Video: The Man Who Lived On His Bike - a charming and ever-so-slightly crazy film from Canada

Montreal cyclist pays homage to his father in three-minute short

Simon_MacMichael, February 3, 2012

The Man Who Lived On His Bike video still

In what must rank as an early contender to become THE viral bike video of 2012, a Canadian cyclist has produced a short film dedicated to his father called The Man Who Lived On His Bike.

The three-minute short by Guillaume Blanchet charts a day spent on the bike from waking up, performing morning ablutions – there’s liberal use of pixelation, but it may be best to treat the video as Not Safe For Work – and a range of activities including ironing, tapping away on the laptop and grabbing lunch chez McDo.

All of that, amazingly, is done with the hands off the bars.

At the start of the film, Blanchet says, “My father is 64 years old. He’s been riding his bike over 120,000km. And he keeps going. This film is dedicated to him.”

It’s hosted on Vimeo, racking up more than 100,000 views in just three days, where Blanchet adds: “I love being on a bike. It helps me feel free. I get it from my dad.”

While the film charts the events of a day spent in the saddle, it was shot over a rather longer period.

“After 382 days spent riding through the streets of Montreal, being sometimes quite cold, sometimes quite hot - and sometimes quite scared, I dedicate this movie to you, Yves Blanchet.”