Some videos defy genre, logic and liver function. This 1976 gem from the BBC archives follows Big Jim Collie – a Scottish crofter with a taste for solitude and strong drink – as he sets off on his 105th crossing of the Lairig Ghru, one of the highest mountain passes in Britain, aboard his war-era bone-shaker of a bike, the 'Lairig Flyer'.
This gloriously odd film is part poetic travelogue, part slow-motion solo outdoors pub crawl – it's utterly fabulous, and worth seven minutes of your day.
- A diary of a perfect two-week Scottish cycle tour
- Step aside bikepacking, bikefishing is the reel deal
Jim lives alone in a tin-roofed bothy in the foothills of the Cairngorms. In the video, he's heading to Braemar – 60 miles by road, but only 22 if you're willing to drag you and your bike through some of the wildest terrain in Scotland.
He starts the day with a wee dram, and keeps going with the help of a generous network of whisky caches stashed along the route – not to mention the three pints he guzzles at Mar Lodge.
With rod brakes and a single gear, his bike – bought for six bob off a friend – was a relic even by 1976 standards. Undeterred, Jim explains mechanical issues – punctures, broken pedals, collapsed wheels – are met with the same response: shrug, sip, press on.
