Have you read any good cycling books?

RichR2
RichR2 Posts: 131
edited November 2009 in MTB general
I'm not talking technical manuals but a good read, biog, history, adventure, etc.

I've read a lot of road bike stuff but are there any off road books out there? What do you recomend?

Comments

  • geordiefreerider
    geordiefreerider Posts: 888
    Not sure mate but I would avoid mountain biking uk unless you want to spend 4 quid on a catalogue !! :lol:
    http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak- ... 230783.jpg
  • dave_hill
    dave_hill Posts: 3,877
    geordiefreerider wrote:
    Not sure mate but I would avoid mountain biking uk unless you want to spend 4 quid on a catalogue !! :lol:

    The reviews are fiction/fantasy though... :shock:
    Give a home to a retired Greyhound. Tia Greyhound Rescue
    Help for Heroes
    JayPic
  • fourcrossjohn
    fourcrossjohn Posts: 2,500
    i think that mbuk is better than wmb

    sorry
  • wordnumb
    wordnumb Posts: 847
    Flann O'Brien - The Third Policeman.
  • lock1981
    lock1981 Posts: 546
    im with fourcrossjohn mbuk all the way

    to many fields and gates in mbr

    dont get me started on single track ...last one i bought it reveiwed the best stove!!

    lol
  • mr-frosty
    mr-frosty Posts: 44
    I'd highly recommend Ned Overend - Mountain Bike Like a Champion. He was a legendary mountain bike champion back when i started biking, i was recommended the book about 18 months ago, so bought it on ebay real cheap. Its a quality book about his racing career and experiences, plus he gives lots of techniques. I'm not a book reader i buy a couple of bike mags a month, but i was gripped by this book. :o
  • RealMan
    RealMan Posts: 2,166
    lance armstrongs got some good books out there. Lots of good books from people who have riden around the world as well. Or if you want something a bit lighter, I think singletrack magazine is the one of the best out there.
  • mtb-idle
    mtb-idle Posts: 2,179
    French Revolutions by Tim Moore.

    Loosely based on the TDF but its a great read, very funny.
    FCN = 4
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,675
    Nope.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • afcbian
    afcbian Posts: 424
    "Put me back on my bike" The search for Tom Simpson.
    It's in my pile to read. Supposedly the best cycling biography ever written, according to several reviews.
    I ride therefore I am
  • colintrav
    colintrav Posts: 1,074
    RichR2 wrote:
    I'm not talking technical manuals but a good read, biog, history, adventure, etc.

    I've read a lot of road bike stuff but are there any off road books out there? What do you recomend?

    There is
    Plane spotters , bus spotters , train spotters , ship spotters ,,,


    And now we have Bike spotter's [ it was just a matter of time ]
  • paggnr
    paggnr Posts: 101
    World of Dirt Book Store
    Cheers
    Pagey
    "Don't buy upgrades; ride up grades." -Eddy Merckx
  • dave_hill
    dave_hill Posts: 3,877
    fourcrossjohn wrote:
    i think that mbuk is better than wmb
    lock1981 wrote:
    im with fourcrossjohn mbuk all the way

    Yes but how old are you both?
    Give a home to a retired Greyhound. Tia Greyhound Rescue
    Help for Heroes
    JayPic
  • Raymondavalon
    Raymondavalon Posts: 5,346
    RealMan wrote:
    lance armstrongs got some good books out there. Lots of good books from people who have riden around the world as well. Or if you want something a bit lighter, I think singletrack magazine is the one of the best out there.

    LA's "It's not about the bike" is an epic and inspirational read.
    It's the only one I've read.
    The Bouncer
    The Shaker
  • P-Jay
    P-Jay Posts: 1,478
    MBUK is the one for me too (I'm 32 & 1/3)

    MBR is very worthy and the maps/routes must be handy, but it's not my bag.

    Singletrack is second fave, but seems to arrive when it likes.

    Dirt Un-fucking-readable if you're old enough to be in the pub. Words machine-gunned all over the page, very cliquey in the way it uses a lot of slag that adults and noobs simply don't get. - With the noticeable exception of the Guy Martin interview they did which I enjoyed a lot.

    What Mountain Bike - WTF more like, soul-less, boring, reads like the instructions for a washing machine. Like, what Fridge, what TV, what Car, handy if you're buying, but what else?

    As for books? Not sure MTBing lends itself to books... I guess, if someone I've heard of brings out a Biog one day I might read one.

    My fave books

    Homicide - Not sure of the authors name, but he went on to write the screenplay for 'The Wire' it was done back in the 80's during a whole year spent with the police in Baltimore, gritty don't come close. It's all true, but you can see where some of the characters in the wire came from.

    Layer Cake, story makes more sense than the film, only book the author ever wrote (so far) it's really good.

    Jackie Chan Biog - What a life he's had!
    Shocker Enduro
  • zaynan
    zaynan Posts: 180
    Barbara Savage - Miles from Nowhere
    Josie Dew - too many to mention!
    Alistair Humphries - Moods of Future Joys or Thunder & Sunshine
    Bernie Friend - Cycling Back to Happiness
    Mark Beaumont - The Man Who Cycled the World

    If you haven't read them then thye should keep you going for a while. They are pretty much long distance touring orientated but all very readable and inspiring!
    www.practicalcycles.com
    The home of cargo bikes
  • adamwood92
    adamwood92 Posts: 32
    bradley wiggins autobiography reyt read!!
    nay denner rickta
  • big_scot_nanny
    big_scot_nanny Posts: 99
    wordnumb wrote:
    Flann O'Brien - The Third Policeman.

    :lol:

    This prob says more about me, but that is the single most bizzare book I have ever read. And technically very centred around bikes so a very relevant recommedation!
  • Paul 8v
    Paul 8v Posts: 5,458
    afcbian wrote:
    "Put me back on my bike" The search for Tom Simpson.
    It's in my pile to read. Supposedly the best cycling biography ever written, according to several reviews.
    +1
    Road
    MTB
    NEW Cross
    Track/Grass Track/Winter bike
  • RichR2
    RichR2 Posts: 131
    colintrav wrote:
    RichR2 wrote:
    I'm not talking technical manuals but a good read, biog, history, adventure, etc.

    I've read a lot of road bike stuff but are there any off road books out there? What do you recomend?

    There is
    Plane spotters , bus spotters , train spotters , ship spotters ,,,


    And now we have Bike spotter's [ it was just a matter of time ]

    :? No idea what you mean :?

    Thanks to rest of you.
    MTB-Idle - Just read French revolutions and it is a great read.
    zaynan - Good list, I'll work my way through them, thanks

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