Cycle racing Books

Book Synopsis''Entertaining, quirky and an enjoyable read'' Phil Liggett MBE''A genuine one-off with a ready wit and a killer anecdote to hand at all times'' Rouleur''Entertaining... Carlton shows no sign of running out of amusing anecdotes... A worthy sequel that will give his fans more of what they like'' Road.ccLegendary commentator Carlton Kirby''s professional cycling race year takes us from the magnificent Grand Tours and iconic Spring Classics to the sport''s more bizarre corners with plenty of his inimitable and irreverent diversions en route.A true cycling nut would be hard pushed to even name all 36 races on the UCI World Tour, but there is much more to professional racing than national tours and monuments. It''s a year-long global schedule venturing as far afield as Burkina Faso and Gabon. So why not take some of these roads less travelled in the company of Carlton Kirby, a real coTrade ReviewEntertaining, quirky and an enjoyable read from a clever writer * Phil Liggett MBE *Working with Carlton is a rollercoaster ride. Occasionally scary but always a lot of fun. Much like his books * Jo Rowsell, multiple World and Olympic Champion *The tales, stories and experiences from Carlton engross you, it’s almost as if you were there with him in person. Guaranteed to give you a good chuckle! * Hannah Walker, cycling broadcaster *Listening to Carlton Kirby for the first time is like a cyclist doing their first sticky bottle. Before you know it, it's an unescapable and pain-relieving habit * Benji Naesen, Lanterne Rouge Cycling podcast *Carlton Kirby is a legend in the world of cycling. This book is a must for all fans of the sport. Get ready to snort with laughter * David Hunter @cyclingmole *Carlton's calls are more unique, energy-filled, and entertaining than any I have heard. I am sure you'll find the same in this book * Chris Horner, America's most recent Grand Tour winner *Carlton is the ultimate cycling story teller. He has the ability to make big wins legendary. He is a joy for cycling fans globally! * Iljo Keisse, seven-times Six Days of Ghent winner *If races went off on as many tangents as Carlton does during commentary they would be 500km long! ... But working with Carlton on broadcast is like getting a sticky bottle! * Robbie McEwan, three-time Tour de France green jersey winner *Entertaining... Carlton shows no sign of running out of amusing anecdotes... A worthy sequel that will give his fans more of what they like. * Road.cc *Table of ContentsForeword by Sean Kelly Amissa Bongo GP Marseillaise UAE Tour Tour De Langkawi Strade Bianchi Tirreno Adriatico Milan Sanremo Catalunya Paris Roubaix Flanders Cro Race Turkey Amstel Gold Liege Bastogne Liege Romandie Switzerland Yorkshire Giro Finale Tro Bro Leon California Tour De France The Grand Depart Tour – Finale Tour VTT Mountain Bikes Tour Of Britain Vuelta… Rest Days Norway Montreal World Champs Lombardia National Hill Climb Tour Du Faso Six Days Ghent Zwift Tuvalu Coconut Cup

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Book SynopsisA philosopher and former racing cyclist examines how competitive riders lose their sense of self as they pursue perfect motion and mastery over pain After ten years as a racing cyclist, riding in up to ninety races a year, Olivier Haralambon became a journalist and philosopher. In The Cyclist and His Shadow, he writes about the world of competitive cycling with rare honesty and self-reflection, exploring it not merely as a sport but as a spiritual and artistic practice, imbued with a mystical quality. In prose at once poetic and precise, Haralambon depicts the intensity of cycling as physical activity in which the rider’s consciousness becomes inseparable from the instantaneous movements of limbs, the exertion of heart and lungs, and the marshaling and expenditure of energy. He describes riding as an ascetic activity always accompanied by pain that the cyclist can control but never fully eliminate. But cycling for Haralambon is not only suffering but also an addictively pleasurable activity in which the rider’s sense of self dissolves and melds with the bicycle, mind and body exploring the vibrant solitude of the course and limits of human endurance. Engaging in the repetition of ascension and the endless hours immersed in an oceanic interior, cyclists are artists in the vastness of landscape, both interior and exterior.Published in association with The Cycling Podcast (https://thecyclingpodcast.com), The Cyclist and His Shadow offers an illuminating meditation on what drives cyclists to devote their lives and bodies to training, racing, and even doping. Drawing from personal experience, Haralambon presents cycling as simultaneously physical and creative, technological and mystical, torturous and ecstatic. Trade Review"[Haralambon] draws the reader into the mind of the racer to help us understand what drives this passion and the ability to suffer in the pursuit of the finish line."—Wall Street JournalTable of ContentsForeword Richard Moore Translator’s Introduction François ThomazeauThe Cyclist and His Shadow 1 My Pet Shadow 2 Flat Cosmos 3 The Finger of St. Thomas 4 Competing 5 Liquid Body 6 Vocation 7 The Monster 8 Intimacy 9 Grace and Disgrace 10 Go to Heaven with Your Body 11 Nocturne 12 Physique 13 Trace 14 The Old Man

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Book SynopsisThe inspiring, heart-pumping true story of soldiers turned cyclists and the historic 1919 Tour de France that helped to restore a war-torn country and its people.On June 29, 1919, one day after the Treaty of Versailles brought about the end of World War I, nearly seventy cyclists embarked on the thirteenth Tour de France. From Paris, the war-weary men rode down the western coast on a race that would trace the country''s border, through seaside towns and mountains to the ghostly western front. Traversing a cratered postwar landscape, the cyclists faced near-impossible odds and the psychological scars of war. Most of the athletes had arrived straight from the front, where so many fellow countrymen had suffered or died. The cyclists'' perseverance and tolerance for pain would be tested in a grueling, monthlong competition.An inspiring true story of human endurance, Sprinting Through No Man''s Land explores how the cyclists united a country that had been torn apart by unprecedented desolation and tragedy. It shows how devastated countrymen and women can come together to celebrate the adventure of a lifetime and discover renewed fortitude, purpose, and national identity in the streets of their towns.

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Book SynopsisThis updated and expanded second edition of this book offers the best cycling routes in southern New Hampshire

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Book SynopsisThree-time Ironman finisher Amy Snyder takes the wraps off the best kept secret in the sports world, the Race Across America (RAAM), a bicycle race like no other. Unlike its famous cousin the Tour de France, RAAM is much crazier, more gothic, and even savage: once the gun goes off the clock doesn't stop, and the first rider to complete the prescribed 3,000-mile route is the victor. In Hell on Two Wheels, Snyder follows a group of athletes before, during, and after the 2009 RAAM, the closest and most controversial race in the event's 30-year history. This work offers a thrilling and remarkably detailed account of the competitors' triumphs and tragedies as they test themselves, each other, and the limits of human endurance. As RAAM exacts its vicious toll, Snyder shows how the racers discover their essential humanity and experience profound joy and completeness, demonstrating how such a grueling effort can also be cleansing and self-revelatory.

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Book SynopsisThe world''s authority on cycling provides a comprehensive guide to the sport for cyclists of all levelsThe sport of cycling has experienced an exciting boom in popularity fueled by Lance Armstrong''s success and recent comeback, the popularity of triathlons, rising gas prices, and the need to find a sport that lets people have some fun while they get fit. No one knows more about this boom than the pros at Bicycling magazine. For nearly 50 years, Bicycling has brought its readers the most up-to-date advice on everything from training and gear to nutrition and stories of cycling''s greatest stars.Now, for the first time, Bicycling gathers its best advice in The Big Book of Bicycling, a must-have book that cyclists of all levels can refer to again and again for answers to all of their cycling questions. Senior editor Emily Furia and her colleagues have gathered the latest, most useful information on getting started, buying gear, maintaining both road and mountain bikes, training for speed, racing techniques, understanding the rules of the road, and much more. This evergreen book is an invaluable resource for any cyclist who wants to ride their best.

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Book SynopsisA hilarious and essential illustrated field guide that breaks down the tribes of the bicycling community: from the spandex-clad weekend warriors to the hipsters on street bikes who love to laugh at each other (and themselves) Anyone who rides a bike knows the bicycling world is made up of tribes. From tattooed messengers to pretty urban hipsters to grouchy shop owners, they may look like they live on different planets, but they are united by their abiding love of bikes—and often their total disdain of other members of this insular world. Bike Tribes is the Preppy Handbook of bicycling, replete with one-of-a-kind illustrations that taxonomize the special habits, clothing, preferences, and predilections of cyclists. Mike Magnuson, an avid rider, bicycling expert, and longtime contributor to Bicycling magazine, covers the basics of racing, etiquette, and apparel and gear, including running commentary on cycling culture, poking holes in practically every pretension in the cycling world. Bike Tribes is a fun romp through the various subcultures in the bike community—bound to appeal to newcomers and grizzled cyclists alike.

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Book SynopsisAt the end of the nineteenth century, cycling's popularity surged in the Boston area, but by 1900, the trend faded. Within the next few decades, automobiles became commonplace and roads were refashioned to serve them. Lorenz J. Finison argues that bicycling witnessed a renaissance in the 1970s as concerns over physical and environmental health coalesced. Whether cyclists hit the roads on their way to work or to work out, went off-road in the mountains or to race via cyclocross and BMX, or took part in charity rides, biking was back in a major way.Finison traces the city's cycling history, chronicling the activities of environmental and social justice activists, stories of women breaking into male-dominated professions by becoming bike messengers and mechanics, and challenges faced by African American cyclists. Making use of newspaper archives, newly discovered records of local biking organizations, and interviews with Boston-area bicyclists and bike builders, Boston's Twentieth­Century Bicycling Renaissance brings these voices and battles back to life.

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Book SynopsisIn The Road Less Taken, Kathryn Bertine takes readers through her journey of striving to become a professional cyclist in her mid-30s. Her essays explore the twists and turns on life’s unexpected roads via bicycle, but also the larger meaning of what it means to heed one’s inner compass and search for a personal true north. With her signature wit and humor Bertine’s essays travel far beyond the bike lane, resonating with anyone who has ever dared to try and turn their dreams into a reality.

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Book SynopsisThis is the same amazing story as the current version, but with an updated cover and foreword. If you'd like to read Barbara Savage's two-year around the world bicycle trip now, you can order the current version here. Miles from Nowhere is the story of Barbara and Larry Savage's sometimes dangerous, often zany, but ultimately rewarding 23,000-mile bicycle odyssey, which took them through 25 countries in two years. Along the way, these near-neophyte cyclists on their ten-speeds encountered warm-hearted strangers eager to share food and shelter, bicycle-hating drivers who ran them off the road, various wild animals (including an attack camel), rock-throwing Egyptians, overprotective Thai policeman, motherly New Zealanders, meteorological disasters, bodily indignities, and great personal joys. The stress of traveling together constantly tested yet strengthened the young couple's relationship and as their trip ends, you'll find yourself yearning for Barbara and Larry to jump back on their bikes and keep pedaling. Originally published in 1983, Miles from Nowhere has provided inspiration for legions of modern travel-adventurers and writers.Trade ReviewOriginally published in 1985, this book has stood the test of time and is considered a classic of biking literature. It takes an author like Savage to captivate readers in a way that makes them feel as if they are pedaling right along with her and husband Larry Savage. The couple spent two years biking through 25 European, African, and Asian countries, traveling over 23,000 miles, graduating from novice riders to hardened road warriors. Ironically, the conditions today in many of the countries they biked through in the late 1970s either have not improved or have remained the same. Readers should know that the author was tragically hit and killed by a car soon after concluding this grand adventure while training on her bike for a triathlon just before the original work was published. While this edition offers a new foreword and an interview with widower Larry, the advanced copy did not contain the maps or pictures of the first book. A must-have for all libraries without a copy of the original, especially those with active biking communities seeking entertaining adventure stories. Savage also provides practical touring advice relevant to any bike traveler.-- "Library Journal" A long, long time ago, I read this book and went straight out and bought myself a $250 Specialized bicycle and started my first bicycle tour. Changed my life. I came home and wrote a book about the experience and gave credit where credit was due: Barbara and Larry Savage inspired me, giving me the courage for that first step. A lifetime has now passed, but Barbara's words are still fresh to me, as stirring, thrilling, and humorous as the first time I read them. Many things may have changed since their round-the-world journey, but our human hopes and fears haven't. We are all so much richer for preserving the gift Barbara left us, Miles from Nowhere.--Andrew X. Pham A valuable reissue, reminding us all about the joys (and sometimes sorrows) of seeing the world by bike.--Susan Spano As with much of the best travel writing, it's the voice that makes readers want to stick with a writer over a long journey, and Barbara Savage's voice is that of the best kind of travelling companion: honest, unpretentious, brave, and funny. She talks frankly about challenging aspects of cycle-touring, especially couples cycle-touring, that are usually played for laughs or omitted altogether from these kinds of books. The petty fights in the ditch, the unabashed yelling, the temper-tantrums. But she also describes the small acts of kindness, the making up, and the profound intimacy of living within a few feet of one's partner for most of over two years. The passages where she casually mentions 'lovemaking' (how 70s!) in their tiny tent are utterly disarming. In another writer's hands, they'd be corny, but not Barb's. The magic of this book is how, in her telling, the Savages come across not so much as cyclists or adventurers but as genuine human beings--adventurous, vulnerable, yet resilient--who happen to be riding bicycles.--Dave Buchanan From the swampy Everglades to the snowy Himalayas, Barbara's love of travel shines through. If you enjoy pedal-to-the-metal adventure, you'll find it here.--Rick Steves I cried until I laughed, and laughed until I cried at Barbara Savage's gorgeously written story of her cycling tour with her husband, Larry. Miles from Nowhere is the best of the best, a grand exploration of the world and its people by two wildly adventurous hearts in love with each other and life itself.--Gail Storey I read Miles from Nowhere by Barbara Savage in 2010 while on my own bike tour across America, which I think says at least something about how good it is--that I still felt like reading about biking even after I'd ridden a couple thousand miles. It's another book that's great because of both the writing and the scale of the adventure it captures.--Brendan Leonard If there's a timeless intimacy to be found in long-term bike touring, then it's multiplied by Barbara Savage's words. She takes us along on her two-year adventure and instantly we are her trusted companions. As we ride with Barbara, she doesn't waste time romanticizing the landscape or looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. Instead, she gifts us the privilege of her honesty. And with that, we lucky readers gain a window into the struggle, triumphs, and laugh-out-loud moments of human-powered travel in unexpected places. It's no surprise that Miles From Nowhere has lived on these past 30-plus years and inspired others to take to the road on two wheels. In these pages, Barbara lives on, too. I'm left with the unshaken belief that there's real, unfiltered life to be found out there, and, perhaps most importantly, true kindness.--Gale Straub Inspiring--a masterpiece of bike-travel literature!--Claude Marthaler Told with grit and good humor, this charming travelogue is a testament to why it's worth hitting the road--whether on a bicycle, or through the pages of a book.--Kate Harris

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Book SynopsisIt was on a bike that Fife visited a girlfriend in France, who introduced him to French cycling journalism. Since then, the passion has seeded books, articles, epic rides, acquaintance with some of the most illustrious men in cycling. This book explores the experiences, on, round, with, via and about the beautiful machine.

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