Graeme Obree Has been one of my heroes and biggest influences in my passion for cycling, since I was 18, before he went public about his own mental illness and before I knew much about mine.
Graeme is well known for both his incredible achievements in cycling, and openness about his experiences of mental distress. In this short interview, he shares some thoughts on his challenges, how he came about the decision to be open about them, the relationship with cycling; both good and bad, and offers some advice to those living with their own hills to climb.
As I am about to embark on my Biggest Journey, cycling from Edinburgh to London in aid of mental health charity, Mind, Graeme has left me a lot to think about during my 3 days in the saddle.
Enormous thanks to Graeme for taking the time to chat and for inspiring me, and no doubt many others.
Read about my Biggest Journey, and follow me live from 10am tomorrow, at [url= http://www.biggestjourney.com ]www.biggestjourney.com[/url]
Top fella. I'm not sure about his new blue-green quiff hairstyle though 🙂
Good luck with your ride Stooo. I think mental health issues need to be pushed into the open much more and anything to raise the profile is great. Especially poignant with nick3216's tragic death recently too.
Thanks Mike,
And, yes, agreed.
I've read quite a bit about him, in "The Hour" by Michael Hutchinson
"Crazy Scotsman who smashed the record on a home made bicycle..."
Yep - there's a lot of truth in that statement. Incredibly inspirational guy,
Good one, Stu.
Interesting to see that Obree agrees with the view that cycling can be a form of escape, a bit like that connection that you'd made in your blog with endurance events being a less extreme form of self-harm.
Definitely agree with his view of popping round to see mates / giving them a call / having a chat being of great benefit. Of course the hard part is summoning up the motivation to do it, much like the effort just to get out of the front door to get the bike out of the garage, but once you're doing it, it feels great.
He hit the nail on the head, for me at least and in how I ended up in a bad place, on not letting things fester. Let it go, or deal with it there and then, talk things over and ask for help if it's needed.
Hope you have a great ride, enjoy the experience!
Good luck with the ride Stooo, great cause
If anyone's local to Darlington, we're going to try to intercept Stu when he leaves the A68 and ride to Walworth Castle with him.
Meeting at about 7pm in the Market Place.
He comes over as a really nice chap, and good luck on the ride.
Good on you fella for doing something progressive about your lot in life. Too many people like to sweep things under the rug and put a fake smile on every day. I didn't know much about Obree till I watched The Flying Scotsman. It had me bawling! My bike habit has replaced a drinking problem I developed as a result of circumstances similiar to Obree's.
I'll be following your blog - Peace and love dude!
Good luck mate. Sent you a donation.
I'll be following how you get on.
Four of us rode out to meet Stu last night, then had a drink with him at Walworth Castle. That's a hard ride from Edinburgh to Darlington!
[url= http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7230/7404189100_5e34389f97.jp g" target="_blank">
An impressive ride and a great cause. If anyone's near Loughborough, I'm sure he'd appreciate another welcoming committee tonight, or in London tomorrow night.
Hope the wind is at your back Stooo. As with a lot of charity rides, it looks like an incredible amount of time and effort has been put in before you've even turned a pedal.
For any South West types, Graeme's speaking in Bath this Friday, along with Rob Penn and LEJOGLE nutter Ben Rockett:
http://www.bikebath.co.uk/events/what-to-expect-on-day/
Interesting to see that Obree agrees with the view that cycling can be a form of escape, a bit like that connection that you'd made in your blog with endurance events being a less extreme form of self-harm.
I find that viewpoint very interesting as I always loved the start of the cycle as if felt as though I was escaping the problems, half way round though I got the horrible feeling that I was just getting closer to them again. I must admit it made me want to just keep cycling away at times.
stooo - good luck with the cycle and fair play to you for doing it. I think i have been following you on twitter and will make a donation shortly.