Report from Trainer Night - The Flying Scotsman

Last night we had a good core of ten cyclists spinning it out as we screened the first half of The Flying Scotsman, which is the story of Graeme Obree, an effectively unknown Scottish cyclist who twice broke the Hour Record and also sports the rainbow stripes from two individual pursuit titles ('93 and '95).  He is perhaps best known for challenging cycling innovation and designing his own radically different bicycles that push the envelope for performance.



Obree may not have used the engineering tools of most fabricators, but his highly in-tune analytical skills brought about revolutionary changes that have rocked the cycling world.  In the first half of the film, we saw him take a saw to his own washing machine after realizing that the washing machine could spin over 1200rpm, and must have higher quality bearings than a typical bicycle.  This clearly caught on, as we now have almost infinite access to ceramic bearings for all of our moving parts.  We also saw him attempt to explain the ergonomics of Q-factor to his wife by demonstrating that the feet naturally want to pedal "just one banana apart."  You also may recognize his tucked position as it looks quite similar to the aero positions used today for time trialing.  So, if you love your aero bars, thank Graeme Obree.

Though its lost a bit of its acclaim in recent years, the Hour Record used to be one of the greatest titles held by a professional racer; it served to prove the highest raw ability of an elite cyclist - dating back most notoriously to Eddy Merckx.  Thus, Graeme's upheaval of the record, was quite astonishing as he went from nobody to world champ.

For a more complete telling of this essential piece of cycling history, check out the BBC article - Graeme Obree: Homegrown Hero.  We'll see you next week for Flying Scotsman, Part II!

Report from Trainer Night - The Flying Scotsman