I have been reading Cycling’s craziest stories by Les Woodland. I really enjoy it. I’ve read quite a few cycling books, but many of these stories sounded new. Some stories like the famous ‘baron’ who rode the tour de france with two ‘valets’ I had heard about, but here there was more detail about the truth behind the legend.
It’s light reading and quite entertaining. It’s non-technical and would appeal to anyone interested in sport. Though to be a cycling fan will make the stories more enjoyable. They are the kind of stories you couldn’t make up. For example, winning a 12 hour track race by using an inner tube to avoid going to the toilet. What made me laugh about that story is not the clever rider who devised this solution, but his opponent who didn’t know what his opponent was upto. It was a battle of will and this one poor cyclist spent about 13 hours on the track desperately trying to avoid going to the pits. When he finally succumbed he lost the initiative and lost the race.
I don’t think there is any story you could make up as fiction. For some reason, cycling seems to throw up quite a few bizarre characters. I guess you need to have a ‘unique character’ to ride the Tour de France, especially the earlier versions.
In the book there’s the whole range of human traits – stupidity, cleverness, miserliness, generosity, incompetence, courage. The prize for cheekiest rider has to go to the Tour de France riders always on the look out for a free meal. They would go to top class restaurant – order most extravagant meal, and then start a heated argument about who was the best cyclist. They would then ask proprietor to help them decide who was best cyclist. Could he recommend a short cycle race course so they can prove who is best? The poor proprietor would suggest a suitable landmark for cyclists to aim before doing a U-turn and getting back to restaurant. However, the cheeky pro-cyclists would set off in a mad dash, only to never return leaving bill unpaid. A more entertaining form of driving off without paying.
A good read, makes a good present.
Cycling’s Craziest stories at Amazon.co.uk
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