The Most Romantic Cyclist in the World follows Ronnie Romance (presumably a nom de guerre) on a cycling tour of the British countryside. Rather than a set route, time, or mileage, his goals are aesthetic: to “feel small,” and to “find everything cute and quaint” along the way.
Pondering romanticism in Wales
We meet him in Brecon, Wales, heading vaguely for the coast. A young man credited only as “local dude” points to Merthyr Tydfil as a source of quaintness. Needing no further encouragement, Ronnie sets off. Over footage of the journey, through country lanes and over rolling green hills, he lays out his cycling philosophy in voiceover.
“I take that idea of Romanticism and apply it to my art form, which is riding my bicycle.”
Ronnie zips down country lanes, contemplating the peace that biking gives him. Photo: Screenshot
When he says Romance or Romanticism, think less Valentine’s Day and more William Wordsworth. This is what your English teacher may have called “capital-R Romantic,” a literary, artistic, and philosophical movement originating in the late 18th century.
Ronnie’s sweeping shots of the countryside recall the imagery of the old Romantics. In Ronnie’s desire to feel small, we see the small human figures who characteristically appear in the paintings of David Caspar Friedrich, dwarfed by wild landscapes and massive ruins.
This particular shot feels more Dutch Golden Age than Romanticist, but as this is a film about biking, I won’t quibble. Photo: Screenshot
Storybook visions
As we descend towards the coast, we pass through small, “storybook” villages that seem to successfully meet Ronnie’s quest for quaintness. Somewhere along the way, we leave Wales and enter England, and Ronnie now flows pleasantly towards the New Forest. There, Ronnie meets up with fellow cyclist Tom Faz.
Established as a private hunting park for Medieval kings, logged to build the British Navy, then bombed by the Germans, the New Forest certainly evokes the grand sense of age that Robbie has been seeking.
“We made it,” Ronnie remarks, overlooking a scenic Jurassic Coast cliff scene. “I think we found some pretty quaint shit.”
