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Which is the best song about cycling? Help decide the road.cc People's Choiceroadcc peoples choice

Which is the best song about cycling? Help decide the road.cc People's Choice

Tell us your favourite tune about bikes or riding
by John Stevenson
Wed, Jun 22, 2016 11:47
75

What's the best song about bikes or cycling? Tell us in this week's People's Choice poll.

Sex and drugs and rock ’n’ roll — and cycling? Ever since Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two) popular songwriters from Pink Floyd to Lily Allen have featured bikes and cycling in their songs. Some have been irredeemably naff, some are considered classics. What’s your favourite cycling tune?

Here's your chance to tell us.

Here's how it works:

  • Post a comment to nominate a song. Check it hasn't already been nominated. Add a link to the song wherever you can – from YouTube, say.
  • Like a comment to vote for that song. 
  • One comment per song. Any multiple comments will be deleted and their likes will not count towards a song's score. The first nomination will be the one that is counted.
  • One song per comment. Otherwise the voting doesn't make any sense.
  • Maximum 30 nominations per award. Once we hit 30 nominations we will close the nomination process.
  • All votes will be counted up until the closing date. Votes after this may appear but will not be counted.
  • We reserve the right to remove any comment at our sole discretion.
  • Closing date is 10am, Wednesday, June 29.

Over to you!

people's choice
John Stevenson

John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.

He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.

Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.

John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.

He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.

Add new comment

75 comments

Avatar
Ramz | 8 years ago
0 likes

The Bike Song by Prayers for Atheists

Les Triplettes de Bellville by Benoit Charest

 Broken Bicycles by Tom Waits

Avatar
Jimnm | 8 years ago
1 like

Mungo Jerry - The Push Bike Song 

Avatar
Daveyraveygravey | 8 years ago
1 like

Iggy's Passenger - "...and I ride and I ride..."

Kate Bush's King of the Mountain

Ride - Leave them all behind

The Beatles or the Banshees "Helter Skelter" - "I'm coming down fast but don't let me break you"

Johnny Cash - Hurt

Avatar
PhilRuss | 8 years ago
0 likes

[[[[[ "..Have a drink, have a drive, go out and see what you can find.."  So sang Mungo Jerry in 1970, in the song "In The Summertime".  Is that a good idea? No----so possibly the very WORST "cycling" song ever.

Avatar
Edgeley | 8 years ago
0 likes

An even better Half Man Half Biscuit song about cycling ( and other things) is Excavating Rita.

Chap can get to his dead girlfriend more quickly now he has upgraded his bike.

 

https://youtu.be/VunjBGtiaf4

Avatar
MikeOnABike | 8 years ago
1 like

Ride Like The Wind - Christoper Cross Feat. Michael McDonald 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur8ftRFb2Ac

 

Avatar
NeilG83 | 8 years ago
1 like

It has to be The Smiths - This Charming Man for the opening line "punctured bicycle, on a hillside desolate"

Avatar
kwi | 8 years ago
1 like

And no one's mentioned 'Daisy Bell' yet.

Avatar
The _Kaner | 8 years ago
1 like

Flobots- Handlebars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLUX0y4EptA

 

Avatar
The _Kaner | 8 years ago
0 likes

Flobots - Handlebars Risot remix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6BjkMb_xWc

Avatar
emishi55 | 8 years ago
2 likes

I was going to say Bike by Pink Floyd, but someone beat me to it.

 

'My White Bicycle' by Nazareth.

(Some time around 1973 if I recall?) 

Avatar
emishi55 | 8 years ago
0 likes

Allan Holdsworth, (the guitarist's guitarist) is of couse a fanatical bike enthusiast.

Can't recall any tracks named after cycling but did find this link:

Allan Holdsworth Bike 

 

 

Avatar
ColT | 8 years ago
0 likes

The Smiths: This Charming Man

"Punctured bicycle on a hillside desolate"

That'll do me

Avatar
ColT | 8 years ago
0 likes

... or The Delgados album: Peloton

Avatar
brooksby | 8 years ago
3 likes

(edited to put a link in there)

Motherf-ing Bike, by the Sons of Science   1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgCqz3l33kU

Avatar
tomturcan | 8 years ago
0 likes

60 minutes of cycling-related songs..

https://open.spotify.com/user/tturcan/playlist/1IV1RhTvqobT7q3qhqdqRc

Avatar
melliott | 8 years ago
0 likes

I found myself singing 'Canvas Bags' by Tim Minchin on a solo ride the other day. That got old quickly but just couldn't stop. Oh god, it's happening again...
https://youtu.be/EVh15aUt8-c

Avatar
rokapotamus | 8 years ago
0 likes

The b side to Bionic Santa by Chris Hill, a song called Ride On.

https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=vGjisQ5pi-Y

 

Avatar
snuffle | 8 years ago
1 like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOo7DepCd9w

 

Avatar
snuffle | 8 years ago
4 likes

Medway Wheelers - Wild Billy Childish & The Buff Medways

Avatar
MonxtonMissile | 8 years ago
1 like

Machineries of Joy, British Sea Power

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHUes0dGjUI

 

 

Avatar
horizontal dropout | 8 years ago
1 like

What brooksby said, motherfucking bike.

Avatar
Bob F | 8 years ago
0 likes

Ride the Night Away - Jimmy Barnes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIxkej2fR_U

Avatar
Bob F | 8 years ago
1 like

And then I saw MoFo Bike. That's so much better.wink Sorry Jimmy, Freddie and everyone else.

Avatar
dalbyka | 8 years ago
0 likes

Pink Floyd 'Bike'

I've got a bike, you can ride it if you like. 
It's got a basket, a bell that rings 
And things to make it look good. 
I'd give it to you if I could, but I borrowed it. 

The rest of the song isn't really about bikes but this verse is great!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmW17QvUhRM

 

Avatar
effemm | 8 years ago
1 like

One song to rule them all, the prog-folk rap epic stomper that is The Bike Song by the Grave Architects:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAO95Q5IiYY

Enjoy!

Avatar
Adamar | 8 years ago
0 likes

The Bike Song - Mark Ronson & The Business Intl.

Avatar
Fifth Gear | 8 years ago
0 likes

Silver Machine by Hawkwind

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwFFk3g088s

Avatar
Lincolndave | 8 years ago
0 likes

https://youtu.be/jEpD9RH-Wds

my White bicycle, Nazareth

Avatar
Cheds | 8 years ago
0 likes

Leonardo's Bicycle by the Uncle Devil Show featuring the song writing talents of Justin Currie & Kevin McDermott.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxAMwyDiSb4

With Lyrics like ... 

When I feel low I just get out my bike
Or rainbow-coloured trike
And ride away

Leonardo's bicycle and me
Away from all the trains and cars, alone with gears and handlebars, I'm free
Leonardo's bicycle and me

My map of many colours
A bird in every tree
I'm riding high on rubbers

Pretty much sums it up I think. If you are irked by mis-behaving drivers the album also features the fantastic "There's a bimbo in the Limo (and the bimbo is me)"

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