Like countless other kids, Phil Gaimon grew up dreaming of being a professional athlete. But unlike countless other kids, he actually pulled it off. After years of amateur races, hard training, living out of a suitcase, and never taking "no" for an answer, he finally achieved his goal and signed a contract to race professionally on one of the best teams in the world.Now, Gaimon pulls back the curtain on the WorldTour, cycling's highest level. He takes readers along for his seasons in Europe, covering everything from rabid, water-bottle-stealing Belgian fans, to contract renewals, to riding in poisonous smog, to making friends in a sport plagued by doping. Draft Animals reveals a story as much about bike racing as it is about the never-ending ladder of achieving goals, failure, and finding happiness if you land somewhere in-between.

    Her first bike was stolen in Bulgaria, she was knocked down by a buffalo cart in India and battled with a parasitic illness in Malaysia. These were some of the challenges she had to deal with, but above all, what stood out for Ann was the depth of human kindness she experienced throughout her travels.

    He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and other events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is from Glanworth in County Cork.

    I could not see how it could happen' - Laurent Fignon'I didn't think. I just rode' - Greg LeMond'The finest cycle race I've ever seen' - Phil LiggettVeteran TV commentator Phil Liggett is right. The 1989 Tour de France is surely the greatest ever, a race that saw Greg LeMond overturn a 50-second deficit to Laurent Fignon on the final stage on the Champs Elysees to snatch the title by a mere eight seconds. After three weeks and more than 2,000 miles in the saddle, this remains the smallest margin of victory in the Tour's 100+ year history. But as dramatic as that Sunday afternoon on the streets of Paris was, the race wasn't just about that one time-trial. During the previous fortnight, the leader's yellow jersey had swapped back and forth between LeMond and Fignon in a titanic struggle for supremacy, a battle with more twists and turns than the maziest Alpine mountain pass. At no point during the entire three weeks were the pair separated by more than 53 seconds. And all this despite LeMond's body still carrying more than 30 shotgun pellets after a shooting accident two years previously. In Three Weeks, Eight Seconds, Nige Tassell brings one of cycling's most astonishing stories to life, examining that extraordinary race in all its multifaceted glory, with fresh first-hand testimony from riders, team bosses, commentators, journalists and family members. Among those offering exclusive new insight are Team LeMond, Pedro Delgado, Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche, Bjarne Riis, Andy Hampsten, Raul Alcala, Charly Mottet, Sean Yates and many more. Adrenaline and agony. Controversy and conflict. Torment and triumph.All human life is here.

    Gaimon gathers the best of his popular Q&A column—and pokes fun at his younger self.Despite the howling protests from his peers, no one’s ever been more willing to spill the beans on what it’s really like inside the pro cycling peloton than the sarcastic scribe Phil Gaimon. Building on the outrageous success of his hilarious 2014 debut, Pro Cycling on $10 a Day: From Fat Kid to Euro Pro, Gaimon gathers the absolute gems from his monthly Q&A feature column in VeloNews magazine into his new book, Ask a Pro: Deep Thoughts and Unreliable Advice from America’s Foremost Cycling Sage, adding a dose of fresh commentary and even more acerbic and sharp-eyed insights. With six years of material to work with—including his incredible rise into the pro ranks, the devastating loss of his contract for 2015, and his bold return to the Big League—Gaimon covers every possible topic from the team dinner table to the toilet with plenty of stops along the way. Gaimon offers wise-ass (and sometimes earnest) answers to fan questions like: · How much chamois cream should I use?· I’ve started shaving my legs. How can I be accepted by my friends?· What do you do to protect yourself when you know you’re about to crash?· How many bikes does my husband really need?· What’s the best victory celebration? Do you practice yours?· In women’s cycling, what is the proper definition of a pro?· What do you say to someone if they honk or almost hit you?· Do you name your bikes?· What do pros think when they see a recreational cyclist in a full pro kit or riding a pro-level bike?· Can you take your bike apart and put it back together?· How bad does the weather have to be to call off a training ride?· How do you know when it’s time to change a tire?· When you’re in a breakaway all day, do riders form a future friendship?· Riders keep complaining about "unsafe" weather at races. When did pro cyclists turn into such wussies?· How do the pros define a "crash"?Gaimon wields his outsider’s wit to cast a cock-eyed gaze at the peculiar manners, mores, and traditions that make the medieval sport of cycling so irresistible to watch. Ask a Pro includes new resources from Gaimon, too, including his Cookie Map of America, dubious advice on winning the race buffet, a cautionary guide for host housing, Phil’s pre-race warm-up routine, and a celebrity baker’s recipe for The Phil Cookie.

     Author Tom Allen has pedalled more than 20,000km in over 40 countries since 2007. His blog TomsBikeTrip.com is the number one UK cycle touring resource on the web. This, his fourth book, is a 277-page beginners' guide to two-wheeled adventuring. The guide covers a vast range of topics without getting bogged down in details. It presents a range of perspectives, rather than the “my way is the best way” approach you’ll find on countless websites and forums. And it is a manual of reassurance as much as a practical guide – because getting to the start line isn’t about knowing everything, but about knowing enough to begin. Whatever you’re planning and wherever you’re thinking of going – if it involves a bicycle and the spirit of adventure, this book has got you covered.

    The use of fatbikes allowed Tom and Phil to ride across extreme terrain to incredibly remote areas of the country. On their adventure, they met nomads, rode through deserts, crossed mountain ranges, swam in glistening blue lakes and passed through the endless grasslands of the Mongolian Steppe. This adventure of a lifetime took them through one of the greatest wildernesses on Planet Earth. They wild-camped in some of the most beautiful places imaginable and discovered world-class mountain biking trails. Mongolia provided many surprises, some almost insurmountable challenges but is without doubt, the best country that Tom and Phil have ever cycled in.

    Armed with little knowledge but much determination, they attempt a self-supported cycle tour, carrying everything they need and camping along the way, normally the domain of hardy, beardy adventurers or Olympic athletes. Join The Beardless Adventurer and her inconvenience on their epic and often highly amusing trip through Europe, wondering if they will even make it through the first night or week, let alone 5,000km. Laugh and cry along with them in the both sublime and ridiculous situations in which they find themselves, mainly due to their own incompetence but also to the magnetism they seem to possess when it comes to eccentric or colourful characters. Whether you are a well-seasoned cyclist, or someone who doesn’t know your sprocket from your elbow, you’re sure to enjoy the antics of The Beardless Adventurer and her inconvenience.

    With iconic events selling out in hours and field sizes for races in the thousands, the rural adventure of remote roads has resonated with a wide spectrum of riders and families. Over one-third of the roads in the U.S. are categorized as unpaved by the U.S. DOT, and cyclists are rapidly finding that the road less taken has fantastic opportunities for escaping traffic and discovering what lies beyond one's backyard.In Gravel Cycling: The Complete Guide to Gravel Racing and Adventure Bikepacking, the author shares his love of riding dirt roads and gravel racing by telling the story of its history, its 21st century incarnation in North America, and its rapid spread to Europe, Asia, and South America. He speaks with founding members of the gravel racing scene and also looks at the cycling industry's adoption of the category. Most of all, he will inspire others to seek out dirt and gravel roads by offering helpful tips on getting started, gear recommendations, riding tips, and successful outfitting strategies for bike and rider alike.

    

    This simple, straightforward and fun DIY manual will take you from complete bike building beginner to confident bike builder in a series of fully-illustrated instructions. With a few simple tools and a bit of inspiration, anyone can build a bicycle that will bring many years of happy riding. This book will teach you the right skills, how to choose the right components, use tools confidently and ace the technical bits to end up with a unique and totally bespoke single-speed bike. Learn how to dismantle a vintage bike for its frame and parts, measure it all for a perfect fit, assemble it with new parts into a safe and stylish new bike, and finally pop on a bell or basket. This is your complete guide to building your own ride.

    To add to this, the increasing profile of major events such as Race Across of America (RAAM), Race Across the Alps (RATA) and Ultracycling Dolomitica means that many more riders are being drawn to the challenge of 'non-stop' endurance cycling.Ultra-Distance Cycling is the first mainstream book to offer practical, authoritative guidance to cyclists looking to step-up to long-distance endurance events, as well as expert advice to established competitors seeking a competitive advantage.Written by a leading sports scientist and a record-breaking ultra-distance cyclist, this unique book is both science and experience based, offering practical and performance-enhancing insights on a wide range of areas. These include physical training and mental preparation, guidance on your support network, advice on PR and sponsorship, as well as all-important sections on equipment, nutrition and the major ultra-distance cycling events.This definitive manual provides riders with everything they need to ride longer and faster, and to excel at ultra-distance cycling events.

    Its rapid growth in the US--and its new popularity as off-season training--means this intense and dramatic sport is exploding into the mainstream. With a season running from September to February, cyclocross is cycling's only purely winter discipline, demanding a combination of athleticism, supreme technical skill, and ruthless tactics for the muddy conditions.In the sport's heartland of Belgium, major races attract crowds of thousands and have a carnival atmosphere fueled by heavy drinking, ringing cowbells, and pumping airhorns. Many top riders have enthusiastic fan-clubs and are national celebrities--one even had his own reality TV show. On race day, Belgian and Dutch television coverage is akin to a major football game in the US, stretching for hours with pre--race interviews, pundits, and behind-the-scenes films.In Rainbows in the Mud, Paul Maunder spends a season soaking up the sport's rich culture and history, and mixing with the obsessive fans, celebrity riders, and old-fashioned patriarchs of the sport. Following the riders--novices, veterans, American, British--as they slog their way through the season, he captures the spirit of this flamboyant cult sport, and paints a picture so vibrant you can almost feel the mud under your feet.

    Now, for the first time, all three volumes are available in one specially-priced ebook omnibus.Alastair Humphreys' bestselling trilogy about Tom, a young boy who dreams of becoming an adventurer and ends up cycling around the world, has entertained and inspired thousands of readers across the past decade. Now, for the first time, all three volumes are available in one specially-priced ebook omnibus.

    It’ll inspire you to get back on your bike.' Martin Love, The Guardian‘One of the most entertaining sports books I have ever read’ Joe Short, The Daily ExpressIn this award-winning collection of cycling tales, Wilfried de Jong uncovers the true soul of cycling – why we do it, why we watch it, why we hate it, why we love it – stripped bare.With his distinctly comic and melancholic charm Wilfried ponders life, love and death on his trusted bike, chasing the essence of our existence against the backdrop of major cycling events or while roaming alone in nature. Whether he is describing being ejected from Paris-Roubaix, a terminal incident with a bird while out riding, or explaining why he is standing stark naked on Belgian cobbles with a tyre in his hand, Wilfried unlocks a sport that involves so much pain, punishment, and a high probability of failure, but that will always liberate and inspire us.

    While many global cities are seeing the number of bike commuters increase, this future is still far away; at times, urban cycling seems to be fighting for its very survival. Will we ever witness a true “bike boom” in cities? What can we learn from past successes and failures to make cycling safer, easier, and more accessible? Use of bicycles in America and Britain fell off a cliff in the 1950s and 1960s thanks to the rapid rise in car ownership. Urban planners and politicians predicted that cycling would wither to nothing, and they did their level best to bring about this extinction by catering to only motorists. But in the 1970s, something strange happened—bicycling bounced back, first in America and then in Britain. In Bike Boom, journalist Carlton Reid uses history to shine a spotlight on the present and demonstrates how bicycling has the potential to grow even further, if the right measures are put in place by the politicians and planners of today and tomorrow. He explores the benefits and challenges of cycling, the roles of infrastructure and advocacy, and what we can learn from cities that have successfully supported and encouraged bike booms, including London; Davis, California; Montreal; Stevenage; Amsterdam; New York; and Copenhagen.Given that today’s global bicycling “boom” has its roots in the early 1970s, Reid draws lessons from that period.  At that time, the Dutch were investing in bike infrastructure and advocacy— the US and the UK had the choice to follow the Dutch example, but didn’t. Reid sets out to discover what we can learn from the history of bike “booms” in this entertaining and thought-provoking book.

    Lands End to John OGroats