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Tour de France virtual horizontalness indicator
  (+26)(+26)(+26)
(+26) 		  [vote for,
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I love watching the Tour de France on television. However, when they're climbing up some terrifying alp the footage is often shot from a moving motorbike and it's difficult to get an impression of just how steep the road is. This idea then is to have lines overlaid on the footage showing true horizontal and vertical much in the same way that lines are overlaid on TV footage of football games.
hippo, Jul 21 2005


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       I'd like this, as I'm loving the Tour. Gradients are difficult to show on television. And this would be worth a try to see if it works..
Minimal, Jul 21 2005
   

       Somthing like an aircraft's artificial horizon overlaid on the image?
st3f, Jul 21 2005
   

       At the very least, a little digital inset in the corner could indicate percent grade, and current velocity of the pedaler in frame. I think a graphic would need to have some exaggeration of vertical scale; a steep climbing slope wouldn't rise much across the width of a telly screen. Perhaps the banner across the bottom could tilt appropriately, and then show a little cartoon figure appropriately sprinting / riding / huffing / carrying / dragging his bike up the incline.
lurch, Jul 21 2005
   

       My very thoughts, just a few nights ago. I wonder if some kind of inclinometer could be mounted on the chase motorcycles.
Ling, Jul 21 2005
   

       Definite +. Once this is in place, I want to feed the hill grade / speed of Lance directly to a stationary bike and see if I can keep up in real time. Yeah, right.
Shz, Jul 21 2005
   

       they do sometimes cutaway to a mountain profile, but agreed, it would be much more fun to do it your way.
neilp, Jul 21 2005
   

       Not what you're looking for, but I would recommend searching Grenoble, France on Google Earth, turn on terrain, tilt down and look around.
waugsqueke, Jul 21 2005
   

       Good idea hippo. I've taken the liberty of e-mailing itv with the suggestion (including a link to this page of course). +
DrBob, Jul 22 2005
   

       What about some sort of piston related arrangement that tips the telly over by the appropriate amount?
Ian Tindale, Jul 22 2005
   

       Just take those wankers who run uphill in their capes, chasing bikes and getting in the way, and wing them down the hill to illustrate how steep it is.
moPuddin, Jul 22 2005
   

       //Grenoble, France on Google Earth, turn on terrain, tilt down and look around. waugsqueke, Jul 21 2005 //
Yup - got friends round there and it does doesn't it!.
gnomethang, Jul 22 2005
   

       Gridiron. Grid = slang for bicycle, here.
UnaBubba, Jul 24 2005
   

       Could the camera itself not just be kept level?   

       They do that on some of the wider stretches but generally the roads a pretty narrow and a motorbike driving alongside would restrict the cyclists ability to maneuver. Most of the shots on the mountain climbs are from just ahead of the riders looking back.
DrBob, Jul 24 2005
   


 
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