bike travel movies

20 Best Motorcycle Movies and TV Shows To Inspire Wanderlust

Written By: The Planet D

Travel Movies

Updated On: March 2, 2023

When Dave and I passed our M1 motorcycle licenses we fell in love with traveling on two wheels and spent a summer doing motorcycle road trips all around Ontario. While on a long motorcycle ride around Lake Superior, I went through a list of some of the best motorcycle movies and motorcycle moments on film that we’ve ever seen.

Table of Contents

The Best Motorcycle Movies

I was definitely fantasizing about being the star of my own motorcycle movie. I had Born to Be Wild cranked in my helmet and visions of Easy Rider living free in the 1960s. Obviously, Easy Rider made our list of the best biker movies, but there are many other great motorcycle movies out there too! These are our favorites. Also read: The Best Road Trips in the World

1. One Week

Our trip around Lake Superior stirs up many memories of this heartwarming movie starring Joshua Jackson of Dawson’s Creek fame.

Diagnosed with cancer, Ben Foster buys a motorcycle and starts a cross Canada tour contemplating the meaning of life.

He stops at many of the monuments we’ve seen during our journey, including the Terry Fox Memorial near Thunder Bay. This is our pick for the best motorcycle movie out there. Rent it on Amazon

2. World’s Fastest Indian

It was a close call between One Week and The World’s Fastest Indian for the number 1 spot, but we settled on One Week for the best motorcycle movie because it is pure Canadian. However, we say rent both! Watch it on Amazon

Anthony Hopkins plays Kiwi Burt Munro. We love this soft performance by Hopkins chronicling the lifelong dream to take his 1920 Indian motorcycle to the salt flats of America and test the speed and performance of his beloved motorcycle. It’s an inspiring journey against all odds and it would be number 1 for us if it had taken place in Canada.

3. Kill Bill Volume 1

While riding my motorcycle I had visions of Uma Thurman stalking Sofie Fatale through the streets of Tokyo. Her yellow jumpsuit ala Bruce Lee is an iconic scene that definitely deserves a mention in the best motorcycle movie moments. Check it out on Amazon

4. Motorcycle Diaries

This movie was all the rage a decade ago. I remember everyone at work talking about it. If you have wanderlust, this will make you want to travel more. Before he became Che Guevera, medical student Ernesto Guevara went on a motorcycle trip through South America . This movie made Gael Garcia a star. Watch it Now

5. Terminator 2

Watch the Trailer

Whenever I think of motorcycle moments on film, I can’t help but think of Arnold on a bike. I think the chase in Terminator 2 where little Edward Furlong tries to outride the new model Terminator on his dirt bike .

Arnold saves the day on his Harley that he stole from a guy at a biker bar. Remember this? “I need your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle” Ah, the good old days of Arnie. Check it out

Also check out Read: Best Travel Books for Inspiration

6. Art of the Steal

Check out the trailer

This is a movie that not many people have seen, but seriously, it’s a goodie. Kurt Russell stars as a motorcycle daredevil down on his luck after a stint in jail thanks to his bumbling partners.

After taking a fall on a jump at a fair for a few hundred bucks, he gets pulled back into a life of crime and shenanigans ensue. It takes place in Niagara Falls, Canada too, so how cool is that? Make it your movie night tonight

Mad Max was the first of the Road Warrior movies starring Mel Gibson. A cop and family man takes revenge on a motorcycle gang who murdered his wife, his son and his partner. There’s a lot of leather, mayhem, violence, and oh yeah…motorcycles.

The Road Warrior is the best of the Mad Max trilogy, but this first low-budget installment made in Australia gives insight as to why The Road Warrior is what he is in future films.

8. Easy Rider

It’s the original motorcycle road tripping movie. From 1969, the summer of love! Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda travel through America’s Southwest by motorbike while carrying a cocaine deal.

I’ll never forget being in the New Orleans Cemetery where Hopper created so much mischief, he sparked the no public entry law without a guide that is still in place today! Read more: Things to do in New Orleans – Rent it on Amazon

9. Wild Hogs

A silly fun motorcycle comedy following a group of guys – John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macey and Tim Allen on a motorcycle trip.

This ragtag group of suburbanites take off on a cross country trip to get some adventure back in their lives only to burn down a bike gangs hangout. All kinds of shenanigans ensue. Watch it now

10. Place Beyond the Pines

Ryan Gosling and Bradly Cooper star in this drama follows Gosling trying to reconnect with this son. A motorcycle daredevil turned bank robber who uses his motorcycle as the getaway vehicle. This is a crime drama and one of the first places we get to really see Bradly Cooper’s acting chops flourish. Rent it on Amazon

And we just had to add…

11. Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider with Nicholas Cage gets a lot of flack and it deserves it, but I think it’s a fun movie night in for movie night. Who doesn’t want to see a flaming skeleton ride a motorcycle and punish the evildoers of the world?

Add to that a flaming horse and cowboy and you’ve got yourself a hell of a night indoors. Besides, the entire movie stars a motorcycle, so if you love to ride, you’ll enjoy giving Ghost Rider a shot. Rent it on Amazon

12. The Wild One

No Motorcycle movie list would be complete without Marlon Brando’s vehicle the Wild One. It’s a classic, if not dated motorcycle film, but if you love old movies and Marlon Brando, you’ll. enjoy watching his performance and the gang at war with a small town. Rent it here

Motorcycle Documentary Movies and Series

13. the long way round.

Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman take an epic motorcycle trip around the top of the world. Dave and I have done both the routes that these two best friends took in both series The Long Way Down ( when cycling through Africa ) and Long way Round ( During the Mongol Rally ) so we loved these series resisting many of the places that we had been ourselves.

Who doesn’t love Ewan McGregor and seeing him as an average dude (albeit on a BMW motorcycle) is pretty cool to watch. Watch it The Long Way Round and Long Way Down Complete Series

14. Race to Dakar

Charley Boorman took things even farther when he decided to race to Dakar. This is an epic race that I really enjoyed watching. There is more at stake in this film, as it is more dangerous and wild than the Long Way Round.

The 16-day race is brutal and Charley had a severe mishap while another of his teammates was stranded on this trip. Get the Complete DVD series

15. On Any Sunday

It is considered the most exciting film ever made about Motorcycle sports. It was nominated for an academy award and reminds me of those old Warren Miller Ski Movies.

Steve McQueen stars alongside motorcycle champions and it is all about the sport of motorcycle racing. Get your adrenaline fix as it answers the question of why do people risk their lives on tracks around the world. Rent it Today And Check out the follow up On Any Sunday the Next Chapter

16. Riding Solo at the Top of the World

This is a motorcycle movie and a travel movie. Follow Mumbai native Gaurav Jani as he rides solo from the busy city of Mumbai to the Himalayas of Ladakh. The cultural experience takes you through India as he interacts with the people he meets along the way as he showcases the landscape, beauty and hardships of India.

It reminds me of Survivorman as he is a one-man production. It is truly amazing what he accomplished.

Other Shows to Watch for Motorcycle Lovers

• 17. Sons of Anarchy – This series was a must watch from 2008 – 2014. Starring Charlie Hunnam
• 18. Ride with Norman Reedus – Walking Dead Star Norman Reedus is a huge motorcycle enthusiast and stars join him as he travels around the country checking out motorcycle culture.
• 19. Mayans MC – A spinoff of the Sons of Anarchy picks up four years after the original left off.
• 20. American Chopper – American Chopper is still going strong after making its debut in 2003 as it showcases the behind the scenes working of a custom motorcycle shop. Get the DVD

So these are our choices for the best motorcycle movies and moments out there. What’s yours?

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About The Planet D

Dave Bouskill and Debra Corbeil are the owners and founders of The Planet D. After traveling to 115 countries, on all 7 continents over the past 13 years they have become one of the foremost experts in travel. Being recognized as top travel bloggers and influencers by the likes of Forbes Magazine , the Society of American Travel Writers and USA Today has allowed them to become leaders in their field.

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8 thoughts on “20 Best Motorcycle Movies and TV Shows To Inspire Wanderlust”

You forgot Harley Davidson meets the Marlboro man .

The 16 day race is brutal and Charley had a severe mishap while another of his teammates were stranded on this trip.

Race to Dakar is an epic race that was widely enjoyed. There is more at stake in this film, as it is more dangerous and wild than the Long Way Round.

You guys must be too young to remember “EASY RIDER”… Now that’s a great motorcycle movie…

You should also check out The Journey, for an interesting old school travel journey in shot in remote places in Malaysia =) I’m sure it will make you smile

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Journey_(2014_film)

Thanks for the tip, I’ll definitely check it out.

ghost rider bike was a great machine .

Uma Thurman in that stunning jumpsuit always amazed me, but I never realized that she rode a matching bike until today! 🙂

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Updated on 14/05/2023

What better way to spend your free time than to travel on a motorcycle? After all, riding is not only for commuting but also a way to help reduce stress .

As riders, we also have our lazy days and for those days wherein we just want to stay in and relax, this list is for you!

So set your gears aside and prepare some snacks and drinks to enjoy while watching as this motorcycle movies list proves to be addictive to watch .

On Any Sunday (1971)

This documentary has been acclaimed as one of the best and most important motorcycle documentaries ever made . Through it, we can see the unique talents needed for different forms of racing, like motocross riders who are typically free-spirited or desert racers who are often loners.

In Grand National racing there’s Mert Lawwill with his business-like approach to racing versus David Aldana with his carefree approach. Steve McQueen was also featured in this film, along with Malcolm Smith and many other motorcyclists from the late 1960s early 1970s era.

Brands such as Triumph, Husqvarna, Harley Davidson, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki , and a few more are featured throughout the movie.

The Wild One (1953)

A 1953 American crime film directed by László Benedek which follows the story of Johnny Strabler played by Marlon Brando, whose persona became a cultural icon of the 50s . The screenplay was based on Frank Rooney’s short story “The Cyclists’ Raid”, published in 1951 and anthologized in 1952 as part of The Best American Short Stories series.

This event inspired Rooney to write his article, which has since been criticized for its sensationalistic portrayal of biker culture at that time . What many people don’t know about this particular incident is it wasn’t anything like what was reported through press outlets or seen in Hollywood films like The Wild One during their lifetime; there were no deaths, only arrests and some property damage incurred as police tried to control an out-of-control situation caused by too many motorcyclists descending upon a small town for just one day.

Despite all this negative attention heaped on Hollister over decades following that weekend because America had never seen such behavior before then, locals have always considered these three days among their fondest memories when they would get together with friends who came into town.

Why We Ride (2013)

Why We Ride tells the story of who riders are . Individuals with a desire to dream, discover and explore. From a kid’s dream come true, to an old retiree’s return to freedom.

It talks about riding together on dunes as well as carving through canyons with hundreds of choppers . There is only one bond that remains constant throughout these riders’ experiences: passion for their machines.

The World’s Fastest Indian (2005)

This New Zealand-made biographical drama film is about speed bike racer Burt Munro and his modified 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle . In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Munro set various land speed records for motorcycles under 1,000 cc at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. 

He was known for his friendly personality, having the fastest motorcycle in New Zealand and Australia, as well as being featured on the Popular Mechanics magazine cover. Despite suffering from angina and having had a heart attack, for which he was advised by doctors to stop riding motorcycles, he chose to ignore this advice entirely.

Reminds me of a fellow Royal Enfield owner who was diagnosed the same but like Munro, chose to ignore the advice as well and instead switched to a more comfortable bike. This shows how passion triumphs over anything and with will, you can do anything .

Riding Solo to the Top of the World (2006)

A film about Gaurav Jani’s solo motorcycle journey from Mumbai to one of the most remote places in the world , the Changthang Plateau in Ladakh, bordering China. It was a long and difficult 2600 miles ride with 300 kgs of equipment on his Royal Enfield Bullet 350CC Motorcycle.

He went through all sorts of terrain like gravel deserts, high altitude passes, mountain valleys, and steep ascents before reaching his destination. One of the few films which showcase how one can enjoy the ride even when faced with challenges along the way . A difficult riding experience is truly awarding and most of us know that riding and the memories that come with it, are worth it.

Being Evel (2015)

An American documentary film directed by Daniel Junge about one of the most popular daredevils ever, Evel Knievel . The film documents his real-life story until his death in 2007.

It debuted at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in January. Johnny Knoxville, who is one of the main interviewees for this movie, produced it along with Red Bull Media House and Motto Pictures Inc., while shooting was done by Zak Mulligan and Jeff Tremaine (the latter has co-produced Jackass).

Hitting the Apex (2015)

Written and directed by Mark Neale, narrated by Brad Pitt, and starring six of the fastest motorcycle racers that the world has ever witnessed. Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez, Dani Pedrosa, Valentino Rossi, Marco Simoncelli, Casey Stoner .

If you are a MotoGP fan, then this is absolutely a must-watch movie to relive the impressive achievements of these racers . Live the thrill through the eyes of the greatest the world has witnessed.

TT3D: Closer to the Edge (2011)

A documentary film by first-time director Richard de Aragues. The film follows the leading riders of the 2010 Isle of Man TT race and has featured several racers including Guy Martin, John McGuinness, Conor Cummins, and Ian Hutchinson. McGuinness is widely regarded as one of the most successful living TT riders having won fifteen races since his debut in 1989. 

As Jared Leto narrates throughout much of this British-made movie, it reveals how for more than 100 years people have come from all over to compete in this particular race which still poses a significant challenge even today with 200 fatalities over the course of its history.

That being said though around half of those deaths were during time trials rather than actual racing events! Isle of Man TT has been dubbed as “the most dangerous motorsport in the world” as racers fly down bumpy, uneven roads at speeds exceeding 150 mph.

One Week (2008)

A Canadian film that stars Joshua Jackson, Liane Balaban, and Campbell Scott. Ben Tyler (played by Jackson) who has been diagnosed with cancer. He takes a motorcycle trip on a 1973 Norton Commando across Canada instead of starting the treatment. 

While on the road, he meets several people that help him to reevaluate his relationship with Samantha (Balaban), his job, and the dream of becoming a writer. 

One week was released on September 8th at Toronto International Film Festival 2008 before being theatrically released on March 6 th , 2009 all over Canada. It was shot entirely in Ontario making it very Canadian! Joshua Jackson won the Best Actor Genie Award 2010 for playing Ben Tyler while Liane Balugu played Samantha which made her a nominee for Best Supporting Actress Genie Award 2010.

The Great Escape (1963)

Though not particularly focused on motorcycles, it’s worth mentioning that The Great Escape has one of the best stunts ever performed in movies, a motorcycle chase, and a jump scene .

The Great Escape is an American epic adventure war movie based on a 1950 non-fiction book written by Paul Brickhill, an Australian fighter pilot. The film goes through the mass escape by British Commonwealth prisoners of war from German POW camp Stalag Luft III in Żagań, (Poland), during WW2.

Dust to Glory (2005)

A film from the same Director of the successful Step Into Liquid, Dana Brown. This documentary is about an off-road race, the Baja 1000 . The said race is one of the most prestigious off-road races in the world and is sanctioned by SCORE International which is an off-road sanctioning body in desert racing.

The race allows various types of vehicles from cars, pick-up trucks, motorcycles, ATV’s and buggies to compete on the same course, only separated by class. The Baja 1000 has two courses, either a 1,000-mile point-to-point race or a 600 to 850-mile loop race.

The film documents the whole 24-hour race and all challenges that come with it including interviews with racers and celebrities of the racing world wanting their shot at glory.

Somewhere Else Tomorrow (2014)

A documentary by Daniel Rintz. Daniel and his friend Lars set out to travel around the globe on their motorcycles , surviving only on the money they make along the way. What makes this documentary unique is that the two traveled with no support or film crew and dove deeper into foreign cultures more than your ordinary tourists would.

Unlike other documentaries, they had no sponsor or budget to help them get out of tight situations which made the series even more interesting. They traveled, explored, and battled different challenges which displayed their endurance and a different view of the world through traveling by motorbike. 

The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)

A dramatization of a motorcycle journey by a 23-year-old Ernesto Guevara, who would later become the internationally known Marxist Guerilla and revolutionary leader “Che Guevara”.

The film focused on two things, traveling and coming of age . Ernesto Guevara, a medical student at the time, with his friend Alberto Granado, a biochemist traveled across South America initially in Granado’s Norton 500, christened La Poderosa which means “The Mighty One”. Together they witnessed first-hand injustices on social class inequalities which led to Guevara’s radicalization which would later view armed revolution as the answer. 

As a bonus, the real Alberto Granado appeared at the end of the movie . There were even rumors that the actor who played Alberto Granado, Rodrigo de la Serna is a second cousin of the real Che Guevara. Interesting right? 

12 O’clock Boys (2013)

An American documentary film that focuses on a young boy named Pug, who has the desire to join and is fascinated by the notorious urban dirt-bike riders known as the 12 O’clock boys in Baltimore, Maryland .

The group got their name from a high angle wheelie that mimics the hand of a clock at 12 o’clock so expect to see lots of wheelie action by motorcycles and ATV’s !

The film presents the life of a young boy living and growing up in one of the most economically depressed cities in America and the dangerous lifestyle of the pack he chose to seek mentorship from.

The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

A crime drama film which has three acts. The story of Luke, a motorcycle stunt rider, Avery, an ambitious rookie cop, and their sons A.J and Jason, two rebellious high school students.

Luke, was reunited with his ex-lover, Romina, and found out that he has accidentally fathered a son, Jason. To spend more time with his family, he decided to quit being a motorcycle stuntman at a carnival and decided to work as a part-time auto mechanic where he met his boss Robin who was later revealed to be a former bank robber.

Desperate to support his family financially, Luke decided to join Robin in committing several heists by robbing banks at gunpoint and then escaping by motorcycle . He then collides with Avery, the rookie police officer in pursuit. After their clash, Avery found out that the police department is corrupt but refused to join their illegal actions and instead, tried to give Luke’s money to his partner Romina.

Discouraged with fear of retaliation, he decided to record more evidence against the department to use as leverage. Years later, Avery now has a rebellious teenager son, A.J who became friends with Jason. Both high schools students are then haunted by their parent’s past.

The film ends with Avery winning his bid as the attorney general of New York City, Romina receiving an envelope addressed to “mom” with an old photograph, and Jason riding away on his newly bought motorcycle. It may not be about motorcycles in general but this crime drama film is surely interesting to watch with motorcycles having a big role as a bonus.

Speed Is My Need (2019)

This documentary film lets you jump inside the minds of professional superbike racers and help you understand why they risk everything for the thrill of speed. Showcasing actual race footage, unbelievable crashes, and how modern times have changed the sport.

Roadside Prophets (1992)

An American comedy film featuring musicians John Doe from the punk rock band “X” as Joe, a Harley riding factory worker, and Adam Horovitz of the “Beastie Boys” as Sam with lots of cameo from other artists.

The story started at a factory where Joe noticed a cool new motorcycle in the parking lot which was owned by a new young employee, Dave. Sharing the same interest, the two decided to go to a nearby bar to hang out and to talk more about Harleys, the young employee then decided to play a video game and was unfortunately electrocuted to death in a freak accident.

Joe then decides to go on a journey to look for a place that Dave mentioned moments before his death. He then meets Sam who was in search for Motel 9, a place where his parents committed suicide. The two decided to travel together and met different personalities along the way, some of which were the “Prophets” of the movie.

There are lots of weird scenes in the movie but for me, the weirdest one would probably be the group of bikers having a golf tournament in the desert. Weird right? This movie may sound dark initially but it’s a fun happy go lucky one.

It’s a comedy film that bikers can probably relate to in some aspects like the immediate bond of two Harley fans, the joy of getting your first motorcycle, traveling on open roads , or the stereotype of bikers portrayed by the group playing golf. A gem to give you a break from all the documentary and action-drama movies or series you’ve been binging on. 

Ghost Rider (2007)

A supernatural movie starring Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze, the Ghost Rider. The movie is about a stunt motorcycle rider, Johnny Blaze being deceived by the devil, Mephistopheles played by Peter Fonda.

Blaze was initially selected by the devil to chase after sinners but was then offered to be free on one condition, to go after his son Blackheart who plans to transform earth into hell. If you’re into Marvel or superhero stuff, then this is a must-watch for you!

The main bike featured in this movie was a custom-made chopper with a Harley-Davidson Panhead engine . Yes, there was a real motorcycle under all that computer-generated imagery (CGI) though it probably isn’t street legal. Rumors are that the bike is around 11-feet long and weighed more than 500 pounds as the bike is covered in chrome-plated fiberglass. 

Wild Hogs (2007)

A comedy film focusing on four middle-aged men looking for an escape from their daily routine , Tim Allen who plays Doug, a dentist who has trouble bonding with his son, John Travolta who plays Woody, a lawyer married to a supermodel, Martin Lawrence who plays Bobby, a plumber who is often disrespected by his wife and kids, and William Macy who plays Dudley, a computer programmer who is afraid of talking to women.

The four decided to go on a road trip to California by riding motorcycles as a biker gang called “Wild Hogs” . At a biker bar, they crossed paths with a real biker gang the “Del Fuegos” who is headed by Jack, played by Ray Liotta. Jack called the Wild Hogs posers and decided to take Dudley’s bike which led to a big conflict between the two groups.

The Del Fuegos chased the Wild Hogs to no avail and were able to locate and catch up to the group leading to a heated battle between the two. The movie ended with a cameo appearance from Peter Fonda who plays Damien Blade, the father of Jack and the founder of the biker gang “Del Fuegos”.

He showed up, stopped the fight, then lectured Jack and even questioned the gang on who the real posers are for letting four bikers hold off the entire gang. He then acknowledged the “Wild Hogs” by telling them to “Ride hard or stay home.”

The movie shows the bad stereotype bikers gangs get and also how some newbies often get excited and get ahead of themselves by riding as a “Gang” not knowing the impression they give off. At the end of the day, what’s important for us bikers should always be the joy of riding our motorcycles .

The Art of Steal (2014)

A comedy film following Crunch Calhoun, a motorcycle daredevil and semi-reformed art thief . Crunch agreed to do one final art theft with his brother Nicky (Despite having a questionable and ugly past) and reassembled the old team.

They came up with a plan to steal a historical book and shortly after their successful heist, decided to sell copies instead for more profit. We won’t spoil the movie any further as the plot has a lot of twists to it, showing brotherhood, honor, loyalty, and revenge .

To me, this movie is underrated and can probably level with the likes of the ever-so-popular Oceans Trilogy and the Now You See Me movies. Though not really focused on motorcycles this movie showcases stunts that are really exciting to watch, including a scene where Crunch jumped a ring of fire. 

Bennett’s War (2019)

A drama-sport film focusing on motocross. The movie follows the life of Marshall Bennett, a young soldier deployed in Afghanistan as part of the motorcycle unit for the 75 th Ranger Regiment.

During combat, Marshall was hit by an improvised explosive device (also known as an “IED”) and luckily survived the attack but sadly, with broken legs. His injury led to his early discharge from service and was sent home immediately.

Once home, he found out that his dad is struggling with mortgages and was on the verge of losing the family farm. Despite his injury, Marshall pledges to help his family financially by doing what he does best and went on to become a motocross racer .

Sgt. Will Gardner (2019)

An American film telling the story of Sgt. Will Gardner, a disabled Iraq War Veteran who suffers from traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Struggling to go back to his normal life, he sets out on a cross-country journey hoping to pick up pieces of the life he lost including reuniting with his family.

This movie shows how war veterans struggle to recover and go back to their normal life after their tour of duty and a great number of retired veterans tend to travel in search of inner peace.

Sgt. Will Gardner played by Max Martini also stars in one of my favorite war movies, 13 Hours. Tho not related to motorcycles, 13 hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is an interesting watch when in the mood for some war-action movie!

Burnout (2017)

A French-Belgian action thriller film about Tony Rodrigues, an aspiring professional motorcycle racer working as a forklift operator during the day.

The aspiring racer ran into a gypsy gang involved with his ex-wife which led to him moonlighting as their courier – mainly transporting drugs within a two-hour time frame for two months jeopardizing both his day job and his dream.

Tony then makes his way to get back at the gang responsible for all the trouble he’s been through. 

Unchained: The Untold Story of Freestyle Motocross Stuntmen (2016)

An adrenaline-packed documentary movie showing the start and the booming time of one of the most extreme sports ever, Freestyle Motocross.

Starring Academy Award Nominee Josh Brolin, this Emmy Award winning film follows how a group of motocross racers innovated and created a different version of the sport which led to the rise of freestyle motocross.

The film also includes some of the most recognized personalities in the extreme sports world, Travis Pastrana, Brian Deegan, Mike Metzger, Carey Hart, and even Tony Hawk .

Easy Rider (1969)

a countercultural film that encapsulates the spirit of the late 1960s . Directed by Dennis Hopper, the movie tells the story of two bikers, Wyatt ( Peter Fonda ) and Billy ( Dennis Hopper ), who embark on a motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to New Orleans in search of freedom and the true essence of America.

As they ride through the American Southwest, they encounter various characters and experience the highs and lows of their unconventional lifestyle. “Easy Rider” explores themes of rebellion, the clash of cultures, and the quest for individual freedom, all set against the backdrop of a changing America. The film’s stunning visuals, memorable soundtrack, and its portrayal of the counterculture movement make it a timeless classic that continues to resonate with audiences to this day.

Hit the Road: India (2023)

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You left out the movie the living dead, although a cheesey English horror film the Mc stunts are amazingly great

No Easy Rider? And that ain’t the half of it… Nonsense list…

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The 15 Best Motorcycle Movies of All Time

Home » The 15 Best Motorcycle Movies of All Time

As the weather starts to get colder motorcyclists everywhere are left wondering what to do after winterizing their bikes. Fortunately for them (and for us) there are hundreds if not thousands of incredible motorcycle movies available for purchase or rent online. 

Below is a list of our top favorites to help you get through the cold season , or simply unwind after a long day out riding: 

1. On Any Sunday

One of the oldest and most iconic motorcycle movies of all time, On Any Sunday was created in 1971 and still stands as one of the most popular motorcycle movies in the world today. This historic film offers you a glimpse into the grassroots origins of racing, and the lives of legends like Steve McQueen, Malcolm Smith, Mert Lawwill and more.

Want more? Check out On Any Sunday: The Next Chapter , produced by Redbull Racing.  

2. Why We Ride

This lesser-known documentary was created in 2013, yet it already has a cult following! Winner of “Best Documentary” at the 2013 Motorcycle Film Festival, this inspiring and comprehensive film dives “into the world of motorcycling, told by the famous racers, passionate riders, and everyday families” who live to ride. 

Hey motorcycle rider, want to learn how Ride Vision can help you stay safer on the road? Click Here

3. The World’s Fastest Indian

One of the most eccentric, quirky, hard-to-believe, and 100% true motorcycle racing stories of all time. In this movie viewers follow the real-life trials, challenges, and victories of the world record setting New Zealander Burt Munroe as he races his 1920 Indian Scout on the Bonneville Salt Flats. 

4. The Wild One

The original outlaw biker film! At the time of its release in 1953, The Wild One was actually considered to be a representation of the motorcyclists involved in the controversial “Hollister Riot.” This movie rocketed legendary actor Marlon Brando to fame, who then later became a cultural icon of the 1950s (and today). 

5. Riding Solo to the Top of the World

Sometimes you just have to get away from it at all, and in this case that meant literally going to the top of the world! Filmed in 2006, the documentary was the original motorcycle travel vlog. Follow rider and director Guarav Jani as he makes a solo trek to the highest habitable place on earth — the Changthang Plateau in Ladakh, bordering China. 

6. Easy Rider

This American independent road drama is a hugely influential counterculture piece written by Peter Fonder, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern in 1969. Easy Rider explores prevalent 1960s issues of the time through the story of two drug-dealing bikers carrying cocaine through the American Southwest. 

7. Being Evel

Evel Knievel was a legend in his time, and still is today. Learn about this daredevils stunt rider’s fascinating origins, personal triumphs, societal pressures, and wildest stunts in Being Evel. For fans of the legendary performer, this is the perfect behind-the-scenes look into the man, myth, and legend. 

8. TT3D: Closer to the Edge

If you’re looking for an action-packed, pure-adrenaline, high-intensity racing story then look no further than TT3D: Closer to the Edge . Travel to the Isle of Man and to follow along with the world’s fastest, and arguably bravest, motorcycle racers. This movie features stunning visuals and rare behind the scene glimpses into the deadliest race in the world. 

9. Hitting the Apex

Another high-adrenaline choice in motorcycle movies — Hitting the Apex is narrated by Brad Pitt and follows the story of six elite MotoGP motorcycle racers. Get access to behind the scenes footage and exclusive insight into this highly competitive and dangerous world. 

10. One Week

After all that speed it would only make sense to watch a movie about the meditative quality of motorcycle riding! One Week follows the journey of Ben Tyler (played by Joshua Jackson) as he rides from Toronto to Tofino in search of mental clarity and personal peace. 

11. Long Way Round

Just in case a 1-week trip wasn’t enough… The Long Way Round follows the story of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman as they embark on a grueling 19,000-mile (30,578 km) journey from London to New York. Ride along with them through challenges, victories, unique cultural experiences and more.

12. The Great Escape

This 1963 Epic American war film stars Steve McQueen and features one of the most iconic motorcycle jumps in all of two-wheeled history. Based on a true story, this action/adventure film follows the story of a group of World War II allied prisoners, and their attempts to escape.

13. Dust to Glory

This is a movie for dirtbike enthusiasts everywhere. This incredible action-adventure film documents one of the most dangerous and challenging off-road races in the world — the SCORE Tecate Baja 1000.  To make this visually stunning documentary, the team used 55 cameras, 4 helicopters, 1 buggy camera car, and a crew of over 80 people. 

14. Somewhere Else Tomorrow

The ultimate combination of wanderlust and motorcycling, Somewhere Else Tomorrow follows the journey of Daniel and Lars, who set out to circumnavigate the world on the motorcycles — getting by with just the money they make along the way.

15. Max Max: Fury Road

Though not “technically” a motorcycle film, Mad Max definitely makes our list. The visually stunning special effects, unbelievable stunts, and fictional reliance on two-wheeled machines in this world makes for incredible storytelling and high-octane adventures.

While daring adventures and life-changing trips may be at the top of your bucket list as a rider — it’s important to always keep safety top of mind . Whether you’re travelling around the world, planning a race, or just riding to meet up with friends, make sure you have the best motorcycle gear and gadgets possible to ensure that you stay safe while enjoying the ride.

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YouMotorcycle Motorcycle Blog – Motorcycle Lifestyle Blog, MotoVlog, Motorcycle Reviews, News, & How-Tos

5 Must Watch Motorcycle Adventure Films

Posted by: Adrian from YouMotorcycle in Product Reviews , Reviews November 22, 2013

The art of adventure and motorcycling go hand in hand. The level of freedom and excitement that can felt on a bike compares with very little out there in the world of travel and transport, so it’s no surprise that motorcycling has been the subject of many films over the years.

Travel films are no exception – they tap into the consciousness of riders who are curious for more – always asking questions and always wondering ‘where next?’ This blog post looks at 5 must watch motorcycle adventure films, and discovers why watching them will get you in the mood for your next big trip….

Long Way Round

Between April and July 2004, Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor travelled from London to New York ‘the long way round’ – taking two BMW R1150GS bikes with them and transversing some of the most difficult terrain the world had to throw at them. It was an epic documentary series, and still one of the best watches for a combination of travel, adventure and motorcycle fuelled action.

The Motorcycle Diaries

This film about the written memoir of the 23 year-old Che Guevara recounts an epic 1952 expedition across Central America. Stunningly shot, with some great bike sequences combined with an adventure fuelled coming of age story – it’s almost certainly worth a watch

Riding Solo to the Top of the World

Filmmaker Gaurav Jani did exactly this – journeying from Mumbai to one of the most remote places on earth, the Changthang Plateau. Filming entirely as a one man unit, he captures some incredible moments with the landscape, the people who inhabit it as well as himself and his own experience of this stunning journey.

Mondo Enduro

This is perhaps one of the most famous motorcycle expeditions to have been caught on camera. Between 1995 and 1996, a team of 7 experienced long-distance riders decided to travel the longest way round the world – in the shortest time possible. Using Suzuki DR350 Dual Sport bikes, they documented their epic journey while often camping rough and travelling through some of the most dangerous terrain in the world.

Cycles South

Badly behaved, rock’n’roll and one of the ultimate old-fashioned motorcycle road movies – Cycles South is about three guys riding from Colorado to Panama and having one hell of a time doing it. Action and adventure is the name of the game; with hedonism packed into every spare minute.

About the Author:

Infinity Motorcycles in London have long since been the go-to supplier of the very best motorcycle accessories, clothing, helmets and luggage. They stock a wide range of travel based products perfect for your next adventure – visit their online store for more information and the latest deals: infinitymotorcycles.com

About Adrian from YouMotorcycle

10 comments

Cycles South I did see, their stop in Albq. N Mexico is almost ‘historic’, comparing it to the current city, the shop they stopped @ in Albuquerque, Bobby J’s, (yama) is still there tho’.

What about “the fastest indian” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412080/

The Fastest Indian is a great movie. I saw it in Invercargill, New Zealand, which is the home town of its main character, Bert Munroe. Highly recommend.

https://vimeo.com/145022944

5 Must Watch Motorcycle Adventure Films https://t.co/fpDiU2OnUN via @YouMotorcycle

RT @JacobCLittle: An article I put together for @YouMotorcycle on Motorcycle Travel Films has been published. Have a look http://t.co/lt9wI…

RT @YouMotorcycle: Too cold to ride? Grab someone cute, stay in, and watch these 5 Must-Watch Motorcycle Adventure Movies https://t.co/HHln…

We just got back from a trip to Newfoundland (leaving from Ottawa, ON) which took place over 2 weeks. We (really just me) documented the whole trip and ended up putting together a 16 episode series which covers the year long prep (episodes 1- 4) and the trip itself (episodes 5-16). Hope you get a chance to watch it. And hope to see more motorcycle travel vids!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4Fp5uRUQAlfUEMlNmpZUFQ2fFlCOeS68

Sadly Gaurav Jani passed away in 2020! He was a gem of a person and always took time to answer strangers phone calls and have amazing conversations with other travellers! He was an inspiration to the riding community in India. Rest in Power!

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Best cycling films — the best bike-related movies on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and DVD

First Published May 25, 2019

What better way to spend an evening than with some of the best cycling films streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime or on old-fashioned DVDs?

We've polled the road.cc team and friends of the site and come up with our list of  the best cycling films, from racing mockumentaries, the best fictional accounts of bike racing and documentaries that provide insightful and sometimes alarming glimpses behind the scenes. Enjoy!

18 of the best cycling films ever made

Tour de pharmacy (2017) — from £2.49, breaking away (1979) — from £3.49, belleville rendez-vous/les triplettes de belleville (2003) — dvd/blu-ray from £4.99, jour de fête (1949) — dvd/blu-ray from £9.99, a sunday in hell (1976) — dvd from £32.98, the impossible hour (1974) — free.

• Hell on Wheels/Höllentour (2004) — DVD £8.88

Pantani: The Accidental Death of a Cyclist — DVD/Blu-ray from £3.83

• Stop at Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story (2014) — from £3.99

American Flyers (1985) — DVD from £15.55

The kid with a bike (2011) — dvd/blu-ray from £8.00, icarus (2017) — via netflix subscription, 100 metros (2016) — dvd/blue-ray from £9.56, bicycle (2014) — from £2.49, pedal the world (2015) — via netflix subsciption, blood road (2017) — from £3.49, bicycle thieves (1948) — dvd & blu-ray from £4.57, murder of couriers (2014) — from £3.49.

A thoroughly daft mockumentary spoofing professional cyclesport's problem with performance-enhancing substances, Tour de Pharmacy's account of a fictional, drug-soaked 1982 Tour de France is rescued from abject silliness by a series of deadpan cameos by Lance Armstrong.

Available on Prime Video

Small-town boy Dave Stoller dreams of being an Italian cycling star in this light, entertaining coming-of-age drama. The cycling action revolves around the Indiana University Little 500 , an annual 50-mile relay race held on a cinder track in the university campus, and that grounding in reality helps make this a film that's widely considered the best fictional bike racing movie.

Breaking Away won the Oscar for Best Screenplay and as it explores issues of young romance, father-son relationships, friendship and the tension between affluent university students and the local 'cutters' — named for Bloomington's defunct stone quarry — it's easy to see why. This is a film that says there's more to life than cycling — but cycling is pretty darned important.

Available on Amazon Prime Video

When her grandson Champion is kidnapped by the French mafia during the Tour de France, Madame Souza and Champion's elderly and overweight dog Bruno travel to Belleville to try and rescue him.

They lose the trail of Champion and the mafiosi, but encounter 1920s music hall singers the Belleville triplets who help trace Champion to the gambling den where he is being used for stationary bike racing.

This is an utterly charming, slightly surreal, deeply offbeat and thoroughly wonderful movie that'll leave a smile on your face and warm glow inside.

François, played by French comedy legend Jacques Tati in his directorial debut, is the inept but much-loved mailman of a small French village. After seeing a spoof documentary about the efficiency of the US postal system, François resolves to bring American methods to his own rural delivery round. Hilarity, as they say, ensues.

Often feted as the greatest cycling documentary ever made, A Sunday in Hell covers the 1976 Paris-Roubaix from the pre-race preparation of bike fettling, leg-shaving and massages to the final jockeying for position in the Roubaix velodrome and the removal of road grime in Roubaix's famous showers.

A captivating account of the year's hardest day, A Sunday in Hell features stars of the era including race favourite Roger de Vlaeminck and his great rival Eddy Merckx, though neither would take the win in this particular edition of the Hell of the North.

In 1968 Ole Ritter, previously considered a solid but unremarkable Danish professional cyclist, broke the Hour Record in Mexico City, establishing that altitude made a significant difference in cycling record attempts.

The Impossible Hour documents Ritter's 1974 attempt to beat his own record. Spoiler alert: he rode further in 1974 than in 1968, but in the meantime a certain Belgian called Eddy Merckx had also ridden the Mexico City track for an hour and set a mark Ritter couldn't match.

Hell on Wheels/Höllentour (2004) — DVD from £8.88

There was a spate of cycling documentaries in the early 2000s as Lance Armstrong's domination of the Tour de France and the race's 100th anniversary caught film-makers' attention. Many of them now seem hopelessly naïve (we're looking at you Overcoming and Chasing Legends ) but this German account of the Telekom team at the 2003 Tour de France stands up better than most because it concentrates more on the personalities and camaraderie among a team battling for success despite being deprived of its long-time star Jan Ullrich.

Marco Pantani is one of cycle sport's most tragic figures, collapsing from victories in the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia in 1998 to an ignominious death from cocaine overdose in 2004, paranoid, depressed and alone.

James Erskine's portrait of Pantani examines his life and death as part of a greater whole: the prevalence of doping in cycling, and the victimisation of riders dumb or unlucky enough to be implicated. A tragic figure, Pantani was as much sinned against as sinner.

Read our review of Pantani: The Accidental Death of a Cyclist

Stop at Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story (2014) — from £4.99

Recounting the story behind what many regard as the biggest sporting fraud in history, this documentary explores how Lance Armstrong duped the world and became an icon, only to eventually admit to being part of a doping program in 2013. Director Alex Holmes interviews former friends, colleagues and team members to reveal the full extent of the lies, bullying and cover-ups that went on during Armstrong's ascendancy from cancer survivor to seven-times Tour de France winner before the truth came out.

Available on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video

This 80's classic starring Kevin Costner tells the story of sports physician Marcus (Costner) who persuades his unstable brother David (David Grant) to head out with him to train for a bike race across the Rocky Mountains; but tragically and unbeknown to David, Marcus has a cerebral tumour and has to come to terms with being unable to compete as his brother heads for victory. Powerful stuff and a masterclass in bike race tactics, with some stunning views of the Rockies!

This touching French language film directed by the Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne tells the story of 11-year-old Cyril, who is abandoned by his father and left in care before befriending a local hairdresser. Not strictly about bikes, but the closing scene where Cyril rides away is certainly shocking and memorable.

A film that was originally going to be about director and amateur bike racer Bryan Fogel trying to get better at cycling through taking performance-enhancing drugs, only for him to happen across one of the biggest doping scandals the world has even known. This Oscar winner has to be seen to be believed...

Available on Netflix

Based on the true story of multiple sclerosis sufferer Ramón Arroyo, who was told he wouldn't be able to walk 100 metres after his diagnosis... to which Arroyo responded by completing an Ironman. Technically about triathlon, but obviously Ramon has to cycle a fair bit throughout the film.

Director and avid cyclist Michael B. Clifford tells the story of cycling in the UK, back where the modern bicycle was invented. It takes a humorous look at the sport of cycling, charting its Victorian origins up to the present day. Features cameos from Sir Dave Brailsford and Chris Boardman amongst other well-known faces.

It's pretty self-explanatory, but this documentary tells the story of Felix Starck's 18,000 kilometre journey through 22 countries as he pedals his way around the globe in 365 days. The whole doc was shot, directed, edited and produced by Felix himself.

Blood Road follows the journey of American ultra-endurance mountain bike athlete Rebecca Rusch and her Vietnamese riding partner Huyen Nguyen, as they pedal 1,200 miles along the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail through the dense jungles of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Their goal is to reach the site of where Rebecca's US Air Force pilot father was shot and killed in 1971, making the journey all the more poignant as she discovers how the Vietnam war shaped their lives along the way.

This classic post-war Italian film tells centres on Antonio and his young son Bruno. Antonio is long-term unemployed but is elated when he finally finds work in Rome, only to get his bike stolen on his first day. Antonio and Bruno embark on a frantic search for the bike, that he needs more than anything in order to continue in work.

Bicycle Thieves regularly features in must-see lists, and was even named the greatest film of all time by Sight and Sound magazine in 1953.

An unusual title and unusual subject matter, Murder of Couriers tells the story of a group of cycle couriers over a three year period. Some of the stars of the film tell how they escaped a life of crime and drug abuse by replacing it with the thrill of getting out on their bikes and getting paid for it.

What have we missed? Let us know in the comments!

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Arriving at road.cc in 2017 via 220 Triathlon Magazine, Jack dipped his toe in most jobs on the site and over at eBikeTips before being named the new editor of road.cc in 2020, much to his surprise. His cycling life began during his students days, when he cobbled together a few hundred quid off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story) and bought his first road bike - a Trek 1.1 that was quickly relegated to winter steed, before it was sadly pinched a few years later. Creatively replacing it with a Trek 1.2, Jack mostly rides this bike around local cycle paths nowadays, but when he wants to get the racer out and be competitive his preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking - the latter being another long story.  

Add new comment

37 comments.

Belleville Rendez-Vous is absolutely wonderful

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'Velorama' directed by Daisy Asquith is a terrific montage of archive cycling footage. Made to celebrate the Yorkshire TDF depart it has a soundtrack by the great Bill Nelson and Chumbawamba. Nostalgia aplenty. Not sure if it's available on any of the streaming platforms mentioned but it's worth digging for.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velorama_ (film)

I enjoyed David Millar's film "Time Trial" on Amazon, his swan song from the 2014 season. If you can overlook his "pseud" moments, it's a great view from inside the peloton. 

£15.99 for American Flyers? Kevin Costner's moustache is great but don't take the piss r'kid.

Wonderful Losers: A Different World

a stunning and tense documentary about the Gregorios and the medics in the 2016(?) giro.

An overlooked film

We should certainly add in the newest Lord Voldemort documentry 'Lance' available on BBC iPlayer currently -  https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p08s1hc4/lance 

If anyone complains about there being too much Voldermort in this list then lose one of the others as this newest one is far more insightful and current.

Belleville Rendez Vous is delightful. +1 on London-Edinburgh-London, the ultimate feel-good movie (for people who ride bikes anyway). & my personal recommendation, The Frozen Road, available (last time I looked) free on Vimeo. Riding a frozen river in Arctic Canada. Fabulous scenery. Sweet ending.

Tim Stevens The Racer - YouTube. A touching documentary that leaves a lump in the throat and a tear in the eye.

Thanks for the recomendation, I watched this last night, it got me right in the feels. 

Okay some more to add to this list:

Coureur (The Racer) - available on Vimeo and worth the subtitles. If Ken Lynch did a film about a kid trying to turn pro... 

London Edinburgh London - available on Amazon prime at the moment I think. A charming oddly gripping documentry about a few characters riding the audax.

Also there's a wealth of whimsy in the British Archives, everyone really should make a cup of tea and settle down for 15mins and watch this gem of a film about club riding in the 1950s - 

https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-cyclists-special-1956-online 

Im guessing that the "masterclass in bike race tactics" comment regarding American Flyers is very much tongue-in-cheek; it's more like Rocky On Wheels! In real-life they'd all be DQ'd by the race referees!

My Italian Secret. About Gino Bartali aiding the Italian Resistance during WWII by acting as a courier on his training rides; based on the excellent book 'Road To Valour'. A true cycling hero.

All For One. Orica-Scott doc on Netflix; worth watching just to see the look on Matt Hayman's face when he wins Paris-Roubaix. A win that came off five weeks of training on the turbo; so don't despair right now!

For the ultra-inclined I can highly recommend "Inspired to Ride" - documentary film following the innaugural Transamerica race, won by Mike Hall ( https://watch.inspiredtoride.it/ ) and "Onboard the Transcontinental" - filmed over the course of the last three editions of the TCR ( https://onboardtcrfilm.cc/ )

A Boy a Girl and a Bike,.  -  A Classic from 1949 with a very young Honor Blackman (Pussy Galore in  Goldfinger) and a very young Diana Dors. Great Yorkshire Dales scenery with bits of old Hebden Bridge and Halifax. Plus all those lovely vintage bikes. Even has a bit of road rage and bicycle theft.  They don't make 'em like that anymore.

Im not sure why 'Chasing Legends' was labelled as naive (it's also from 2010, not early 2000's as claimed) - I've seen it a couple of times and I think it's an interesting look at a super successful team and the personalities involved. Does every doc need to be an expose of the bad old years or can we not appreciate a film that looks at the positives of our sport?

The Bicycle Thief

Sunday in Hell

What else is there? I know...

Brigitte Bardot's bottom as she rides her bicycle in And God Created Woman. 

Not to be missed

Breaking Away - just brilliant! Even the non-cyclists in your family will love it. 

London Edinburgh London is on Amazon Prime if you want to be put off trying out Audax.

The Program (Armstrong dramatisation) is on iPlayer (but not for long).

The Program is pretty rubbish - I'm not sure why it was needed when you already have two great documentaries about Armstrong. 

'The Stars and The Water Carriers: The 1973 Giro d'Italia' ? Brilliant flm. Watched it a few times.

StraelGuy wrote: 'The Stars and The Water Carriers: The 1973 Giro d'Italia' ? Brilliant flm. Watched it a few times.

  you can see it on u tube

      The bicycle thief  is my pick.

Tour de Pharmacy, is available on YouTube and Google play and is a hilarious mockumentary with a genius cameo from Lance Armstrong.

I can't find it on any of the streaming formats sadly but MAMIL the film is available on DVD  from Amazon.  A load of us from the club watched it together and it is brilliantly (sometimes uncomfortably) funny as it reflected so many of us.

Gstev68 wrote: Tour de Pharmacy, is available on YouTube and Google play and is a hilarious mockumentary with a genius cameo from Lance Armstrong.   I can't find it on any of the streaming formats sadly but MAMIL the film is available on DVD  from Amazon.  A load of us from the club watched it together and it is brilliantly (sometimes uncomfortably) funny as it reflected so many of us.

T deP - Currently on Netflix (Ireland) at the moment.

Quicksilver, anyone?

Kevin Bacon doing his own tricks in a New York warehouse apartment - very cool. Nice opening scene where first African American cyclist to win an olympic medal goes head-to-head with a taxi. 

Whole thing is as corny as hell, but good entertainment all the same.  

1, breaking away. 2, premium rush.

leaway2 wrote: 1, breaking away. 2, premium rush.

Its popcorn fluff, but I like it!

Lacking "Jour de fete" from Jacques Tati. A true classic about a french postman.

jerome wrote: Lacking "Jour de fete" from Jacques Tati. A true classic about a french postman.

That's what I was going to say. A superb film.

Dr Madvibe wrote: jerome wrote: Lacking "Jour de fete" from Jacques Tati. A true classic about a french postman.

Got the DVD from Santa, love the credit for Tati's bike. A 1911 Peugeot apparently.   

Made to last in those days judging from the amount of abuse it gets.

Some others:

Tom Allen a some friends go on a bike trip around the world and it ends up in an unexpected place.

There used to be a Hackney Bicycle Film Society (they're now called Radical Film Club) that used to show lots of cycling films. If I get the time, I'll compile a list of what they showed.

The last ones they showed were:

The Impossible Hour is a concentrated study of Ole Ritter's attempt in Mexico City in 1974 to set a new record for the hour - described in the film as "the noblest, most difficult record that can be set on a bicycle".

Vive le Tour, Louis Malle presents his energetic evocation of the Tour de France.

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7 best cycling movies (that every road cyclist should watch)

In this article, we share our pick of the best cycling movies ever made.

From the 1948 classic cycle movie, Bicycle Thieves, to modern day cinema, these are our picks for a dose of escapism.

You might notice a lack of documentaries in the list. That’s because there are so many out there, we had to create a separate round up! Check out our pick of the best cycling documentaries here .

Read on – and let us know your favourites in the comments at the bottom of the article.

Notes: Our list is ordered from the most recent to the oldest. Most of the more famous cycling films are older, so you may need to scroll down if there’s a particular film you’re looking for!

We’ve included details of where you can watch the films (as at the time of writing), as well as a link to a website that compares the cost on different streaming services (if the film is listed on the website – it doesn’t list them all).

1. Wadjda (2012)

• Main subject: Everyday life for a child in Saudi Arabia.
• Best for: If you want to be reminded of why you fell in love with cycling as a child, watch this!
• Where to watch: Chili, Curzon, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Sky Store

Wadjda is a ten-year-old girl living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She desperately wants a bicycle so that she can race against her neighbour, Abdullah. Her mother won’t allow it, harshly telling her ‘you won’t be able to have children if you ride a bike’. So, Wadjda sets her heart on raising the money to buy a bicycle all by herself.

Wadjda is ground-breaking in that it was the first film to ever be shot entirely in Saudi Arabia, a country without cinemas. It was also the first feature-length movie to be made by a female Saudi director.

But it deserves a place on our list of the best cycling movies in the world because it’s also full of incredible realism, drama and it has a beautifully moving ending. We also love the insights into life in Saudi Arabia, the fact you get to see what Riyadh is like and the fascinating commentary on women’s position and status within Saudi culture.

The film has won numerous awards and, despite having subtitles, we think it’s a must-watch.

2. The Kid with a Bike (2011)

• Main subject: Family, childhood and loss.
• Best for: Parents will relate to this film, just be sure to have the tissues ready!
• Where to watch: Amazon Prime, Apple TV, BFI Player, Chili

The Kid with a Bike is the heart-wrenching story of a 12-year-old boy, Cyril, who is abandoned by his father and left in a children’s home. Cyril absconds on his bike and makes friends with a local hairdresser who kindly agrees to look after him at weekends. After a search, Cyril tracks down his father who rejects him once more. This results in Cyril falling into the company of a local gang leader who leads him down the wrong path.

This critically-acclaimed film has outstanding reviews, with a score of 96% on movie review site RottenTomatoes.com. Be aware that cycling is not the dominant story in this movie – also it’s in French with English subtitles, although you barely notice them as the tale is so gripping and emotional.

The Kid with a Bike is similar to Wadjda in many ways, as both children defy adversity to seek happiness, aided by their beloved bicycles.

3. The Triplets of Belleville (2003)

• Main subject: Professional cycling
• Best for: Cycling fans with an open mind who are looking for something completely different to the usual bike movies
• Where to watch: Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Microsoft Store, YouTube

The Triplets of Belville is a French animated cycling film with much of the narrative conveyed through song. This crazy, funny and somewhat emotional cartoon movie tells the tale of a champion Tour de France cyclist who is kidnapped by the French Mafia. His elderly grandmother comes to the rescue, along with her loyal dog Bruno and a trio of singers from the 1930s who are known as The Triplets of Belleville.

You’d be forgiven for thinking the concept of this movie sounds bonkers, because it is! This film is completely different to anything else ever created, which is one of the reasons why it’s so brilliant. The Triplets of Belville is packed with humour, emotion and is sure to put a huge grin in your face. Plus, with a fantastic 94% on RottenTomatoes.com, the reviews are excellent.

Give it a watch, you’ll probably surprise yourself.

4. American Flyers (1985)

• Main subject: Amateur cycle racing
• Best for: Fans of classic cycling – this Kevin Costner bike movie includes actual footage from the Coors International Bicycle Classic
• Where to watch: Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Chili, Google Play, Microsoft Store YouTube
• Price comparison

One of the best bike racing movies of all time, American Flyers stars Kevin Costner as sports physician Marcus Sommers who persuades his younger brother to train with him for a three-day bike race across the Rocky Mountains; the “Hell of the West”. The plot revolves around the suspicion that one of the two bothers may have a hereditary brain condition which could cause them to become paralysed at any time.

As well as a good dollop of 80s cheesiness, bad moustaches, awkward sex scenes and nasty crashes, this movie has some great bike racing footage. There’s also fantastic aerial cinematography of the stunning red rock landscape – and a surprising cameo by Eddie Merckx! If you like movies about cycling, there’s plenty to enjoy in this classic film.

​​5. Breaking away (1979)

• Main subject: Amateur cycle racing (and growing up)
• Best for: Anyone looking to watch a relatable, feel-good old bike movie from the 1970s

Breaking Away is a coming of age comedy-drama about four teenage misfits in Bloomington, Indiana, one of the largest college towns in America. It’s a heart-warming tale about young men finding their way in a place where they feel like they don’t fit in amongst the rich, snobby college kids.

The film centres around a young cyclist, Dave Stohler, and his passion for Italian road cycling after he wins a Masi bike. The film culminates in the friends forming a cycling team for the University’s Little 500 – they are the only “townie” team against the College kids.

This critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning, iconic cycling film is easily one of the top cycling movies of all time and one that we’d watch many times as the film explores lots of themes on top of the cycling backdrop including the transition from aimless childhood to adult responsibility, class difference, parental expectation, the importance of family and life in small town America.

6. Jour de Fete (1949)

• Main subject: Daily life in 1940s France
• Best for: Fans of Charlie Chaplin, classic comedy and vintage cycling films
• Where to watch: Amazon Prime

Meaning ‘The Big Day’ in French, Jour de Fete is a French comedy film which was written by, directed by and stars comic actor Jacques Tati. The movie follows a bumbling postman as becomes distracted, drinks too much wine and then goes to hilarious lengths to deliver the post as quickly as possible on his bicycle.

Although this film is in French with English subtitles, the captions are barely needed as much of the comedy is visual in the style of silent movies from earlier in history.

Unusually for a film from the 1940s, Jour de Fete has been skilfully produced in colour, giving a beautiful visualisation of life in post-war rural France.

7. Bicycle Thieves (1948)

• Main subject: Daily life in 1940s Italy
• Best for: Cyclists and non-cyclists alike who want to be transported back in time to post-war Rome
• Where to watch: Amazon Prime, BFI Player, Rakuten TV, Sky Store

One of the greatest cycling films of all time, Bicycle Thieves is a powerful and emotional work of art. Set in post-war Rome, it tells the simple tale of Antonio, an unemployed man who at last secures a job hanging posters. The only requirement for the role is that he must have his own bicycle. When Antonio’s bicycle is stolen, he trudges the streets with his young son in desperate search of it.

This incredible Oscar-winning film has had an impact on worldwide cinema right up to the present day and has a place in countless ‘best movies’ lists. It features some wonderful shots of 1940s Rome and has an incredibly moving story.

What’s your favourite cycling film?

Let us know in the comments below!

If you’re interested in our pick of the best cycling documentaries, you can find those here, and our round up of the best cycling books here.

Happy viewing/reading!

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One Response to “7 best cycling movies (that every road cyclist should watch)”

I love cycling movies! These are some of my favorites:

The Rider The Imitation Game The Tour de France The Ghost Writer The Grand Tour

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18 of the best cycling movies about roadies

Our picks of the best films about skinny tyres and carbon fibre

Courtesy (BikeRadar edit)

Colin Levitch

If you’re anything like us, when we’re not riding bikes, fixing bikes or generally thinking about bikes we can probably be found watching movies about bikes.

With a plethora of movies about cycling, both documentaries and Hollywood blockbusters, there’s plenty to keep you entertained.

Here are our favourite feature-length movies about roadies.

• Best cycling books

Breaking Away

Breaking Away is the iconic cycling film.

David (the characters in the movie only have first names) is unsure what do with his life after graduating from high school and becomes infatuated with bike racing and Italian culture after winning a Masi bike, which infuriates his father Ray, a used car salesman.

So, when an Italian pro racing team comes to town you know David is going to be in the race. Annoyed at David’s strength and gusto, one of the Italian riders pulls a dodgy move and leaves him battered and broken physically and emotionally.

After a brawl over a girl and some mistaken identity, David and his motley crew of friends are invited to participate in the Indiana University Little 500 race.

• Available on DVD and Amazon Prime Video

30 for 30: Slaying the Badger

As part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series of documentaries, Slaying The Badger is the story of American cyclist Greg LeMond and his rivalry with Bernard Hinault.

Based on Richard Moore’s book of the same name, the film looks back at the 1986 Tour de France, the first year it was televised live, where Hinault promised to help LeMond to his first Tour win in return for his support in the previous year's Tour.

However, things didn’t quite go according to plan and an epic battle ensued – and remember, they’re riding for the same team.

• Available on ESPN Player

Pee-wee’s Big Adventure

Okay, this one isn't really about roadies. Cycling films as a whole are pretty grim, it’s all about pain, suffering, a bit of triumph and lots of tragedy, which is why Tim Burton's cult classic Pee-wee’s Big Adventure snags a spot on our list.

Pee-wee Herman, a young-at-heart man-child goes on his first big adventure when his beloved bicycle is stolen after his arch nemesis Francis Buxton pays for it to be nicked and destroyed.

After a psychic tells Pee-wee his bike is at the Alamo, he embarks on an epic cross-country adventure in search of his beloved bicycle.

The Flying Scotsman

The Flying Scotsman is a British drama depicting Graeme Obree and his love/hate affair with the hour record.

The film covers the period in which Obree takes, loses and then retakes the record, and portrays his struggle with depression as well as the impact he had on track cycling, not only as a rider but also on equipment rules.

• Available on DVD

Thereabouts

A few years back Lachlan and Angus (Gus) Moreton set a massive challenge for themselves to ride from their childhood home in Port Macquarie to Uluru (Ayers Rock), and at the time Lachlan was riding for Garmin-Sharp and Gus had only been riding for a month following a long hiatus.

The journey saw them ride nearly 2,500km in 12 days to one of the most remote parts of Australia and is as much about the people they met along the way as it is about the bike.

• Free to watch on Vimeo

Hell on Wheels

Not to be confused with the AMC TV show about the construction of the transcontinental railroad, Hell On Wheels is a documentary that profiles the Tour de France’s 100th anniversary in 2003 from the perspective of Erik Zabel and Team Telekom.

The documentary follows the team through the major ups and extreme lows that riders experience during the race, as well as what happens when the riders aren’t racing.

This is a heavy one and it’s got subtitles too so don’t go in expecting an upbeat, easy-viewing film. But it’s definitely worth a watch.

Road to Roubaix

For this writer, Paris Roubaix is the highlight of the cycling season. The chaos, the dirt, the panache and luck it takes just to survive the race makes for sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat entertainment.

Road To Roubaix is an exciting documentary that tells the stories of the riders, fans and mechanics from the one-day epic every year.

Told in their own words, the film features the 2007 race combined with behind the scenes footage and a mix of archival and rare historic footage.

• Road to Roubaix DVD review

A Sunday in Hell

Because we love Roubaix so much it shouldn’t be a surprise to see another film about the race make our list of favourites.

While Road to Roubaix covers the contemporary race, A Sunday in Hell takes us back to the 1976 edition, which featured the likes of Eddy Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck, Freddy Maertens and Francesco Moser.

The film tells the story of the race through the eyes of team directors, spectators, mechanics and even a group of protesters who managed to stop the race for a short period of time.

American Flyers

In this Kevin Costner classic, sports physician Marcus Sommers (Costner) persuades his younger brother David Grant to train with him for a three-day bicycle race across the Rocky Mountains, known as "The Hell of the West" – a real bike race in Colorado now under the moniker the Superior Morgul Classic.

Marcus doesn't tell David that he has a brain aneurysm, which could render him paralysed or dead at any given moment, and convinces David to join him on a cross-country trip to Colorado for the race. Marcus’s secret inevitably catches up with him leaving David with a moral dilemma.

The Armstrong Lie

When director Alex Gibney set out to make The Road Back , a documentary about Lance Armstrong's comeback after four years of retirement, he had no idea what he was getting into.

After abandoning the film in 2012 following Armstrong's doping investigation and lifetime ban, Gibney reworked and revived the project, opening the film with the American’s appearance on Oprah.

The Armstrong Lie offers a surprisingly balanced portrayal of one of cycling's biggest scandals and chronicles Armstrong's rise and fall from grace.

Do we need another Lance Armstrong documentary? Well, perhaps not, but this one is definitely worth a watch.

New for 2020 and based on a series of extensive interviews, Lance is a warts-and-all two-part film that tells the story of cycling's most infamous rider.

• Available on BBC iPlayer

Rising from Ashes

In 1994, Rwanda experienced a heinous genocide, between 500,000 and 1,000,000 innocent lives were lost and millions of children were left orphaned. Jump to 2006 and former pro Jacques Boyer moves to Rwanda to help a group of genocide survivors work to form a national cycling team.

The team is made up of orphaned children, left traumatised by the genocide a decade earlier, and over the course of the story both Boyer and the team "rise from the ashes" of their pasts with the help of their new achievements.

Belleville Rendez-Vous (The Triplets of Belleville)

From a young age, Madame Souza instils a love of cycling on to her grandson named Champion, and as a young man becomes a road racer with his grandmother acting as coach.

During a mountain stage in the Tour de France, Champion and two of his competitors are kidnapped by a group who want to use the threesome's unique skills for nefarious purposes. With Champion's overweight and loyal dog Bruno in tow, Madame Souza sets out to find Champion.

Their mission takes them overseas to the town of Belleville where Madame Souza and Bruno meet three elderly women, formerly the famous singing group The Triplets of Belleville , who help Madame Souza find her grandson.

This animated French film is genuinely like nothing you've ever seen but is sure to put a smile on your face.

Tour de Pharmacy

Okay, it’s a stupid movie but I still enjoyed it. From the mind that brought you The Lonely Island and Hot Rod , Tour De Pharmacy lampoons cycling’s doping scandals and tells the story of the 1982 Tour de France – not the real one, of course.

In the movie, the 1982 edition of the race is so rife with doping that all but five riders were disqualified. The remaining racers Marty Hass (Adam Samberg), Juju Peppi (Orlando Bloom), Slim Robinson (Daveed Diggs), Gustav Ditters (John Cena) and Adrian Baton (Freddie Highmore) battle it out.

There is a star-studded cast with cameos from J.J. Abrams, Dolph Lundgren, Joe Buck, Maya Rudolf, Jeff Goldblum, and even Lance Armstrong of all people.

Don’t go in expecting high-brow comedy, Tour de Pharmacy is packed full of wiener jokes, odd ball characters and a bit of full-frontal male nudity, but if you can handle the shock factor it’s well worth your time.

• Available on Amazon Prime Video .

What happens when a playwright embarks on a human guinea pig experiment to expose the ineffectiveness of the anti-doping establishment used to test athletes? Well for Bryan Fogel it meant blowing the lid off a state sponsored doping programme and one of the biggest scandals in sporting history.

Initially, Fogel set out to game the system by using PEDs to prep for the Haute Route under the guise, “I could get away with it, that would mean pretty much any athlete could do it and get away with it.”

Following an introduction to former doctor Grigory Rodchenkov, the director of Moscow’s anti-doping centre, he guides Fogel through its doping program and ends up exposing the Russian sponsored doping effort after he’s implicated by a 2015 report from WADA.

What starts as a personal experiment turns into an international controversy involving unexplained death, dirty urine and one of the biggest doping operations in history.

• Available on Netflix

Le Vélo de Ghislain Lambert

Born on the same day as Eddy Merckx, Belgian cyclist Ghislain Lambert always wanted to be a champion, but doesn’t quite have the legs for it.

Set in the 1970s, the producers have nailed the Merckx era (the film was made in 2001) with classic bikes, team cars and wool jerseys.

The film follows Lambert though his time on the Magicreme Maurice Focodel team. With dreams of glory, Lambert ends up as the 'water carrier', but with the help of his team mate Riccardo, he experiments with doping and ends up using the incorrect dose.

After falling out of favour with the team, sometime later Lambert is selected for the Tour de France where he becomes the darling of the public as the Lanterne Rouge .

Chock full of cultural references and some cringey doping jokes, the film can feel a bit slapstick with plenty of riders flying over the bars into ditches.

The movie is only available in French, but an English subtitled version is readily available.

All for One

This documentary film follows the GreenEdge (now Mitchelton–Scott) team, Australia's first ProTour cycling team, from the first training camps through to its extraordinary success in 2016.

Highlights include the best of the ‘Back Stage Pass’ behind the scenes episodes (also produced by Dan Jones), showing off the Aussie ‘larrikin’ spirit that the team is built on.

All For One also delves into the stories of individual riders on the team, through the highs and lows in their careers, and focuses on a few key riders and their relationships.

The film doesn't ask the confrontational questions and the gaps are apparent, but All for One makes a nice change by portraying cycling in a positive light – a sharp contrast from many of the dark and controversial corners of professional cycling.

• Available on Amazon

The Least Expected Day: Inside the Movistar Team 2019

The Least Expected Day is a behind-the-scenes look at Movistar Team's 2019 season, focusing on the three Grand Tours.

Spanning six episodes, the Netflix Movistar documentary series looks to tick all the classic pro cycling documentary boxes: directeurs sportifs shouting into radio handsets, rabid crowds, and emotional scenes at the finish line.

It's in Spanish, so English speakers will need to read subtitles, but that won't put true pro cycling nerds off. We're looking forward to this.

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Top 10 Bicycle Movies

Our top 10 bicycle movies span the genres and styles: from classics to contemporary blockbusters and a recently released documentary; from informative to inspiring and heartwarming.

By Gabby Korcheva

Our top 10 bicycle movies span the genres and styles: from classics to contemporary blockbusters and a recently released documentary; from informative to inspiring and heartwarming. How did we single these out? All were produced and set in North America, and all feature memorable bike scenes.

Pee-weeís Big Adventure (1985)

Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens) embarks on a nationwide search for his beloved bike after it is stolen while he was visiting his friend Dottie (Elizabeth Daily).

Cru Jones (Bill Allen), a young BMX rider who lives in a small town with his mother and sister, is faced with a tough decision: qualify for the Helltrack, one of the largest BMX events, or take the SATs and apply to college in this classic coming-of-age story.

Quicksilver (1986)

After losing out on a risky business decision, Jack Casey (Kevin Bacon) leaves the fast-paced world of stock market trading and becomes a bicycle messenger.

Pedal (2001)

Shot through a camera clipped to a messenger’s helmet, this short documentary is about the fast-paced daily activities of bicycle messengers in New York City.

Klunkerz (2006)

A documentary about the beginnings and growth of the mountain bike culture from a small group of innovators to a multi-billion-dollar industry.

American Flyers (1985)

This powerful film tells the story of two brothers, David (David Marshall Grant) and Marcus (Kevin Costner), who face the possibility of developing a crippling hereditary brain disease. Realizing they may not have much time left, they decide to embark on a cross-country journey to a bicycle race in Colorado.

Breaking Away (1979)

Dave (Dennis Christopher), one of four friends growing up in the small college town of Bloomington, IN, is obsessed with competitive bicycle racing. Adventures ensue as Dave searches for his place in the town and biking community.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

This classic American western tells the story of two outlaws and their exploits. In an unforgettable bicycle scene, Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) takes Etta Place (Katharine Ross) for a ride through the countryside to the tune of B.J. Thomas’s “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on my Head.”

Ride the Divide (2010)

A small group of adventurous bikers travel over 2,700 miles (4,300 kilometers) from Banff, AB, to the Mexican border in an attempt to ride the longest bike route in the world.

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Elliot (Henry Thomas) helps a lost alien get home in a dramatic flying bicycle scene.

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34 Comments

Key Exchange

80s movie, based on a play, not great though. Features a sex scene on a bicycle. First.

(continued) In fact, Tuff Turf begins with a night shot of James Spader riding his bike next to a long steel rail, while a dark, ominous-sounding New Wave track sung (snarled) by Marianne Faithfull plays in the background. He rides through the neon-soaked streets of L.A. alone. He even manages to foil an attempted robbery by kicking the crap out of one of the gang members without even getting off his bike. LOL

In the 1985 b-movie “Tuff Turf”, James Spader very effectively uses his bike as a weapon against a gang of teenage bullies in his high school.

No Turbokid.

No Triplets of Belleville.

No B.I.K.E.

Watch these and you’ll agree.

You left out “Marinoni”; but you include 2 non-bicycling movies ET & Butch Cassidy? PPpppftt

• Pingback: Wheelie Great Bike Movies – Bike Goddess

http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/premiumrush/

Premium rush is amazing check it out

Your Blatant Omission ot the The Flying Scottsman in your 10 Best Cycling Movies just goes to prove there are still people out there Smoking CRACK!

Agreed! Great film.

You missed my fav… 2 Seconds is the movie I watch a couple of times a year. I would place it at the top of the list!

Movies like this never exist. It may be old but it transcends time. A must watch movie to have to feel good feeling!

Ah, Yeah, BIG FAIL. A Top Ten List that doesn’t include “Ladri di Biciclette” (The Bicycle Thief) (Bicycle Thieves) (1948)?! Yes, its about the Theft of a bicycle, but still!

I think any Bike Movie List MUST include “Triplets of Belleville”

newish movie – kind of hipsterish, but it is really adorable. Guy in San Francisco finds out his pet has a terminal prognosis and so he puts his hamster on his handlebar mounted cage and takes him out on a bike tour for one last adventure to see the world. Quirky.

…one of the great movies of all time – and not just about bicycles, either.

2 Seconds totally needs to be on that list.

One of the WWII films that shows how extensively bicycles were used during the war for personal transportation.

these arent the best. they are the only.

“Two Seconds” is a very good Canadian bicycling movie.

Bicycle Dreams

Here is my Cycling Films Big List Features over 100 films/movies from 23 countries!

https://sites.google.com/site/cyclingfilms/

In, “Breaking Away” My two favourite bits in the film are; When Dave’s chasing down a lorry he changes from the large chainring to the small one so he can go faster! The bit where one of the Italians puts his pump into the Dave’s front wheel and he comes off. Best bit. Maybe I’m just not nice.

You missed some great films on your list. Here are my TOP BICYCLE FILMS http://www.alternativecommutepueblo.com/2011/07/top-bicycle-themed-films.html

I have to agree that a scene in a movie is not that same as a bike movie. Classics: “Breaking Away” (gotta see before doing the Hilly Hundred); “American Fliers”: and “The Flying Scotsman”. So far nothing else I have seen has lived up: “Quicksilver” & “The Bicycle Thief” were a little weak. The “Triplets of Belleville” was a little bizzare. So there is room for more cycling movies….

The Flying Scotsman was an awesome movie in which a cyclist is the main character, and the racing scenes are intense. Gorgeous movie… Far better “bike movie” than ET or Butch Cassidy.

How about “The Bicycle Thief”, considered by many critics to be one of the best movies ever?

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is an OK “western” with a VERY Forgettable bike scene. Plus, that song almost ruined the whole movie.

A scene in a film doesn’t make it a ‘bike film’ especially when there are so many fantastic cycliing films out there! You already have suggestions of ‘A Sunday in Hell’ ‘Triplets of Bellevile’ to which I would add ‘Stjernerne og vandbærerne’ another Jørgen Leth film, this time from the Giro d’Italia…

Should be on the list

how about ” A Sunday in Hell”?

What about Bicycle Thieves?

“Triplets of Belleville” (2004)

I haven’t seen some of those listed, but I don’t think Butch Cassidy or ET are actually cycling movies. What about The Triplets of Belleville, 2 Seconds, The Flying Scotsman?

Comments are closed.

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Isolation Archives: Our All-Time Favorite Bikepacking Films

In need of some entertainment to prevent yourself from going totally stir crazy while locked down due to COVID-19? Presenting the Isolation Archives, our roundup of highlights from our deep well of bikepacking content. First up, we’re sharing our favorite bikepacking films of all time. Watch them here…

While most of us are indefinitely self-isolating to help slow the spread of COVID-19, our editors are looking into the BIKEPACKING.com archives and rounding up some the most memorable and meaningful things we’ve shared over the years. First up, we look back at our favorite bikepacking films of all time. We invite you to sit back and enjoy more than two hours of hand-picked films, shot in Alaska, Canada, Colorado, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Scotland. When you’ve finished watching our picks, scroll down to vote for your favorite. And be sure to dig into our bikepacking videos archive, where you just might discover a new favorite of your own.

Bikepacking the Cairngorms

Cass Gilbert: Bikepacking the Cairngorms: A Father and Son Fatbike Adventure follows Jeremy Janin and his father on a self-supported fat bike trip along Scotland’s beautiful and remote Cairngorms Loop. Jeremy spent months carefully planning the five-day trip (which just so happened to be their first time bikepacking) as a gift for his dad’s 50th birthday. Despite trying to think of everything in advance, nothing went to plan, and the famously unpredictable Scottish weather made for challenging conditions and a powerful shared experience. Picking a favourite film is no easy task, but Jeremy’s work certainly stood out for me from last year’s collection. I love everything about it. The stunning cinematography, the colour grading, the voice over, the sound captures, the fabulous music, and the accompanying stills to the trip. And as a parent, I found it incredibly inspiring!

Bikepacking the Mongolian Steppe

Lucas Winzenburg: Released in 2016, Bikepacking the Mongolian Steppe is a film from Jay Ritchey that chronicles a month-long fat bike trip through the beautiful Khangai Mountains in Central Mongolia. Jay’s cinematography masterfully captures the country’s sweeping vistas and the subtle details, occasionally strange interactions, and heartfelt moments of their unique trip. Paired with a traditional throat singing soundtrack by Huun Huur Tu, it makes for a truly immersive viewing experience. You’ll get to know the charismatic crew of riders (including our own Cass Gilbert) and a bit about life and culture in Mongolia in Jay’s 25-minute film. As I see it, this is bikepacking at its best!

Chasing Wild

Miles Arbour: Chasing Wild follows three friends on a bikepacking and packrafting trip through the heart of the Sacred Headwaters in northwestern British Columbia. The film provides an educational, yet sobering look at the effects of mining on these lands and waterways, while also showcasing the immense natural beauty that surrounds it. I like a film that simultaneously entertains and educates, and Chasing Wild does just that.

Chronic Wetness

Joe Cruz: Chronic Wetness is from a trip Eric Parsons and Dylan Kentsch took in 2008 along the Alaska coast. The details aren’t as breathtaking nowadays as they were at the time: summer fat bikes, pack rafts, beach riding, and bushwhacking for hours through brush. Back then, though, they were pretty exciting, and the movie captures in a visceral, dynamic way a style of riding that mostly we had only read about in Roman Dial’s even more prescient hellbiking expeditions . At the time there were only short clips and stories floating around, and that gave the whole thing an air of mystery. It would be eight years before Eric put the footage together into this version, and the mystery gave way to something even better, namely enduring inspiration. I love that the production is super lo-fi and therefore achieves the rawness of the weather, the bugs, the surf, the terrain. And a bunch of hilarious horrifying stuff happens. They just keep riding, pushing, and paddling. Be sure to look carefully at their rear brake and derailleur situation. Shortly after this adventure, Eric sewed custom bags for me that I’d take on a yearlong trek in South America on my Pugsley, exhilarated by precedent like this.

The Colorado Trail Race

Neil Beltchenko: While I love bikepacking, I also love racing. And since I’m the only racer in this group, I feel like it’s only fitting to share a video that’s near and dear to my heart. Aaron Johnson’s film, The Colorado Trail Race: A Self-Powered Adventure is one of my favorites. It showcases the incredible beauty of the Colorado Trail and also helps viewers understand the immense undertaking it is to toe the line of the Colorado Trail Race. The best part of this video is that Aaron himself captures most of the footage while racing. I’ll just let the next 28 minutes do the talking—they’re well worth it.

The Frozen Road

Virginia Krabill: The Frozen Road tells the story of Ben Page’s month-long bikepacking journey through Canada’s Yukon and Northwest Territories to the Arctic Ocean. Over the course of his solitary travels, Ben faces wholly unfamiliar terrain, sub-freezing temperatures, howling winds, and the threat of hungry wolves. As frightening as those challenges are, the most daunting foe Ben faces is his isolation. The camera is his only companion, and through its lens, we watch as the joyous solitude Ben feels at the onset of this campaign transform into heartbreaking loneliness along the way. Ben’s struggles are beautifully captured in both the cinematography and heartfelt narration of this award-winning film. At a time when we are all facing uncertainties, fear, and, to some extent, loneliness, this story seems to be particularly relevant.

The Road From Karakol

Logan Watts: Back in 2011, alpine climber Kyle Dempster was probably one of the first people to cycle some of Kyrgyzstan’s forgotten Soviet roads. Despite its recent surge in popularity, it was then relatively unknown as a cycling destination. That summer, Kyle took off on a second-hand steel bike with nothing more than a couple of paper maps, a BOB trailer full of climbing gear, and a whole lot of stoke. He spent two months pedaling and climbing across the country, all the while recording his journey on a GoPro. Later, filmmakers Fitz Cahall and Austin Siadak transformed the footage into a 25-minute masterpiece that debuted at the 2013 5Point Film Festival and took home the Best In Fest award.

I first saw The Road From Karakol when it was released to the public later in 2013 and was immediately transfixed. I rewatched it several times over the next couple of years and it was ultimately what inspired our small group to go and cycle through Kyrgyzstan (which I might add was still relatively unknown in the bikepacking world at that point in 2016). That fall, just before our route and stories from that trip were published, I rewatched the film once again after Kyle died during a blizzard while on a big wall climbing mission on Pakistan’s Ogre II. When asked for my favorite bikepacking film for this post, I knew my answer immediately and watched it once more, from start to finish. If there’s a film that deserves the title “best bikepacking film of all time,” it’s this one.

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The Best Cycling Documentaries: Bikepacking, Road and Touring on Youtube

The best bikepacking films, cycling documentaries and touring videos for online inspiration (and they’re FREE to watch!)

Ever since us humans invented the camera, we’ve been documenting our adventures.

And, fortunately for us, cyclists do this a lot.

From bare-bones bikepacking adventures to epic round-the-world cycle tours and gruelling feats of endurance on the tarmac. Regardless of your two-wheeled persuasion, nowadays bicycle lovers can find a plethora of inspiration at the click of a button.

At Veggie Vagabonds we’re absolutely mad for some good adventure viewing and have whittled down a list with some of our favourites from around the world. You’ll find feature-length bikepacking videos and cycling films to shorter tales of touring escapades and personal bicycle exploration.

To make it accessible to as many hungry riders as possible, nearly all of these videos are available on YouTube, Vimeo or something similar. That means they are FREE to watch. Now we can all get knee-deep in adventure inspiration!

Author’s note: this article took a damn long time to write… impossible not to cycle down countless rabbit holes on YouTube!

I Want to See the World by Iohan Gueorguiev

Released: 2014 / Duration: 27 mins

In honesty, this list was inspired by Iohan’s adventures. The I Want to See the World series are some of the best bikepacking videos on YouTube, documenting Iohan’s offroad journey, travelling from North to South America.

Iohan is a true bicycle explorer. His positivity and energy are infectious, despite being faced with many gruelling and unnerving experiences. The style of his backcountry cycling will inspire you to ditch the road, travel light and embrace every encounter, human and animal alike.

Sadly, Iohan passed away this year and so I hope we can keep passing on his incredible tales of exploration and warm personality.

From Cape to Cairo by Bike

Release: ? Duration: 1 hr 38 mins

If you have a passion for people, the world, travel, bikes, cultures, adventure, Africa, stories or nature, you have to watch this. Actually, even if you have no interest in those things, you should still watch. It will fill you with happiness and inspiration.

Anselm’s solo journey through Africa is one of the most uplifting, exciting and powerful bits of cycle-viewing we’ve seen. It captures the countries, nature and very crucially the people in such a wonderful light.

After watching it made us reconsider our bikepacking plans and head for Africa.

You gotta watch!

The Road from Karakol

Released: 2013 Duration: 24 mins

Central Asia + bikepacking + mountain climbing = sweeeet watching.

Kyle Dempster embarks on a solo cycle tour across Kyrgyzstan with a trailer full of climbing gear, an appetite for remote mountains and some partially accurate maps.

It’s a raw insight into his experiences, the good and the bad, the highs and lows. It shows that even the toughest of adventurers come across challenges that make them crap their pants.

GBDuro 2019: EF Gone Racing

Released: 2019 Duration: 32 mins

Lachlan Morton is a bike racing phenom and this is the story of his UK-based Land’s End to John O’Groats challenge.

This 2,000-mile ride has 4-stages (yes, that means 500-mile a piece) and takes road, gravel and single-track routes through some of the UK’s most incredible natural landscapes. It’s a short cycling film that shows crazy feats of endurance. Amazing stuff if you’re planning a long-distance grueller of your own.

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A Bivvy, a Phone and a Drone: Cycling Home From China

Released: 2020 Duration: 29 mins

Not all epic bikepacking documentaries have to have big budgets.

A Bivvy, a Phone and a Drone follows Josh Reid as he cycles his bike from the Giant bike factory in Shanghai back to his home in the UK. His adventures are simply documented with a phone and a drone (hence the title) whilst he bivvy camps his way through the 15,000-mile and 19-country journey.

One of our favourite bikepacking documentaries on YouTube because of its simplicity and feel-good style.

Ride for the Wild: Cycling 2,000-Miles to All 15 UK National Parks in 30 Days

Released: 2022 Duration: 45 mins

In September 2021, two young adventurers had 30 days off work… would it be possible to cycle 2,000 miles to all 15 UK national parks in that time?

Okay, so the two young adventurers are Sarah and me. A shameless plug of our Ride for the Wild film, but we think you’ll like it!

The 2,000-mile route was filled with twists and turns, sensational highs and agonising lows, taking us through some of England, Scotland and Wales’ most incredible natural areas. It meant cycling 60+ miles a day and camping along the way… we were blown away, in many ways!

The most beautiful but brutal experience of our lives, and raising money for a brilliant cause . This is how it all unfolded!

Rainspotting: Bikepacking Scotland

Released: 2021 Duration: 17 mins

The guys at Pannier and Brother Cycles make videos that perfectly showcase some of the best bikepacking in the UK.

Rainspotting follows their trip, catching a train from London to the Scottish Highlands, then smashing out an 80-hour bikepacking ramble through the Grampian mountains in the West Highlands.

The filming is beautiful and really shows the nitty-gritty aspects that make outdoor trips special. You get a nice insight into their group dynamic and feel like you’re going along for the ride with them. If you’re planning a winter bikepacking trip in Scotland then you gotta give it a watch.

The Man Who Cycled the World

Released: 2013 Duration: 28 mins

Mark Beaumont is arguably the most famous endurance cyclist around. And, a lot of that has to do with this round-the-world cycling feat.

In 2017, Mark broke the record for cycling around the world by a whopping 44 days. His 18,000-mile ride was gruelling and to make things harder, he had a film crew following him along for the journey.

The Man That Cycled the World shows all the trials and tribulations he faces and you can watch the full 4-part cycle touring documentary on YouTube.

Ruta Chingaza: Bikepacking for Conservation

Released: 2020 Duration: 33 mins

Planning a trip to South America? Chingaza National Park in Colombia is home to the Páramos, which contains all the natural drinking water for Bogota. The Ruta Chingaza is a new route, opened by Bikepacking for Conservation, which links the water source to the city it supplies.

This epic looped route looks both beautiful and brutal, and the cycling documentary shares its opening, along with a charming insight into bicycle culture in Colombia.

Wild Horses: The Silk Road Mountain Race Documentary

Released: 2019 Duration: 27 mins

The Silk Road Mountain Race started in 2018 and is a single-stage, fixed-route and unsupported cycling race through the mountains in Kyrgyzstan. It’s a wild, remote, 1,120-mile route that takes in over 30,000 metres of ascent… definitely a grueller!

Wild Horses beautifully documents the first year, showing all the trials and tribulations the riders go through. More than 80 started the race. Less than 20 finished… as the documentary says: you need to be more than a good cyclist to cross the finish line.

One crazy bicycle adventure race!

The Impossible Route: Death Valley

Released: 2021 Duration: 1hr 24 mins

The Impossible Route is a wild 7-day gravel cycling adventure across one of the most hostile landscapes in the world. 740 miles, 14,000 metres of climbing and one water source for the whole trip…

And it isn’t even a cycle route. It’s the California Backcountry Discovery Route which is meant for motorcycles that can carry water a LOT easier.

Some really enjoying watching from the Plant-Based Cyclist (biggups to vegan cycling!) on a route that seems absolutely nuts (especially coming from the UK).

Some more to explore later…

Our 2,000-mile bikepacking gear list, our favourite mountaineering movies, epic climbing documentaries available online, all our home inspiration content.

1,200 Days Around the World on a Unicycle by Ed Pratt

Released: 2020 Duration: 1 hr 14 mins

So not exactly a cycling documentary. It’s missing one wheel. But it’s bloody awesome nonetheless.

If you thought cycling around the world was hardcore, imagine doing it on a unicycle. That’s right, Ed Pratt spent 1,200 days cycling around the world on a unicycle and the documentary is brilliant!

Matty & Clare: Lost Captures

Released: 2020 Duration: 25 mins

In 1952, Matty’s grandad cycle toured around Norway. His grandad didn’t tell anyone about it but he did keep a photo album that documented the adventure. After his grandad passes away, Matty and his girlfriend Clare decide to retrace his footsteps.

The riding in Norway looks completely off the chain and the relationship between Matty and Clare is heartwarming. What with the inspiration behind the trip, we think it’s one of the most inspiring and touching cycling documentaries on YouTube.

Blood road – Trailer

Released: 2017 Duration: 1 hr 32 mins

Vietnam might not be up there on your list of cycling destinations, but it might be after watching this.

Rebecca Rusch teams up with her Vietnamese riding partner, Huyen Nguyen, to find the location her father’s fighter plane was shot down during the America-Vietnam War.

It shows the harsh reality that Vietnam endured during the war and the scars left since.

This is one of the free documentaries on Red Bull. If you haven’t checked them out already, you’re in for a treat. There’s a massive collection of adventure films varying from cycling to climbing, trail running to surfing.

You can watch Blood Road for free here.

Cycling documentaries on Netflix

We left these two to the end as they’re not free. That is unless you have your friends log in details…

Pedal the World / an Adventure Around the World on a Bike

Released: 2015 Duration: 1hr 24 mins

I’ll be honest, this isn’t my favourite cycling documentary Netflix has on offer, but I think it could be enjoyable watching if you’re about to set off on your first international tour .

This doc film follows Felix Starck, a relatively inexperienced cyclist, as he embarks on an 18,000-km journey around the world. It’s got a feel-good backpacker vibe to it, travelling through parts of South East Asia.

Released: 2017 Duration: 2 hr

When Icarus came out, it was a huge exposé on the Russian doping scandal with a big insight into the Lance Armstrong story and performance enhancers in cycling.

It’s some pretty unbelievable viewing to see just how integral doping became in sports and the efforts people go to reach that number one spot.

One of the best documentaries on Netflix, for cyclists and everyone else.

Know any other awesome inspiring cycle films on YouTube, Vimeo, Netflix? Share in the comments!

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The Best Motorcycle Movie Scenes [+Chart with The Bikes!]

Motorcycles frequently appear in movies, TV shows, and even video games . What’s more, many movies are built around the rider and their culture.

If you want to discover the best movies dedicated to motorcycles along with motorcycle scenes from other movies, you are in the right place.

We at PowerSportsGuide have done the research and put together a list of the best motorcycle movie scenes, as well as a detailed chart with the featured bikes!

Motorcycle Models Used in Movie Scenes [Chart]

Before we drill into the details, let’s take a look at the motorcycles used in famous movies.

For your convenience, we’ve done the research and listed the exact types of the bikes featured:

Would you like to see these bikes in action? Keep reading and check out the most famous motorcycle movie scenes ever made!

12 Best Motorcycle Movies

First, let’s start with the most famous biker movies completely built around riders and their machines. It’s safe to say that the 12 best motorcycle movies ever made are as follows:

The Wild One (1953)

The great escape (1963), the girl on a motorcycle (1968), easy rider (1969), psychomania (1971), harley davidson and the marlboro man (1991), beyond the law (1993).

• Biker Boys (2003)

Torque (2004)

The motorcycle diaries (2004), the world’s fastest indian (2005), wild hogs (2007).

There is no question that The Wild One is one of the most famous motorcycle movies in history. The plot in brief: a small town is terrorized by two rival motorcycle gangs after the police arrested one of their leaders. Many say that The Wild One was the first “outlaw biker movie.”

What Kind of Bike Was in The Wild One ? In this movie, Johnny Strabler (Marlon Brando) rides a Triumph Thunderbird 6T. Besides this bike, you can see many other vintage machines ridden by gang members.

The Great Escape is an epic war film from 1963, directed by John Sturgess and starring the legendary Steve McQueen as Captain Virgil. In WWII, he and other prisoners try many times to escape from a German camp.

What kind of motorcycle did Steve McQueen ride in The Great Escape ? The motorcycle Steve McQueen rides in this movie is a Triumph TR6 Trophy. The original bike that was used in the famous “jump scene” was restored in 2017.

The Girl on a Motorcycle is a romantic drama released in 1968. In this movie, Rebecca (Marianne Faithfull) leaves her husband right after their wedding. She took off for Germany on a motorcycle to meet her lover, Daniel. In the United States, this movie was released as Naked Under Leather .

Which bikes can you see in this movie?

In The Girl on a Motorcycle, Rebecca rides a 1967 Harley Davidson Electra Glide that she got from her lover as a wedding gift. But in the flashback scenes, you can also see a red 1967 Norton Atlas on which Rebecca took her first riding lessons.

Another iconic biker movie is 1969’s Easy Rider . In the movie, Peter Fonda (Wyatt) and Dennis Hopper (Billy) are two riding hippies who travel through the states to find freedom and spiritual fulfillment.

What Kind of Bike Was in Easy Rider?

In the movie Easy Rider , Peter Fonda (Wyatt) rides a custom-built 1949 Harley-Davidson Panhead. This highly customized bike was built for the movie and was called “Captain America.” The machine featured high ape hanger handlebars, a king and queen saddle, and long front forks. Besides these features, a ton of chrome and the American-flag paint job make this bike completely unique and easily recognizable.

Many motorcycle enthusiasts agree that Easy Rider is the most famous motorcycle movie ever made!

Where are the bikes from Easy Rider?

It’s a lesser-known fact that there were four bikes built for this movie. Sadly, three of them were stolen before the film premiere and have not appeared since. Therefore, no one knows where these other bikes from Easy Rider are. But to the delight of many fans, one of them is still around and often shows up at auctions!

Who owns the motorcycle from Easy Rider?

The last remaining motorcycle from Easy Rider is currently owned by an unknown private collector. The machine was owned by the National Motorcycle Museum but was sold off for $1.35 million at an auction in 2014. Unfortunately, the buyer was not identified, so fans are left to wonder who owns the bike from this iconic movie.

Psychomania  is a lesser-known and often overlooked motorcycle movie. However, it’s not a light film at all, as it’s about a group of young riders who are buried with their bikes in the riding position. Since their leader made a pact with Devil, they can come back to life. In the United States, this horror motorcycle movie was released as The Death Wheelers.

Which Motorcycles Were Used in Psychomania ? The three bikes used in this move are most likely a 1967 BSA Starfire, a 1968 Triumph Bonneville, and a Triumph Thunderbird.

Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man  is an action motorcycle movie directed by Simon Wincer. It was introduced in the early ‘90s, in an age when action movies didn’t take themselves too seriously.

In the Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man,  Mickey Rourke rides a rigid-convert Harley-Davidson FXR. This bike became very famous and many replicas were made of it.

This wouldn’t be a complete list of the best motorcycle movies without the original 1993 Beyond the Law . This TV film was directed and written by Larry Ferguson. In this movie, Dan Saxon (Charlie Sheen) plays an undercover cop who joins a dangerous biker gang. Be careful not to confuse this film with 2019’s Beyond the Law starring Steven Segal.

You can see a lot of bikes in the original 1993 Beyond the Law , but the most commonly used models were as follows:

• Harley-Davidson Softail Custom
• Harley-Davidson Softail Springer
• Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
• Harley-Davidson Electra Glide
• Honda Gold Wing

Biker Boyz (2003)

If you are looking for an adrenaline-filled motorcycle movie, then 2003’s Biker Boyz is for you. As its name implies it’s about a gang of young riders who love doing stunts and illegal street racing. Just don’t take it too seriously!

Which motorcycles were used in Biker Boyz ? As you might assume the majority of bikes in the movie are high-performance sportbikes, but the exact models are as follows:

• 1982 Kawasaki KZ1000 – Soul Train
• 1998 Yamaha R1 – Chu-Chu
• 1999 Suzuki Hayabusa GSX1300R – Smoke
• 1999 Suzuki TL1000R – 1/2 & 1/2
• 2000 Ducati 996S – Primo
• 2000 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R – Dogg and Kidd Chaos
• 2000 Yamaha R1-  Stuntman
• 2001 Suzuki GSX-R 750 – Kid
• 2001 Honda CBR1100 – Motherland
• Campagna T-Rex ( reverse trike ): T.J.

Similar to the Biker Boyz , 2004’s Torque is completely built around underground motorcycle racing. The film has many fans who claim that Torque is the “Fast and Furious” for motorbikes. On the other hand, this movie received mixed reviews from many critics who were real riders.

Featured motorcycles in the movie Torque (2004):

• Aprilia RSV Mille
• Honda VTR 1000 SP1
• Honda CBR 954 RR
• Triumph Daytona 600 TT
• Triumph Daytona 955i
• Yamaha YZF R6
• Kawasaki 250 Ninja
• Kawasaki ZX-7R
• Suzuki GSX-R
• Harley Davidsons
• And many other custom bikes

Many people say that one of the best motorcycle movies ever made is The Motorcycle Diaries , where Che Guevara rides a 1947 Model 18 Norton bike. He and his friend wanted to travel to North America on this bike.

According to the Time , besides the restored Norton motorcycles some modern Suzuki bikes were also used behind the scenes. Surprisingly, the vintage Norton bikes were far more reliable!

The World’s Fastest Indian was based on a true story and starred Anthony Hopkins. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Hopkins plays New Zealander Burt Munro, an obsessed rider who worked on his Indian motorcycle for many years in order to set the world speed record.

The bike that Munro rides in The World’s Fastest Indian is a heavily modified 1920 Indian Scout Streamliner.

How fast was the world’s fastest Indian? According to the manufacturer , the official speed record of the “world’s fastest Indian” was 184.087 mph while its unofficial top speed was slightly above 205 mph.

Wild Hogs is a 2007 comedy movie starring William H. Macy, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and Tim Allen. The four middle-aged riders leave their lives behind for a while to go on an adventurous motorcycle trip.

Which motorcycles were used in the movie Wild Hogs ? You can see four different Harley-Davidson cruisers in this movie, which are as follows:

• H-D Black Fatboy – Doug
• H-D FXSTS Springer Softail – Bobby
• H-D Screamin’ Eagle Fatboy – Woody
• H-D XL1200C Sportster Custom – Dudley

Besides these masterpieces dedicated to motorcycling, bikes also appear in several other famous movies. For your convenience, we’ve compiled the best motorcycle scenes under one roof!

Motorcycle Scenes in Marvel Movies

Marvel movies are known for amazing tricks and a lot of action. Therefore, a large variety of vehicles appear in them, from spaceships to motorcycles.

What’s more, Captain America is considered to be an avid motorcycle rider, as he virtually rides a Harley-Davidson in each move (as well as in the original comic books.)

Let’s drill into the details and list the best motorcycle scenes in Marvel movies!

Which Bike is Used in Captain America: The First Avenger?

In Captain America: The First Avenger you can see an iconic 1942 Harley-Davidson WLA, which is also called “Liberator.” According to rumors, this nickname comes from WWII, as the soldiers were riding these machines when Europe was liberated.

Where is the original Captain America motorcycle? This original Captain America motorcycle can be seen in a Harley Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

https://youtu.be/kpqGAphYmIQ

What Kind of Motorcycle Does Captain America Ride in The Avengers?

Unlike in his origin movie, in 2012’s The Avengers Captain America rides a 2012 Harley-Davidson Softail Slim. But it’s good to know that he only used this bike for “personal transport,” meaning that this bike wasn’t part of his official equipment.

Which Motorcycle is in Captain America Winter Soldier?

For the sequel, Steve upgraded his bike again. This means that in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier you can see a Harley-Davidson Street 750. It’s a fun fact that this bike was revealed only a week before the trailer for this movie was introduced.

https://youtu.be/txDqjuqRK5s

Which Bike is Used in Captain America: Civil War?

You can see two different bikes in Captain America: Civil War , a Harley-Davidson Iron 883 as well as a Street 750. These bikes didn’t come directly from the showroom as both were customized for the movie.

Which motorcycle does Bucky drive in Civil War ? Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) drives a customized Harley-Davidson Street 750 in this movie. The aftermarket modifications on this bike include a performance exhaust, special shocks, as well as custom LED taillights.

https://youtu.be/jdrdeMYx_KI?t=74

Which Bike Does Captain America Ride in The Avengers: Age of Ultron?

Just like in the afore-mentioned movies, Captain America rides a Harley-Davidson Street 750 again in The Avengers: Age of Ultron. What’s more, the bike already appears in the opening scene:

https://youtu.be/gsWyLwj6r2k?t=29

Which Bike Does Black Widow Ride in the Age of Ultron?

Scarlett Johansson, as Black Widow, rides an electric Harley-Davidson LiveWire motorcycle in the movie Age of Ultron .There are a ton of CGI vehicles and aircraft in this movie, but one of the few real vehicles is surprisingly this motorcycle. The design and features of this electric bike fit perfectly in the scene, as it’s dropped out of a futuristic jet fighter.

https://youtu.be/iI-mPwrm7lk?t=68

Which Motorcycles Are Used in the Ant-Man and the Wasp?

Although they’ve used Harley-Davidsons in many previous movies, Marvel surprised viewers and used Triumph motorcycles in the Ant-Man and the Wasp. The exact bike used in this movie is a Triumph Thruxton R.

Which Motorcycle is in Captain Marvel?

To the delight of many riders, the movie Captain Marvel also features a chopper motorcycle. The bike used in this movie is most likely a 1995 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883.

https://youtu.be/Xab2nCAou4Y

Iron Man’s Motorcycle

Contrary to popular belief, the bike in Tony Stark’s garage was not built exclusively for this movie. Instead, it’s a custom-built Samurai Chopper manufactured by Zero Engineering. This means that this bike was available directly off-the-shelf for a hefty price tag of $28k.

What Kind of Motorcycle did Wolverine Ride?

You can also see many great motorcycle scenes in the X-Men movies. For instance, in X-Men Origins you can see Wolverine riding on a Harley-Davidson DuoGlide. Who would have thought that a Harley could eventually defeat a helicopter?

https://youtu.be/4MX923EiEBA

Which Motorcycle is in Deadpool?

The motorcycle used in Deadpool is a Ducati 1299 Panigale S, which appears in the “bridge” scene. This bike is powered with a 1285cc, 90-degree L-twin engine that puts out an amazing 205 HP. Besides its extreme engine power, the engine layout also offers an amazing sound !

Does Deadpool have a motorcycle? Though Deadpool doesn’t have his own motorcycle, he rides a Vespa Primavera in 2018’s Deadpool 2 . It safe to say that this tiny scooter perfectly fits his character!

https://youtu.be/xeA_uHqUoZs?t=21

Which Motorcycle Was Used in Venom?

When it comes to the exact type of motorcycle used in Venom , there are a lot of misunderstandings out there. This is because in the chase scene Eddie Brock rides a Ducati Scrambler Full Throttle but at the end of the movie in the extra scene it was replaced with a Ducati Scrambler 1100 Special.

https://youtu.be/aJpVm4J6Lus?t=12

Which Motorcycle Does James Bond Ride?

You can see many different motorcycles in the James Bond movies, but the most famous bikes are as follows:

• Honda ATC90 (trike)
• Yamaha XT500
• Harley Davidson 350
• Yamaha XJ650 Turbo
• Honda CRF250R
• Kawasaki Z900
• BSA Lightning A65-L
• Honda Montesa Cota 4RT
• BMW R 1200 Cruiser
• Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE

Let’s move on and watch some great James Bond motorcycle chases !

Which Motorcycle is Used in Thunderball?

You can see a 1965 BSA Lightning A65-L in the movie Thunderball . However, this bike is not ridden by Bond in this movie! Instead, this motorcycle chases him in his iconic Aston Martin.

https://youtu.be/KjY3TLoYDdU

Diamonds Are Forever

Sean Connery as James Bond rides a Honda ATC90 in 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever . This machine is actually a trike that features huge fat tires. Consequently, we may even call it a “fat-trike”! Because of the low performance of these machines, this is the slowest motorcycle chase scene you will ever see in a James Bond movie.

https://youtu.be/J4vN_W6txy8?t=114

Live and Let Die

In the movie Live and Let Die three police officers ride Harley-Davidson 350 motorcycles to catch Bond while he escapes driving a bus.

https://youtu.be/IuDAx4Yndv0?t=31

Motorcycle Used in The Spy Who Loved Me

In 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me Roger Moore as James Bond escapes in a Lotus Esprit while he’s chased by a Kawasaki Z900 . The sidecar of this bike was actually a bomb powered by a rocket. Fortunately, it did not hit the target, so Bond finally escaped. As always!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvV-Rk3YVH4

Featured Bikes in the Movie For Your Eyes Only

In For Your Eyes Only, You can see James Bond skiing on ski slopes while hunted by two Yamaha XT500s.

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

Which Motorcycle is Used in Never Say Never Again?

In 1983’s Never Say Never Again you can see Sean Connery as Bond riding a Yamaha XJ650 Turbo. This bike featured a 653cc, four-cylinder, turbocharged engine that put out 90 HP.

https://youtu.be/zgx8zVVTyoA?t=139

Motorcycles Used in Octopussy

In the next 007 movie, 1983’s Octopussy Bond drives in an Alfa Romeo GTV6 while a policeman chases him on a BMW R80. In another chase scene, he escapes in a Tuk-Tuk, which can do wheelies and huge jumps without any issues. Not bad from a Tuk-Tuk!

https://youtu.be/PBYFFyFOpxw?t=7

Which Motorcycle is Used in Goldeneye?

In the opening scene of 1995’s Goldeneye, you can see Pierce Brosnan as James Bond riding a Cagiva W16 in Russia. The stuntman in these motorcycle scenes was Eddie Kidd.

https://youtu.be/dLF3XDHKm9Y?t=454

Which Motorcycle Does James Bond Ride in Tomorrow Never Dies?

In the 007 movie, Tomorrow Never Dies James Bond drives a BMW R 1200 Cruiser. Or to be more precise, there were 15 of this same bike used in the movie and 12 of them were destroyed during filming.

https://youtu.be/NRMqcxBF4aM?t=28

Which Motorcycle Does James Bond Ride in No Time to Die?

The movie No Time to Die starred Daniel Craig and a Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE. Besides this bike, the crew used some other Triumph motorcycles like the Tiger 900.

https://youtu.be/jj1jQrkPuzE?t=30

Which Motorcycle is Used in the Movie Quantum of Solace?

You can see James Bond riding on a Honda Montesa Cota 4RT in the movie Quantum of Solace. Although in the movie it looks like an aged scrambler, this model is actually a modern motorcycle specially designed for trail riding. 

https://youtu.be/JGbjNE2QUVM?t=1

Which is the Motorcycle Used in Skyfall?

Since many of the motorcycle chase scenes were filmed on top of roofs (yes, literally), the moviemakers wanted a lightweight and highly versatile bike. That’s why they chose the Honda CRF250R , a single-cylinder, liquid-cooled dirt bike. You can see Daniel Craig riding this bike in the opening scene of Skyfall. Besides this bike, the camera crew also used two Honda CRF450R to be able to follow the riders.

https://youtu.be/fIcNaX0vmuE

Other Famous Action Motorcycle Scenes

Motorcycles in the movie blade : trinity.

In the movie Blade: Trinity Jessica Biel and Wesley Snipes ride two Buell XB 12R Firebolts. These motorcycles were powered by 103 HP, V-twin engines, but sadly in the movie, they sound like inline-fours.

https://youtu.be/UhY4yvu6u28

Which Motorcycle Was Used in Pulp Fiction?

The motorcycle used in Pulp Fiction is a 1986 Harley-Davidson FXR Super Glide. The bike featured a FatBob tank with custom paint, aftermarket air filters, and high apehanger handlebars. The bike also lacks fenders. In this movie Bruce Willis (Butch) steals this bike after the shop scene. As he says: „It’s a chopper, baby!”

https://youtu.be/5lL1ypndnWA?t=4

What Kind of Motorcycle Did Will Smith Ride in I, Robot?

In the movie, I, Robot, Will Smith rides an MV Agusta F4-SPR 750. This motorcycle was very rare as only 300 of them were manufactured in 2004. This machine is powered by a 750cc, 147 HP engine and offers a top speed of 175 mph.

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

What Kind of Motorcycle Does Jacob Ride in Twilight?

In Twilight Jacob rides a black dual-sport motorcycle. It features a smaller air-cooled single-cylinder engine. The exact type of the bike is unfortunately unknown.

https://youtu.be/dzGLqYLbkEg

What Kind of Motorcycle is Used in Ghost Rider?

In Ghost Rider, you can see a custom-made hardtail chopper. This motorcycle was called “Grace” but its name changes to “Hell Cycle” when it is in action. The measurements of this bike are impressive as it was no less than 11-feet long and 50 inches high. Also, it weighed more than 500 pounds. (The biggest stock choppers are typically 7-8 feet long.)

Is the Ghost Rider bike real?

Yes, contrary to popular belief there was a real bike used in Ghost Rider . Many people believe that this bike was generated by CGI because the entire movie relies heavily on this technology.

How much does the Ghost Rider bike cost? As you might guess, the Ghost Rider bike was pretty expensive as it was built for $300,000.

https://youtu.be/ue1nYLXuJ9k

What Motorcycle Does Trinity Ride in the Matrix?

In the  Matrix: Reloaded Trinity rides a Ducati 996 in the highway chase scene. Powered by a 996cc, L-twin engine, this bike provides 112 HP.

https://youtu.be/eF9AC2Ce2ow?t=72

What Kind of Motorcycle did Tom Cruise Ride in the Movie Top G u n?

In the legendary Top G u n Pete “Maverick” Mitchell acted by Tom Cruise rides a Kawasaki Ninja GPZ900R. No doubt that due to this movie countless GPZ900R were sold, accompanied by aviator sunglasses and bomber jackets of course!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=036Gi2MluSI

Oblivion Motorcycle Scene

Sticking to Tom Cruise, in the movie Oblivion he drives a customized Honda CRF450. Because of the futuristic body kit, the bike is hardly recognizable! Besides its custom fairings, the sound of the bike was also replaced, as it sounds like an electric machine. In reality, it’s a single-cylinder, four-stroke dirt bike, which is pretty loud !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS5zIlPntgk

Which Motorcycle Was Used in Jurassic World?

In the famous “riding with raptors” scene in Jurassic World, you can see Owen driving a Triumph Scrambler. This motorcycle features an 865cc, twin-cylinder engine, and matte green paint.

https://youtu.be/d0x7-oo9NAk

Which Motorcycle Does John Wick Ride in John Wick 3?

In 2019’s John Wick 3: Parabellum John rides a Yamaha MT-09. This bike is powered by an 847cc, inline-three, four-stroke engine that puts out 114 HP.

https://youtu.be/HYT-mA1bkDY?t=37

Which Motorcycle Was Used in The Kissing Booth?

The featured motorcycle in the movie The Kissing Both is a Honda VT 750C Shadow. This V-twin cruiser offers 44 HP and a top speed of 94 mph.

Which Motorcycle Was Used in The Dark Knight?

In the movie, The Dark Knight Bruce Wayne rides an MV Agusta F4 1078 to visit Melvin. However, when he’s Batman he uses a huge custom-built motorcycle, called “Batpod.” For this movie, there were six Batpods for different purposes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj1Q_BAqwa8

Which Motorcycle is in The Accountant?

The motorcycle in The Accountant is a Confederate B120 Wraith. This bike is built by Confederate Motorcycles, which is a small and lesser-known boutique manufacturer.

Motorcycle in the Movie Courier

In the movie Courier, Olga Kurylenko rides a BMW S1000R motorcycle. It’s a naked version of the popular full-faired BMW S1000RR sportbike.

https://youtu.be/VG4UMF8BBBk

What’s the Motorcycle in K i l l Bill?

Beatrix Kiddo acted by Uma Trumann rides a yellow Kawasaki ZZR 250 sportbike in the movie K i l l Bill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unXiz9U62-I

What Kind of Motorcycle did Bradley Cooper Ride in the Movie A Star is Born?

Bradley Cooper rides a Harley-Davidson CVO Pro in the movie A Star Is Born.

Which Bikes Are Used in the Movie Gemini Man?

In Gemini Man, the starring motorcycles are three Honda CRF dirt bikes. The older one is surprisingly painted Kawasaki-green. All of these bikes are customized and turned into supermotos, which means they feature a set of smaller wheels with street tires.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KbIG3G5Tt0

What are the Motorcycles in Mission: Impossible 2?

There are two different motorcycle models used in the movie Mission: Impossible 2, a Triumph Speed Triple, and a Triumph Daytona 955i.

https://youtu.be/G0ugUBBycFY?t=96

Which Motorcycle is Used in Mission Impossible: Fallout?

A BMW R nineT Scrambler motorcycle was used in the Mission Impossible: Fallout . Tom Cruise rides this bike in Paris, but unfortunately, he crashes it at the end of the chase scene.

https://youtu.be/91V6Xasps00

Which Motorcycles Were Used in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation?

In Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation you can see Tom Cruise on a black BMW S1000RR superbike. No helmet or other protection, just the essential aviator sunglasses. As usual!

https://youtu.be/Oy9R8mpKSmM

Which Motorcycle is Used in Hobbs and Shaw?

In the movie, Hobbs and Show Idris Elba and his team ride slightly modified Triumph Speed Triple motorcycles. The most recognizable aftermarket modification on these bikes is the custom LED headlight. This makes the bike look more evil, which better fits the character of the bad guys.

https://youtu.be/lAdljBWqKBo

Which Motorcycle is Used in 6 Underground?

It seems that this Triumph model is a really popular choice in Hollywood, as Triumph Speed Triple motorcycles are used in the movie 6 Underground as well. One of these customized machines was made by Richmond’s Classified Moto. It’s a fun fact that this company provided Darryl’s motorcycle in The Walking Dead .

https://youtu.be/WP0Xhx0rVZQ

Which Motorcycle Does Angelina Jolie Ride in the Movie Salt?

It may surprise you, but the featured motorcycle in the movie, Salt is also a Triumph Street Triple R. In this movie Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) plays a CIA officer who has to clear her name after she was accused of being a double agent.

https://youtu.be/Ybg8bX0EgKM

Who Built the Bikes for the Expendables?

The custom bikes for the Expendables were built by Bourget’s Bike Work. According to the manufacturer , Stallone chose 10 of their bikes along with other motorcycles for this movie. What’s more, Bourget’s bikes also appear in the movie Expendables 2. You can see all of these amazing choppers under one roof in this “tattoo scene.”

https://youtu.be/b2UJrGuRywk

Besides these custom-built bikes, Lee Christmas, played by Jason Statham, also rides a Ducati Desmosedici RR in the movie Expendables. This street-legal racing replica is powered by a 989cc, V4 engine that puts out an amazing 200 HP.

https://youtu.be/FW_qbiPH7UA?t=22

Which Motorcycle is Used in Resident Evil: Extinction?

The featured motorcycle in the movie Resident Evil: Extinction is a BMW K1200R ridden by Alice (Milla Jovovich). Powered by a 1147cc, inline-four engine, the K1200R offers an amazing 163 HP and a top speed of 128 mph.

Which Motorcycle is in Resident Evil: The Final Chapter?

In the sequel, Alice’s bike was replaced, but it seems the franchise sticks to BMW. Therefore, in Resident Evil: The Final Chapter you can see a BMW S 1000 XR, the first adventure bike of the European manufacturer.

https://youtu.be/Fj9nCfiPGaQ

Which Motorcycle Does Milla Jovovich Ride in Ultraviolet?

You can also see Milla Jovovich riding a BMW in her other movie, Ultraviolet. In this action sci-fi, the featured motorcycle is a BMW R 1150 R. The power source of this bike is a 1130cc, two-cylinder boxer engine that delivers 95 HP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg6a23N451g

What Kind of Motorcycle Does Hagrid Ride?

Motorcycles are often used in fantasy films as well, and Harry Potter is no exception. In the movie, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Hagrid rides a 1959 Triumph 650 T 120 Bonneville.

The other motorcycle used in Harry Potter is a 2009 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, which can be seen in the escape scene of the movie Deathly Hallows: part 1. According to this fan page , the crew originally wanted to get a sidecar from Royal Enfield, but in the end, they attached a Watsonian sidecar to a stock Bullet 500.

https://youtu.be/Dkxx0pKgkN4?t=13

The Motorcycle in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

In the US-released, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Lisbeth Sanders rides a customized Honda CB350 café racer. In contrast, in the original Swedish movie, they used a dirt bike. It’s safe to say that both of these bikes fit perfectly with her character!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP7uKAQLwXc

Motorcycles in the Movie Creed

In another famous motorcycle movie scene, Adonis runs accompanied by a lot of kids on dirt bikes and ATVs in the movie Creed . Sadly, the exact type of these machines is unknown.

https://youtu.be/4zdIpXJlM8A?t=36

Motorcycle in the Movie Robocop (2014)

In 2014’s Robocop the motorcycle used is actually a Kawasaki 1000. The bike was heavily modified so it’s hardly recognizable. The chassis was stretched out and it got custom fairings and saddle. Because of the bigger dimensions , the gear shift, pegs, and handlebars were also relocated. Finally, it was painted black, which totally fits Robocop’s uniform.

https://youtu.be/QLTlJDjPfHI

Motorcycles in the Movie Transformers

Contrary to popular opinion, the bike used in Transformers: The Last Knight is not entirely CGI. Instead, it’s a P51 Combat Fighter manufactured by Confederate Motors Inc. Of course, in many scenes this bike transforms into a CGI-generated “live” machine.

What is the name of the motorcycle transformer? The name of this motorcycle transformer is Mohawk, whose character is actually a little annoying transformer punk. When Mohawk turns into a regular motorcycle, you can actually see a real P51 Combat Fighter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkM59h4-jTk

Another memorable Transformers motorcycle scene is the “bike shop scene” in Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, where you can see some 2004 Big Bear Venom Pro Street Motorcycles. These bikes are in a custom motorcycle shop owned by Mikaela’s father.

https://youtu.be/D6pUxEaVSi8

Which Motorcycle is in Tron: Legacy?

The real motorcycle in Tron: Legacy is a Ducati Sport 1000 Biposto, which Sam Flynn rides on the street.

https://youtu.be/2mrIUvGaUys?t=11

The Motorcycle Used in the Inglorious Basterds

A vintage military motorcycle used in Inglorious Basterds is a 1939 BMW R71 with a sidecar.

https://youtu.be/YGsWYKdBRv8

Priest Motorcycle Scene

The motorcycle used in the movie Priest is a Suzuki Gladius 650, although this is not recognizable at all. This is because the machine was completely customized for this movie. It features drag swingarms to extend the wheelbase as well as futuristic bodywork.

https://youtu.be/L2mofOVc840

What is the Motorcycle in A Good Year?

The motorcycle used in the movie A Good Year is a Harley-Davidson FLSTS Softail Heritage Springer.

Motorcycle Scenes in Comedies

Motorcycle scene in the movie “yes man”.

You can see a Ducati in the movie Yes Man , where Jim Carry rides a Ducati Hypermotard 1100. Although in this case the scene is very nice and features a lot of stunts like wheelies and burnouts , many Ducati fans complain of the sound of the bike.

Why? This is because in the movie the legendary metallic Ducati L-twin sound was replaced with an inline-four exhaust soundtrack.

For most viewers this is not a big deal, but for motorcycle enthusiasts, this is nothing but a sin!

https://youtu.be/C-NcOxFfGXk

Dumb and Dumber

In this movie, Jim Carry rides something less powerful. “The Hog,” a weird little motorcycle featured in Dumb And Dumber, is actually a modified Taco 22 minibike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57p2uOK4g6Q

Which Motorcycle Was Used in Baywatch?

In 2017’s Baywatch Zac Efron rides a Suzuki TU 250 X. This small bike is powered by a 249cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled engine, which puts out about 20 HP.

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

Kick-Ass 2 Motorcycle Scene

The starring motorcycle in Kick-Ass 2 is a Ducati 1199 Panigale. This bike features a 1198cc, L-twin power source that provides no less than 195 HP. At the time of its release, this Ducati was the most powerful twin-cylinder bike on the market!

https://youtu.be/xpBHeH4umIA

What Kind of Motorcycles Were Used in CHIPS ?

When it comes to the original TV show, there were many different motorcycles used in CHIPS like Kawasaki KZ900-C2, Z1-P, or a Kawasaki KZ1000-C1 in the 3rd season.

Which motorcycles were used in 2017’s CHIPS? The remake of this movie hit cinemas in 2017 and was directed by Dax Shepard. Bikes? The featured motorcycles in 2017’s CHIPS are a BMW R1200RT-P and Ducati Hypermotards 821.

Featured Bike in Hitman’s Bodyguard

Similar to other action movies made at the same time, in Hitman’s Bodyguard the starring motorcycle is a Triumph Speed Triple. This 2017’s movie is an action-comedy starring Samuel L. Jackson, and Ryan Reynolds.

https://youtu.be/50zZlCikIX4?t=106

The Green Hornet

In the Green Hornet, you can see a custom Harley-Davidson V-Rod Muscle motorcycle. It features a LEAD headlight and a matte-black paint job.

https://youtu.be/B_P9Pzjbanc

Vintage Motorcycle Movie Scenes

Moped in 1953’s roman holiday.

In Roman Holiday, you can see Audrey Hepburn riding on a Vespa 125. This 1953’s romantic comedy was directed by William Wyler.

https://youtu.be/F4TLr5dV6UY

Which Motorcycles Were Used in Grease 2?

In Grease 2 you can see a modified Honda CL350 Scrambler. This bike was also known as Honda CL77 and was in production from 1965 to 1968.

The Born Losers

Vicky’s motorcycle in the movie The Born Losers is a 1965 Yamaha YDS 3 250. This bike also appears in the sequel of this movie.

https://youtu.be/LqLDj_RLKcw

Which Motorcycle Was Used in Big Jake?

Staying with older motorcycle movies, we also have to mention Big Jake. This western movie was released in 1971 and was directed by George Sherman. There were a lot of motorcycles used in Big Jake , all of them were Harley-Davidsons powered by Montesa engines.

Which Motorcycle Was Used in Mad Max?

In 1977’s Mad Max Goose rides a futuristic 1977 Kawasaki KZ 1000. The body of the bike was customized by La Parisienne, but sadly the company has since gone out of business.

https://youtu.be/WlLOe4Ag4Iw?t=45

Which Motorcycle Was Used in the Movie Rumble Fish?

The motorcycle starring in the movie Rumble Fish is a 1981 Kawasaki 440 LTD. It’s a lesser-known fact that this 1983 drama was directed by Coppola. Oldie but goodie!

https://youtu.be/QGJDPstM9DM?t=31

What is the Motorcycle Used in Timerider (1982)

In 1982’s Timerider the featured motorcycle is a Honda XR600. In this movie, a motorcycle racer is teleported back to the mid-1800s in a time-travel experiment where he has to fight with criminals. It’s a great and unique mixed cowboy-motorcycle movie!

https://youtu.be/FwYVA4XH3gw?t=9

Which Bike is in Terminator?

This won’t be a complete list of the best motorcycle movie scenes without mentioning the Terminator . In the first movie, 1984’s Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger rides a Honda CB750 Four. This bike was modified and turned into a “Café racer.”

https://youtu.be/MsZq9KzcON8?t=70

Which Bike is in Terminator 2?

In the sequel of this movie the featured bike was replaced with something more American. This is why the featured bike in Terminator 2 is a 1991 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy. What’s more, Schwarzenegger (as T-800) selects the perfect bike from some different models in a parking lot. Finally, he (it?) ends up with a Harley.

https://youtu.be/djqmepmwXis

Which Motorcycle is Used in Rambo: First Blood?

Rambo’s motorcycle in First Blood is a 1982 Yamaha XT250. This dual-sport bike features a single-cylinder, 249cc, air-cooled engine that produced only 17 HP.

https://youtu.be/3Uo1Xpb2gqc

Which Type of Motorcycle is Used in Judge Dredd?

You can see Judge Dredd riding on a heavily customized Suzuki GSX 750S, called “Lawmaster.” The bike features an extended chassis and custom fairings. In the original (1995) Dredd movie the featured heavy-duty bike was built on a Kawasaki KLX650, but this machine was used exclusively in stunts. The other bikes ridden by Stallone looked the same but were powered by generator motors. Therefore, these machines were pretty slow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4CrE6IwlLg

Street Hawk

Although it’s a television series, we can’t skip Street Hawk , in which you can see a 1984 HondaXR500

https://youtu.be/f2JjsE_5vVs

Motorcycle Scene in Purple Rain

Besides Prince, of course, the other star of Purple Rain is a heavily customized 1981 Honda CM400 Hondamatic . This bike has a custom Craig Vetter fairing, and of course, a purple paint job. The machine also features a sissy bar behind the passenger seat and high handlebars. This custom purple Honda has become a well-known icon in motorcycle movie history.

https://youtu.be/nBLEbTqywFA

Which Motorcycle Was in Cool as Ice?

In the legendary 1991 Cool as Ice, the motorcycle of Vanilla Ice was a Suzuki GSX-R750M, while his buddies rode two Kawasaki ZX-750Rs. Both of these were good bikes in their time!

https://youtu.be/OeQPJ10I7ro?t=56

Featured Motorcycle in My Own Private Idaho

In the movie, My Own Private Idaho Keanu Reeves rides a 1974 Norton Commando.  In the movie, he’s heading south from Toronto to Florida. It’s a fun fact that this bike was actually owned by Reeves, who is an avid motorcycle rider and collector.

https://youtu.be/a2RTRk2shM4

Motorcycle Movie Scene in True Lies

In 1994’s True Lies the starring motorcycle is a Kawasaki GPZ 500. Powered by a 498cc, 2-cylinder engine, this bike offered 60 HP and a top speed of 125 mph.

https://youtu.be/OufV6E5vJ7I

Which Motorcycle is in the Movie Fled?

If you are a Ducati fan, don’t miss 1996’s Fled, as in this film you can see a Ducati 916. This fully-faired superbike is powered by a 90-degree L-twin engine that produces 114 HP. This legendary Italian motorcycle was manufactured from 1994 to 1998.

https://youtu.be/rqJpx3r6cnU

Rollerball  

In 2002’s Rollerball , the players actually use a heavily modified Gas-Gas trial motorcycle.

https://youtu.be/o48qhvDehsY?t=10

This is our short list of the best motorcycle movie scenes ever made. We hope you enjoyed it!

References :

https://entertainment.time.com/2012/02/17/top-10-memorable-movie-motorcycles/

https://www.devittinsurance.com/guides/80-years-of-devitt/motorcycle-scenes/

http://moto-emag.com/BestMotorcycleScenesonFilm.html

https://www.hotcars.com/captain-america-motorcycle-harley-davidson/

https://www.imcdb.org/

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Eight of the best cycling films streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and iPlayer

The best cycling-related films and documentaries available to watch online

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Last week, Movistar released the long-awaited third season of their Netflix series 'The Least Expected Day'. 

The series is an insightful documentary going behind the scenes into life in the Movistar camp at the Grand Tours over the last three years. Viewers get an access all areas pass to be a fly on the wall in disputes over tactics, rows over who is the team’s leader at the Giro d’Italia and to see riders at their lowest point after crashing out of major races. 

In the latest series, the highlight is undoubtedly an inside look at the row between Miguel Ángel López and team management at the 2021 Vuelta a España which ultimately resulted in ‘Superman’ climbing off the bike and refusing to continue. 

If you enjoyed watching the latest instalment of 'The Least Expected Day', then here’s eight of the best of the rest in cycling-related films and documentaries available to view online. 

Some are available free of charge whereas others require a small fee. Depending on where you are in the world, you might have more or less choice on any of these streaming platforms; this was written from what we can get in the UK.

 SLAYING THE BADGER 

Available to stream on Disney Plus, 'Slaying the Badger’ is a documentary looking back at the pivotal 1986 Tour de France and is based on the book by the late Richard Moore. 

Now that Lance Armstrong has been firmly scratched from Tour de France record books, Greg LeMond is the first and only American rider to have ever won the three-week race. In the film, LeMond reflects on his rivalry and friendship with his teammate, mentor and five-time Tour de France champion Bernard Hinault. 

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Legend has it that Hinault agreed to help LeMond to his first Tour de France victory in return for the American agreeing to work for him during the previous year. The film swiftly lays bare the dynamics of the La Vie Claire team during the 1986 race and what then happened out on the road. 

ICARUS 

Currently available on Netflix, ‘Icarus’ is a 2017 Oscar-winning American documentary film. 

It chronicles the writer Bryan Fogel’s exploration into the murky world of doping in order to win an amateur cycling race. In the process of doing so, he inadvertently discovers a major international doping scandal. 

Fogel enlists the help of a scientist named Grigory Rodchenkov, the director of Russia’s national anti-doping laboratory. 

What he then discovers causes shock waves throughout the world of sport and ultimately results in Rodchenkov being kept in protective custody by US Law Enforcement. 

ONBOARD THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RACE 

Available on Netflix, this 2019 documentary looks into the gruelling Transcontinental race. 

Twenty-four-year-old Fiona Kolbinger took first place making her the first female winner of the event. The film directed by Antonin Michaud Soret is an inside look at just what it takes to ride the most challenging of bike races. 

Watching the film leaves you feeling like you’re riding along with competitors on 18-hour days, across Europe's most breath-taking scenery in the ultimate test of cycling endurance.

LANCE 

This two-part documentary chronicling the fall from grace of Lance Armstrong is currently available to view on the BBC iPlayer . 

Based on in-depth interviews and conversations with the Texan, the two 90-minute long films tell the full story of his rise in the United States as a top level cyclist, as well as his battle with testicular cancer and recovery.

The film then continues to go over his rise to cycling stardom that came with his seven consecutive Tour de France yellow jerseys, before that dramatic interview with television host Oprah Winfrey in which Armstrong famously confessed to doping throughout his career. 

Currently available to stream for free on Amazon Prime, 'The Racer' is a fictional story of a pro cyclist called Felix who dreams of becoming world champion. 

Once the protagonist joins a team in Italy, he is dragged into the murky waters of corruption and performance-enhancing drugs. 

How far is Felix willing to go to pursue his dream of the rainbow bands?

BREAKING THE CYCLE

'Breaking the Cycle' is the story of former ski-mountaineer Anton Palzer’s journey to becoming a professional cyclist. 

Palzer currently rides for Bora-Hansgrohe and the German rider was recently given a new contract by his team for next season. The film on Amazon Prime sees Palzer as well as his coaches and team manager Ralf Denk talk through the 29-year-old’s journey and his first steps into pro racing at the 2021 Tour of the Alps and Tour de Suisse. 

Currently available to stream with Amazon Prime and on the Red Bull website . 

THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE / BELLEVILLE RENDEZVOUS

Currently available on Amazon Prime, 'Belleville Rendezvous' should be top of anyone’s must watch cycling films. An absolute classic, which beautifully depicts the passion of cycling through the eyes of one of the protagonists' grandchildren. 

Although there is a twist. 

Madame Souza instills a love of cycling in her young grandson who eventually becomes a road racer dreaming of lining up at the Tour de France. However, when he eventually arrives at the French Grand Tour he goes missing. 

Madame Souza and her faithful pet dog are then left with the daunting task of discovering what has become of her young cycling prodigy. 

THE PROGRAM

'The Program' regularly turns up on the various streaming platforms out there including the BBC iPlayer. It’s currently available to rent on Amazon Prime. 

Based on the book ‘Seven Deadly Sins: My pursuit of Lance Armstrong’ by award-winning journalist David Walsh, the film depicts the author's efforts to expose the Texan's wrongdoings as a drugs cheat.

Chris O’Dowd plays Walsh in the motion picture, which also features Dustin Hoffman and Jesse Plemons.

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Tom is a News and Features Writer at Cycling Weekly. Since joining the team he has reported from races and events across the world including the Tour de France and World Championships.

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Passing Thru Travel

Exploring 10 Cities Around the World by Bike – Pedal-Powered Discoveries 2024

Posted: February 25, 2024 | Last updated: February 25, 2024

Sustainable city cycling tours offer an eco-friendly and intimate way to explore urban landscapes. These tours allow you to navigate through the heart of cities, often uncovering hidden gems that are not accessible by car or bus. From the bustling streets of Amsterdam to the historic lanes of Kyoto, cycling tours provide a unique perspective on city life, culture, and architecture. This guide takes you on a two-wheeled journey through some of the best cities in the world to explore by bike, each offering a distinct and memorable experience.

1. Amsterdam, Netherlands

In Amsterdam, cycling is more than a mode of transport; it’s a way of life. The city’s flat terrain, dedicated bike lanes, and respectful traffic culture make it ideal for exploring on two wheels. A bike tour here lets you experience the city like a local, weaving through historic canals, past iconic windmills, and through vibrant neighborhoods like the Jordaan. You’ll discover hidden courtyards and bustling marketplaces and perhaps pause for a coffee at a canal-side café. Cycling in Amsterdam offers a blend of leisure and exploration, allowing you to cover more ground than walking while enjoying the city’s sights up close.

Insider’s Tip: Explore the Jordaan neighborhood to glimpse local Amsterdam life away from the tourist crowds.

When To Travel: Late spring to early fall offers pleasant weather for cycling.

How To Get There: Fly into Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The city center is easily accessible by train, and bike rentals are widely available.

2. Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen’s reputation as a bike-friendly city is well-earned. Its extensive network of bike lanes and the Danish culture of cycling make it a joy to explore on two wheels. A bike tour in Copenhagen might include the historic Nyhavn harbor, the whimsical Tivoli Gardens, and the modern architecture of the Ørestad district. Riding through Copenhagen, you’ll experience the city’s commitment to sustainability and quality of life. The tour is not just about seeing the sights; it’s about feeling the city’s pulse and understanding why Copenhagen is often ranked as one of the happiest cities in the world.

Insider’s Tip: Ride through the Assistens Cemetery, a peaceful and beautiful park where famous Danes like Hans Christian Andersen are buried.

When To Travel: May to September for the best cycling weather.

How To Get There: Copenhagen Airport is well-connected internationally, with easy public transport access to the city center.

3. Berlin, Germany

Berlin’s rich history and vibrant culture make it a fascinating city to explore by bike. The city’s flat landscape and comprehensive network of bike paths allow for easy and safe navigation. A cycling tour in Berlin can take you through the remnants of the Berlin Wall, the lush expanses of the Tiergarten, and the bustling squares of Alexanderplatz and Potsdamer Platz.

Along the way, you’ll encounter street art, historic landmarks, and the eclectic mix of modern and traditional architecture that defines Berlin. Cycling here offers a unique perspective on the city’s past and present, connecting you with its stories and spirit.

Insider’s Tip: Visit the Tempelhofer Feld, a former airport turned public park, for a unique cycling experience.

When To Travel: Spring and fall offer cooler temperatures and fewer tourists.

How To Get There: Two airports serve Berlin, with excellent public transportation links to the city center.

4. Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto, with its ancient temples, traditional tea houses, and tranquil gardens, is a city steeped in history. Exploring Kyoto by bike allows you to move at your own pace, visit famous sites like the Fushimi Inari Shrine and Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion), and discover hidden alleys and local neighborhoods. Cycling in Kyoto is a journey through time, where modern streets give way to historic districts, and each turn brings a new discovery. The city’s respect for tradition and nature makes it a uniquely serene urban cycling experience.

Insider’s Tip: Take a detour to the Philosopher’s Path, especially beautiful during cherry blossom season.

When To Travel: Spring for cherry blossoms and fall for colorful foliage.

How To Get There: Fly into Kansai International Airport and take a train or bus to Kyoto. Bike rentals are readily available throughout the city.

5. Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona’s diverse landscape, from Gothic architecture in the old city to modernist landmarks and Mediterranean beaches, makes it an exhilarating city to explore by bike. A cycling tour here can take you through the winding streets of the Gothic Quarter, along the vibrant Las Ramblas, and to the famous Sagrada Familia. You’ll experience the city’s artistic flair and lively atmosphere firsthand. Cycling in Barcelona is not just about sightseeing; it’s about immersing yourself in the city’s dynamic culture and enjoying the Mediterranean lifestyle.

Insider’s Tip: Cycle up to Montjuic for panoramic views of the city and the sea.

When To Travel: Late spring and early fall for mild weather and fewer crowds.

How To Get There: Barcelona-El Prat Airport is the main gateway, with easy transport options to the city center.

6. Portland, Oregon, USA

Portland’s reputation as one of America’s most bike-friendly cities is evident in its extensive bike lanes and trails network. A bike tour in Portland can include the vibrant downtown area, the serene Waterfront Park, and the quirky neighborhoods that give the city its unique character. With stops at local markets, artisan coffee shops, and craft breweries, you’ll discover Portland’s commitment to sustainability and community. Cycling in Portland is an opportunity to experience the city’s green ethos and creative spirit up close.

Insider’s Tip: Check out the Eastbank Esplanade for a scenic ride along the river.

When To Travel: Summer for the best weather and numerous cycling events.

How To Get There: Fly into Portland International Airport. The city center is easily accessible by public transport, and bike rentals are available throughout Portland.

7. Montreal, Canada

Montreal combines the charm of a French village with the energy of a cosmopolitan city, and exploring it by bike allows you to experience this blend firsthand. A cycling tour in Montreal might include the historic streets of Old Montreal, the bustling Atwater Market, and the scenic Lachine Canal. The city’s bike paths, like the Route Verte, make navigating easy and safe. Cycling in Montreal offers a unique way to experience the city’s diverse neighborhoods, rich history, and vibrant culinary scene.

Insider’s Tip: Ride to the top of Mount Royal for a stunning view of the city.

When To Travel: Late spring to early fall for the best cycling conditions.

How To Get There: Montreal-Trudeau Airport is the main entry point, with good public transportation options to the city.

8. San Francisco, California, USA

San Francisco’s iconic landmarks and diverse neighborhoods make it a fascinating city to explore by bike. Despite its famous hills, there are plenty of flat and scenic routes, especially along the waterfront and the city’s many parks. A bike tour in San Francisco might include the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, and the Painted Ladies of Alamo Square. Cycling here allows you to experience the city’s unique blend of natural beauty, urban culture, and innovative spirit.

Insider’s Tip: Cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and take the ferry back for a unique experience.

When To Travel: Late spring and early fall offer the most comfortable weather for cycling.

How To Get There: Fly into San Francisco International Airport. The city is well-connected by public transport, and bike rentals are widely available.

9. Vienna, Austria

Vienna’s grand imperial history and vibrant contemporary culture are best experienced on a bike. The city’s extensive network of bike paths takes you past historic palaces, through charming neighborhoods, and along the blue Danube. A bike tour in Vienna might include the Hofburg Palace, the Prater amusement park, and the trendy districts of Neubau and Mariahilf. Cycling in Vienna is a journey through a city that seamlessly blends its past with the present.

Insider’s Tip: Take a leisurely ride in the Prater, a large public park with a long, tree-lined main avenue perfect for cycling.

When To Travel: Spring and early fall offer pleasant weather and fewer tourists.

How To Get There: Vienna International Airport is the main gateway, with excellent public transportation links to the city center.

10. Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne’s eclectic mix of art, culture, and cuisine makes it an exciting city to discover by bike. A cycling tour here can include the artsy laneways, beautiful parks like the Royal Botanic Gardens, and the vibrant beachside suburb of St Kilda. Melbourne’s flat terrain and well-developed bike paths make it easy to navigate, and you’ll quickly discover why it’s often ranked as one of the world’s most livable cities.

Insider’s Tip: Explore the Yarra River trail for scenic views and a peaceful ride away from the city bustle.

When To Travel: Fall (March to May) and spring (September to November) offer the best weather for cycling.

How To Get There: Fly into Melbourne Airport. The city has a comprehensive public transport system, and bike hire is readily available.

The Bottom Line

Exploring cities by bike offers a unique perspective on urban landscapes and promotes a sustainable and healthy way of traveling. Each city on this list offers its own unique charm and attractions, best experienced at the leisurely pace of a bike ride. Remember, cycling tours are not just about physical activity; they’re about connecting with the city, its people, and its culture in an intimate and eco-friendly way. So, grab your helmet, hop on a bike, and start pedaling your way through some of the world’s most bike-friendly cities.

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The post Exploring 10 Cities Around the World by Bike – Pedal-Powered Discoveries 2024 republished on Passing Thru with permission from The Green Voyage .

Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / PR Image Factory.

For transparency, this content was partly developed with AI assistance and carefully curated by an experienced editor to be informative and ensure accuracy.

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In Paris, the Olympics Clean Up Their Act

Organizers of the Games promise to slash greenhouse gas emissions by re-using historic buildings, adding bike lanes, even putting solar panels on the Seine. Will it work?

A pool from the 1924 Paris Olympics is getting a makeover for the 2024 games. Credit... Yulia Grigoryants for The New York Times

Supported by

By Somini Sengupta and Catherine Porter

Somini Sengupta and Catherine Porter reported across Paris and the northern suburbs in Seine Saint-Denis.

• Published March 16, 2024 Updated March 17, 2024

How do you produce a global sporting event, with millions of people swooping down on one city, in the age of global warming?

That is the test for the Paris Olympics this summer.

The organizers say they’re putting the games on a climate diet. These Olympics, they say, will generate no more than half the greenhouse gas emissions of recent Olympics. That means tightening the belt on everything that produces planet-warming emissions: electricity, food, buildings, and transportation, including the jet fuel that athletes and fans burn traveling the world to get there.

An event that attracts 10,500 athletes and an estimated 15 million spectators is, by definition, going to have an environmental toll. And that has led those who love the games but hate the pollution to suggest that the Olympics should be scattered around the world, in existing facilities, to eliminate the need for so much new construction and air travel. That’s why Paris is being watched so closely.

It is making more space for bikes and less for cars. It’s doing away with huge, diesel-powered generators, a fixture of big sporting events. It’s planning guest menus that are less polluting to grow and cook than typical French fare: more plants, less steak au poivre. Solar panels will float, temporarily, on the Seine.

But the organizers’ most significant act may be what they are not doing: They aren’t building. At least, not as much.

Instead of building new showpieces for the games (which generates lots of greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing of concrete and steel), the Paris Olympics are repurposing many of the city’s existing attractions, including the Grand Palais, the plaza known as the Concorde and even a swimming pool built for the 1924 Paris Olympics.

It’s not without controversy.

One notable emissions-reduction effort, a decision to forego conventional air-conditioning at the athletes’ village, has raised concerns. Instead, the buildings will rely on a cooling system that uses water pulled from underground. Several Olympic teams, are considering bringing their own air-conditioners.

Still the hope is that experiments like these will offer a template for other Olympics in the future, and other cities worldwide. The few new buildings that are being built, including the athletes’ housing, as well as a swimming complex and an arena, are using less cement and more wood. They have solar panels and greenery on their roofs.

The new buildings are also meant to have a life far beyond the Olympics. They’re designed to be used by local residents for decades to come and, the leaders of the Paris 2024 organizing committee say, revitalize the city’s suburbs. “We set for ourselves ambitions that have never been set for any event before, let alone have this scale,” said Georgina Grenon, who is in charge of the games’ environmental efforts.

Critics counter that, while much of what Paris is doing is commendable, particularly the limits on new construction, to truly address the climate crisis requires more than paring back emissions here and there. “We need to fundamentally rethink these huge mega events,” said Cesar Dugast, co-founder of a climate analysis group called Eclaircies. “Instead of concentrating all the events in a single city, it could be envisaged to distribute them around the world.”

‘It’s a big test’

There’s a more immediate risk facing the Olympics: climate change itself. Rising global temperatures are making Paris summers dangerously hot. That has heightened concerns about how to protect athletes and fans in late July and August.

City officials say they have planted thousands of trees in recent years to temper summer heat. They are erecting misting towers to spray the air. The search is on for wide umbrellas under which fans can wait. “We have solutions. We are preparing,” said Dan Lert, the deputy mayor in charge of preparing the city for heat. “It’s a big test.”

One major thing that sets the Paris games apart from previous Olympics is that it has imposed a limit on the total emissions it will produce. The target: Generate no more than half the greenhouse gas emissions of the 2012 Olympics, which were held in London.

London was chosen as a benchmark because the organizers there also sought to reduce emissions, and they measured them. Estimates like these are based on standard measures of, for instance, how much carbon dioxide is produced by the amount of cement used in new buildings.

The Paris organizers say they will offset those emissions by purchasing “carbon credits” to help fund emissions-reducing projects worldwide. The games organizers have not said what projects the games will fund and at what price. In any case, the market for carbon credits can be murky, with some projects not delivering on their promise.

Refashioning a historic city

What Paris is doing shows what can be done to remake an old city for a new global climate. It also shows what the limits are.

The Place de la Concorde, an 18th century plaza where guillotines were once erected during the French Revolution, this summer will be home to Olympic events like skateboarding.

The plaza is also now home to an unassuming metal box designed to spur an electricity revolution. It contains a high-powered electrical outlet connected to the national grid, enabling every big event on the plaza to throw off the shackles of diesel.

Diesel generators are the dirty secret of sports events. Typically they are trucked in to provide a stable source of power.

The Paris games have also cut a special deal with the electric utility stipulating that there be enough wind and solar energy in the grid to produce all the energy that the games consume.

When it comes to emissions, transportation is another headache. Paris has already been limiting space for cars and making space for bikes, and it’s using the games to accelerate that shift.

But the Olympics, with its huge crowds, threatens trouble for how Parisians get around their city, with many making plans to flee on vacation.

Pierre Rabadan, a former pro rugby player who is now Paris’ deputy mayor for sports, lifted his shoulders against a wind and walked briskly out of the tram stop in front of the city’s new basketball arena, at the top of Rue de la Chapelle. He pointed to an almost finished bike lane along the road, carved out of what had been a wide boulevard devoted to automobiles.

Since the election of Anne Hidalgo as mayor in 2014, Paris has added some 600 kilometers of bike lanes. Around 10 percent have been dubbed Olympistes, a play on “piste,” the French word for track.

“The problem is we built the city around cars,” Mr. Rabadan said.

Another problem is that the city’s metro system is bursting at the seams. Trains are already crowded, and workers are rushing to complete new extensions of two lines in time to serve the games.

To make room for Olympics visitors, the city has urged people to stay off the trains or work from home.

Tarzan and the old pool

Key to the organizers’ climate strategy is to build as little as possible, which is why it is tapping into a leftover from the 1924 Paris Olympics: the Georges Vallerey swimming pool.

It’s getting a new air filtration system, as well as a new roof that lets in light but keeps out heat and cold. Old wood roof beams have been repurposed as countertops. The wooden bleachers, installed at least 40 years ago, remain. Sturdy stucco walls reveal the pool’s age.

“We need not trash everything or destroy everything and put it in the bin,” said Mr. Rabadan.

The pool holds history. It is where Johnny Weissmuller, an American swimmer, won a gold medal in 1924. He went on to play Tarzan in a string of Hollywood movies, Mr. Rabadan is keen to point out.

Roughly 95 percent of the venues to be used in the 2024 games are old buildings or temporary structures. For example, several temporary pools will be built for the games, then taken apart and re-installed in communities that have a dearth of public pools.

‘A laboratory’

The Olympics, Ms. Grenon said, offer “a laboratory,” particularly when it comes to the buildings designed from scratch.

A new aquatic center, on the edge of a highway in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis, is a showpiece of Douglas fir and pine. Its 5,000 square meter roof curves like a wave: The architects designed it that way to shrink the size of the building, reducing the energy needed to heat the space.

The pool is 5 meters deep only where necessary to have greater depth for diving, and shallower where it’s not. That too saves water and energy it takes to heat the water. Some of that heat will come from a nearby data center. The venue’s 5,000 seats are made from recycled plastic.

The goal, said Cécilia Gross, one of the architects, was “to do better with less.”

Rising nearby is the biggest new Olympics project: the 128-acre Athletes Village complex that is to morph into a mixed neighborhood for 6,000 residents afterward. Its builders say its emissions are at least 30 percent less than a conventional project of its size.

Timber has a starring role here, too. The village is a cluster of mostly wood-frame buildings.

While timber has its own environmental costs depending on how it’s grown, it is considered far more sustainable than concrete.

In the village, a small patch of sidewalk is paved with oyster shells that can be watered from an underground reservoir and cool the sidewalk on hot days. One experimental building is to recycle all its water. To cool the grounds, 9,000 trees have been planted, including local varieties like oaks and elms that can survive in a hotter future.

Then there’s the unconventional air conditioning.

A network of pipes, using water cooled by first being sent underground, will cool the interiors of the buildings in a technology known as a geo-exchange system. In New York City, St. Patrick’s Cathedral uses something similar, but using air instead of water. A smattering of U.S. universities are also switching to geoexchange.

Along with shade trees, insulation and a breeze from the river, the builders say indoor temperatures can be kept cool enough for the Paris summers of the future. However, the games organizers say, Olympic teams are still free to bring their own air conditioners.

The United States, Canada and Norway said they would. Australia and Ireland have too, according to press reports. The mayor, Ms. Hidalgo, in an interview with Reuters , urged teams to “trust the science.”

Léontine Gallois contributed reporting from Paris.

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of a picture caption with this article stated incorrectly the location of a new electric box that replaced diesel generators. It was on the Place de la Concorde, not near the Grand Palais.

How we handle corrections

Somini Sengupta is the international climate reporter on the Times climate team. More about Somini Sengupta

Catherine Porter is an international reporter for The Times, covering France. She is based in Paris. More about Catherine Porter

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Women cyclists used a $6,000 bike to fight off a cougar who was mauling their friend: report

• Five cyclists fought off a male cougar in the Pacific Northwest to save their friend, KUOW reports.
• The attack occurred during a ride on the Tokul Creek trail in Washington state.
• The cougar was euthanized, and the autopsy uncovered his victim's earring, which he had swallowed.

Five female cyclists fought off a male cougar in the Pacific Northwest wilderness for 45 minutes, KUOW reports .

The cyclists from the Recycled Cycles Racing team battled the cougar to protect their friend, Keri Bergere, who was being mauled in Washington state on February 17, 2024. 

Five women cyclists in their 50s to 60s had embarked on a ride at the Tokul Creek trail, east of Seattle. 

They were 19 miles into their journey when a young male cougar —one of 3,600 cougars in Washington state — launched a sudden attack on Bergere, 60.

"Looking to my right, I saw the cougar's face," Bergere told KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio, Seattle's NPR news station. "It was just a split second, and he tackled me off my bike."

Falling into a shallow ditch with the cougar, Bergere thought her "teeth were coming loose" and could feel her "bones crushing."

Her fellow cyclists used rocks and sticks to fend off the wildcat, even stabbing it with a knife and choking the cougar to save Bergere.

They refused to back down, even as the cougar sank its teeth into Bergere's jaw and pinned her to the ground. 

"I felt like it was suffocating me," she said. "I could taste the blood in my mouth."

As they fought the women experienced how powerful a cougar, capable of taking down a large deer, can be.

Annie Bilotta, 64, attempted to choke the cougar, while others resorted to desperate measures, including prying its jaws off Bergere and delivering blows with makeshift weapons.

At one point, one of the women dropped a large rock on the feline predator's head.

But eventually, they got the upper hand over the big cat.

"These ladies are not big, and they were killing this cougar," Bergere said. "They were not going to let it get me."

Related stories

After 15 minutes, the cougar finally relented, allowing Bergere to escape to safety. 

The women restrained the wounded animal with one of their bikes, a $6,000 cyclocross, until help arrived, per KUOW.

They pinioned the cougar for 30 minutes before an officer from the Fish & Wildlife Police arrived and shot the cougar between the shoulder blades as the women subdued him, per KUOW.

How to handle a cougar encounter

Cougars are typically reclusive and rarely threaten humans.

There are only 20 documented cougar attacks in Washington in the last century. Only two recorded incidents were fatal.

Adult male cougars average about 140 pounds but may weigh up to 180 pounds and measure 7-8 feet long, including the tail, per the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW.)

Adult males stand at about 30 inches tall at the shoulder.

Per the WDFW's guidance, in the rare event of encountering a cougar, passersby should avoid running and appear as large and assertive as possible.

Be assertive and fight back if attacked, using available objects or pepper spray as a last resort, the Department advises.

The official guidance indicates that the cyclists made the right decisions and used what they had at their disposal.

"Cougars have been driven away by people who have fought back using anything within reach, including sticks, rocks, shovels, backpacks, and clothing — even bare hands," the Department says.

The cyclists initially encountered two cougars, not just the young male. Heeding the advice to make themselves big — and loud, Auna Tietz started shouting, "Cougar! Cougar!"

The clamor was enough to scare off one of the cougars, but unfortunately not the one that ultimately pounced.

The autopsy of this particular cougar revealed it was healthy, so the motive behind the attack remains unclear. The autopsy also uncovered Bergere's earring, which the cougar had ripped off and swallowed.

Bergere is hanging on to the retrieved earring as a "souvenir of sorts," per KUOW.

Watch: Big-cat expert rates 9 big-cat attack scenes in movies

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The star wars movies in chronological and release order, star wars movies in order of release, chronological order of all star wars movies, upcoming star wars movies to look out for, other star wars media.

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The Star Wars story is an epic saga of adventure.

The world of Star Wars has been an inescapable cultural phenomenon for decades. This intricately interlaced space saga following the rise and fall — and rebellions against — a despotic empire through the perspectives of rebels and their allies. With multiple entries in the best sci-fi movies list, it has captured the imaginations of billions and inspired hope with stories that often relate back to struggles in our Earthly realm. But if you’re a newcomer to the franchise, or you’re just looking for a way to keep it all organized, you might be wondering exactly how all the movies piece together. So, let’s step through how to watch all the Star Wars movies in order, starting with listing them according to when they first hit theaters.

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)

Star wars: episode v – the empire strikes back (1980), star wars: episode vi – return of the jedi (1983), star wars: episode i – the phantom menace (1999), star wars: episode ii – attack of the clones (2002), star wars: episode iii – revenge of the sith (2005), star wars: the clone wars (2008), star wars: episode vii – the force awakens (2015), rogue one: a star wars story (2016), star wars: episode viii – the last jedi (2017), solo: a star wars story (2018), star wars: episode ix – the rise of skywalker (2019).

The Star Wars movies introduce us to an interconnected space-faring civilization with unique locales, cultures and complex political happenings that our protagonists get caught in as they fight for the side of light. The main canon of the franchise currently stands at twelve films, with the first one having come out in 1977.

The franchise is generally critically well-received, with only three of its films falling out of Rotten Tomatoes’ “fresh” designation. But you may have noticed how the films, in release order, oddly begin with an entry titled as the fourth. This was not the film’s original title , because the films chronologically follow a different watch order. So below, let’s walk through the films according to where they sit on the timeline.

"Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace" appears as part of the "Star Wars: In Concert" series at ... [+] the Orleans Arena In Las Vegas in 2010.

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We begin with episode one, which begins the prequel trilogy. This first film is directed by George Lucas and produced by Rick McCallum, and stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman. The film was generally poorly received, being one of the franchise’s few “rotten” entries on Rotten Tomatoes. It is currently streaming on Disney+ .

The story begins with the Trade Federation implementing a blockade on the planet of Naboo. So, in response, the Galactic Republic’s Chancellor sends Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi to settle things. Along the way these peacekeepers ally with Jar Jar Binks and Queen Padmé Amidala, and also take in the child Anakin Skywalker, whom Qui-Gon believes is the prophesied “Chosen One.” Things ultimately lead to a battle between our heroes and enemy forces, including Darth Maul, whose presence makes clear that the Jedi’s old foe, the Sith, have returned.

Stormtroopers at a screening for "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones."

The story continues with episode two, again directed by George Lucas and produced by Rick McCallum. The movie stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Christopher Lee, Ian McDiarmid and Temuera Morrison. Critics and fans met this entry more favorably, with Rotten Tomatoes holding a 65% score . The movie is currently streaming on Disney+.

Set ten years after the events of episode one, the film reveals that a separatist movement, led by the villainous Count Dooku, threatens to break up the Galactic Republic. As Obi-Wan investigates mysteries surrounding this enemy, the older Anakin meanwhile falls for Padmé. The film eventually erupts into a large scale battle between the Republic’s clone army and the separatists’ droids. And while the matter is temporarily allayed, the threat of the Sith still looms.

Stormtroopers line the red carpet at the premiere of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars."

The animated film The Clone Wars briefly interrupts the prequels for an entry directed by Dave Filoni and produced by Catherine Winder. The movie stars voice actors Matt Lanter, Ashley Eckstein and Christopher Lee. The film stands out as the lowest-scoring canon movie in the overall franchise on Rotten Tomatoes, holding a 19% .

In the movie, the Clone Wars rage on as more planets are poised to leave the Galactic Republic amid growing chaos. Meanwhile, when Count Dooku covertly kidnaps Jabba the Hutt’s son, Obi-Wan, Anakin and the latter’s new Jedi apprentice Ahsoka Tano move in to help. But while continuing on with the mission at hand, the situation across the galaxy seems to be getting worse.

Director George Lucas at the U.K. premiere of "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith."

Episode three returns us to the prequels, with director George Lucas and producer Rick McCallum finishing the story. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen. It saw a brighter audience response, being the first “certified fresh” film in our order, with a 79% score . The film is streaming on Disney+.

Set three years after episode two, the film begins with Anakin and Obi-Wan rescuing Chancellor Palpatine from the clutches of General Grievous. However, we then learn that Palpatine is in fact a Sith Lord. Worrying over visions that the pregnant Padmé may die, Anakin then allies with Palpatine and aids in his scheming. In the end, the status quo of the Star Wars world as we knew it is undone. However, Padmé ultimately gives birth to twins Leia and Luke, who are hidden from the Sith.

The cast of "Solo: A Star Wars Story."

Separated from the numbered entries, this prequel, directed by Ron Howard and produced by Kathleen Kennedy, brings us a character who will soon become crucial. The film stars Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson and Donald Glover, and earned a 69% on Rotten Tomatoes , though it did leave fans wanting something better. The movie is streaming on Disney+.

The movie introduces us to young pilot Han Solo, who joins a criminal crew led by Tobias Beckett. Along the way Han also befriends the wookiee Chewbacca. As Beckett has a debt to the criminal Dryden Voss, the team plans to rob a mine to pay it. As the plan rolls out Han reunites with his childhood friend Qi’ra, who is working for Voss, and also allies with the smuggler Lando Calrissian. However, this puts them at odds with Enfys Nest. In the end, allies and enemies cross each, after which Han and Chewbacca go off to seek their next venture.

The cast, director and producer of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" at an early screening.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is another non-numbered title, this time directed by Gareth Edwards and produced by Kathleen Kennedy. The film stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna and Mads Mikkelsen. The movie also stands within the top five most well-recieved films in the franchise, holding an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes . It is streaming on Disney+.

In the film, the rebels convince Jyn Erso to find her father, Galen Erso, who is being coerced into building the Empire’s planet-destroying weapon the Death Star. On this dangerous journey Jyn picks up allies including Rebellion officer Cassian Andor, the droid K-2SO, Chirrut Îmwe, Baze Malbus and defected imperial pilot Bodhi Rook. The team eventually learns that Galen has built a vulnerability into the Death Star, the blueprints of which are hiding on the planet Scarif. And so the rogue crew embarks on a dangerous mission to bring this information to the Rebellion before the Empire can stop them.

The central trio from "Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope."

And then we arrive at the movie that began it all, directed again by George Lucas and produced by Gary Kurtz. The film stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. The film also proudly sits with a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes , the third highest in the franchise. It is now streaming on Disney+.

In the movie, Rebellion leader Leia Organa secretly sends off the blueprints from Rogue One with droids R2-D2 and C-3PO with a message seeking help from Obi-Wan Kenobi. Leia is then captured by the cruel Imperial enforcer Darth Vader, while the droids find Obi-Wan and Luke Skywalker. Luke then learns from Obi-Wan that Luke’s father was also a Jedi until Darth Vader killed him. The group then hires the smuggler Han Solo and his co-pilot Chewbacca to help them flee the planet, rescue Leia and deliver the blueprints to the Rebellion. The Rebel Alliance then stages a large scale attack on the Death Star to thwart the Empire’s growing power.

Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca on the set of "Star Wars: ... [+] Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back."

The story continues with the series’ first sequel, directed by George Lucas and produced by Gary Kurtz. The film stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams. This currently stands as the highest rated film in the franchise on Rotten Tomatoes with a 95% score . The movie is now streaming on Disney+.

Three years after the prior film’s events, the Empire and Darth Vader ruthlessly search for the Rebels. So, Han, Leia, C-3PO and Chewbacca take refuge with old friend Lando Calrissian, while R2-D2 and Luke go to the Jedi Master Yoda to train under him. However, Vader then forces Lando to surrender the group, leading Luke to come to their rescue. In a final confrontation, Vader tells Luke to join him in ruling the Empire, right before revealing a chilling truth.

"Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi" closes out the original trilogy.

We come to the close of the original trilogy with a finale directed by Richard Marquand and produced by Howard Kazanjian. The film stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams and Ian McDiarmid. The movie’s score on Rotten Tomatoes sits at 83% . It is streaming on Disney+.

The film, taking place a year after the last entry, begins with the group executing a daring escape from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt. Later, we understand that Luke and Leia are in fact the twins hidden from the Sith years ago. But then, the Rebels learn that the Empire is building a second Death Star, so the team mobilizes to thwart it. Then, Luke is brought before Vader and Emperor Palpatine, with the latter urging Luke to join him. Things end again with another climactic showdown at the Death Star, with the finale changing the political status quo of this universe once again.

The cast and director of the sequel trilogy's first entry, "Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force ... [+] Awakens."

Next comes the sequel trilogy. The first entry in this trio is directed by J. J. Abrams and produced by Kathleen Kennedy. The film stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, and sits at a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes , the second highest in the franchise. This movie is streaming on Disney+.

Thirty years after our last entry, the New Republic is now running the galaxy. However, the Resistance, under General Leia, now battles the despotic First Order, with both sides searching for Luke Skywalker, who is missing. Then the First Order’s Kylo Ren, the estranged son of Han Solo, captures Resistance pilot Poe Dameron, but not before Poe is able to send a map of Luke’s location away with his droid BB-8. BB-8 then befriends the scavenger Rey and the defected First Order soldier Finn, and this trio joins forces with Han, Chewbacca and the rest of the Resistance. All forces ultimately collide as the Resistance aims to thwart the First Order’s new, planet-sized weapon in a climactic final battle.

Daisy Ridley and Mark Hamill on the red carpet for the European Premiere of "Star Wars: Episode VIII ... [+] – The Last Jedi."

Then came the movies that split the fandom. The Last Jedi is directed by Rian Johnson and produced by Kathleen Kennedy, and stars Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver and Carrie Fisher. Despite the split fanbase, critics more favorably sent it to a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes . The movie is currently streaming on Disney+.

Picking up shortly after the last entry, this film shows Resistance forces fleeing from the First Order across space. Then, when Leia is injured, Holdo takes over command. But Poe disapproves, and so helps send Finn, the mechanic Rose, and BB-8 to ally with hacker DJ to secretly hinder the First Order. Meanwhile, Rey finds a disillusioned Luke traumatized after a recent past that created Kylo Ren’s villainy. Later, Rey confronts Kylo, but this only leads to him doubling down in his ways. In the end, Kylo Ren’s forces face our heroes at an abandoned their base in a desperate last stand from the Resistance.

The cast, director and producer of "Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker."

The sequel trilogy finishes with The Rise of Skywalker , directed by J. J. Abrams and produced by Kathleen Kennedy. The film stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac and Billy Dee Williams. The film is also the third worst-scoring entry in the franchise with a score of 52% . The movie is streaming on Disney+.

After a seemingly resurrected Emperor Palpatine reveals himself to be behind the First Order, the Resistance races to find him. Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewbacca, BB-8 and C-3PO go on the search, allying with Lando Calrissian, Babu Frik and the smuggler Zorii to uncover Palpatine’s location. During this, Kylo Ren confronts Rey, battles her, and also reveals a disquieting truth about her lineage. However, these confrontations ultimately push Kylo to rethink who he is. In the finale, Rey finds and confronts Palpatine, with the rest of the Resistance present to face his armada in this dramatic last stand against The First Order.

While Disney’s long-term plans for Star Wars have clearly changed over the years as audience reception has fluctuated, those in charge have every intention to keep serving us more stories from this world. So, presently, there are eight announced upcoming movies in various stages of development that we might look out for.

Disney has told us that three of these films are aiming to release on the dates May 22, 2026, December 18, 2026, and December 17, 2027, but we don’t know which one will fall where. Below is what we do know so far.

James Mangold’s Distant Past Movie (Release Year TBA)

Director James Mangold will explore this galaxy's distant past.

Director James Mangold (who also directed the X-Men film Logan ) is set to direct a Star Wars film, but one set in the very distant past. Said to take place around 25,000 years before the original trilogy, Mangold’s entry seeks to shed light on lingering mysteries about the Force and the nature of this world.

This would make the entry, when it comes out, the first in our chronological watch order.

Lando (Release Year TBA)

Actor Donald Glover is ready to return as a young Lando.

Lando Calrissian has been a very popular character in the Star Wars franchise, and with the celebrated artist Donald Glover coming on to play a younger version of him in Solo: A Star Wars story, things were looking good for the announced project Lando telling more of this character’s story.

The project was, though, earlier described as a television show. But more recently we got the news that it is now being re-envisioned as a film , with Donald Glover and his brother Stephen Glover (from the TV show Atlanta ) taking on the writing themselves. We’ll need to wait for further details from them to know what the full plan is for this entry.

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (Release Year TBA)

Director Patty Jenkins has a fresh vision for Star Wars.

Patty Jenkins, the director behind the DC Extended Universe’s Wonder Woman films, was also announced some time back to have her own Star Wars project in the works as a writer and director. The story here is said to center around fighter pilots, in a tale inspired by World War 2 history.

However, due to apparent creative differences as well as Jenkins’ busy schedule, for a while this project was thought to have fallen away. But in early 2024 Jenkins said that she was officially back on the title, and is eager to finally be able to tell this story.

The Mandalorian & Grogu (Release Year TBA)

The Mandalorian and Grogu are coming to the big screen.

After the success of the Pedro Pascal-led Star Wars TV show The Mandalorian , Disney has announced that we’ll soon be getting a movie that brings this beloved duo to the big screen . The film will be directed by Jon Favreau (director of The Lion King ) and produced by Kathleen Kennedy.

While we don’t know much about the movie beyond that, this entry seems to be filling in the desire for the TV show’s fourth season, and will likely at least see the return of Pedro Pascal.

Dave Filoni’s New Republic Movie (Release Year TBA)

Dave Filoni has plenty more ideas for Star Wars.

Also in the queue is a movie from director Dave Filoni, the mind behind much of Star Wars’ TV efforts. The film will focus on the New Republic that arose after the Empire’s fall, and answer some of the questions about what happened in the gap between the original and sequel trilogies.

The movie is also expected to tie together many of the storylines from Filoni’s previous Star Wars projects.

Taika Waititi’s Star Wars Movie (Release Year TBA)

Taika Waititi is working on a new Star Wars story.

After Taika Waititi’s Marvel success, he’s now being given a shot at Star Wars, too. Waititi is set to direct and co-write along with Krysty Wilson-Cairns (who co-wrote Last Night in Soho ). Waititi hasn’t said much about the project, apart from expressing how different it will be, and at one point discussing it with Star Wars veteran Natalie Portman.

Shawn Levy’s Star Wars Movie (Release Year TBA)

Little is known, so far, about Shawn Levy's Star Wars project.

Shawn Levy, who is currently helming Disney and Marvel’s highly anticipated Deadpool 3 , also has a Star Wars movie in the works. But we might know the absolute least about this project out of everything said to be coming in the future, and it’s not entirely clear whether this is even still in the works.

However, with such a celebrated director, it would be fascinating to see his take on things as well.

New Jedi Order Daisy Ridley Movie (Release Year TBA)

Fans are eager to see Daisy Ridley's return to the franchise under director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's ... [+] lead.

Last year, Disney made the exciting announcement that Daisy Ridley will return as Rey in a new film set after the events of Rise of Skywalker . The film will be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy ( Ms. Marvel ), with Steven Knight ( Peaky Blinders ) set to write, though discourse around this news has generated some controversy .

Notably, this spot appears to be taking over what was before Damon Lindelof’s new Star Wars movie, but now the expected sequel is going in a new direction.

While we focused on the movies here, there are also an immense number of other Star Wars media entries. Apart from the movies, Star Wars has been rapidly expanding on television, with shows such as Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi , Star Wars: The Clone Wars , Star Wars: The Bad Batch , Obi-Wan Kenobi , Star Wars: Rebels , Andor , The Mandalorian , The Book of Boba Fett , Ahsoka and Star Wars: Resistance. Also on the way are the shows Star Wars: The Acolyte and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, as well as new seasons for Andor and Ahsoka .

And from there is also a bewildering number of other movies, books, comics, and more (both canon and not) that will provide for hours and hours of further Star Wars immersion if you’re ever looking for an even deeper dive.

The Star Wars movies straddle three trilogies and more to tell us an epic tale of heroes against tyrants. For decades that storyies captivated our imaginations and will continue to do so. So, this guide can come handy as you explore this world from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

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Top 10 Bicycle Movies

A list of the best movies where Bicycles are the main theme. Either movies on a competition / race or based on a bicycle as a central theme.

• Movies or TV
• IMDb Rating
• In Theaters
• Release Year

1. Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Not Rated | 89 min | Drama

In post-war Italy, a working-class man's bicycle is stolen, endangering his efforts to find work. He and his son set out to find it.

Director: Vittorio De Sica | Stars: Lamberto Maggiorani , Enzo Staiola , Lianella Carell , Elena Altieri

Votes: 174,482 | Gross: $0.33M

2. Rad (1986)

PG | 91 min | Drama, Sport

The story of one young man, Cru Jones, who has the intensity and desire to win a BMX race called Helltrack.

Director: Hal Needham | Stars: Bart Conner , Lori Loughlin , Bill Allen , Talia Shire

Votes: 7,013 | Gross: $2.02M

3. Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

PG | 91 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family

When eccentric man-child Pee-wee Herman gets his beloved bike stolen in broad daylight, he sets out across the U.S. on the adventure of his life.

Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Paul Reubens , Elizabeth Daily , Mark Holton , Diane Salinger

Votes: 58,893 | Gross: $40.90M

4. The Kid with a Bike (2011)

PG-13 | 87 min | Drama

Abandoned by his father, a young boy is left in a state-run youth farm. In a random act of kindness, the town hairdresser agrees to foster him on weekends.

Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne , Luc Dardenne | Stars: Thomas Doret , Cécile de France , Jérémie Renier , Fabrizio Rongione

Votes: 28,590 | Gross: $1.38M

5. Breaking Away (1979)

PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport

A working-class Indiana teen obsessed with the Italian cycling team vies for the affections of a college girl while searching for life goals with his friends.

Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Dennis Christopher , Dennis Quaid , Daniel Stern , Jackie Earle Haley

Votes: 25,366 | Gross: $16.42M

6. American Flyers (1985)

PG-13 | 113 min | Drama, Sport

Marcus takes his kid brother, David, with him for a physical test and a brain scan, suspecting cerebral aneurysm like their dad died of. They head off on bikes for the big Rockies bike race with Marcus' Sarah driving the van.

Director: John Badham | Stars: Kevin Costner , David Marshall Grant , Rae Dawn Chong , Alexandra Paul

Votes: 6,619 | Gross: $1.40M

7. Quicksilver (1986)

PG | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

Jack was doing great trading shares until he wasn't. He gets a job on a bike at Quicksilver speed delivery. There he befriends Hector and the cute Terri. Jack gets an enemy in the criminal Gypsy.

Director: Thomas Michael Donnelly | Stars: Kevin Bacon , Jami Gertz , Paul Rodriguez , Rudy Ramos

Votes: 5,270 | Gross: $7.63M

8. Wadjda (2012)

PG | 98 min | Comedy, Drama

An enterprising Saudi girl signs on for her school's Koran recitation competition as a way to raise the remaining funds she needs in order to buy the green bicycle that has captured her interest.

Director: Haifaa Al-Mansour | Stars: Waad Mohammed , Reem Abdullah , Abdullrahman Al Gohani , Ahd

Votes: 21,427 | Gross: $1.35M

9. BMX Bandits (1983)

PG | 88 min | Action, Crime, Drama

A trio of teen BMX enthusiasts become entangled with a group of bank robbers after discovering their cache of walkie-talkies.

Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith | Stars: David Argue , John Ley , Nicole Kidman , Angelo D'Angelo

Votes: 5,991

10. Premium Rush (2012)

PG-13 | 91 min | Action, Crime, Thriller

In Manhattan, a bike messenger picks up an envelope that attracts the interest of a dirty cop, who pursues the cyclist throughout the city.

Director: David Koepp | Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt , Michael Shannon , Dania Ramirez , Sean Kennedy

Votes: 118,296 | Gross: $20.28M

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All 10 star trek: tng time travel episodes ranked worst to best.

Star Trek has always loved a good time travel story, and Star Trek: The Next Generation, in particular, had some great episodes with time travel.

• Time travel plays a key role in shaping the world of Star Trek: The Next Generation, offering unique challenges and storylines to the Enterprise crew.
• Episodes like "Cause and Effect" and "All Good Things..." skillfully navigate time travel concepts, providing engaging and satisfying conclusions.
• Despite some inconsistencies and rushed scriptwriting, TNG remains a pioneer in incorporating time travel into its storytelling, capturing the essence of the sci-fi genre.

Throughout the seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation , the crew of the USS Enterprise-D have several experiences involving time travel. Although time travel is technically possible in the 24th century of TNG , it often comes with many risks and complications. While time travel has been depicted in every Star Trek series since Star Trek: The Original Series , it does not always work the same way. Some of Star Trek's best television episodes and films incorporate time travel, including two of the most beloved films in the franchise, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek: First Contact .

Star Trek: The Next Generation seemed to have a particular fondness for this science fiction staple, and includes ten episodes with plots that center on time travel. From trips to the past to alternate futures to time loops, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his Enterprise-D crew became well acquainted with time travel throughout TNG's run. The show incorporated time travel in several interesting ways, and here are all ten episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation that center on time travel, ranked.

20 Best Star Trek Time Travel Episodes & Movies, Ranked

10 "we'll always have paris" (star trek: tng season 1, episode 24), in which the enterprise crew sees double..

In Star Trek: The Next Generation 's "We'll Always Have Paris," the USS Enterprise-D answers a distress call from Dr. Paul Manheim (Rod Loomis), whose experiments are causing time distortions. Manheim has become trapped between two dimensions, which will result in his death if the Enterprise crew cannot find a way to save him. Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) determines that the experiment must be shut down during one of the time distortions , so he beams down to the planet alone to stabilize the experiment.

The secondary plot of "We'll Always Have Paris" follows Captain Picard as he reconnects with a former flame, Jenice (Michelle Phillips), who is currently married to Dr. Manheim. While it's nice to learn a bit more about one of Picard's past love interests , their romantic chemistry is less than convincing. Due to the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike, the script for "We'll Always Have Paris" was written quickly in only five days, which explains why the episode feels somewhat incomplete.

9 "Time Squared" (Star Trek: TNG Season 2, Episode 13)

In which picard has a run-in with picard..

When the USS Enterprise-D encounters a shuttle containing a version of Captain Picard from six hours in the future, the crew rushes to uncover the circumstances that led to this scenario. The future Picard wakes up disoriented and unaware of his surroundings, apparently "out of phase" with the Enterprise of the present. For unexplained reasons, stimulants have an opposite effect on the future Picard and the shuttle from the future requires negative power to function.

As the Enterprise-D investigates the strange shuttle from the future, the ship gets caught in a vortex. The original Picard decides to fly straight through the vortex, which somehow works and causes Picard and the shuttle from the future to vanish. No explanation is given to explain the strange effects of time travel in Star Trek: The Next Generation' s "Time Squared" or why Picard's solution works.

In the original concept for the episode, Q (John de Lancie) was responsible for these strange occurrences, but Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry reportedly nixed this idea.

8 "Firstborn" (Star Trek: TNG Season 7, Episode 21)

In which an adult alexander visits from the future..

Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Firstborn" dives into the relationship between Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) and his son, Alexander (Brian Bonsall). Hoping to get Alexander more interested in Klingon culture, Worf takes his young son to the Kot'baval festival on Maranga IV. While there, the two are attacked by a group of Klingon warriors, and a mysterious Klingon named K'mtar (James Sloyan) jumps in to help them.

When Worf catches K'mtar about to murder Alexander in his sleep, K'mtar reveals himself to be an adult Alexander from the future. The future Alexander wanted to prepare his younger self to prevent Worf's future assassination. K'mtar motivations are shaky at best, but "Firstborn" does offer an interesting look into Klingon culture and has some nice father/son moments for Worf and Alexander (even if Worf won't be winning any father-of-the-year awards ). ​

In a crossover from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Quark (Armin Shimerman) makes a brief appearance in "Firstborn," as do the villainous Duras sisters, Lursa (Barbara March) and B'Etor (Gwynyth Walsh).

7 "A Matter of Time" (Star Trek: TNG Season 5, Episode 9)

In which a supposed traveler from the future visits the enterprise..

When the Starship Enterprise encounters a time distortion, they find a futuristic shuttlepod with one passenger on board. The passenger, Berlinghoff Rasmussen (Matt Frewer), claims to be a historian from the 26th century who has traveled back in time. Captain Picard later realizes that several pieces of 24th-century technology have gone missing and has a security team confront Rasmussen before he can depart.

Matt Frewer delivers a solid performance, but the story feels like it's missing something.

Rasmussen then reveals that he is actually from the 22nd century and that he stole the shuttlepod from a 26th-century time traveler. Picard arrests Rasmussen and his stolen pod disappears, trapping him in the 24th century. "Matter of Time" has some fun moments and Matt Frewer delivers a solid performance, but the story feels like it's missing something, and Picard and the crew accept Rasmussen's story a bit too quickly.

The role of Berlinghoff Rasmussen was originally written for Robin Williams. Although Williams wanted to be a part of Star Trek , he was busy with Steven Spielberg's Hook at the time.

12 Actors Who Appeared In Star Trek & The Walking Dead

6 "time's arrow" (star trek: tng season 5, episode 26 & season 6, episode 1), in which data visits the past and loses his head..

This Star Trek: The Next Generation two-parter begins when Data's severed head is found in a cave alongside 19th-century relics. When the Starship Enterprise arrives to investigate, Data steps through a time portal and finds himself in the 19th century. As he searches for a way home, he encounters American authors Mark Twain (Jerry Hardin) and Jack London (Michael Aron), as well as Ten Forward bartender, Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg).

Picard and the crew soon reunite with Data in the 19th century, and discover that shapeshifting aliens have been preying on the humans of the past. After some technobabble solutions, Picard and his team return to the 24th century and destroy the Devidian habitat. While the first half of "Time's Arrow" has some fun character moments (particularly regarding Data's 19th-century exploits), the second half feels contrived and unnecessarily confusing.

5 "Timescape" (Star Trek: TNG Season 6, Episode 15)

In which the enterprise is frozen in time..

When Captain Picard, Data, Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), and Lt. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) return from a conference, they find the Enterprise frozen in time seemingly locked in a battle with a Romulan warbird. Picard, Data, and Troi then transport aboard the Enterprise to find a warp core breach in progress and multiple Romulans aboard. As they examine both ships, they realize that the Enterprise was trying to save the Romulans, as their ship was also about to explode.

Data and La Forge eventually discover that the temporal distortions were caused by aliens from trans-dimensional space who were trying to recover a quantum singularity from the Romulan ship. After La Forge is injured, Picard, Troi, and Data prevent the Enterprise from being destroyed, save their own crew, and transport the rest of the Romulans to safety. While "Timescape" may not be one of TNG's all-time greatest episodes, it turns an incredibly compelling premise into a fun story with some great character moments.

4 "Cause and Effect" (Star Trek: TNG Season 5, Episode 18)

In which the enterprise explodes over and over..

"Cause and Effect" begins with one of Star Trek's best cold opens, as the Starship Enterprise explodes just before the opening credits role. When the show returns, time resets to just before the explosion and everything happens all over again. While the Enterprise studies an anomaly, the USS Bozeman suddenly bursts through. The two ships collide, resulting in a catastrophic explosion before time resets yet again.

As the crew members begin to experience a sense of déjà vu, Data devises a way to communicate with himself between loops, eventually preventing the collision. After the loop ends, Captain Picard greets Captain Morgan Bateson (Kelsey Grammer) of the Bozeman, whose ship has been missing for 90 years. Time loops have since become a staple of science fiction, and "Cause and Effect" remains one of the best. Not only is the episode engaging throughout the first viewing, but it's also incredibly re-watchable.

Prolific Star Trek director (and Riker actor) Jonathan Frakes directed "Cause and Effect," and he manages to make each loop feel a bit different even as events repeat themselves.

3 "Tapestry" (Star Trek: TNG Season 6, Episode 15)

In which picard gets a do-over..

When Captain Picard is wounded during a diplomatic mission, Q gives him the chance to change a regret from his past. Q transports Jean-Luc back to his Starfleet Academy days, where he prevents a bar fight that had originally earned him an artificial heart. Picard finds himself back in the present, but he is a junior science officer on the Enterprise rather than the Captain. Picard realizes that the bar fight and his resulting injury played a major role in making him the man (and the Captain) that he became.

Q sends Picard back to the past again, where he joins the fight and gets stabbed. Jean-Luc then wakes up in sickbay as the Enterprise's Captain once again, unsure if everything he just experienced really happened or was only inside of his head. Either way, "Tapestry" is a brilliant episode that offers a rare glimpse into the mind and history of Jean-Luc Picard. Plus, Patrick Stewart and John de Lancie always play off of one another well, and their many scenes together show off their obvious talent.

Every Q Star Trek Appearance Ranked Worst To Best

2 "all good things..." (star trek: tng season 7, episodes 25 & 26), in which tng comes to an end (for now)..

In Star Trek: The Next Generation's series finale , Captain Picard finds himself jumping from the past to the present to the future. In the past, Picard revisits his first mission as Captain of the Enterprise at Farpoint Station, while in the future, he has retired to his family's vineyard in La Barre, France. In all three time periods, Picard encounters a dangerous anomaly, and he works with his friends to avert disaster and stop the anomaly from expanding.

One of the best series finales ever, "All Good Things..." perfectly bookends Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Picard then finds himself in the courtroom from "Encounter at Farpoint" where he first met Q. Q congratulates Picard for being able to solve the puzzle and showing the Q Continuum that humanity has great potential. In the final scene of the series, Jean-Luc sits down with his friends and crew members, joining them for a game of poker for the first time. One of the best series finales ever, "All Good Things..." perfectly bookends Star Trek: The Next Generation , celebrating humanity and bringing the story of the Enterprise-D crew to a satisfying conclusion.

The TNG crew get another wonderful finale in Star Trek: Picard season 3. After they have saved the day on the rebuilt USS Enterprise-D, they enjoy another game of poker in a callback to TNG's original finale.

1 "Yesterday's Enterprise" (Star Trek: TNG Season 3, Episode 15)

In which the enterprise encounters a blast from the past..

When the severely damaged USS Enterprise-C emerges from a rift in spacetime, it alters the future. The Enterprise-D becomes a warship fighting in the Federation's ongoing war with the Klingons, and Lt. Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) mans the tactical station despite having been killed years before. Guinan senses that something has shifted, and she tells Picard that the Enterprise-C must return to its own time. After Guinan tells Yar of her death in the original timeline, Tasha joins the Enterprise-C as it travels back to the past.

As soon as the Enterprise-C makes it back through the time rift, the original timeline is restored, with only Guinan aware that anything has happened. Not only does "Yesterday's Enterprise" provide a fascinating look into a previous version of the Enterprise, but it also offers a glimpse of a darker Federation future and a more battle-hardened Picard. "Yesterday's Enterprise" has since become one of Star Trek's most celebrated episodes, and it remains one of Star Trek: The Next Generation's finest hours.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: The Next Generation