[Closed] james cracknell

lol seems to have worked this time.....

I hope he recovers ok, but to be honest I have little time for people who go off doing high risk or long term ventures (referring to his other stuff not just biking) when they have very young kids. Its selfish and self absorbed. They know they might be injured or not survive and don't care what happens to the children they have created. Do that stuff before kids or when they are older.

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bruising and swelling in the area that governs personality, decision making and motivation - all the characteristics that make James who he is,” she added

he might not turn as big a nob like before

 

Midnighthour - You must be talking about his million+ fund raising for charitys throughout all the events he does. Yeah what a dick......

Midnighthour WTF was so risky about it?

It's not like that bird climbing Everest (and dying).

Won't some body think of the children!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Don't tell other people how to lead there lives and I wont call you a t#*t.

Deal?

what do you think is high risk Midnighthour?? I take it you do ride a bike off road?

Loving your family and leading a life are not mutually exclusive you know.. Most the times i've felt most alive is while taking (controlled) risks.

but did his helmet work?

Interesting thinking from midnighthour - presumably the man who never rode a bike or crossed a road until his kids reached the age of majority.....

LMAO @ pjd.

but did his helmet work?

If you read the article it appears it definitely did.

I wish him well. The couple of negative comments above are quite pathetic 🙄

Woody - +1

lighten up

sad to hear - While he may come across (after footage has been edited) as being pig headed and arrogant, he's also done a lot for charity.

Last time I checked, riding a bike wasn't needlessly risky, in fact, I'd venture that most of his adventures were pretty well risk assessed before he did them, and the dangers were largely exagerrated for good TV.

And laughing at someone who's been run down by a truck isn't cool, or clever, or funny.

Midnighthour is referring to his other activities, not just road riding.

Not all of us take risks when riding off-road, I've had too much time with injuries over the years so it's damage limitation for me. Yeah, well, boring I know. 🙄

Alison Hargreaves was undoubtedly extremely talented as a mountaineer but speaking as a mother, I really could not have done what she did. Her son is due to climb K2, anyone know his progress? Sounds as though he has the talent and determination of his mother.

>Her son is due to climb K2,

He wants to climb it in winter without oxygen. 😯

hope he recovers

I hope for a quick recovery. I must say i admire James and all that he does. He is who he is. i don't think he's a pig, Stubborn yes.

If James Cracknell wears a helmet, Antony F-W will too! 😉

pjd - i saw your edit. ha.

Hargreaves was a genius, and a fruit loop. She did the Eiger Nordwand while quite pregnant - and unplanned, did a new variant. I think she was as talented as the very best male mountaineers of her generation. One of those restless, passionate people who was never satisfied with limits or boundaries - no wonder Jim B loved her.

Perhaps it was inevitable that she would get caught out. Perhaps she should not have had children and perhaps they resent her leaving them. But if you asked them if they would rather have not been born, what do you think they would say?

I met them once when they were still small, with Jim B, on a misty, snowy Aonach Mor not far from the summit. We had a quick chat and all they seemed really nice people.

Just for clarity I wasn't laughing at James Cracknell being in an accident. I was laughing at the idiots criticising him. Why should anyone change they way they lead their lives when they have kids? Why does having kids change anything? My life didn't end when I had kids and guess what I ride down hills fast on my mountain bike. I must be a shit dad?

Having said that I think we have been trolled big time.

I'm disappointed not one of you is enough of a gentleman to offer the lovely Mrs C some comfort at a time like this.

Shame on you all!

I think midnighthour has a point, in the artic challenge JC pushed across a crevasse field, endangering himself and his team mates oblivious to the damage it would do to his family.
That was clearly unacceptable, when you have kids you have to accept the responsibility for their upbringing and care, taking such excessive risks shows a lack of care and love for his family.
It reminded me of the guy who tried to kayak from Tasmania to New Zealand, he knew that death was the most likely outcome, but still went ahead leaving behind a wife and young child.
That said, I don't see that it relates to this accident and I think he realised later that what he did in that crevasse field was wrong, I think he has realised that the single minded excess that took him to Olympic gold can have a quite different outcome in other circumstances, probably a good thing when facing a cycling challenge like the tour divide, but with a bad side when facing challenges like the artic. I do like him though, when he did that I didn’t think “what a knob”, I thought “come on just back off a little, listen to your team mates and think about it for gods sake”.

I think she was as talented as the very best male mountaineers of her generation.

Surely Messner is of the same generation ? No disrespect to Hargreaves but she pales into insignificance next to him (as probably everyone does IMO).

So I guess if we have kid's we should stay indoors, wrap ourselves in cotton wool and start watching Eastenders and Strictly Come Dancing - just in case we have an accident if we venture out into the mountains? Maybe we should all play it safe and take up sports like table tennis where there is no risk of getting hurt?

Well bo**ocks to that. There is no law against taking risks, however selfish that may seem, and I doubt that many kids have ever been inspired by a 'couch potato father'.

Lots of the worlds great pioneers (from astronauts to mountaineers) have families and without these great people then how dull a place would the world be?

James Cracknell is an inspiration for what he has achieved and I wish him a full and speedy recovery. He no doubt has inspired a whole generation of children (and adults) to 'get out there and do it'.

Yes he takes risks, risks which 'stay at home types' might deem to be unacceptable or irresponsible, but then that's part of the nature of any great achiever.

That's just life, and life is all the better for having these people around to inspire us.

No disrespect to Hargreaves but she pales into insignificance next to Messner(as probably everyone does IMO).

Messner clearly pushed the bar a lot higher in terms of cutting edge mountaineering - Everest without O2 being the most obvious example - but it's also fair to say that Hargreaves was, along with others, looking to raise the standard even further. I can't find the quote, but Messner is on record as saying that he thinks a byproduct of his success is that mountaineering has now become much more dangerous as it requires others to push the margins to an incredible degree.

If you look at the attrition rate amongst cutting edge mountaineers post Messner, he does seem to have a point.

when facing challenges like the artic

Those big lorries could wipe out a cyclist at any time 😆

@ NorthernStar, you completely missed my point, its not about taking no risks, its about taking responsibility, some risks are just unacceptable, and JC knew he had gone too far in the Arctic challenge.
If you want to take EXCESSIVE risks then don't have a family.

I've got kids so now I'm never taking another risk, starting with no going in cars ever again

MSP - see your point, but risks that might seem 'unacceptable' to you might seem quite normal to other people. Everyone's perception of risk is different.

Everyone has a complete right to risk their own life regardless of what others might think. Everyone also needs to make mistakes and bite of more than they can chew occasionally, so that they can learn about and reflect on their limits. Taking risks or making mistakes does not necessarily make someone a bad parent.

We all risk dying each and every time we drive somewhere in the car, or get some air on our mountain bike, but that is considered by most to be an 'acceptable risk'.

Define excessive. I know someone who thinks I'm being a bad parent because I still ride bikes despite having a child - "Don't you know how dangerous that is?"

Admittedly she's pretty stupid generally and can't see that as a risk it's not really up there with artic expeditions but the fact is we all take risks and for some people that's simply part of who they are.

If you think about it serving soldiers shouldn't have kids either, nor miners, or racing car drivers, or tree surgeons.

The 'funny' thing is that Cracknell has taken some big risks yet he managed to nearly get himself killed and maybe will be permanently debilitated while doing something we all take as normal and not particularly high risk.

Life's funny like that.

This is what I call excessive risk

we have choices in life, and if we want to peruse danger and adrenaline, then we have to make sacrifices in other areas like family. These people may have many admirable qualities, but they also have many serious defects, and should not be blindly worshipped as some seem prone to do.

I have a young kid, I ride bikes.

Is that wrong?

Maybe we need a law to protect these people from themselves. Maybe the government should be saying that if you stay at home or do sports x, y and z then it is fine for you to have a family.

If however you are a high altitude mountaineer, ocean sailor, soldier, base jumper, pilot, deep sea diver, norwegian fisherman, off piste skier, oil rig worker, rock climber, racing driver, motorcyclist, explorer etc, etc then you really should not be allowed to have children ;o)

Define excessive. I know someone who thinks I'm being a bad parent because I still ride bikes despite having a child - "Don't you know how dangerous that is?"

Seriously? What a tard.

MSP, just so we can be sure you're qualified to comment, can you please list your job, where you live, all hobbies and any other details on your life that may help us be sure to give an accurate response.

KT - yes, seriously. I have been very tempted to point out that by being stupid and very fat, there's a good chance she's taking more risks than me but just enjoy a quiet chuckle to myself about it...

Oh and it's always prefixed with 'No offense but...' 😉

I wish James a speedy-recovery.

"Don't you know how dangerous that is?"

Yes - do you?

Anyone who thinks that what they did in the Arctic was particularly dangerous is buying into the editing and reading between the lines. I know someone who has done that race and reported back it was a bit like an adventure race but a bit colder - remember it's an organised thing, lots of support on hand, someone in charge calling it off if the weather gets too much and taking a pre tested "safe" route. This is worlds away from Scott et al and polar ventures into the unknown - far more like the Marathon Des Sables - but colder!

Their rowing across the Atlantic was a bit more dicey but I'm not sure he had kids back then. Even then it is more common an event than most ordinary folks imagine with very little incident.

My old man was a phantom pilot, lobbing himself off the front of an aircraft carrier in the early 70's when I pitched up - probably far more chance of him not making it through my childhood. Everyone has different levels of acceptable danger.

Having raced with Mr C in the euro Triathlon champs in Holland he seemed like a top guy and pretty grounded. I hope he recovers quickly and fully.

Northern Star - You missed showjumping/horse riding/eventing off that list. Probably far more dangerous than all listed (except maybe base jumping) and a sport that is very popular with ladies, with children.

Having children is also very dangerous. maybe that should be banned as well.

I must admit to not liking JC that much, an opinion formed of watching him on TV so admittedly is probably twisted. But his accident is something I would wish on no-one. I hope he has a speedy recovery and best wishes to his family.

My old man was a phantom pilot

For a split-second I thought your old man was a ghost on a cheesy Scooby-doo cartoon

Cracknell update, seems like he's recovering really well. A long way from his next adventure, but maybe there won't be any permanent damage:

[url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/7928411/James-Cracknell-wows-doctors-with-exceptional-recovery-after-crash.html ]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/7928411/James-Cracknell-wows-doctors-with-exceptional-recovery-after-crash.html[/url]

He looks well in that picture.