[Closed] Top cycling reads.

I like the sound of that.

Added to Amazon Xmas list 🙂

I'm half way through 'How I won the yellow jumper' by Ned Boulting, and it's very entertaining. Recommended!

'Bicycle' by David V. Herlihy is a good book on the development of the bike. Compulsory for any rabid cycling fan of any sub-discipline.

Another vote for How I Won The Yellow Jumper by Ned Boulting. Very funny.
I found David Millar's book, Racing Through The Dark almost un-put-downable (is that word?).

And Alistair Humphreys books about his ride round the world are excellent. Moods of Future Joys is the first part, Thunder and Sunshine is the second instalment although you can read either of them by themselves.

Frankly I found Boulting's book a bit tedious.

These are better

We Were Young and Carefree- Laurent Fignon's autobiography

Slaying the Badger- Richard Moore

The Rider- Tim Krabbe

Its All About the Bike- Robert Penn

Tour de France: The History, the Legend, the Riders- Graham Fife

i dont really enjoy books about racing to be honest, i do however love books about cycle travel.

bikes up killimanjaro, and journey to the center of the earth, by the Cranes are two of my faves.

Just read Millar's book (excellent) and also "A Race for Idiots - A History of the Tour de France" which was also pretty good.

The Hungry Cyclist - Tom Kevill Davies
Cycles around, eats local food. My motivation for touring as well!
Good website that doesn't appear to be working right now..
www.thehungrycyclist.com/

The Adventure Cycle-Touring Handbook is great, I won it in last year's WRT raffle. Has some top advice which really gets your mind going, plus some fantastic anecdotes from people who have done it and got the t-shirt.

[url= http://adventurecycle-touringhandbook.com/ ]The book's web-site[/url]

nick, got it, and read it cover to cover a couple of times.
the touring tales in the last section are fantastic.

French revoltions, great fun.

Just finished One Man and His Bike by Mike Carter - middle aged journalist decides to cycle around the coastline of Britain. Most enjoyable.

Also appreciated The Man Who Cycled The World by Mark Beaumont, got his American one yet to read.

Cheers, Rich

Not a book but this is very funny read
[url= http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1r4vFZo&page_id=69400&v=1G ]over the pyrenees with a mentalist[/url]

Mark Cavendishes book very good,

yellow jumper, a bit dragged out,

Bradley Wiggins, in pursuit of glory,

On Tour, Bradley Wiggins, good read, great pictures,

Skys the limit the story of Sky,s cycling team and British cyclings input, great book,

All available from bookdepository and free delivery world wide.

David Millars book next,

@Ton - if you like touring reads , Cycling Back From Siberia is pretty good. I also enjoyed Kings of the Mountains, about Colombian cyclists, intresting how it ties in with the Escobar cartel and the politics of the region

The Rider by Tim Krabbe is a miniature work of genius.

Made me want to race bikes more.

The Cranes' "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" - spectacular/inspiring/mad. Their kit list is just insane. Even better is "Running the Himalayas" - 2,500 miles over the Himalayas in 100 days. No tent! Crazy and brilliant. Those were the days...

I found The Death of Marco Pantani by Matt Rendell to be very good, well researched and informative. Obviously it's not exactly a feel-good story though.

David Millar's book is very readable and unputdownable (! as already mentioned) and I dislike the bloke (not to be discussed in this thread!).
Cav's book was fascinating. Don't bother with "sex lies and handlebar tape" tedious, a lot of the Marco Pantani books are tedious.
Chris Hoy's autobiography is interesting, Brad Wiggins just goes on about his near alcoholism after the Olympics (Athens IIRC). Ned Boulting's book I really enjoyed.

That one about eating around the world I found really dull. Horses for causes.

Have read the usual suspects, Pantani, Millar, Simpson, Kimmage, Armstrong, Obree and Beaumont.

For a more gentle read, the books by Edward Enfield of his slow tours in Europe are actually very good. Find myself using google images to see where he rode.

I've recently read:
Bradley Wiggins - In pursuit of glory
The death of Marco Pantani - Matt Rendle
Chasing the Hour - Dr Hutch

And they're all good reads

And i'm currently reading one about riding home from Russia, it's pretty good, can't remember the title though

anyone fancy a book swap?

your ride 'home from siberia' book for my 'take a seat' tandem book?

I'd do you that swap Ton, I read Cycling Home from Siberia in nearly one sitting, most of it during a long-haul flight, it's brilliant. Possibly the best cycle trravel book I've read, just very entertaining and down to earth read-able. I was just posting to say the tandem book sounds good..

Another recommendation on those lines is Alistair Humphreys' Moods of Future Joys. I just started the second book of his round-the-world trip after enjoying Moods so much. Gives me itchy feet.. )

Cav's book was fascinating.

Problem with Cav's book, while it's very good and I have a huge amount of admiration for the guy, it just feels like an attempt to cash in. Stops half way through his career; doesn't include the Green Jersey or the World Championships obviously but you know there's just so much more to come from Cav.

He's good value on Twitter though. 🙂

jameso, ygm mate.

That's becuase the Cav book was written a good 2-3 years ago and he hasn't updated it since! He even credits his the fiancee, childhood sweetheart Melissa!

Oh BAd Blood by Jeremy Whittle. i'm fascinated in all the drugs books, on which note from Lance to Landis but David Walsh. Breaking the chain - Willy Voet.

Oh and The Flying Scotsman - Graeme obree, fascinating book about his struggle with mental health.
The Escape Artist - Matt Seaton.

Josie Dew ?

^ that reminds me, I have Sun In My Eyes somewhere, must read it.

The 2 TD racer-writer books, The Cordillera series, are good - short stories from epic rides.

A few touring standards from the era preceding the current crop of two wheeled expedition books:

"Full Tilt" by Dervla Murphy is a classic touring book. She set off from Ireland to ride to India in 1963 (one of the hardest European winters in recent history) packing a pistol as part of her luggage.

As a counterpoint to Mark Beaumont et al, "Round the World on a Bicycle" by Thomas Stevens, who was the first person to pedal round the world (in 1884, on a penny-farthing) [url= http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/s#a1710 ]You can download this for free from Project Gutenberg[/url]

"Wind in my Wheels" by Josie Dew. Josie has been touring for over 25 years now, and has produced a string of books about various far flung places.

Freddy Maertens autobiography "Fall From Grace" is a good read if you can borrow it from someone. There are currently 2 used copies on Amazon, at an eye-popping £92! The Cavendish of his era, Maertens is remarkably candid about the cheating and skulduggery in pro cycling, talking about drugs and selling stage wins to other riders.

i have a box in the loft, with a load of cycle touring/adventure books.
i will get em down and dust em off, if anyone is interested in some book swaps?

Robert Penn's 'It's all About the Bike' is a great one for us serial bike builders - follows his journey to various parts of the globe hand-picking all the parts for the ultimate bike.

[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Uphill-Battle-Cyclings-Great-Climbers/dp/1931382123 ]Great climbers - not just racing[/url]

Keep me posted on the swaps.. I have way too many cycling and mountaineering / climbing / adventure books )

Anyone else for starting a book-swap-list round?

The hour by michael hutch - great read.

I enjoyed the Ned Boulting book. But more for what it revealed about making TV programs.

I've got a stack to read including the Millar one and the Robert Penn one.

I enjoyed Le Tour by geoffrey wheatcroft. A great primer.

I read Bad Blood as well. Interesting insight into the darker side of racing although I'm not entirely convinced by the author.

I'm in, got groaning shelves of adventure.

Three Men on a Bike. 3 students decide to ride the length of Africa on The Goodies trandem. Mad. [i] http://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Canongate-Classic-Goodies-Inspired/dp/086241542X [/i]

Post up your swaps on this / another thread? Or use the Wanted forum?

The Rider is brilliant.
Most of the books mentioned above are worth a look, along with 'Bad Blood' by Jeremy Whittle and Allan Peiper's biography.

In Pursuit of Stardom - Les Nomades du Velo Anglais

Story of a couple of young british lads trying to make it on the continental circuit in the 50's. Quite staggering what they achieved (and the miles they raced) with next to nothing and no support. Good read.

in search of robert millar is well worth reading, excellent book

Duggan - Member

I found The Death of Marco Pantani by Matt Rendell to be very good, well researched and [s]informative[/s] yet unbelievably boring

Graeme Obree's book was a fantastic read, really recommend it.

I would also recommend Wide Eyed And Legless, especially now that they have re-issued it (after I paid £30 for a copy 😳 )

Like others on this thread I enjoyed Rob Penn's 'It's all about the bike'

I also took 'Two Wheels on my Wagon' by Paul Howard on holiday with me in the summer and it was a great read. (about the Tour Divide)

i too am a big josie dew fan. i've read wind in my wheels more than any other book.

i really like betina selby as well, though it's difficult to get her books nowadays. her style is quite dry but it has some quite depthy historical background to the places she's been through. an issue with some of her books is that the reissues seem to be self-published and have not benefitted from decent proofreading, making it pretty hard going at times. but i think it's worth the effort (and if you get the original issues then they're fine anyway)

at the minute i'm really enjoying the Bicycle Diaries by david byrne of talking heads. his cycling is focused around city riding as he travels about the globe. he's got some really interesting insights into architecture and culture and politics and that...

If the book swap extends to mountaineering books, count me in (have a shed load, not so many cycling books)

Could always combine it with a STW book swap ride - kinda like a mobile library 🙂

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Ten Points by Bill Strickland

A fascinatingly detailed insight into criterium racing mingled with a heartwarming tale of trying to keep his family intact and a horrifying recollection of mental and physical abuse at the hands of his psychotic father.

in search of robert millar is well worth reading, excellent book

Yeah but he doesn't find him in the end though does he?

Found Boultings book a bit disjointed and dullish. Liked;

Sex Lies and Handlebar Tape - about Anquetil
Fallen Angel - coppi
Death of M.P
Rough ride - Kimmage
The Hour

I would say the above have a bit more meat to them than some of the more recent cycling biogs i've read. I also found the fignon book not bad

If the book swap extends to mountaineering books, count me in (have a shed load, not so many cycling books)

Yeah, I've got loads of climbing/mountaineering books too. Jon Krakauer and Joe Simpson mostly. Went through a phase of reading stuff like that.

Lance Armstrong's two books, It's Not About The Bike and Every Second Counts are both very good although slightly formulaic.

'The Escape Artist' by Matt Seaton. Very much a roadies book but the prose has something I wish I could emulate when I write! I'd also like to read 'Before I say Goodbye' by Ruth PIcardie (I think) but every time I go into a bookshop they tell me it's out of print.

It's All About The Bike
French Revolutions
Heroes Villains and Velodromes
One of the Graham Fife books. (the one about riders is great, the other is a bit of a slog TBH)
Team On The Run
Breaking The Chain

Yellow Jumper on Christmas list.

"A Race For Madmen" by Chris Sidwells has been mentioned already but it'd be a great introduction for anyone wondering what the big deal is about the Tour de France.

Also second the recommendation for "Kings of the Mountains" - Matt Rendell does a great job of explaining a country's cycling mythology without destroying its appeal.

Riders' autobiographies are generally a bit heavy on the ego and self justification, but Tom Simpson's book "Cycling Is My Life" is an exception. He was clearly insanely driven (he literally rode himself to death after all), but still oozes charm. "Les Nomades Du Velo Anglaise" is a similar relic of a bygone time when cyclists could also be Chaps.

Fignon and Millar's books are interesting in a different way, given that they spent much of their careers dealing with very high profile failures.

So there's clearly tonnes of great books out there about epic tours and road cycling, but does anyone have any examples of good books about mountain biking?

I would also recommend Wide Eyed And Legless

+1 'Two Wheels on my Wagon' by Paul Howard
Be Brave Be Strong by Jill Homer - also about the Tour Divide, really enjoyed it, just about to buy Ghost Trails about the Iditarod Trail Invitational.

I also recommend Issue 6 of Privateer.

Mr Agreeable +1

"So there's clearly tonnes of great books out there about epic tours and road cycling, but does anyone have any examples of good books about mountain biking? "

As mentioned Ghost Trails was pretty good

Namastebuzz:

Ten Points by Bill Strickland

A fascinatingly detailed insight into criterium racing mingled with a heartwarming tale of trying to keep his family intact and a horrifying recollection of mental and physical abuse at the hands of his psychotic father.

I'm glad i read this, but i have no desire to revist it. It would be a good one for a bike-book-club, if anyone was organising one.