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David Cole
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Post by David Cole » 17 Apr 2009 09:47

OK, Dave: it sounds like one of my intro rides.
I couldn't possibly comment

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Philip Whiteman
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Post by Philip Whiteman » 19 May 2009 18:46

Kermit wrote:The Ride is a magazine. But don't be put off. It's not like any other cycling magazine you ever read. The articles are written by people passionate about the sport, from all over the world from the lowly club member to world champions. What they have in common is that they bring an insight into elements that you just don't see anywhere else and they are accompanied by some fantastic photographs and ilustrations. The second edition has just been published and can be ordered direct: http://www.theridejournal.com/ All I need to do now is see if I can get hold of a copy of the first edition.

A review can also be seen on the Washing Machine Post: http://www.thewashingmachinepost.net/ which, is also well worth a visit. It is updated most days and you can also see a rather nice retro Italian jersey by Columba which of course just happens to be Beacon colours.
Paul, edition 1 of this brilliant journal is now available as a free download.

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Post by Mattoid » 29 May 2009 12:51

"The Man Who Cycled World" by Mark Beaumont

Not a review (yet), but a notice that this was published last week. I thoroughly enjoyed the series, which was only a snap shot of his amazing feat, so look forward to getting the full 'story'.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-Who-Cycled- ... item-added

You can also follow his present adventure at the BBC, Twitter and Flickr.

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Post by Hissing Sid » 05 Jun 2009 09:53

Recently rediscovered this classic while sorting out the kids books.

A salutory warning to all audaxers! :wink:


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mrs-Armitage-Wh ... 0099400529

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Post by Lisa » 27 Oct 2009 18:26

Hissing Sid wrote:Recently rediscovered this classic while sorting out the kids books.

A salutory warning to all audaxers! :wink:


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mrs-Armitage-Wh ... 0099400529
Are you allowed to say what happens in it? As the wife of an addicted audaxer, I'm intrigued!
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Post by Lisa » 27 Oct 2009 18:45

Read a couple of books by Richard Guise called "From the Mull to the Cape" and "Over the Hill and Round the Bend". He's a retired bloke who really hadn't done much cycling before and set himself challenges to keep himself out of mischief. The first is a ride from the Mull of Kintyre to Cape Wrath and the second is a ride to the four compass-point extremities of Wales.

I prefered the first, probably because I know and love the west of Scotland. It was an easy-going, relaxing and chuckling read. Got bored while reading the second and skimmed to the end. He seemed obsessed with road numbers!

The humour is very gentle, as is his riding style. He generally gets off to walk if there's any sign of a hill.

Trying to think of some way we could collect the various books we've read into a club library for people to dip into, but can't come up with a solution as to where it would be kept in order to be accessible... Never mind.
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Post by Mattoid » 31 Oct 2009 20:25

Lisa wrote:Trying to think of some way we could collect the various books we've read into a club library for people to dip into, but can't come up with a solution as to where it would be kept in order to be accessible... Never mind.
Nice idea, Lisa. I too am short on thoughts of how to pool the books, but at very least i am very happy to lend out any publications i have. Free delivery by velo of course...

If anyone is interested the following cycling related books are available, most of which i have commented on before :-

In Search of Robert Millar - Richard Moore
Heroes, Villians and Velodromes - Richard Moore
Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape - Paul Howard
French Connections - Tim Moore
The Masked Rider - Neal Peart
The Man Who Cycled the World - Mark Beaumont
Harry Watson 'The Mile Eater - The Kennett Brothers
Bicycle Diares - David Byrne
The Ride Vol 1 & 2 - Various
The Cyclists Training Bible 3rd Ed - Joe Friel (ref)

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Post by CakeStop » 31 Oct 2009 22:44

I don't suppose anybody has a copy of "A Peiper's Tale" that I could borrow do they?
Eat cake before you're hungry

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Post by Mattoid » 04 Feb 2010 13:14

CakeStop wrote:I don't suppose anybody has a copy of "A Peiper's Tale" that I could borrow do they?
Had a copy for Chrimble, Steve. Nearly finished, will bring it to Brecon.

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Post by Mattoid » 04 Feb 2010 13:55

Bradley Wiggins - In Pursuit of Glory

I dont usually follow professional cycling, only getting my annual fixation via the TdF showdown. Last years certainly got my attention when the newly christened Twiggo caught many an armchair professional cyclist unawares. I will never forget the clip of him 'punching' the team car with buzzed up joy following his first show of strength in the mountains which at one point even saw him attempt to attack the other big names. Brilliant stuff!

He has become an inspiration, along with the creation of Team Sky - a story which is being written before our very eyes - so this book certainly needed a look to see what made this man. Its an easy read, which adds a certain excited pace to it. He gives a history of his fathers career, though this is shared with a bitter tongue. Understandably. His career experiences are intertwined with family and people he has met along the way, some negative, some life changing for the better. I found it fascinating the phase after Athens Olympics, when following the intense preperation, focus and ultimately victory, he went on a nine month bender as he did not know how to handle the come down!

This copy includes last years TdF, so you can relive it again through his eyes! Definately worth checking out, as he is no doubt the new addition to the Brit Pack! PM me if anyone wishes to borrow.

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Post by Ringo » 04 Feb 2010 18:17

does anybody read anything other then cycling books? just descovered a love of reading after never really reading anything since i left school.

after catching a bit of the film adaptation of lolita a few months back and remembering that the book was supposed to be quite good i decided to give it a go. 3 months later i've read lolita, the great gatsby, the catcher in the rye, the lord of the flies and i'm now about 2/3 of the way through 1984 with catch 22 sat on my shelf ready for when i've finished.

i'm slowly working my way through "the classics" before i move onto any of the more modern stuff. anyone got anything they would reccommend that might fall into the classic group?

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Post by Missiles » 04 Feb 2010 20:37

Ringo wrote:anyone got anything they would reccommend that might fall into the classic group?
I've just finished Jamaica Inn - Daphne du Maurier. Highly recommended.

I wouldn't bother with Catch 22 - the sense of humour went whoosh straight over my head.

Ruth

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Post by Dave Cox » 04 Feb 2010 21:18

Hi Adrian,

This provoked quite a debate over dinner - there's so much to recommend although Sue's caveat is if you dont like something put it down dont flog through it. I've finished some pretty hardgoing books on the other hand.

Not a yet classic but if you've just read Lolita then "Reading Lolita in Tehran" Azar Nafisi is good.

Arthur Koestler : Darkness at Noon - will continue the 1984 mood
Norman Mailer : Naked and the Dead - Catch 22 with real bullets
Jack Kerouac : On the Road
Harper Lee : To Kill a Mockingbird ( also a classic film)
Earnest Hemingway : For whom the bell tolls etc
George Orwell : Homage to Catalonia
Olivia Manning : Balkan Trilogy

Siegfried Sassoon : Memoirs of a fox hunting man (part of a trilogy that once got me through an endless series of medical explorations mostly spent in waiting rooms) - captures the essence of the club run - how a cold foggy November morning attracts a group of brightly clad nutters to career across the country side in pursuit of their quarry - a bacon sarnie garnished with tomato sauce . . . .



these seemed great when I read them but apart from Nafisi it was over 40 years ago !!

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Post by Johnnyc » 04 Feb 2010 22:50

I would recommend

Steinbeck - something like Cannery Row or tortilla Flat - good introductions to his work.

Hermann Hesse - Knulp - a decent read.

Huxley - Brave New World - Time must have a stop

To kill a mockingbird - I agree with Dave - worth your time.

Also type an author you like into this site - quite interesting.

http://www.literature-map.com/

Ruth - I thought Catch 22 was hilarious in parts - had me laughing out loud - albeit a long time ago.

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Post by GrahamGamblin » 05 Feb 2010 10:49

My two Penn'orth (or two rubles worth, in fact):
Leo Tolstoy - Anna Karenina
Fyodor Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment
Mikhail Bulgakov - The Master and Margarita
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Post by gmac » 05 Feb 2010 11:25

Having never really gone to school, I too have started enjoy reading of late. You could try the count of monte cristo.If that does not put you off reading(its a bit long) then try the ILIAD OF HOMMER translated by Richmond Lattimore.

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Post by snailmale » 05 Feb 2010 12:47

GrahamGamblin wrote:My two Penn'orth (or two rubles worth, in fact):
Leo Tolstoy - Anna Karenina
Fyodor Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment
Mikhail Bulgakov - The Master and Margarita
Not read Tolstoy or Dostoevsky for years but they are still on my shelf. Salman Rushdie,(Satanic Verses, Midnights Children etc) Peter Cary (Oscar & Lucinda etc) and John Irving (Cider House Rules, World according to Garp, etc) are among my favourite authors, though recently I've been in to Bernard Cornwell, specifically His 'Warlord Chronicles' (Arthurian stuff) and 'Azincourt' Cornwell is a great guy on battle descriptions.
Cycling wise, recently finished The Death of Marco Pantani, by Matt Rendell, which, not having a degree in chemistry :roll: , I found hard going. Yesterday finished 'A Dog in A hat' by Joe Parkin, a second string pro who rode in Belgium in the late 80's. Mildly entertaining but I'm glad it was a stocking filler and didn't cost me anything
Bedside reading includes the complete Sherlock Holmes. collected short storiess by Collette, a Jeeves and Wooster omnibus and Alan Bennett's 'Untold Stories'. All short stuff I can dip in and out off
It is better to be interesting rather than exact

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Post by John Sanderson » 05 Feb 2010 13:56

A heartening post to read! I too have gone on a mission to tackle 'classics' as much as possible!

Catch 22 is my favourite book of all time so i'd definitely recommend it. Did initially find it hard work in the first few chapters, and it's a bit 'Pulp Fictionesque' in its layout, but worth you trying it.

Orwell is great - Animal Farm is well worth a read, particularly if you have any interest in the Fascism/Marxism Hitler/Stalin era of 20th century history. 'We' By Yevgeny Zamyatin is a fantastic read too - it was what Orwell read before he wrote 1984 - the links are clear. Frightening to think it was written in 1921 too!

I'd say also try: "Our Man In Havana" by Graham Greene as a 'classic'. Dickens is supposed to be great, but I find his stuff really dense - reading it is like walking through treacle! And of course Jane Austen / Thackery / etc are all cited as 'classics'.

Some 'classics' are modern too - I wouldn't worry about ticking off all the 'great' books you should read before picking up moden stuff - what you've already read is fairly modern already:
"The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Nightime" - Mark Haddon and "The Wasp Factory" - Ian Banks are great, "Life Of Pi" was no so great (but won the Booker prize I think).

John Le Carre is excellent too - especially 'The Spy Who Came In From The Cold' which is also a great book, not the 'spy stories' i thought they'd be when I first picked one up...

I've just started reading 'Great Gatsby' - and had faltered a bit, but will give it another go after reading this post!
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Post by Ringo » 05 Feb 2010 17:06

thanks guys, definitely some food for thought.

to kill a mocking bird and brave new world are already on my list and, while i was sorting out my room a few weeks back, i found my old copy of "of mice and men" by steinbeck from school so i'll probably give that a read. also found my dads old copy of moby dick which i might have a look at and also a copy of clockwork orange. only thing putting me off that is the fact it's written in some kind of weird anglo-russian slang which would require looking up while i was reading it. i've also seen the film so know what happens anyway.

my criteria for selecting my books so far has been simply to type in greatest novels into google and then see which books regularly feature in the various top 100 lists that pop up. i also see what gets recommended to me when i look at books on amazon. as for the term "classic" i simply mean books that are well known. books that if you mention the title everyone will know that it's a book and maybe a basic grasp of what it's about. books that have become part of the english language, like catch 22 or big brother in 1984. books that have challenged what is seen as acceptable like lolita. books that challenge the way that you view the world around you like 1984 or catcher in the rye. basically books that make you think and actually teach you something while your reading them.

john old sport, keep on with gatsby. the first couple of chapters don't really go anywhere as all the characters are basically just introduced. it starts to pick up after the first party that nick gets invited to. i also watched the film with robert redford after i finished just to see if how i imagined it was similar to how the director had seen it all.

i can't believe that more of these books haven't been turned into major films. imagine what they could do with lord of the flies or 1984 with today's technology and computer animation etc. also, a story like great gatsby is a great story of unrequited love and how obsession can lead to tragedy and destroy everyone who gets caught up in it. with all the rubbish that gets put out these days why can't a story like that simply be adapted and brought into the 21st?

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Post by David Cole » 05 Feb 2010 22:37

can't believe that more of these books haven't been turned into major films. imagine what they could do with lord of the flies or 1984 with today's technology and computer animation etc. also, a story like great gatsby is a great story of unrequited love and how obsession can lead to tragedy and destroy everyone who gets caught up in it. with all the rubbish that gets put out these days why can't a story like that simply be adapted and brought into the 21st?
All of these have been made into films, although some time ago

Ann Cole

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Post by spider » 05 Feb 2010 23:10

Time you were tucked up in bed with a good book Mrs Cole.

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Post by Philmondo » 06 Feb 2010 15:27

I've been reading modern authors lately, and have thoroughly enjoyed David Mitchell - Cloud Atlas, Ghostwritten, and Black Swan Green (which is set in Malvern), and Robert Harris (Imperium, Pompeii), Ian McEwan (Saturday). However, I am now a rivetted fan of Cormac McCarthy. Was knocked out by The Road, and just starting No Country For Old Men, which seems every bit as rich and engaging. My fave novel of all time is The Magus by John Fowles. It's inscrutable, and I revisit it every few years, always finding a new layer of meaning.

I like a bit of non-fiction too. Been reading Jon Krakauer lately. Highly recommended explorations of lives lived in extremes - Into Thin Air, Into The Wild and Under the Banner of Heaven.

I don't worry about the 'classics'. I just enjoy the journey of discovery from one writer to the next.

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Post by spider » 06 Feb 2010 18:05

Don't try to look up the language in A Clockwork Orange; it was invented just for the book.

I would reccomend everything ever written by Steinbeck, but especially Cannery Row and the Grapes of Wrath; Hemingway,( If you really want an informed opinion about bullfighting, Death in the Afternoon is essential reading) More modern writers would include Gore Videl and, for sheer entertainment, Kingsley Amis. Much less amusing,but compulsive reading, is his son Martin Amis; try Times Arrow. Then, when you want to laugh again read pretty much any of Bill Bryson's travel books.
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Post by Missiles » 06 Feb 2010 18:47

Nick Hornby anyone? I think he's brilliant and extremely perceptive.

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Post by Ringo » 06 Feb 2010 19:56

spider wrote:Don't try to look up the language in A Clockwork Orange; it was invented just for the book.
i know, but the copy i have has a kind of dictionary in the back which translates all the words. so reading it would involve flicking to the back every couple of lines to understand what was happening.

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Post by George » 07 Feb 2010 11:44

Tim Krabbe:
De Renner (a cycling book), also available as a slightly wobbly translation The Rider.
Spoorloos (a non-cycling book) also available as The Vanishing, which was made into a brilliant film
Krabbe is Dutch writer. He was an international chess player in his youth, who took up bike racing and writing in his 30s and became quite successful at both.

Possibly the most riveting book I've read in recent times was The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale. It isn't a novel, but it has novel-like qualities. It's an account of a real-life murder at a Gloucestershire country home, which was a national sensation in the 19th century, and about its investigation. The account of the events would on their own be worth reading, but what makes this book really special is that, while telling the story of what happened, it effectively explains the origin of the whodunnit genre and provides a very insightful analysis of Victorian society. Highly recommended.

As a student, I hugely enjoyed a lot of medieval/renaissance literature that has an undeserved 'stuffy' image: Chaucer, Milton and of course Shakespeare (I would rather read Shakespeare than see it performed, at least until I know the play, because otherwise the dialogue goes too quickly for my sluggish brain to process).

Finally, under no circumstances ever read anything by DH Lawrence. If Lawrence had not already been dead, I would gladly have done the honours when I was 18.
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Post by GrahamGamblin » 07 Feb 2010 12:17

Don't try to look up the language in A Clockwork Orange; it was invented just for the book.
but is based on Russian, e.g Droog (the name of the gang) is Russian for friend.
So all you need to do is learn Russian and you won't need the dictionary :wink:
Graham

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Post by John Sanderson » 07 Feb 2010 14:43

I'd forgotten about Ian McEwan - Enduring Love is very good. I've got through Gatsby now - that is a seriously good book! Hadn't realised it was made into a film - although as Anne has pointed out - most 'classics' have been made into films at some point!
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Post by Jim Moore » 08 Feb 2010 18:55

Catcher in the Rye is one of my favourite ever books. It captures that 'lost' feeling so well. If you liked that, try these. They are a bit more modern but I'm sure will be classics in time.

A Fraction of the Whole - Steve Toltz

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fraction-Whole- ... 479&sr=1-1

A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fine-Balance-Ro ... BIB2547447

Disgrace - Coetzee

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Disgrace-J-M-Co ... BIB2547447

For literary genius try anything by Roberto Bolano or the amazing Jorge Luis Borges. These are their best (in my opinion)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Savage-Detectiv ... 926&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fictions-Jorge- ... 983&sr=1-2

For beautiful prose try T.S Eliot, Cervantes, Hugo, Celine all brilliant

Also Roald Dahl is what got me back into reading as an adult. Try this for a good selection of his short stories written for adults (although his children's stories are excellent too)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Collected-Short ... 225&sr=1-6
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Post by spider » 08 Feb 2010 23:36

I really like the writing on the label of a tin of Pedigree Chum,

Floss.

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Post by snailmale » 09 Feb 2010 09:02

spider wrote:I really like the writing on the label of a tin of Pedigree Chum,

Floss.
Philistine! :shock: Why cant you be pseudo-intellectual like the rest of us?
It is better to be interesting rather than exact

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Post by Mattoid » 13 May 2010 13:19

...and back to cycling literature...

In prep for the release of issue 4 of The Ride Journal on the 31st of this month, issue 2 is now available as a free PDF download.

http://www.theridejournal.com/index.html

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Post by Lisa » 16 Aug 2010 21:57

We must have mentioned Matt Seaton's The Escape Artist at some point... I've just read it. Curiously unlovable portrayal of himself. Most bizarre how he skips over the small detail of his wife as briefly as he can get away with it - no efforts to paint any sort of picture of her as a person. Meanwhile his descriptions of his bike and cycling in general are practically pornographic. I think it's deliberate, to make a point. And I notice that his wife did write a book herself before she died, so maybe he thought there was little point in trying to tell her story as she'd already done it. Wouldn't mind reading her book, actually - it might round off the story.

Unusual read and worth it, despite my confusion.
Why?

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Post by George » 17 Aug 2010 11:19

Lisa wrote:Most bizarre how he skips over the small detail of his wife as briefly as he can get away with it - no efforts to paint any sort of picture of her as a person.
I think he set out to write a book describing the significance of cycling in his life, and his first wife was simply not terribly relevant to that particular topic. I don't think that it necessarily indicates that his wife was unimportant to him, or that he had a one-dimensional understanding of her personality.

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Post by Lisa » 17 Aug 2010 20:19

George wrote:
Lisa wrote:Most bizarre how he skips over the small detail of his wife as briefly as he can get away with it - no efforts to paint any sort of picture of her as a person.
I think he set out to write a book describing the significance of cycling in his life, and his first wife was simply not terribly relevant to that particular topic. I don't think that it necessarily indicates that his wife was unimportant to him, or that he had a one-dimensional understanding of her personality.
I agree with you on that, but I found it too imbalanced. Personal preference I suppose - being female I get a sniff of a human story and instantly want to know more! I struggled to sympathise with the bike bit, so found the over-emphasis a bit much. It would be interesting to do a male/female poll on this!
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Post by Missiles » 17 Aug 2010 20:49

Lisa wrote:It would be interesting to do a male/female poll on this!
I thought it was a very well written book which very successfully communicated his love of cycling. I didn't think it was about his relationship with his wife so I didn't feel it lacked anything because he didn't dwell on it. In fact, the lack of sentimentality about his wife made me think that probably his feelings about losing his wife were far too personal and raw to share. And because I thought that, I didn't really want to know more. I thought his descriptive writing about the joys of being a cyclist were extremely powerful and the kind of thing all keen cyclists would relate to. I'd recommend the book very highly indeed.

Ruth

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Post by Dave Cox » 17 Aug 2010 21:23

Its some time since I read it but I agree with Ruth. The issues of losing a partner at such an age and with children, if he were to write more about them, would clearly be a different book. I've just re-read the last chapter, it may be written from a male perspective but I do think it is self aware and sensitive.

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Post by Lisa » 18 Aug 2010 19:47

Missiles wrote:In fact, the lack of sentimentality about his wife made me think that probably his feelings about losing his wife were far too personal and raw to share.
Good point, well made - I didn't think of it like that.
Why?

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Post by CakeStop » 18 Aug 2010 23:49

I think I should read it again, I've read it before but can't recall detail in such depth.

Anyway, I've nearly finished read "In Pursuit of Glory" by Bradley Wiggins. Having always previously stuck to books about historic cyclists this is my first about a current Pro. It's a frank no-nonsense account, good balance between his private and professional life. A real eye opener about a dark near alcoholic phase just after the 2004 Olympics. I just need to read the final epilogue about the 2009 TdF. Recommended.
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Post by Dave Cox » 19 Aug 2010 07:28

Thanks Steve others have recommended it too. Will be visiting W H Smiths at Heathrow later !

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Post by charlie » 26 Aug 2010 16:53

:roll: Have been watching Clare Balding "riding" around Britain using guides written by Harold Briercliffe. I have volume number 5 "The Midlands" and it is interesting to see his comment:: "I must admit that for the cyclist and walker Central England has a smaller appeal than the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and coast North and Mid Wales and the Scottish Highlands." The Midlands on his own addmission "constitutes a far flung region." From just north of London up to near Manchester, and from Wales across to near Cambridge. Which is why I suppose Clare Balding, or her producer, chose The Cotswolds, for programme 5. Its an interesting read if only for the quaint way he puts things.

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Post by Dave Cox » 02 Sep 2010 18:54

I picked this up in Barnes and Noble in Glastonbury CT while visting our daughter Juliet and couldn't put it down. In fact it caused my only "cycling injury" of the trip. It's a biography of Major Taylor World Champion in the 1890s during the days when track, sprint and paced cycling swept the US, France and Australia.

I'd seen pictures of Taylor the greatest black cyclist ever (thus far) in histories of cycling but knew little about his life. Balf's book is well researched but written in a pacey sports biographer style. Taylor was an amazing rider and one of the foremost atheletes of this time. He was based in Worcester Mass not far from where we stay and next time I want to see his house, visit his recently constructed memorial and ride the hill where he trained. The book covers his fights with racism on and off the track, his scientific approach to training (some of the fundamental work in sports science was being conducted at Wesleyn University in nearby Middletown) and his commitment to a principled religious life - he refused to race on Sundays. He died in relative obscurity in the 1930s.

The League of American Wheelmen banned black members in 1894 and attempts to honor Taylor at Indiana University's Little 500 Race as late as 1995 by fielding an all black Team Major Taylor led to an attempted boycott by the white student teams. Apparently there are Team Major Taylor groups now across the US encouraging young Black riders to enter the sport so Taylor could end up being a major influence on cycling in the 21st Century.

And the injury? I was so enthralled at the technical description of Taylor's amazing finishing sprint that my foot went to sleep during an early morning reading session. When I jumped up to make a cup of tea for an awakening Sue, I fell over like so many older people and badly bruised my foot on the guest house furniture !

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Post by Mattoid » 02 Feb 2011 13:16

Ride Journal issue 5 is out. Get it! www.theridejournal.com

Another nice production, Boneshaker magazine www.boneshakermag.com - issue 4 coming soon, issue 1 available as pdf download.

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Post by Andy Terry » 27 May 2011 17:57


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Post by Lisa » 28 May 2011 14:32

Gosh - interesting reading list. I don't think anyone's mentioned any of those on this thread. I shall start at the top with the Sherlock Holmes - although it'll have to wait until after I read Mark Beaumont's 'The man who cycled the Americas', which recently popped through the letter box hot off the press via Amazon.
Why?

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Post by charlie » 06 Jun 2011 23:03

:roll: Just finished a book "All-Round Genius" by Mick Collins. Although not a cycling book its about a sportsman named Max Woosnam who not only spent 4 years in the army during World War 1 but also captained Manchester City and England, was Wimbledon doubles champion, Davis Cup captain and an Olympic tennis Gold medallist. He also scored a century at Lords. It is also recorded that he beat a grumpy Charlie Chaplin at Table Tennis using a butter knife. He was also very good at snooker. He sounded a thoroughly nice bloke as well. He remained an amateur all his sporting career.

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Post by Andy Terry » 05 Jul 2011 20:33

'How I Won The Yellow Jumper' by Ned Boulting got a big plug from my favourite sports journalist Richard Williams in the Guardian today.

On the strength of that, I am taking the Kindle edition on holiday.

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THE MAN WHO CYCLED THE AMERICAS

Post by Philip Whiteman » 20 Jul 2011 13:24

Mark Beaumont, 2011, THE MAN WHO CYCLED THE AMERICAS. Bantam Press. ISBN-13: 978-0593066980

The book is written in a very easy-to-read style, and, as with The Man Who Cycled The World, I have once again been drawn into the story. It's like meeting up with an old friend. Unlike his first book, The Man Who Cycle the World is not exclusively about the actual cycle ride. Four chapters are devoted to his mountaineering exploits on Dinali and Aconcagua which provide an additional and engaging flavour.

On this journey Mark had more time to stop and investigate when he passed something of interest, and the book records many encounters with fascinating people and places (and animals!) as well as the trials involved in such a marathon undertaking. You do not need to be a cyclist, or a mountaineer, to enjoy The Man Who Cycled The Americas.

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Post by John Sanderson » 18 Nov 2011 08:29

I wouldn't make the claim that it was a great read - but something that requires readers nonetheless is... - the blog i've started http://meandthemountain.wordpress.com/ which is, in a roundabout way, Beacon related. I hope you can forgive my comment about the "90's" kit...
It's all about the bike.

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Post by George » 18 Nov 2011 09:11

John, if you are going to plug your own work, it's no good being half-hearted about it.

For example, I would say that the following is a truly great read:
http://www.ngc.haywoodhouse.net/Pages/Fire_Flood.html

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