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Books for reading

Here's an interesting review by a pro cyclist, Lee Rodgers of Cavendish's new book - http://crankpunk.com/2013/11/08/cavendish-gets-it-all-wrong/

Not really review of the book more an attempt to have a go at Mark Cavendish's mixed up views and explanation of his feelings about LA. Read like a verbal assault on his character and opinions. He rides a bicycle for a living what does it matter what he thinks and if those thoughts are cohesive? There is no way that can be called a book review.
 
Not really review of the book more an attempt to have a go at Mark Cavendish's mixed up views and explanation of his feelings about LA. Read like a verbal assault on his character and opinions. He rides a bicycle for a living what does it matter what he thinks and if those thoughts are cohesive? There is no way that can be called a book review.

Make it review of the writer then. He makes a good point though. And if Cavendish writes autobiography books then it does matter what he thinks and if those thoughts are cohesive.
 
Make it review of the writer then. He makes a good point though. And if Cavendish writes autobiography books then it does matter what he thinks and if those thoughts are cohesive.

Only if you buy them.
 
I have a couple of tomes of cycling literature if anyone is interested.
1. Heft on Wheels (kindly given to me by KiwiSimon).
2. The Escape Artist.

Price is 0yen, but will happily swap with other books on cycling.
 
Has anyone read any of the following books? Any good?
Wanting to read about cycling as I can't get out so much at the moment..

Slaying the badger
The secret race
Rough ride
Domestique
 
Thanks, guys!
Will start with Domestique and then move on to Slaying the Badger.
 
I'd forgotten about this thread.

One warm recommendation: Tim Hilton, One more kilometre and we're in the showers: Memoirs of a cyclist. Why read the memoirs of a cyclist you've never heard of (and who, no, hasn't won any race, circumnavigated the globe, etc)? Because it's an odd and varied tale and he tells it very well and indeed amusingly. On the web you can easily find a very favorable review of it by Matt Seaton (author of The escape artist) but it has spoilers and I suggest you skip it. That link to the book has a tab marked "Read a sample". Click that, click the option for it to monopolize your screen (unless of course your screen is humongous), and then -- don't start reading, because the prefatory material suggests that the book is going to wallow in nostalgia, and it doesn't. Instead, jump to the start of chapter 1 and start reading that.

The book is distinctive. A lot of people will dislike it, and quite reasonably so. But you may like it, so give it a go. (If you do find yourself liking it, then abebooks.com has plenty of cheap copies for you.)
 
Currently reading Bad Science by Ben Goldacre. It looks at the bad science presented by various groups as good science and calls bs on a lot of the health claims we might take for granted, on mass media reporting of science, and other stuff to be consciously ignored.

What I take from it as a cyclist is the ability to ignore those vague 'I should eat/supplement this because it's healthy' ideas, and be able to better focus my attention on the important stuff like KOMing and lightweight breaks. The list so far includes antioxidants, flaxseed, science reporting in the media, anything ever said by a Nutritionist, and more.

For easy digestion a TED Talk, or a recent interview with Richard Herring (he said Herring) - interview starts around 5 minutes in:
 
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Has anyone read any of the following books? Any good?
Wanting to read about cycling as I can't get out so much at the moment..

Slaying the badger
The secret race
Rough ride
Domestique

The only one I've read is Rough Ride. It could have been edited a little more tightly, but it was worthwhile all the same. There are dirt-cheap copies available via Abebooks.

Currently reading Bad Science by Ben Goldacre. It looks at the bad science presented by various groups as good science and calls bs on a lot of the health claims we might take for granted, on mass media reporting of science, and other stuff to be consciously ignored.

Ben Goldacre's writing is excellent, and it's funny too. Here's a good example.

I'm happy to see that he has a new book out. Definitely on my to-read list.

If I had $86 (plus however much airmail costs) to splurge on a book about cycling, I'd get this one.
 
A bit obscure, but I wrote an article in Rouleur 51 about the Berlin Six Day race, based on an article written in 1923 by a German journalist called Egon Erwin Kisch; so I ended up translating the original article, finding the copyright holder, and issuing it as an Ebook on Amazon. It is a bit about the race and the crowd, and a lot about the times; and the German original is a legendary piece of writing, so I was amazed there was no complete translation in English.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Elliptical-...?ie=UTF8&qid=1423097877&sr=8-3&keywords=kisch for the ebook
and http://www.podiumcafe.com/book-corner/2015/2/1/7960457/elliptical-treadmill-by-egon-erwin-kisch for a review. He`s right, it is very, very short; I have to charge because of the copyright deal (life plus 70 in Germany, which seems generous), and this is the minimum price Amazon allows.
 
With the Tour de France kicking off this weekend, just remember it is all entertainment.
I highly recommend
A Clean Break: My Story - Christophe Bassons
Goes into a lot of information about doping in the pro peloton from a rider who rode clean. (Get the 2nd edition)

As others have said, I also recommend
Domestique: The Real-life Ups and Downs of a Tour Pro - Charly Wegelius
A good overview of life for a professional rider.

Another enjoyable read
Shadows on the Road: Life at the Heart of the Peloton, from.. - Michael Barry
Not as good as the other two, but still worth a read.
 
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