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This one in from our man Art, the AZ Cutter. Yes, he rode to glory in the Little 5 (See Breaking Away (1979), http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078902/; http://iusf.indiana.edu/little500/).
Return of the Flying Scotsman
Remember this guy? He was not your average pro roadie even when he was winning world pursuit championships and breaking Moser’s hour record! Graeme Obree always seemed to do it his way, whether it was building his own bike and/or even inventing new TT positions (i.e. the Superman).
Now at 46 he has recently announced that he is going to attempt the Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) land speed record (81mph) in the U.S. and without the help of Pat Mcquaid (i.e. the UCI).
Link to vid: http://www.humansinvent.com/#!/6131/return-of-the-flying-scotsman-inside-graeme-obree/. (If click through takes you to the main past of humansinvent.com, cut & paste url into address bar.)
You have to love someone that can piss the UCI off just by being inventive and fast, and opt’s out of riding the prologue of the Tour “because it is apparent I’ll have to take drugs” (see website). This guy has always been a class act and one of the good guys who rode and apparently still rides for the right reason(s). I think it may be worth sending a DC correspondent to the salt flats or wherever to “assist with” the record attempt.
Cheers,
AK
The world is a better place because men like Graeme Obree are in it.
More on Obree here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graeme_Obree.
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interesting. Just watched ‘The Flying Scottsman’ movie on netflix last night.
Great story.
Graeme Obree should be held in the same regard as Merckx in my opinion.
Obree is the greatest cycling story of our times.
Freaking awesome outlook on life. Hope he smashes the record. And making the bike out of recycled parts? Baller.
…obree is a definite ‘baller’…
…this guy made lightning strike more than twice & he’s going for it again…
…speaking of which… http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2129246/Once-lifetime-picture-lightning-striking-San-Franciscos-Bay-Bridge.html …we had a little storm out here last night…
…750 lightning strikes between 8:00pm & midnight along with some serious rainage…wild night…
Johnny Cash on vinyl solidifies his status as a baller.
He is a bad ass! I hope he kills it.
Allez!
Go, motherfucker, go!
As much as I respect the man, I think he’s making a mistake by convincing himself that the HPV crowd is conservative. A lot of those guys are the rare balance between brilliant and batshit crazy, and the ones with prone bikes have been getting blown away in competition for decades. The power output just isn’t there. Besides, Whittingham was probably happy to be going feet first when he stuffed it at 80+ at Battle Mt a few years back.
Great story.
I sincerely hope he does well with his steel bike.
Wait. What? Steel? Fixed gear yet. Fucking hipster…
fly you fucking Scotsman. Best of luck, break the record!
Definitely a bad ass, and not with out his own demons. Bust of luck!
A role model, but so much more. Go Graeme.
Just a bit of correction, the IHPVA record is a whisker shy of 83 MPH now.
Recumbents might get cool with Obree designing them.
on a broader note, are those speed records still set one-way? Or do they have to make two passes through the trap?
The world record run is a 200m one way with a flying start. There is a 6kph wind limit for a valid run.
http://www.recumbents.com/wisil/whpsc2012/speedchallenge.htm
@art— thanks, man.
I think recumbent speed record bikes are exceedingly cool, but a lot of speed record aficionados (rightfully enough) criticize this aspect of the cycling game. A 6 KPH tailwind makes you faster. Riding downhill makes you faster. Riding at altitude might, maybe sorta, make you faster. Can’t wait to see how this story develops…
Wait, a periscope?? My testes retract involuntarily. I retract my previous, favorable comments. These guys are batshit crazy.