Graeme Obree

Obree on "Old Faithful"
Personal information
Full name	Graeme Obree
Nickname	Flying Scotsman
Date of birth	September 11, 1965 (1965-09-11) (age 41)
Country	United Kingdom
Team information
Current team	Fullerton Wheelers
Discipline	Road and track
Role	Rider
Rider type	Time Trial Specialist
Major wins
World Hour Record 1993 (51.596km), 1994 (52.713km) World Champion (4000m Pursuit)1993, 1995
Infobox last updated on:
June 27, 2007

Graeme Obree (born 11 September 1965 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, UK) is a Scottish racing cyclist. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The hour record for bicycles is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle. ... Image File history File links Arc_en_ciel. ... June 27 is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... The UCI Track World Championships are a series of world championship events consisting of the various disciplines and distances in track cycling and are organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale. ... The UCI Track World Championships are a series of world championship events consisting of the various disciplines and distances in track cycling and are organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale. ... September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... Nuneaton is the largest town in the English county of Warwickshire, and the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth. ... A detailed map Stratford-upon-Avon Kenilworth Castle Warwickshire (pronounced //, //, or //) is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in central England. ... Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Cha togar mfhearg gun dioladh (Scottish Gaelic) Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic and Scots1 Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Monarch Queen Elizabeth II... A cyclist is a person who engages in cycling whether as a sport or rides a bicycle for recreation or transportation. ...

In July 1993, he broke the world hour record, previously held for nine years by Francesco Moser, with a distance of 51.596 kilometres (32.06 miles). Obree's record lasted less than a week, being broken by Englishman Chris Boardman. Obree retook the record in April 1994. The hour record for bicycles is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle. ... Francesco Moser (Born June 19, 1951) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. ... km redirects here. ... A mile is a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, United States customary units and Norwegian/Swedish mil. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total 130... Chris Boardman (born August 26, 1968) is a former English racing cyclist who won a gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games. ...

He was also individual pursuit world champion in 1993 and 1995. In track cycling, the individual pursuit is an event where two cyclists begin their race from a stationary position (nowadays held by gates, in the past, riders were supported by track officials until the starting gun fired) on opposite sides of the track. ...

Obree is the subject of the 2006 film, The Flying Scotsman, based on his autobiography. The Flying Scotsman is a 2006 film based on the life and career of Scottish amateur cyclist Graeme Obree. ...

Innovative riding position and bike layout

Obree's achievements were seen as remarkable since his riding had been largely at amateur events, and he did not have major sponsorship and development support. Instead, he developed a unique riding position (the "crouch", or "tuck" position) and constructed a unique bike frame to use.

His aim was to reduce wind resistance and instability, while increasing pedalling power. He reduced air resistance from the legs by designing a very narrow bottom bracket and dispensing with a top tube to prevent his knees from hitting the frame. The bike also had chainstays at 45 degrees rather than horizontal to allow for the cranks to pass with such a narrow bottom bracket. He placed the handlebars so that his shoulders were almost touching them, with his arms folded by his side as he cycled: this reduced air resistance on his head and torso. The seat was placed so that his legs exerted maximum force on the pedals. The front fork had only one blade (however, this was a Mike Burrows design added later to the bike), carefully shaped to be as narrow as possible. He called his bike "Old Faithful". Although he made his first (failed) hour record attempt on a similar carbon fibre frame, Obree used "Old Faithful" to break the hour record. Steel frame and carbon fiber fork of 2000 LeMond Zurich racing bicycle. ... Mike Burrows is a world famous bicycle designer, well known for the design of the time trial bike manufactured by Lotus for Chris Boardman, though he also contributed to a bicycle for Graeme Obree. ...

Personal achievements

His Hour record, achieved on 17 July 1993 at the Hamar velodrome in Norway, was celebrated as a triumph for the ordinary rider, for the outsider over the establishment. His was said to be a triumph of art over science in cycling, and opened up new areas for development in coming years. is the 198th day of the year (199th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... County Hedmark District Hedemarken Municipality NO-0403 Administrative centre Hamar Mayor (2004) Einar Busterud (By- og bygdelista - The City and Rural areas Party) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 257 351 km² 338 km² 0. ... Bicycle racing on a velodrome A velodrome is a sporting arena purpose-built for track cycling, i. ...

In addition to the mechanical and aerodynamic advantages, he had tremendous commitment and stamina. For example, when his first attempt at the Hour record was unsuccessful, he wanted to try again immediately. Normally, weeks of recovery are needed after such a demanding effort, but he was allowed to try the next day, and was successful.

After Boardman had broken Obree's Hour record, Obree travelled to the Velodrome du Lac in Bordeaux, France and on 27 April 1994, exceeded Boardman's distance, riding 52.713 km. This world record lasted until the following September when it was broken by Miguel Indurain. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar). ... Miguel Ángel Indurain Larraya (born July 16, 1964, Villava, Navarre) is a retired Spanish road bicycle racer. ...

Domestically, he also broke the British 10-mile individual time trial record in 1993, won the RTTC 50-mile championship the same year (setting a new competition record of 1:39:01 in the process), and won the 25-mile championship in 1996. He had a come-back in 1997, clocking 18:36 for 10-miles the day before winning the BCF 25-mile time trial championship. An Individual Time Trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: contre la montre - literally against the watch). There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials (TTT). ... Cycling Time Trials is the British bicycle racing organisation which supervises individual and team time trials in the UK. It took over the work of the Road Time Trials Council in 2002. ...

So, as well as being an innovator of new aerodynamic positions, Obree must also be remembered as an outstanding athlete in his own right.

Setbacks

His brother died suddenly in 1994, and Graeme slid in and out of depression over the ensuing years. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI, the world governing body for cycling), after his second Hour World record in 1994, changed the rules for bike layout. His bike and riding position were effectively banned: he did not find out about this unwritten rule change until one hour before he began the World Championship pursuit race in Italy. Entrance of UCI headquarter at Aigle (Switzerland) Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is a professional cycling union that oversees cycling events in the international community. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar). ...

Nevertheless, Obree went on to develop another new riding position, the "superman" style, where his arms were fully extended in front as he rode, and he went on to win the World pursuit championship with this and his "Old Faithful" in 1995. However, this riding position was also later banned by the UCI, on grounds that human effort and skill are more significant than technological advance. The bike is now a permanent exhibit in the Museum of Scotland, in Edinburgh. The Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a museum dedicated to the history, people and culture of Scotland. ... Edinburgh (() pronounced ; Scottish Gaelic: ) is the capital of Scotland and its second largest city. ...

Illness prevented Obree making much further progress in his sport. After several breakdowns he started a business manufacturing handlebars suitable for the "superman" riding position. This collapsed when the UCI banned the position.

He published his autobiography in 2003 entitled The Flying Scotsman. A film based on the book premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2006, starring Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Boyd.^[1] In November 2006 Metro-Goldwyn Mayer bought worldwide distribution rights and the film was released in the U.S on 29 December 2006;^[2] it was given a UK-wide release on 29 June 2007. The Flying Scotsman is a 2006 film based on the life and career of Scottish amateur cyclist Graeme Obree. ... The Edinburgh International Film Festival or EIFF is part of the Edinburgh Festival, which takes place every August, in Edinburgh. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Jonny Lee Miller Jonny Lee Miller (born November 15, 1972) is an English actor. ... Billy Boyd (born 28 August 1968 in Glasgow) is a Scottish actor most widely known for playing Peregrin Took (Pippin), in the film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) and Barrett Bonden in Peter Weirs film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003). ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... December 29 is the 363rd day of the year (364th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 2 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

Present day

He lives quietly with his wife and two children near Irvine, in Scotland. However, he continues to race occasionally, competing in individual time trials for Ayrshire-based Fullarton Wheelers cycling club. In May 2005, he crashed during a rainstorm in the national 10-mile individual time trial championship near Nantwich in Cheshire. He was a member of the winning three-man club squad that took the team title in the Scottish 10-mile time trial championships in May 2006.^[3] Irvine is a coastal new town in Ayrshire, Scotland, administered by North Ayrshire council. ... Ayrshire (Siorrachd Inbhir Àir in Scottish Gaelic) is a region of south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. ... A cycling club is a club or society formed by and for cyclists, and is usually focused in a particular geographic location, perhaps a region, town or city suburb, as well as national cycling clubs, such as the United Kingdoms Cyclists Touring Club, CTC) and also internet based clubs... 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Wikimedia Commons has media related to: May 2005 Deaths in May May 26: Eddie Albert May 25: Ismail Merchant May 25: Sunil Dutt May 25: Graham Kennedy May 22: Thurl Ravenscroft May 21: Howard Morris May 21... Nantwich is a market town in south Cheshire, England, in the Borough and parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich. ... Cheshire (or, archaically, the County of Chester)[1] is a county in North West England. ...

Graeme also is talking about another attempt at the hour record.^[4] However, it is as yet unclear if this will ever go ahead due to his family commitments, and if it does which record Obree will aim for — the "veterans" record set by Francesco Moser at the age of 42 on a non-UCI legal bike, or the current "athletes" record held by Ondřej Sosenka. Francesco Moser (Born June 19, 1951) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. ... UCI may stand for: UNLIMITED CREATIVE INNOVATION Ubiquitous Customer Interface Union Cycliste Internationale (International Cycling Union) Unit Compliance Inspection (USAF) United Cinemas International Universal Candidate Identifier, in UK examinations (GCSE etc. ... OndÅ™ej Sosenka (born on December 9, 1975) is a Czech professional cyclist, the rider of Italian team Acqua e Sapone - Caffé Mokambo. ...

References

^{[5] [6] [7] [8]} The Guardian is a British newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Graeme Obree
• Graeme Obree's Bikes
• Graeme Obree and the World Hour Record
• VeloPress U.S. Edition of the Graeme Obree Autobiography Flying Scotsman: Cycling to Triumph Through My Darkest Hours
• MGM to release Obree movie in the U.S.
• Graeme Obree's home made bike photograph
• The Flying Scotman movie (unofficial site)
• photo story by Jonathan Worth