Samuel D wrote:He did go home after his final crash. If you scroll down this page to the section titled Jobst Brandt, R.I.P., January 14, 1935 - May 5, 2015 (do a Command-F for “I met Jobst” on that page), you’ll read an account of Brandt’s life that finishes with his demise. It doesn’t make happy reading.
Sad reading indeed. It looks like he was in decline from 2011. The person I spoke to visited him regularly in hospital. he told me Jobst was now,not eating and would not leave his bed. The decline was both physical and mental. The picture of him looking frail and confused I saw, must of been at that party mentioned in the article. Though it was outside. Maybe the party was at his house, but I can't see how he was capable of living there in his condition. Very sad.
Today is the fourth anniversary of Jobst Brandt’s death.
So far, no-one has written a biography as far as I know. I think his story would be worth telling, but to do it justice it would have to be told by someone who shared Brandt’s fascination with the mechanical world. I don’t suppose many of those people are also great storytellers and have access to Brandt’s friends and family for interviews.
He became more detached from reality. His bike was a wreck with worn parts in need of adjustment.
Taken from the interview. I thought the comment very strange as in an early interview I read, he said he had only one bike, as it was too much hassle to maintain more than one. Surprised that an Engineer would let his bike deteriorate so.
Brandt was old and falling apart himself by that point. The “detached from reality” comment may have been true. I’ve read he was often overtaken by darkness on solo rides on roads with fast traffic toward the end of his cycling career. The impression I have is that he unreasonably attempted to continue riding as if he was a youngster long after his age and heart problems made that impossible.
Second, Ray Hosler may not be the best judge of the true mechanical condition of Brandt’s old bicycle. I have read Hosler’s excellent blog and studied photos of his bicycles carefully and not been reassured that he is a mechanically minded person.
Samuel D wrote:Brandt was old and falling apart himself by that point. The “detached from reality” comment may have been true. I’ve read he was often overtaken by darkness on solo rides on roads with fast traffic toward the end of his cycling career. The impression I have is that he unreasonably attempted to continue riding as if he was a youngster long after his age and heart problems made that impossible.
Second, Ray Hosler may not be the best judge of the true mechanical condition of Brandt’s old bicycle. I have read Hosler’s excellent blog and studied photos of his bicycles carefully and not been reassured that he is a mechanically minded person.
One thing about cycling, it tends to make you feel like you are 16 again. The brain might think it but the body knows differently. As I have aged I have become convinced that extreme exercise [I put 100 mile cycle rides in this category] is not good for you. At 70 I still feel great on the bike but I do suffer from exhaustion for a couple of days after 100+ mile rides . I've more or less given them up now. I was unaware Jobst still sufferd from heart problems. I can imagine him still attempting to keeping up with the youngsters with his curmudgeonly personality. I also thought he was far too thin for a tall man. I read recently a quote from some medical consultant. "If you wish to live to 90 don't be thin at 70". I'm working on that.
re Brandt's bike; when you are at a low enough ebb everything you might normally choose to do takes a back seat, bike maintenance included. Getting out for a bike ride at all is a bonus and the sole requirement for your bike becomes that it vaguely works; under these circumstances 'nowhere near perfect' is 'more than good enough'.
Samuel D wrote:He did go home after his final crash. If you scroll down this page to the section titled Jobst Brandt, R.I.P., January 14, 1935 - May 5, 2015 (do a Command-F for “I met Jobst” on that page), you’ll read an account of Brandt’s life that finishes with his demise. It doesn’t make happy reading.
Thanks Samuel a it was an interesting read and I agree a sad end to a life that had meant so much to those he would never get to meet. R.I.P JB.
Brucey wrote:re Brandt's bike; when you are at a low enough ebb everything you might normally choose to do takes a back seat, bike maintenance included. Getting out for a bike ride at all is a bonus and the sole requirement for your bike becomes that it vaguely works; under these circumstances 'nowhere near perfect' is 'more than good enough'.
cheers
nice thought brucey - and yet again i wish there was a like function on here to stop me having to clog threads with appreciative comments.
