top bike books

seeing as i'm waiting for some paint to dry it's an ideal opportunity for a list inspired by apprentice in the last post. what books could you buy for the significant cyclist in your life? i'd recommend the following -

the rider by tim krabbe
arguably the best sports novel in existence and certainly the best about cycling. a proper novel in every sense of the word. brilliant.

need for the bike by paul fournel
i don't need to say more about this? one for the bachelardians amongst us.

french revolutions by tim moore
thirty something bloke has thirty something crisis and decides to ride the tour de france route after 'training' for three weeks funny even you're just laughing at his self inflicted suffering

the escape artist by matt seaton
matt seaton documents his life in the saddle as while racing for his local club. at the same time his wife, fellow journalist ruth picardie is dying of cancer, so that the escape artist of the title becomes a different race altogether. more than just a book about cycling.

one more kilometre and we're in the showers by tim hilton
one for the purists really. hilton grows up with communist parents and escapes into the world of post war cycling clubs. filled with beautiful detail from a not so distant but very different past. tweedy, nerdy but great.


that should about do it and thanks for that. there must be a meme in their somewhere. how about the five niche books you just couldn't do without (i'm avoiding the obvious desert island reference) and when i say niche i mean get your anorak on and zip it up before you look at those shelves. top five books on snails? excellent. top five novels? small beer. top five novels about places i remember but really wish i didn't? now we're talking.


and a post-script - cyclist of a certain age should all own

dancing on the pedals - the found poetry of phil liggett. a classic