[Closed] Top cycling reads.

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.