering reflection of light off the water to help you differentiate. A cold April in north-west Scotland might as well be Winter for all its closeness to Spring, these boys battled their way through rain, hail, snow and force 7 gale winds. The words and soundtrack of the video are from ‘The Idea of The North’ which is part of a series of sound essays called ‘The Solitude Trilogy’ which were made by the pianist and artist Glenn Gould as experimental radio documentaries. And perfect they are for the environs and mood of the piece. Now, I’m no cyclist but this truly has me twitching. It looks amazing even in all its obvious pain. The exhilaration and endorphin-crazy buzz of such a ride must be intense and well worth every minute.
Film by We Are Superglue
Read here for more films and information on this video.
