I’m not sure if the drone is a good thing or a bad thing for cycling videos. The now-ubiquitous overhead shot of a snaking mountain pass or a wooded trail being ‘shredded’ already has developed a sense of overuse. I love a good ariel shot of a castle during the Tour, so maybe I’m a purist and believe that such images should only be shot from a full-sized helicopter, not a scale model of one.

I digress; yes, of course there are some drone shots in this relaxed little film of a chilly-looking road ride through some stunning Ukrainian mountain landscapes, but when combined with the lilting soundtrack and macro-documents of the nature found along the way, they help to deliver five minutes that may just prod you out into a cold morning to find some quiet time on sleepy roads.

I was always fascinated by mountains, cycling and the magic that happens when these two combined. That is how this video was born.

What is Reiss you ask? It’s a dream, a lucid journey through Ukrainian Carpathians that shows the beauty of its nature through the eyes of a cyclist.