The Obree Way

Graeme Obree & Jack Thurston - Photo © Anna Gudaniec

Earlier this month, Graeme Obree was at Look Mum No Hands! for the London launch of The Obree Way, a training manual for cyclists.

Obree is a two time individual pursuit world champion, has twice broken the world hour record and is multiple winner of British national time trial championships. He is renowned not just for his athletic prowess but for his technical innovation on the bike and with the bike itself. His autobiography, The Flying Scotsman, was made into a major feature film. At 45 he is still on the bike and currently planning an attempt on the world land speed record for a human powered vehicle.

In a wide ranging conversation with Jack Thurston, presenter of The Bike Show, Obree talks about his own life as an elite athlete, his approach to training and his enduring love of just riding a bike.

“It’s a sport, it’s a pastime and it’s a form of transport. You don’t football down to the shops.”

Graeme Obree, 19 January 2012.

Channel 4 produced an excellent documentary about the rivalry between Graeme Obree and Chris Boardman. It’s on YouTube in four parts.

Reading About Riding

A pre-Christmas books special is now a firmly entrenched tradition on The Bike Show. This year’s edition covers more literary ground than ever before. Amateur bicycle librarians Tim Dawson of The Sunday Times and Carlton Reid of Bike Hub join Jack and Jen in the studio. Tim Dawson’s excellent Cycling Books website is well worth a visit. And you can find out more about Carlton Reid’s book project at RoadsWereNotBuiltForCars.com

Here’s a rundown of the books discussed in this week’s show. If you buy any of the books listed (or anything else) via the Amazon links below, a little something will go towards keeping The Bike Show rolling on in 2012, and it won’t cost you a penny.

Bicycle Technology – Rob Van Der Plas
Bicycle Design – Mike Burrows
Cyclepedia – Michael Embacher
Tomorrow, We Ride – Jean Bobet
Slaying the Badger – Richard Moore
On Bicycles – Amy Walker
Bike Snob – Eben Weiss
Pedalare! Pedalare! – John Foot
The Little Black Bottle – Gerry Moore
The Death of Marco Pantani – Matt Rendell
The Boy Who Biked the World – Alistair Humphreys

Two great books that were not mentioned but were featured on the show earlier in the year are Racing Through the Dark by David Millar and It’s All About the Bike by Rob Penn.

The Competitive Impulse

Harriet Owen following Lydia Boylan

Why do some people like to race their bicycles? We discuss the world of amateur bicycle racing with Ian Cleverly, deputy editor of Rouleur magazine and Lydia Boylan (pictured, above) of the Look Mum No Hands! race team and current Irish national track sprint champion. We also hear from Dr Jo Corbett of Portsmouth University on his findings about how the competitive impulse can drive people to new heights of athletic performance.

You can check out the Rouleur podcast over here or find it in iTunes music store.

Image credit: Biker Jun

Team GB rules the track and Patrick Field tells it like it is

In this week’s show, Jack attempts to feign interest in the European track cycling championships and Jen gets her geography all confused. Patrick Field saves the day with an inspirational talk at the Intelligence Squared cycling festival (view more here). Plus details of the next Friends of the Bike Show ride on Sunday 6 November.

Paris-Brest-Paris: part two

Following on from last week’s documentary feature by Kieron Yates is a studio discussion of Paris-Brest-Paris, the world’s most venerable long distance bicycle race. In the studio are PBP veterans Judith Swallow and Dave Minter, and PBP debutant Pete Kelsey. Chris Ragsdale, one of this year’s stars, clocking in an exceptionally impressive sub-45 hour time, joins us down the line from his native Seattle.

For more information about audax in the UK see the Audax UK ride calendar and the audax pages of Yet Another Cycling Forum.

Image credit: Wig Worland, from Pete Kelsey’s short film Towards the Ocean.

Paris-Brest-Paris: part one

The 1200km Paris-Brest et retour was first raced in 1891 and is the oldest bicycle race still in existence, currently held as a brevet de randonneur every four years. Kieron Yates shares the agony and ecstasy of his second outing in an event that is only for the toughest of the tough.

Next week we’ll be talking about the race with a handful of other riders who will share their experiences and tips for anyone considering taking part.

Season opener: Time Travelling

As Mark Cavendish wins the world championship road race for Britain for the first time since 1965, we’re back in the saddle for a new season. On this week’s show, a trip back in time. Blue Door Bicycles is a new bike shop in south London with a long history. Owner David Hibbs has been documenting a treasure trove of cycle trade artifacts from when the shop was a family business known as Central Cycle and Auto Stores. Listen too for a chance to win tickets to the Bicycle Film Festival. And some momentous news from Bike Show host Jack Thurston.

Picture credit: CentralCycle.co.uk