whats you most awesome roadie reading material??

ozzy1000_0

hi all,
I've just finished reading "its all about the bike" and "the fall and rise of david millar"... but i'm about to go on my hols and want to order somthing to read whilst away.

can anyone reccomend a good roadie book that will inspire??

is cav's "boy racer" any good??

derbygrimpeur

Cav's book is really good

"Put me bike on my bike" about tom simpson is good too.

"We were young and carefree" or whatever it's called - Fignon's biog

WisePranker

Cav's book was a decent read.

Ned Boulting's book looks like it should be pretty good as well, it's gonna be next on my list.

Mark Bom

Currently reading Cav's book and agree its a good read and quite insightful into the rise of an amateur into a pro.

The book I recommend is Paul Kimmage's 'Rough Ride'. Its a good read about the pro scene in the 80's and the pressures they faced regarding whether to dope or not.

Redhog14

Cavs book is well written, opinionated and insightful. I enjoyed it.

rubertoe

Rough ride is very Good. Boy Racer also good,

The death of Marco Pantani was good if a bit of a trawl....

I cant wait to read "We were young and carefree".

i'd also recomend a Book called 23 days in July - life as a domestique, victor pena i beleive, during lances 6th Tour win.

Mark Bom

I agree Rubertoe about 'The Death of Marco Pantani' being a bit of a trawl, I found I wanted to know more about his riding and less about the doping and blood analysis. Glad I read it though, but its not one I'm gonna pick up for a re-read.

Nuggs

I really enjoyed The Beautiful Machine by Graeme Fyfe.

Graculus

The Pantani book is very good but quite harrowing, especially for a holiday read.

I really enjoyed Richard Moore's Slaying the Badger. It will have you looking over your shoulder to check that Hinault isn't creeping up behind you though!

homercles

I'd add a vote for "We Were Young and Carefree" by Fignon.

Otherwise "In Search of Robert Millar" by Richard Moore is a good read. Better book than "Slaying The Badger" IMO. The latter is quite clunkily written in places and it grated quite a bit.

rick_chasey

If a roadie can only read one book, s/he should read The Rider by Tim Krabbé

derbygrimpeur

homercles wrote:

Otherwise "In Search of Robert Millar" by Richard Moore is a good read.

ah yes, somehow forgot to mention this. I couldn't put it down when I read it

homercles

Rick Chasey wrote:

If a roadie can only read one book, s/he should read The Rider by Tim Krabbé

If it's inspiration you're looking for, yes, this. Great shout Rick.

MrChuck

Nuggs wrote:

I really enjoyed The Beautiful Machine by Graeme Fyfe.

I was really disapponted by it!
Another vote for The Rider, also The Hour by Michael Hutchinson is a great read (but not strictly roadie I suppose).

-spider-

I didn't like 'Put me back on my bike' The story is good but the way it is written was poor. Currently on 'In search of Robert Miller' - good so far.
The Flying Scotsman - Good read

Must get a hold of 'The Rider' - sounds good.

LorneC

rubertoe wrote:

Rough ride is very Good. Boy Racer also good,

The death of Marco Pantani was good if a bit of a trawl....

I cant wait to read "We were young and carefree".

i'd also recomend a Book called 23 days in July - life as a domestique, victor pena i beleive, during lances 6th Tour win.

23 Days in July is by Team SKY's Michael Barry, "A Significant Other" by Matt Rendell was about Victor Pena.

Reading "Rough Ride" and have "Slaying the Badger" on Kindle for afters. Summer reading so far:

"The Fall & Rise of David Millar"
"How I won the Yellow Jumper" by Ned Boulting
"We were Young and Carefree"
"Cadel Evans: Close to Flying" (I suspect this will be updated soon)
"The SKY's the Limit: British Cycling's Quest to conquer the Tour de France" by R Moore

rubertoe

French revolutions is also pretty good if your not after a biog.

Steve_b77

The Death of Marco Pantani is very good.

After that I've got "The Hour Sporting immortality the hard way" by Michael Hutchinson lined up.

In a general daft sports kinda read "we could be heroes" by Tom Fordyce & Ben Dirs is excellent, very funny and a great read

thegreatdivide

Rick Chasey wrote:

If a roadie can only read one book, s/he should read The Rider by Tim Krabbé

This is an actual scientific FACT

derbygrimpeur

-spider- wrote:

The Flying Scotsman - Good read.

Wasn't that keen on this one. FOund him a bit of a moaner constantly going on about how life was so hard. There's only so much of the violins I can cope with.

ddraver

For more relaxed reading I would also reccomend How I won the Yellow Jumper and french Revoloutions.

If you like French Revoloutions, Tim Moores book about doing the Santiago de Compostella path with a Donkey is also a good read!

Frank the tank

In search of Robert Millar is a very good read, also a vote for "the hour sporting immortality the hard way" and French revolutions.

BTW if you're a roadie that can read, well done you, I had to get the mrs to read them to me.

Secteur

Slaying The Badger - the greatest cycling book yet - a MUST.

I bought Ned Boultings book and found it absolutely terrible. Really terrible. I didnt even finish it. Really annoyed I got sucked into all the hype about it. The first few chapters that I managed are him droning on with unfunny anecdotes and reminding the reader constantly how he knew nothing of cycling and didnt know how he ended up on the Tour, which I just found even more irritating.

ddraver

DP

ddraver

^^hmm, as someone who also came to pro cycling late, perhaps i could Identify with him more, I enjoyed it, was nt great literature, but still I enjoyed it.

I also like the personal, sometimes mundane, view behind cycling. I find the sycophantic hero worshipping that one can commonly find in cycling literature/journalism somewhat tiresome sometimes...

straas

The man who cycled the world - Mark Beaumont

Very interesting read!

EKIMIKE

It may be an insight into the worst of 90's pro cycling and a very very short read but 'Breaking the Chain' by Willy Voet is a seriously interesting book.

Alot of the other mentioned here are decent reads. I particularly like Fignon's. In fact Fignon's is my favourite. It's just nicely written and sets the scene and atmosphere very well.

-spider-

derbygrimpeur wrote:

-spider- wrote:

The Flying Scotsman - Good read.

Wasn't that keen on this one. FOund him a bit of a moaner constantly going on about how life was so hard. There's only so much of the violins I can cope with.

That was actually part of the story - his confidence/belief in himself - it is what drove him on and what destroyed him (he attempted to take his own life).

I accept that some people don't like it - but then, thankfully, we're all different.

sfichele

Tim Krabbe - The Rider

Awesome book. Its literally about a rider (the author) riding a single race from start to finish and nothing else. Different concept compared to the usual historical/biographical type cycling books, but this was such a good read that I literally started reading it again once I'd finished the first time around

derbygrimpeur

-spider- wrote:

derbygrimpeur wrote:

-spider- wrote:

The Flying Scotsman - Good read.

Wasn't that keen on this one. FOund him a bit of a moaner constantly going on about how life was so hard. There's only so much of the violins I can cope with.

That was actually part of the story - his confidence/belief in himself - it is what drove him on and what destroyed him (he attempted to take his own life).

I accept that some people don't like it - but then, thankfully, we're all different.

I understand that's part of the story, but I found some of what he was moaning about to be stuff that everyone faces. Maybe it's just me, but I don't really have much sympathy for people who moan about stuff. Life is what you make of it. Bad stuff happens, get over it. There are plenty of people out there who've come from terrible backgrounds or whatever and made something of their lives.