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 [...]
Archive | books RSS feed for this section
100 Greatest Hill Climbs
100 Greatest cycling climbs is a book I very much enjoyed reading. It is a look at some of the hardest climbs in the UK from Constitution Hill to Kirstone Pass and Ditchling Beacon. Quite a few I have ridden myself. A few like the ‘Bealach-Na-Ba’ climb in Scotland make you want to travel [...]
The Cult of Fixed – 42*12
“I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn’t it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer. We are getting soft… As for me, give me a fixed gear!” – Henri Desgrange, Founder of the Tour de France, L’Equipe article of 1902 [...]
Cycling Back to Happiness
Cycling back to happiness by Bernie Friend has received many excellent reviews. It tells one man’s story of how a bitter life was drastically improved by taking a long cycle tour. I skipped through some of the early passages as I didn’t particularly want to read all his rants and depressing observations. But, when the [...]
Matt Seaton – On Your Bike
On Your Bike by Matt Seaton Matt Seaton is one of the best known cycling journalists, often writing for the Guardian. On Your bike seeks to cover all the essential aspects of cycling from its earliest history to modern day racing, commuting and bike maintenance. The problem with these kind of all rounder books, is [...]
Urban Bikers’ Tricks and Tips
I was looking through Waterstones at the various cycling books. Many cycling books are really quite similar. They give the same basic articles on training, eating, how to mend a puncture e.t.c. The problem is that there’s no reason to buy books like this because I have read all about it before. I must have [...]
Heroes, Villains & Velodromes
- Chris Hoy and Britain’s Track Cycling Revolution. Heroes, villains and velodromes is a fascinating insight into Chris Hoy and the emergence of Britain as a great track cycling nation. Considering his Olympic medals and success at World Championships, Chris Hoy has a relatively low profile in British sport. The book helps to portray the [...]
This Island Race by Les Woodland
I have begun reading “This Island Race” by Les Woodland which covers the chequered but fascinating history of British cycle racing. (thanks to Ed, for lending) The history of British cycling is one of many missed opportunities. In a nutshell British cycling was never allowed to develop like continental cycling because road races were outlawed. [...]
A Century of Cycling by William Fotheringham
‘The classic races and legendary Champions’ Century of Cycling at Amazon.co.uk Century of Cycling at Amazon.com A century of cycling provides an intriguing overview to the different races in the professional cycling calendar. Quite often books tend to focus on a few big races like the Tour de France. However, this ignores the great classic [...]
