Froome's autobiography... counting the hours!

ugo.santalucia
ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,172
edited November 2013 in Pro race
Can't wait... :lol:
I mean, anyone really interested in his upbringing as a privileged white boy in Kenya, then the sad chapter of his illness, the cure and the consecration as world's best in Paris?
No dirt, no grit...
I'd rather eat a bag of microwave cooked rice...
left the forum March 2023
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Comments

  • Cav's Boy Racer shifted a fair amount of units. So did Wiggins' books. Tbf there's a market for them even it's not you. Not buying Cav's new book though - I had a long skim of it in the bookshop and there's a LOT of moaning..

    Ten Dam has just published a book. If it ends up translated into English, would you read that?
  • r0bh
    r0bh Posts: 2,163
    Is this a new forum trend, people posting about what books they won't be buying? We already had Frenchie on not buying the Walsh Sky book the other day.

    Perhaps we need a dedicated "books I won't be buying" thread...
  • r0bh wrote:
    Is this a new forum trend, people posting about what books they won't be buying? We already had Frenchie on not buying the Walsh Sky book the other day.

    Perhaps we need a dedicated "books I won't be buying" thread...


    LOL :)
  • salsiccia1
    salsiccia1 Posts: 3,725
    Can't wait... :lol:
    I mean, anyone really interested in his upbringing as a privileged white boy in Kenya, then the sad chapter of his illness, the cure and the consecration as world's best in Paris?
    No dirt, no grit...
    I'd rather eat a bag of microwave cooked rice...

    Here you are then

    boilinbagriceks_2.jpg?w=640
    It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.
  • rayjay
    rayjay Posts: 1,384
    edited November 2013
    Salsiccia1 wrote:
    Can't wait... :lol:
    I mean, anyone really interested in his upbringing as a privileged white boy in Kenya, then the sad chapter of his illness, the cure and the consecration as world's best in Paris?
    No dirt, no grit...
    I'd rather eat a bag of microwave cooked rice...

    Here you are then

    boilinbagriceks_2.jpg?w=640

    He can't really eat that. It's just a photo.
    "Ten Dam has just published a book. If it ends up translated into English, would you read that"
    I would. Sometimes the lesser known riders have more interesting things to say and have no need to sugarcoat anything to live up to their media image.
  • greasedscotsman
    greasedscotsman Posts: 6,962
    edited November 2013
    Salsiccia1 wrote:
    Here you are then

    boilinbagriceks_2.jpg?w=640

    Isn't that boil in the bag rice?

    What you want is something like this...

    SGN0758.jpg

    Or this...

    RF-Golden-Vegetable--Rice.gif

    (Takes slightly longer at 3.5 minutes, but it's a fusion, so it must be better...)
  • Whatever happens, I'm buying a copy for Frenchie as a BR gift
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,348
    Ten Dam has just published a book. If it ends up translated into English, would you read that?

    They re working on that apparently. I got the impression that the Dutch know that the UK/US will buy anything with a picture of a bike on at the moment...
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • bigmat
    bigmat Posts: 5,134
    It might be better than expected. To be fair the whole growing up in Africa, going it alone in Europe, suffering serious parasitic disease then winning the Tour is quite a good start. Chris Hoy's autobiog represents the nadir to date for me. A very comfortable middle class upbringing, a very comfortable sporting career well supported by British Cycling, hard work yielding top results - its just not very interesting, much as I respect the guy.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,137
    It has the potential to be fairly decent. His story isn't the standard fare. If you look where he started him ending up winning the Tour seems as unlikely as someone from Peru captain England in the Ashes.
    IMO it would be a mistake to focus on the Sky years. They are the least interesting and best known part of the story. How he ended up there and the African years is less known and the better story.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • RichN95 wrote:
    It has the potential to be fairly decent. His story isn't the standard fare. If you look where he started him ending up winning the Tour seems as unlikely as someone from Peru captain England in the Ashes.
    IMO it would be a mistake to focus on the Sky years. They are the least interesting and best known part of the story. How he ended up there and the African years is less known and the better story.


    The Sky years have to covered of course but I think Walsh is fascinated by the African upbringing etc backstory. There's a piece in Ned Boulting's essay on this year's Tour the latest Cycling Anthology, where Ned's talking about how muted the UK media and public interest during the course of the Tour seems to be re Froome's progress. Walsh says to him something along the lines of 'The British public are no mugs, Ned, they're not buying this British nationality thing. Its a shame he's not here riding here for Kenya. The first African to win the Tour - now that would be a hell of a story!'
  • BigMat wrote:
    It might be better than expected. To be fair the whole growing up in Africa, going it alone in Europe, suffering serious parasitic disease then winning the Tour is quite a good start. Chris Hoy's autobiog represents the nadir to date for me. A very comfortable middle class upbringing, a very comfortable sporting career well supported by British Cycling, hard work yielding top results - its just not very interesting, much as I respect the guy.

    Not so well supported by BC in his early days, as I recall. His Dad was the main man for most of his formative years.

    Very dry sense of humour has Sir Chris, which I like. The section about riding the Etape (slowly) in his rainbow stripes was very funny.

    Wiggo's post-Tour victory book was utter sh*te.
  • Nobody should be allowed to publish an autobiography until they are over 50.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,137
    edited November 2013
    Nobody should be allowed to publish an autobiography until they are over 50.
    Quite. Take note, Anne Frank!
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • rayjay
    rayjay Posts: 1,384
    Nobody should be allowed to publish an autobiography until they are over 50.

    I agree, there are far to many autobiography's by 20/30 something's.
    Ker-Ching
  • I read Hugh Porter's Champion on two wheels book last week...
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • pomtarr
    pomtarr Posts: 318
    I read Hugh Porter's Champion on two wheels book last week...
    Did every sentence begin "Now then..."?
    "Difficult, difficult, lemon difficult"
  • ocdupalais
    ocdupalais Posts: 4,224
    I read Hugh Porter's Champion on two wheels book last week...

    Did you get halfway through before you realised he'd mistaken himself for somebody else?
  • salsiccia1
    salsiccia1 Posts: 3,725
    RichN95 wrote:
    Nobody should be allowed to publish an autobiography until they are over 50.
    Quite. Take note, Anne Frank!

    *Ahem* it was actually a diary.

    Carry on.
    It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,137
    Salsiccia1 wrote:
    *Ahem* it was actually a diary.

    Carry on.
    I know but it's all the same really. Books about lives.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • thomthom
    thomthom Posts: 3,574
    So an autobiography about one of the dullest riders off the bike you say..

    I think I'll pass on that one..
  • Bakunin
    Bakunin Posts: 868
    ThomThom wrote:
    So an autobiography about one of the dullest riders off the bike you say..

    I think I'll pass on that one..

    Although the results speak for themselves, Froome is dull on the bike. Always looking down at the bottom bracket...waiting for the train to leave the station. Yet, freaking Wiggo out, though, was classic.
  • salsiccia1
    salsiccia1 Posts: 3,725
    ThomThom wrote:
    So an autobiography about one of the dullest riders off the bike you say..

    I think I'll pass on that one..

    How do you know he's dull off the bike? There's only one way to find out - read the autobiography :lol:

    (though he probably is pretty dull; mind you, his missus is another story)
    It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.
  • rayjay
    rayjay Posts: 1,384
    I'm having a cup tea and a custard cream and reading Batman Vs Aliens, brilliant :lol:
  • joelsim
    joelsim Posts: 7,552
    Nobody should be allowed to publish an autobiography until they are over 50.

    Nobody should be allowed to use a microwave to cook rice, or beans.
  • salsiccia1
    salsiccia1 Posts: 3,725
    Joelsim wrote:
    Nobody should be allowed to publish an autobiography until they are over 50.

    Nobody should be allowed to use a microwave to cook rice, or beans.

    Hark at Gordon Ramsey :lol:

    What constitutes acceptable microwave use? Soup? Baked potatoes? Kittens?
    It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,217
    BigMat wrote:
    It might be better than expected. To be fair the whole growing up in Africa, going it alone in Europe, suffering serious parasitic disease then winning the Tour is quite a good start. Chris Hoy's autobiog represents the nadir to date for me. A very comfortable middle class upbringing, a very comfortable sporting career well supported by British Cycling, hard work yielding top results - its just not very interesting, much as I respect the guy.

    Not so well supported by BC in his early days, as I recall.

    He laid a wooden floor for a mate of mine who was a BC coach back in those days to earn some extra cash!
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,137
    Salsiccia1 wrote:
    What constitutes acceptable microwave use? Soup? Baked potatoes? Kittens?
    Kittens are never really right done in the microwave. The texture of the skin never seems quite right to me.

    Edit: Sorry. Not kittens. I meant baked potatoes.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,137
    Pross wrote:
    He laid a wooden floor for a mate of mine who was a BC coach back in those days to earn some extra cash!
    Tom Boonen has to do that for Quick Step in the off season if he hasn't won a classic.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • Pross wrote:
    BigMat wrote:
    It might be better than expected. To be fair the whole growing up in Africa, going it alone in Europe, suffering serious parasitic disease then winning the Tour is quite a good start. Chris Hoy's autobiog represents the nadir to date for me. A very comfortable middle class upbringing, a very comfortable sporting career well supported by British Cycling, hard work yielding top results - its just not very interesting, much as I respect the guy.

    Not so well supported by BC in his early days, as I recall.

    He laid a wooden floor for a mate of mine who was a BC coach back in those days to earn some extra cash!



    Didnt G's brother or cousin do some roofing for you recently?? Just how small is South Wales???