Graeme Obree: The Beastie Boy

Graeme Obree and The Beastie

In September 2013, Graeme Obree travelled to Battle Mountain, Nevada, in the hope of breaking the Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) world speed record of 82.3mph in his homemade creation, the Beastie. Rick Robson followed the Beastie's development, and travelled to the United States with Obree for the World Human Powered Speed Challenge. Here he recalls the adventure.

In early 2012 Graeme Obree first showed me his kitchen table creation: the rolling chassis of the HPV. He asked me not to mention the transmission in my piece for CW ("I've not quite got it sorted yet," he said) but a few months later that 286-inch fixed transmission was complete and Obree showed me a demo run at 30mph on Seaview Road, Saltcoats.

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