LATEST POSTS
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It's All About The Bike, Robert Penn (2010)
An enjoyable spin through cycling history on the trail of the
perfect bike
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Cycling Touring Guides, Howard Briercliffe (1947 - 1950)
A series of guides to cycling in Britain from the baggy-shorts-and-saddlebags
era
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Lapize: Now There Was An Ace, Jean Bobet (2010)
A touching portrait of one of cycle racings pre-WW1 stars
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Les Bikes Du Bois Rond, Gavin Turk (2010)
A jolly event-as-art piece in on bicycles around Essex and Suffolk
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Bicycle, Helen Pidd (2010)
A newbies' guide to life on two wheels that is as fun as it is
informative
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Systematically And Mercilessly Realigning The World Of Cycling,
Bike Snob NYC (2010)
The blogging sensation takes to paper with a heady shot of caustic
comedy and common sense
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We Were Young And Carefree, Laurent Fignon (2010)
An inteligent and poignant account of one of the 1980s most brilliantstars
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100 Greatest Cycling Climbs, Simon Warren (2010)
A nicely executed gazetteer of tarmac ascents in the UK on which
to perform pedalling heroics
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The Peculiar Adventures Of Hector, Aardman animation (2007)
A stunning piece of animated story telling deployed as a children's
road safety campaign
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Only Mad Dogs And Englishwomen, Sarah Stinton (2010)
An enjoyable account of a young woman's solo LEJOG in 1997
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Complete Medical Guide For Cyclists, Andy Pruitt (2006)
Just the prescription for wheeled worriers
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In Pursuit Of Glory, Bradley Wiggins (2008)
A pedestrian account of a stellar career
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Owd Tom, Albert Winstanley (1992)
A nicely illustrated celebration of cyclist that delivers a strong
flavour of cycling in the 1920s and of the haunts of Lancashire
cyclists of that era
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Mark Beaumont speaker tour (2010)
Two epic rides recounted to make an entertaining evening out
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Pilgrim's Road, Bettina Selby (1994)
Little Brown 0316906999 Quarto 212pp £16.99
An inspiring account of a spiritually enthused-pilgrimage undertaken
in the early 90s
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Map Addict, Mike Parker (2009)
British maps and their meanings entertainingly plotted across
the contours of writer's own obsession with them
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Britain By Bike, Jane Eastoe (2010)
Batsford 9781906388713 Octo 217pp £16.99
A 'celeb'-endorsed, tv-advertised, nostalgia-infused guide whose
main appeal is a gift purchase
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In Pursuit Of Stardom, Tony Hewson (2006)
Mousehold Press 1874739412 paperback 258pp £12.95
A joyous account of three Brits, an old ambulance and a lot of
cycle races, that provides a dazzling insight in the Britain and
France in the late 1950s
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Cross Channel, Julian Barnes (1996)
A collection of short stories about Brits in France, one of which
features a neophyte professional cyclist
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The Joyous Wheel, James Arnold (1940)
A cycle-tourist's pen portraits of his excursions about rural
Britain in the last glimmers of the pre-world war two sun
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The CTC Guide To Family Cycling, Dan Joyce (2009)
James Pembrooke Publishing, 9780954817640 Full colour paperback
194pp £9.99
A sound and comprehensive distillation of everything needed to
help a family pedal off
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Blue River, Black Sea, Andrew Eames (2009)
The Danube from source to sea, largely by bike, recounted in a
rewarding travelogue that is rich in historical contextualisation
and cultural insight
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The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie, Alan Bradley (2009)
A arch and enquiring girl entertainingly pedals around a mid-century
Cotswoldian scene solving dastardly crimes old and new
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Push Yourself Just A Little Bit More, Johnny Green (2005)
A gonzo account of the 2003 Tour recounted in rock n' roll patois
in which the race and results take a back seat to a rollercoaster
back-stage view of the event
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Brompton Bicycle, David Henshaw (2009)
An epistle to commuting's magic key that does its subject proud
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Olympic Gangster - the legend of José Beyaert, Matt Rendell
(2009)
A footnote in cycling's history is the connective tissue for a
thrilling panorama of twentieth-century Columbia
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Custom Bicycles, Christine Elliot and David Jabolinka (2009)
Images Publishing 9781864703139 Quarto 240pp £35
A sumptuously photographed catalogue of39 contemporary custom
builders who build every kind of bicycle, from workshops around
the developed world
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The Hungry Cyclist, Tom Kevill-Davies (2009)
Collins 139780007278848 Paperback 368pp £7.99
A ride in 2006-7 from New York, across the US, then through Mexico,
Central and South America to Rio in search of culinary delights,
entertainingly, sometimes gruesomely, recounted
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Golden Days Awheel, Albert Winstanley (1991)
Owl Books 0951433393 Paperback 134pp £7.95
A second collection of spirited touring reminiscences that are
a fireside delight
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Too True, Blake Morrison (1998)
Granta Pulications 1 862072426 Paperback 237pp £7.99
A collection of pieces by one of the UK's most poetic writers
- worth seeking out for the short story and the article about cycling
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Tour Climbs, Chris Sidwells (2008)
Collins 9780007315215 Quarto 256pp £18.99
A useful catalogue of the Tours Cols that falters before the summit
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Bikie, Charlie Woods (2001)
Mainstream 1 84018 422 1 paperback 186pp £9.99
An enjoyable memoir of racing cycling in west London in the 1950s,
with some perceptive essays on more recent cycle culture
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Early Bicycles, Philip Sumner ill. Alan Osbahr (1966)
Hugh Evelyn 45 UK shillings
An enormously attractive large format book of detailed plates
showing a dozen early bicycles, accompanied by a good, short history
of cycles up to the early years of the twentieth century
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Bicycle Diaries, David Byrne (2009)
Faber and Faber 9780571241026 Octo 300pp £14.99
A collection of reflections on cycling in cities, including Berlin,
Istanbul, London and New York that contains interesting points amid
a level of slight detail that will frustrate all but die-hard fans
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Lance Armstrong My Comeback, Elizabeth Kreutz (2009)
Yellow Jersey 9780224083157 Quarto £20
A photographic record of Armstrong's 2009 season, that provides
a more compelling portrait of the Texan than any of his biographies
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The Full English, Mike Carden (2007)
Bike Ride Books 9780955660207 paperback 224pp £8.99
An eighteen-day ride from Dorset to Northumbria undertaken in
2006, entertainingly recounted with a sense of humour that will
appeal to some, but is sufficiently deft that those who don't enjoy
bike-and-rider dialogues should not be put off
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Need For The Bike, Paul Fournel (tran Allan Stoekl), (2003)
University of Nebraska Press 0 8032 6909 9 small paperback 150pp
$15
A selection of 500 - 800 word reflections on the author's passion
for pedalling that forms a poetic and magical journey in to the
heart of a cyclist
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The Ultimate Cycle Route Planner (2009)
Excellent Books 978 1 901464214 Fold out map £8.95
A map of the UK showing cycling routes at a scale that would work
for route-planning and tour selection
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Three Men On The Bummel, Jerome K Jerome (1900)
Chilvers 0754032175 paperback 313pp
A series of very humorous incidents featuring the triumvirate
who first came to life in Three Men In A Boat - this time hung,
very loosely, on a cycling holiday in Germany
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Around The World On A Bicycle, Thomas Stevens (1885)
Century Hutchinson (1988 edition) 0 7126 1917 8 409pp £5.95
An account of the first globe-encircling cycle ride that is so
lively and fresh that its vintage is quickly forgotten
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Mick Gambling On Cycling, Mick Gambling (1981)
Forest Publishing Paperback 66pp
Humorous articles depicting the life of a provincial tester originally
published in Cycling (Weekly) in the preceding sixteen years.
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The Golden Wheels of Albert Winstanley, Albert Winstanley (1985)
Countryside Publications 0 86157 162 2 Octo 120 pp
A delicious collection of articles, mainly describing day rides
in north Lancashire and the Lake District
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Journey Home, Jim Willis (2000)
Haley's 1 884540 43 0 Paperback 150pp $14.95
The interior monologue of a Church minister on a ride from Florida
to Massachusetts that starts promisingly but is waylaid by a more
personal psycho-drama
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Cycling Facts And Feats, Jeremy Evans (1996)
Guinness Publishing 0 85112 677 4 Octo 192 £13.99
A surprising treasure trove of information packaged as an adolescent
gift book
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The Moulton Bicycle, Tony Hadland (1981)
Tony Hadland 0 950743 1119 156pp £10
A very readable account of the development and production of one
of the greatest pieces of cycle engineering
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The Frank Patterson Picture Book, complied Jim Willis (1978)
Cyclists Touring Club Quarto 100pp
A collection of 130 of the black-and-white line illustrations
of Britain's most celebrated cycling draughtsmen - originally published
in the CTC magazine from 1925 until Patterson's death in 1952
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Sit Down, Pedal, Pedal, Stop And Stand Up, Dave Gorman (2009)
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Mark Beaumont, The Man Who Cycled The World (2009)
Bantam Press, 9780593062333 Octo 418pp £13.99
An engaging account of a record breaking circumnavigation of the
globe covering 18,297 miles in 194 days during 2007 - 2008
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By Bike To Budapest, Elizabeth Hilton (1996)
Minerva Press 1 85863 965 4 Paperback 231pp £9.99
A ride from Denmark to Budapest undertaken by a family of six
- the four children being aged from around 10 to 16 during the summer
of 1994. The ride was more of a success than the book - although
it would provide a useful primer for anyone planning a long ride
with children
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England By Bicycle, Frederick Alderson (1974)
David and Charles 0 7153 6432 4 Octo 207pp £3.95
A description of a circumnavigation completed in the Spring of
1973 that while old fashioned in its scheme is surprisingly undated
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Personal Best, Beryl Burton (1986)
Springfield Books 0 947655 12 3 Octo 182pp
The matter-of-fact autobiography of arguably Britain's greatest
ever sportswoman
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Fallen Angel - The Passion Of Fausto Coppi, William Fotheringham
(2009)
Yellow Jersey 978022407476 Octo 283pp £16.99
A riveting biography that paints an engaging picture of post-war
Italy and of the man considered by many to be the greatest racing
cyclist of all time
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Wide Eyed And Legless, Jeff Connor (1988)
Simon and Schuster 0 671 69937 7 paperback 212pp £5.95
A tabloid journalist travels with the only British team to enter
the Tour de France in the past 40 years to provide a hilarious account
of their disastrous participation in the 1987 event
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Territorial Politics And Irish Cycling, Kevin Howard (2006)
Institute For British-Irish Studies 1649 0304 19pp
A fascinating pamphlet on the troubled story of the organisation
of competitive cycling in Ireland
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The Best Of Bicycling! ed Harley M Leete (1970)
Pocket Books 671 78534 6 paperback 465pp $1.95
Seventy eight articles culled from the US magazine Bicycling!'s
late 1960s numbers that are as lively, fascinating and, horizon-expanding,
as they were on original publication
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Wonder Wheels, Eileen Sheridan (1956)
Nicholas Kaye Sexto 158pp
A charming, period piece of an autobiography by the dominant force
in UK women's cycling during the early 1950s
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Stamp Collecting For The Cyclist, Ronald F Sudbury (1981)
Harry Hayes Philatelic Study 0 905222 42 3 Octo 60pp
An illustrated catalogue of stamps issued between 1887 and 1979
that feature bicycles
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Cycling Profile Road Book Of England (1919)
Cycling 7cm x 14cm 142pp
A pocket book providing distances, altitude profiles and notes
on road surfaces, covering journeys between the principal destinations
of the Kingdom
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The Pop Up Tour De France, Pamela Pease (2009)
Paintbox Press 9780966943375 Folio 14pp $36
An imaginative introduction to the great race, with a sound text,
and some fun - if not ground-breaking - paper engineering
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The Bicycle - the complete BBC series, David Taylor (1990)
York Films/BBC
six programmes of 20 minutes £15.99
A well-made and insightful series of television programs on all
aspects of cycling
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Johnny Ginger's Last Ride, Tom Fremantle (2000)
Pan Books 0 333 37692 6 paperback 464pp £7.99
A surprisingly enjoyable and insightful account of a twenty-something
journalist's solo ride from the UK to Australia in 1996
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Cycling Country Lanes & Byways (Suffolk), Al Churcher (2008)
Goldeneye 1 85965 132 1 folds out to 70cm x 48cm (double sided)
£5.99
An attractively produced return of 'the cyclists' favourite' scale
of maps that has much to recommend it but can be struggle for some
route finding
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100 Years Of Bicycle Posters, Jack Rennert (1973)
Hart-Davis MacGibbon 0 246 107774 X Folio 112pp £2.75
A fabulous collection of colour reproductions of cycling posters,
mainly from the early years of the twentieth century, with a perceptive
introduction and notes on each plate
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The Amber Trail, Natasha Scott-Stokes (1993)
Weidenfield and Nicholson 0 297 81306 4 Octo 199 pp £17.99
A ride from Gdansk to Thessaloniki in 1992, initially intended
to recreate the ancient route on which amber was transported, but
better for its descriptions of some of eastern Europe shortly after
the fall of the Berlin wall
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The Bicycle Wheel, Jobst Brandt (1981)
Acocet 0 9607236 4 1 Octo 150pp $10.95
A treatise, nearly as elegant as its subject, that guides readers
through the physics and engineering of this remarkable invention
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Sloane's Complete Book Of Bicycling, Eugene A Sloane (1970 - 1995)
Fireside 0 671 86075 0 Octo 429pp £9.99
An encyclopaedic guide to bicycle buying, maintenance and use.
Aimed at the new rider, it is rich in sound wisdom, if a little
wearing in its determination to be comprehensive
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Twelve Wheels From Turkey, Anne Vardy (1988)
Marshall, Morgan and Scott 0 551 01776 7 paperback 196pp £2.99
Vardy, her husband and five pre-teen children cycle from Istanbul
back to Blighty in the spring and summer of 1987, in a journey partially
propelled by the family's ever-visible Christian faith
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Its Not About The Bike, Lance Armstrong (2000)
Yellow Jersey Press 0 224 06086 4 Octo 275pp £17
A massively successful account of Armstrong's life up to his first
Tour victory that is as skilfully tailored to the cancer community
and general market, as it is unsatisfying to a cycle enthusiast
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The Golden Age Of Handbuilt Bicycles, Jan Heine and Jean-Pierre
Praderes (2009)
Rizzoli International Publications
978 0 8478 3094 7 Quarto 168pp $50
A sumptuous photographic history of French touring bicycles manufactured
between 1930 and 1950 that recounts a little-known period of cycling
history and celebrates two-wheeled engineering at its most delightful
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A Place To Cycle, Rob Penn (2005)
Conran Octopus 1 84091 391 7 Quarto 160 pp £16.99
A lavishly illustrated catalogue of 25 suggested 'amazing cycle
tours' around the world that is as potently inspiring as it is practically
threadbare
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A Bike Ride, Anne Mustoe (1991)
Virgin Books 1 85227 337 2 Octo 250pp £14.99
The author gives up her job as headmistress of a girls boarding
schools and spends 1987 and 1988 cycling around the world. Following
the route of Alexander the Great, this rewarding travelogue is steeped
in her enthusiasm for the classics
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A Wheel Within A Wheel, Frances E Willard (1895)
Fleming H Revel 1 55707 449 7 Paberback 75pp republished by Applewood
Books
How a 53-year-old American suffragette learned to ride a bicycle
against her own and societies’ expectations on the eve of the
twentieth century
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Its Not About The Tapas, Polly Evans (2003)
Bantam Books 0 553 81556 3 Paperback 301pp £6.99
An enjoyable account of a solo bicycle journey made around parts
of Spain made (probably) in 2002. It would serve as a good primer
to Spain but also have something for those who know the country
well
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Put Me Back On My Bike – In Search Of Tom Simpson, William
Fotheringham (2002)
Yellow Jersey Press 978 0224 08018 7 Paperback 254pp £8.99
An account of the life of the British star of 1960s cycling that
raises the bar for cycling biography
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