He soon fell into racing and discovered he was a natural, riding his way into a pro contract after just one season despite utter ignorance of a century of cycling etiquette. Now, in his book Pro Cycling on $10 a Day, Phil brings the full powers of his wit to tell his story.Presented here as a guide—and a warning—to aspiring racers who dream of joining the professional racing circus, Phil’s adventures in road rash serve as a hilarious and cautionary tale of frustrating team directors and broken promises. Phil’s education in the ways of the peloton, his discouraging negotiations for a better contract, his endless miles crisscrossing America in pursuit of race wins, and his conviction that somewhere just around the corner lies the ticket to the big time fuel this tale of hope and ambition from one of cycling’s best story-tellers. Pro Cycling on $10 a Day chronicles the racer’s daily lot of blood-soaked bandages, sleazy motels, cheap food, and overflowing toilets. But it also celebrates the true beauty of the sport and the worth of the journey, proving in the end that even among the narrow ranks of world-class professional cycling, there will always be room for a hard-working outsider.

    He has experienced soaring triumphs, humbling defeats, a public rivalry with Bradley Wiggins and, most recently, the pressures of Lance Armstrong's legacy.Extraordinary, revealing and life-affirming, The Climb is a story of determination, hardship and unimaginable success.Chris Froome was born in Nairobi in 1985 to British parents. He was educated and raised in South Africa and now races for Team GB and Team Sky. In 2011 he finished second overall in the Vuelta a Espana. In 2012 he finished runner-up to Bradley Wiggins in the Tour de France and won the Bronze medal in the Time Trial at the Olympic Games. Froome amassed five stage-race victories in 2013, with triumphs at the Tour of Oman, Criterium International, Tour de Romandie and Criterium du Dauphine leading into a dominant win at the 100th Tour de France. He won the prestigious Velo d'Or award for best rider of 2013 and was shortlisted for the 2013 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.

    Along the way, in shedding new light on familiar events, unravelling mysteries and exploring untold stories, it confirms the Tour de France as unrivalled in its creation of myths and legends, and as a stage for courage, scandal, skill, and drama.

    You may know him as the much-loved co-presenter of ITV’s Tour de France coverage or enjoyed his BBC Olympic coverage, but beyond the easy charm Chris Boardman is one of our greatest, most inspiring cyclists.Boardman’s lone achievements in the 80s and 90s – Olympic track gold, the world hour record, repeatedly claiming the yellow jersey in the Tour de France – were the spark that started the modern era for British cycling. His endeavours both on and off the bike have made him the founding father of current golden generation – without him there would simply be no Hoy, Wiggins or Cavendish.It is a story full of intrigue: from Olympic success, to the famous duels with Graeme Obree and the insanity of the Tour de France. Chris became a legend for his combination of physical ability and technical preparation, almost single-handedly taking British cycling from wool shirts and cloth caps into the era of marginal gains. Indeed, after his career on the bike ended, a new chapter began as the backroom genius behind GB cycling. As head of the R&D team known as The Secret Squirrel Club, Chris has been responsible for the technical innovations that made the difference in 2012 and developed Boardman Bikes, which has become the country's bestselling premium bike range.

    Yet surprisingly, for many, a desire to go faster is much more important than a desire to win. Someone who wants to go faster will work at the details and take small steps rather than focusing on winning. Winning just happens when you do everything right-it's the doing everything right that's hard. And that's what fascinates and obsesses Michael Hutchinson.With his usual deadpan delivery and an awareness that it's all mildly preposterous, Hutchinson looks at the things that make you faster-training, nutrition, the right psychology-and explains how they work, and how what we know about them changes all the time. He looks at the things that make you slower, and why, and how attempts to avoid them can result in serious athletes gradually painting themselves into the most peculiar life-style corners.Faster is a book about why cyclists do what they do, about what the riders, their coaches and the boffins get up to behind the scenes, and about why the whole idea of going faster is such an appealing, universal instinct for all of us.

    The contrast could not have been greater - as Lance Armstrong, a fraudster backed by many corporate sponsors and feted by presidents, was about to deliver a stage-managed confession to Oprah, so a young woman from a small village in Wales took aim.      She too had been a cyclist, the only rider ever to have become World and Olympic champion in the same year, and the first British cyclist to have been ranked World No.1, but as a woman in a man's sport, her exploits gained little recognition and brought no riches. She too had ridden through this dark period for the sport when drug-taking was everywhere. Nicole Cooke spoke up for those who had taken a very different path to Lance and his team-mates.      In her frank and outspoken autobiography, Cooke reveals the real story behind British cycling's rise to global dominance. With a child's dreams of success, she left home at 18 to pursue her goals in Italy. Broken contracts, unpaid wages, a horrendous injury and drugs cheats were just some of the challenges she faced, even before she lined up to take on her opponents. The Breakaway is a book that will not only inspire all those who read it, but which also asks some serious questions about the way society regards women's sport.

    Spanning the 1920s and '30s, Goggles & Dust: Images from Cycling's Glory Days celebrates the grit and determination of the bicycle racing pioneers who established the records, traditions, and distinct flavors of Europe's most hallowed races.The spirit of these hardy competitors was perhaps matched only by the resolve of the remarkable photographers who prevailed in all imaginable conditions, situations, altitudes and latitudes to capture unforgettable prints of the racers at work and play. From Alpine panoramas to hair-raising crashes and idyllic roadside celebrations, the gorgeous restored photographs in Goggles & Dust--most unseen since their original publication in the newspapers and magazines of the day--provide an indelible and delightful record of a more carefree and adventurous time.

    The coming of the railways in the 1830s killed off the stage-coach trade; almost all rural roads reverted to low-level local use. Cyclists were the first group in a generation to use roads and were the first to push for high-quality sealed surfaces and were the first to lobby for national funding and leadership for roads.Without cyclists, motorists wouldn't have hit the ground running when it came to places to drive this new form of transport.'Roads Were Not Built for Cars' is a history book, focussing on a time when cyclists had political clout, in Britain and especially in America. The book researches the Road Improvements Association - a lobbying group created by the Cyclists' Touring Club in the 1880s - and the Good Roads movement organised by the League of American Wheelmen in the same period.

    Yet when Lance Armstrong, starting his comeback from cancer, signed for US Postal, it was Emma, the only woman on the team, who became his personal soigneur. This is the definitive inside story of that time, and of the enormous repercussions that resonate to this day for Emma, Lance and the whole sport.Emma had the strength to break cycling's omerta by speaking out against the culture of doping. She thought she would be one of many whistleblowers, doing what she believed was right. Isolated and shunned by the sport she loved, however, her reputation was systematically destroyed. And yet she had the courage to bounce back, and remarkably, to forgive those who made her existence a living hell. This is the ultimate memoir of truth and its many consequences.

    The Washington book reveals hard-to-find information about exploring the state by bike. Learn about the state’s remotest ribbons of road in the Okanagan, the best bikeable berry stands in the San Juans Islands, luscious Walla Walla wine country vineyards best reached by bicycle, and routes across the Cascade Mountain Range that will transform you into an interminable lover of the Pacific Northwest.Like a cycle-touring concierge, Cycling Sojourner takes care of the logistics and removes obstacles between you and your two-wheeled adventure, so you can grab your bike and go. The nine tours in the book are meticulously laid out and include cue sheets; maps; and information about weather, difficulty level, camping and lodging options, and how to get to the ride’s start.Yet, the soul of the book lies in the voices of Thalheimer and the four contributing Washingtonian authors who use storytelling, local history, and humor to elevate the book beyond just an everyday guidebook to an inspirational muse that draws out your inner adventurer.

    Twenty-five years later, he was sedentary and rapidly gaining weight. Hello Couch, meet Potato. It was time for a change, for both his body and his mind. Determined to start moving again, Scott climbed on a bicycle one summer afternoon and started pedaling. By the end of the driveway, he was gasping for breath. A year later, Scott was still trying to stay upright on a mountain bike when he watched Ride The Divide, a movie about an event so daunting, so exhilarating, so tough that few attempt it. But Scott couldn’t stop thinking about it. The Tour Divide, a nearly 3000-mile mountain bike race along the spine of the Continental Divide, was his new dream. Known as one of the toughest races in the world, the Tour Divide is an unsupported off-road event. If your tire is flat, you fix it. If you run out of water, you must find more. If you’re caught in the middle of nowhere, exhausted and blurry-eyed? Find a spot to nap amidst nature and try not to bother the Grizzlies. Starting from zero, Scott trained for two years while maintaining a busy family life and career. Scott was preparing for the ride of his life. In June of 2013, he climbed on that bicycle again, this time to race against 167 other people from all over the world on a trek that would take him from Canada to Mexico in 22 days. Captured through Scott’s vivid words and wondrous illustrations, this is the tale of one man’s quest to break free of the typical life and conquer his wildest dream.

    It also give tips on how to spot the early warning signs of trouble so that you can fix the problem before you need to get involved with costly replacements.It is the perfect reference manual to carry with you in a pannier or backpack.

    A decade later, this blueprint for using cycling to achieve exceptional longevity, fitness, and overall well-being has helped tens of thousands of cyclists to ride longer and stronger. Now, nationally-known fitness journalist and lifelong endurance road and mountain biker Roy M. Wallack builds upon his comprehensive Bike for Life plan with even more practical tips and strategies to keep you riding to 100—and beyond.Fully updated, revised, and illustrated, Bike for Life features:- Cutting-edge workout strategies for achieving best-ever fitness at any age- Science-based 8- and 16-week Century training schedules- A radical new workout method that'll make you fly up the hills- An anti-aging plan to revive muscularity, strength, and reaction time- An exclusive 10-step Yoga for Cyclists routine- Strategies to fix "cyclist's knee" and "biker's back"- Advice on avoiding cycling-related impotence and osteoporosis- Ways to survive mountain lions, bike-jackers, poison ivy, and headwinds- Handling skills and bike-fit advice from famous coaches- Tips on staying motivated with worldwide adventures and challenges- The Bike for Life hall of fame: stories of amazing riders in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and upWith oral-history interviews and profiles of the biggest names of the sport, including: John Howard, Gary Fisher, Rebecca Rusch, Ned Overend, Tinker Juarez, Juli Furtado, Marla Streb, Missy Giove, Johnny G, Eddie B, Mike Sinyard, and Rich "The Reverend" White.

    

    

    A mesmerizing view of cycling in its golden age, and the darkness that followed.On June 28, 1914, one hundred and forty-five riders lined up in a suburb of Paris at 3 a.m. to start the first stage of the Tour de France. The race, which had been founded just a decade earlier, had grown to become the biggest bicycle race in the world. The riders did not know it at the time, but as they raced, an event was taking place on the opposite side of Europe which would change all of their lives forever: Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, triggering World War I.While racing went on in France, a diplomatic crisis had started that would try but fail to avert war. Shortly after the finish of the race, France mobilized its troops and went to war with Germany. The organizer of the Tour de France, Henri Desgrange, despite being fifty years old, enrolled in the army shortly afterwards and encouraged the cyclists to do the same.The war would see over 16 million soldiers and civilians die. Many of the riders from that Tour de France did not return, and three previous winners of the race would be among those killed in action.The Shattered Peloton tells the story of that Tour de France and what happened to the top cyclists of the day during the course of the war. A brilliant, disturbing, important book for anyone with an interest in cycling or military history.

    For example, The Great Gatsby is a fictional, poignant account of a young millionaire obsessed witha beautiful debutatne in 1922. The Great Fatsby, on the other hand, is an occasionally-true, wildly exaggerated collection of absurd and allegedly hilarious stories from a middle-aged blogger obsessed with bicycles. See? Same thing, more or less. In this book, you will discover How Fatty ruined two business suits in one second. You will read a story about a plush novelty toy flower, a serial killer, and the dangers of two much caffeine when in a remote area. You will learn the proper way to suck in your gut at a moment's notice. You will even learn how to talk, when tragically necessary, to non-cyclists. And that's just for starters. Taken from what many people consider the Jazz Age of FatCyclist.com, The Great Fatsby is like spending many quality hours with Fatty himself, instead of having to read his blog for four years, waiting for him to occasionally write something readable. Plus, the good bits have now been explained, annotated and otherwise polished to the point where they now actually make sense. In short, The Great Fatsby, more than any other book in the world, belongs on the back of every cyclist's toilet.

    This book offers an authoritative and comprehensive account of the bicycle's technical and historical evolution, from the earliest velocipedes (invented to fill the need for horseless transport during a shortage of oats) to modern racing bikes, mountain bikes, and recumbents. It traces the bicycle's development in terms of materials, ergonomics, and vehicle physics, as carried out by inventors, entrepreneurs, and manufacturers.Written by two leading bicycle historians and generously illustrated with historic drawings, designs, and photographs, Bicycle Design describes the key stages in the evolution of the bicycle, beginning with the counterintuitive idea of balancing on two wheels in line, through the development of tension-spoked wheels, indirect drives (employing levers, pulleys, chains, and chainwheels), and pneumatic tires. The authors examine the further development of the bicycle for such specific purposes as racing, portability, and all-terrain use; and they describe the evolution of bicycle components including seats, transmission, brakes, lights (at first candle-based), and carriers (racks, panniers, saddlebags, child seats, and sidecars). They consider not only commercially successful designs but also commercial failures that pointed the way to future technological developments. And they debunk some myths about bicycles -- for example, the mistaken but often-cited idea that Leonardo sketched a chain-drive bike in his notebooks. Despite the bicycle's long history and mass appeal, its technological history has been neglected. This volume, with its engaging and wide-ranging coverage, fills that gap. It will be the starting point for all future histories of the bicycle.

    His career was a successful one albeit never in the full glare of the media. That all changed when, in 1998, the Festina doping scandal broke and Bassons shot to fame as one of the handful of clean riders in the peloton - and as the only professional who dared to speak openly about the topic.Having been seen as a possible champion, his instinctive and stubborn refusal to dope saw him outstripped in physique, stamina and speed by men he'd once equalled or exceeded. His willingness to denounce the doping culture set him against the entire ethos of professional cycling: owners, management and his peers - the likes of Lance Armstrong, Richard Virenque, Christophe Moreau. A year later, Bassons' career was over. Having clashed publicly with other riders - notably with Armstrong during the 1999 Tour de France - and written in French newspapers of his disbelief and disgust, Bassons found himself exhausted and exiled - chewed up and spat out by the sport he loved.First published in French in 2000 and now updated following recent revelations from Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton and other high-profile figures, A Clean Break is unmissable reading for all cycling fans. It offers a unique and heartbreaking take on the subject.