"Deeply moving. His determination and single-mindedness was and still is a true inspiration to me". (Sir Chris Hoy). "This is a book that must have taken great courage to write, is a harrowing reminder of how little the public know about sportsmen, no matter how brightly the spotlight shines on them." (The Guardian Number 10 in Cycle Sport's Best 50 Cycling Books of All Time). It includes a foreword by Sir Chris Hoy. Graeme Obree's story begins with a tough upbringing in the Ayrshire valleys, where he found his escape by taking to the roads on his bike. He would emerge from total obscurity to smash Francesco Moser's World Hour Record, controversy hard at his heels for his unique riding style and pioneering construction techniques - famously using parts from a washing machine to build his bike, 'Old Faithful'. But amidst the record attempts, media feeding frenzy and thrilling head-to-head duels with Chris Boardman, Graeme was fighting another battle. With searing honesty, he recounts his biggest battle against depression which drove him to attempt suicide.
Flying Scotsman: The Graeme Obree Story
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Hard-hitting and brutally honest. --Cycling Weekly
This is a book that must have taken great courage to write, is a harrowing reminder of how little the public know about sportsmen, no matter how brightly the spotlight shines on them --The Guardian
This is one of the best and moving sports books I have read --Alastair Campbell, The Times
This is a book that must have taken great courage to write, is a harrowing reminder of how little the public know about sportsmen, no matter how brightly the spotlight shines on them --The Guardian
This is one of the best and moving sports books I have read --Alastair Campbell, The Times
About the Author
Graeme Obree lives in Irvine.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 43 people found the following review helpful
By J. Richards
Format:Paperback
Graeme Obree's motivation to achieve the cycling one-hour world record must make him unique. His childhood left him feeling worthless, an emotion that has dogged him throughout his life as his personal barometer swings from high to low and back with alarming consequences. On high, he undertakes training schedules few could match, and combines his athleticism with an insight into bicycle design which is sensational, given that the machine has remain vitually unchanged for 100 years.
On low, he attempts sucicide, conflicts with those closest to him who are trying to help, and drinks to forget.
Reading this candid autobiography is compulsive, you just can't put it down. As you finish the last page you hope that the tide has turned, and the Obree family will live happily ever after. If you buy this book you will be helping to ensure that they do.
John Richards
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
By vangoyen
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Graeme Obree delivers exactly what you'd expect from a man who broke the cycling mould; an autobiography that breaks the well set mould of sporting biographies which too often seem to be ghost written half truths containing snipes at past colleagues and competitors. None of that in this book. Quite simply, Graeme Obree just tells his life as it has been. The bad times aren't accompanied by finger pointing, apportioning of blame or bitterness and the good times are reported with the modesty of a true sportsman. In my view, the greatest strength of this book lies in the absence of the author trying to influence the reader's emotions and opinions. He just gives you the facts of his astonishing life and you react. This book richly deserves the widespread acclaim and success of Lance Armstrong's "It's Not About the Bike".
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By R. W. Burton
Format:Paperback
At times appallingly honest, Obree's book is fascinating. How can anyone design, train and ride a bike into the record books? Obree is a one-off who not only proved all the sceptics wrong, but made cycling's ruling body invent rules just for him! As a personal history, a self-examination into his own soul, this book stands alone.
Thank you Graeme, and my best wishes for the future.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By S. Reynolds
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Wow! What a story that for the most part was hidden from view in the perhaps ultimately thinner shadow of Chris Boardman and his Tour antics. Even the cycling press depicted Obree as slightly odd, thankfully for the sanity of of the rest of us he is clearly a highly intelligent yet almost fatally flawed person, and that combination yields an autobiography of such compelling passion and roller coaster emotion that transcends cycling, or even sport.
Lance's book(s) not about the bike? Pales beside this. Obree is a person that many more of us can relate to and in that his achievements are so much more inspiring.
This book will make you laugh, cry, shout in anger and frustration! Bit like time trialling then. Way to go Graeme, let's hope you keep on riding old faithful's offspring for years to come.
Lance's book(s) not about the bike? Pales beside this. Obree is a person that many more of us can relate to and in that his achievements are so much more inspiring.
This book will make you laugh, cry, shout in anger and frustration! Bit like time trialling then. Way to go Graeme, let's hope you keep on riding old faithful's offspring for years to come.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is a reflection of a true cycling hero. From the building of his own bikes to the show downs with Chris Bordman. Fantastic. Yet the story plunges the reader in to the depths of the author's inner being and exposes the reader to tragedy and a life story that makes the tale even more extraordinary.
You must read this book. Graeme O'bree is up there with the best and is my ultimate cycling hero.
You must read this book. Graeme O'bree is up there with the best and is my ultimate cycling hero.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I'm not a cyclist, but this book is absolutely extraordinary. Even for someone who is not interested in sports it's well worth a read because of the unflinching honesty with which it is told. It packs an emotional punch that far outweighs the normal sports autobiography fare, almost certainly because its very obviously not ghost-written. I feel sure that this will go down in history not just as a classic sports book but as an outstanding autobiography. To add to his many accomplishments, Graeme Obree has proved himself a wonderful chronicler of childhood, of cycling and of the impact of depression. Anyone who reads this book will I'm sure be rooting for Graeme in everything that he goes on to do in the future.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Five stars are really not enough!!! Graeme Obree even in his native Scotland is only remembered for being a kind of mad inventor and is frequently only remembered as 'that washing machine bike guy'. I am ashamed to admit until reading his book i had little knowledge of his achievements. It is really quite amazing how the papers feed us a staple diet of over-paid footballer pre-madonnas who make million per year when an athlete so talented should struggle to make ends meet and received few column inches. A wonderful book that i read from cover-to-cover. Obree is comparable to lance armstrong except armstrong frequently cites that all his achievement were down to having a wonderful team around him. It would seem Obree's achievements are all the more remarkable since he received very little support, truly a personal victory. Buy this book.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As other reviewers have written, the most striking thing about Graeme Obree's story is his honesty. Where other autobiographies have been tweaked and polished by ghostwriters, Obree's words are pure to the extent that the reader can feel such close empathy for his suffering and such elation for his successes.
The very fact that the book was written as a means of therapy for Obree makes it even more of a privilege that we are able to read it. Some of his most personal thoughts are contained, along with graphic descriptions of his suicide attempts and his desperately unhappy childhood in Scotland.
Graeme Obree is a remarkable innovator as well as a naturally gifted athlete, pushing the boundaries within his sport not only in his performances on the track but also in his contributions to the science behind it. His ability to abuse his body so much yet remain able to recover peak athletic form so quickly is nothing short of incredible. At one point he confesses that his desire to die was what made him able to push himself so far beyond reasonable levels of suffering in his pursuit of success, and that is something so fascinating to contemplate, and yet so sad.
This is no ordinary autobiography. It is a collection of the innermost thoughts of a very private man who achieved extraordinary things whilst battling terrible inner demons, and as such it cannot be criticised in any way.
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4.6 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Read
An enthralling read,I couldn't put it down.
This book brought out every emotion in me ,laughter tears and huge admiration for this man.
This book brought out every emotion in me ,laughter tears and huge admiration for this man.
Published 19 days ago by john
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Greatest!
Really great story , could not put it down , even when it was hard to take the despair . What a man.
Published 3 months ago by Fsd
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!
Bought this for my cycling mad other half and he is very happy! By all accounts, an excellent read! Thanks
Published 3 months ago by ShellyC
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspirational and very moving
I remember only too clearly the cycling events detailed in this book. Graeme Obree is a genius and like many extremely gifted people is also a tortured soul. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Stuart Hall
5.0 out of 5 stars
Honest, a book that tackles difficult subjects, is inspiring and...
This is a fantastic book. It places describes in a down to earth and honest way the struggle with depression, the hardship of making a living in difficult economic services. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Sean Missin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Read
A wonderful, extremely truthful evocation of human frailty and driven ambition. A superb cyclist, but an extraordinarily vulnerable human human-being. Read more
Published 4 months ago by A. J. Nibbs
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic true story
What a fantastic true story about Graeme Obree. He is a person to be admired. The things he fought through all his life both man and boy are truly inspirational. Read more
Published 4 months ago by BUZZ
4.0 out of 5 stars
Review of Flying Scotsman
I bought this book as a fan of Cycling but this is the story of a truly remarkable man's struggle with his demons of mental disorder. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Kevin.M.Peace
5.0 out of 5 stars
Honest
I finally got around to reading this and thoroughly enjoyed it. He gives an honest account of his battles with cycling's burearocracy and his own personal demons.
Published 5 months ago by Ian White
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Window on a Tortured Soul
I watched with awe as Graeme Obree broke the 1 hour record and won rainbow jerseys, little did I know then that behind the facade was a man whose inner self was almost always in a... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr C M Patrick
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