Battle Mountain Graeme Obree's Story

[KneesUp]

Great watch. He's a real hero of mine, but would never invite him round the house. You'd nip out for tea bags and when you got back he'd have taken the angle grinder to everything in the kitchen!

You'd invite someone round without knowing you had enough tea? What sort of monster are you?!

 

[Dave Davenport]

Whilst he did an incredible job building the 'Beastie' it never looked like it would do justice to it's engine, I'd love to see what he could do if he had similar resources and technical support to those that Guy Martin had on various TV projects.

 

[ColinJ]

Whilst he did an incredible job building the 'Beastie' it never looked like it would do justice to it's engine, I'd love to see what he could do if he had similar resources and technical support to those that Guy Martin had on various TV projects.

That's what I thought.

Beastie was so unstable. I think Obree was lucky not to have had a serious accident at high speed.

It also looked like an incredibly awkward position to develop a lot of pedal power from.

Still, you have to hand it to him - he has never been afraid to come up some really wacky ideas and see where he can go with them. Often, the answer has been 'to the very top'.

 

[Slick]

I was more worried about the state of his mental health with some of the statements he made regarding his own self worth. It's almost like it's depression or some other form of mental illness that drives him on.

 

[Racing roadkill]

I was more worried about the state of his mental health with some of the statements he made regarding his own self worth. It's almost like it's depression or some other form of mental illness that drives him on.

He suffers from bi polar disorder. He's very open about it.

 

[ColinJ]

I was more worried about the state of his mental health with some of the statements he made regarding his own self worth. It's almost like it's depression or some other form of mental illness that drives him on.

You obviously are not aware of his history. As other posters have mentioned above, he has a long history of mental health problems and made several serious suicide attempts. (I mean they were not 'cries for help' - he was not expecting to be found alive.)

Some articles ... here, here, here and here.

 

[Slick]

I may not have been fully aware of his full history but I was certainly aware of previous suicide attempts. I also know that he is or was an amazing athlete who never got the full recognition he deserved, It just worried me exactly where he gets his motivation.

You should read The Flying Scotsman, it gives a good insight to how he ticks. He's a complex guy with lots of issues but he's an awesome cyclist who pushes himself harder than most of us would be able toThat ACH=full]337005[/ATTACH]

That looks like it's worth checking out, thanks for the tip.

 

[Slick]

Exactly. Do you reckon he trains like that all the time?

 

[Slick]

I work with a guy who reckons he has done a few group rides with him back in the day. From what he says, nobody could get near him regardless of terrain.

 

[ColinJ]

There was a documentary on over 20 years ago featuring the rivalry between Obree and Boardman. I remember one clip where G.O. was out on some undulating training rides and climbing in an absolutely massive gear. I think that he said that he did it to make his legs stronger. I wouldn't recommend that to most people, but it clearly worked for him! (Well, I suppose he might have been even better if he had trained a different way, but we will never know that because he didn't.)

Ooh - I just found it on YouTube and am watching it now on my Smart TV ...

Note the rust on Obree's little exercise bike caused by his sweat!

 

[Slick]

I'll watch it when swmbo has gone to bed.

 

[ColinJ]

I'll watch it when swmbo has gone to bed.

I'm just finishing it now. It is fascinating to watch again in hindsight, having watched it when it was first shown, way back in 1994.

 

[User32269]

I'm just finishing it now. It is fascinating to watch again in hindsight, having watched it when it was first shown, way back in 1994.

Thanks for putting link up, watched it again for first time in many years, feeling old now! Fascinating story.

 

[KneesUp]

There was a documentary on over 20 years ago featuring the rivalry between Obree and Boardman. I remember one clip where G.O. was out on some undulating training rides and climbing in an absolutely massive gear. I think that he said that he did it to make his legs stronger. I wouldn't recommend that to most people, but it clearly worked for him! (Well, I suppose he might have been even better if he had trained a different way, but we will never know that because he didn't.)

Ooh - I just found it on YouTube and am watching it now on my Smart TV ...

Note the rust on Obree's little exercise bike caused by his sweat!

I watched this last night too - not seen it before. Thanks for the link.

 

[Slick]

There was a documentary on over 20 years ago featuring the rivalry between Obree and Boardman. I remember one clip where G.O. was out on some undulating training rides and climbing in an absolutely massive gear. I think that he said that he did it to make his legs stronger. I wouldn't recommend that to most people, but it clearly worked for him! (Well, I suppose he might have been even better if he had trained a different way, but we will never know that because he didn't.)

Ooh - I just found it on YouTube and am watching it now on my Smart TV ...

Note the rust on Obree's little exercise bike caused by his sweat!

Just watched it for the first time, thought it was amazing. I thought Chris spoke really well, showing some class but Graham obviously paid a heavy price to do what he did. Thanks again for the link, as the snow has now started here I think I'll fire up the Kodi box and treat myself to the next installment about the Flying Scotsman.