Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

If you are in Edinburgh, Scotland checkout the film festival which features “The Graeme Obree Story”. The biopic of former Hour Record holder Graeme Obree details his various troubles on and off the track.

Back in 1993, an unemployed amateur, Graeme Obree, came out of nowhere – well, Prestwick – to smash the world one-hour cycling record … and did so, furthermore, on a bike entirely of his own design, nicknamed ‘Old Faithful’ – a revolutionary, ultra-lightweight frame fashioned by hand out of bits of scrap metal. Simply as a study of courage, endurance and ingenuity, Obree’s story is remarkable enough – but it’s also the tale of a man haunted by depression and a fierce mistrust of authority, whose struggle to overcome his own demons was at least as courageous as his exploits inside the velodrome. Starring Jonny Lee Miller, Brian Cox and Billy Boyd, and marking the feature debut from Scottish director Mackinnon, this is a stirring and defiantly cinematic biopic (check out that long steadicam shot, a coup worthy of Scorsese!), sure to move even the hardest of hearts.

Via Metafilter | Edinburgh Film Festival