reading suggestions?

[elk]

I just finished Heft on Wheels and Its Not About the Bike and I need more bicycle books!!!

Especially interested in narrative books with the bike at the center of the narrative.

Also...what are your favorite "how to" books about biking? I keep eyeing Biking for Life...and I devoured the controversiall Urban Cyclist book someone recommended.

[Tri Girl]

I just ordered 5 books from Amazon.com about cycling. The one I really can't wait to get my hands on is: Miles from Nowhere: A Round the World Bicycle Adventure. It's about a young couple who decides to ride their bikes all around the world- some 23,000 miles and all the adventures they had along the way. Happened back in the 70's or early 80's. Upon their return home, she was killed by a truck while training for a triathlon. She wrote the book, and I think her husband had is published after her death. I'm really excited to read about their adventures. Another one I ordered was: Hey Mom, Can I Ride My Bike Across America?: Five Kids Meet Their
Country about two teachers who take 5 students on a cross country cycling adventure. Hopefully that one will inspire me to ride my bike cross country one day (if a 12 year old can do it- surely I can).

I just finished reading Riding with the Blue Moth by Bill Hancock (summary here: http://www.ridingwiththebluemoth.com/pages/7/index.htm and http://www.ridingwiththebluemoth.com/pages/5/index.htm . It was an excellent read! I could hardly put it down. He writes in a sort of journal style. Each day is a chapter with his mileage, food he ate, time it took- then he tells all about each day's adventure. I couldn't wait to read about the next day.

Anyway- sorry that was so long. I love reading non-fiction FAR more than fiction (I can make up my own stories- I love to read real things ;) ), and adventure stories are by far my favorite.

I checked out Heft on Wheels: How to do a 180 from the library, and I really didn't like it. His writing style bothered me. Too many run on sentences and fragments and such (being an English teacher doesn't help- I wanted to reach for my purple pen too much). :p I may give him another try, tho. I found his stories interesting, and wanted to read more.

[Tuckervill]

I read most of Riding with the Blue Moth while sitting at bookstore (yes, I skipped around, but I read at least half of it--I had a lot of time to kill) and found it depressing.

I have Bike for Life It's more like a reference book, but there are lots of good stories like that of John Howard, and the authors' accounts of their epic rides.

I watched The Flying Scotsman on pay-per-view the other day, and I'd like to read that book.

Karen

[Melalvai]

I'm a big fan of the Metal Cowboy. Momentum is Your Friend is about his trip across America pulling his two boys (5 and 7 yrs). The Metal Cowboy is about some of his adventures when he was single and childless. They are both great reads. He's very funny and I love his attitude.

One thing I learned recently (from his reply to my fan-mail) is that writers need amazon reviews, particularly when a book is new. So if you read a book you like, post an amazon review. It really helps their ratings.

[Thorn]

Probably not what you're looking for, but what about Greg Moody's novels?

And, since I tend to read for comic relief more than anything...French Revolutions by Tim Moore.

[mimitabby]

hey, get your hands on Llamas and Empanadas! it's a great book. A fellow TE gal wrote it about her personal adventures in South America! I thought it would be kind of boring, but it's not!!!
It's full of all sorts of pain, humor, surprises, and, well, bike riding. and why she did it.

[five one]

It's not a book, but I've been keeping up with the journals and pictures of Dominic Gill, a young Brit who began his cycling adventure in June of last year in northern Alaska and is still on his way to Cape Horn. Last time I checked, he was in Ecuador. He's on a tandem, picking up stokers when he can. If I remember correctly, velogirl rode with him for awhile when he was in CA. Interesting reading, beautiful photos.

http://www.blue-ant.tv/takeaseat/home.php

[elk]

Yay! Lots of books....!! Thanks!

Tri Girl...I am just finishing Heft....I'm not crazy about HIM, but he has such a strong and natural, and often honest, voice that I followed him all across his adventures.
I teach English too; like Magnuson, I teach creative writing in a college..and I was interested in how his cycling and his teaching dove-tailed and obscured each other....I know the feeling!

Fragments and such don't bother me when they serve voice...:D

ALl these sound great. I might start with the ..Moth book. It sounds interesting, as does the book by Bill Strickland, the title of which escapes me at the moment...

[boy in a kilt]

Anything by Josie Dew is worth reading. You have to dig a little to find her books, but Amazon usually has a couple.

[elk]

Probably not what you're looking for, but what about Greg Moody's novels?

And, since I tend to read for comic relief more than anything...French Revolutions by Tim Moore.

I LOVE Mystery novels ....

[Bron]

And, since I tend to read for comic relief more than anything...French Revolutions by Tim Moore.

I bought that one for a friend and ended up reading it myself before I sent it to him. Very funny.

Has anyone else read "Rough Ride" by Paul Kimmage? It's not always that cheerful but gave a picture of what life is like for a domestique.

[bikerz]

I really enjoyed The Rider by Tim Krabbé - an account of a long race in the French mountains in the cold rain. Parts of it are very funny. Krabbé was a amateur cyclist for a few years in the 70s, and is also a champion chess player.

[bmccasland]

My SS sent me [U]Miles from Nowhere[U], an enjoyable read! It is cycling related. Part of me wanted to get on a bike and go heavy duty touring, and part of me wanted that tour with a SAG truck in tow with hotel reservations every night.

[Starfish]

I can't recall the author, but there is a great nonfiction book called Twenty-One Days In July.

It is a very interesting and engaging book about the TdF. Well written and lots of fun...not dry, but also very informative.

[BikeDutchess]

I agree with all the recommendations for Miles From Nowhere -- it's my all-time favorite bicycle book. I still re-read it every so often. I also enjoyed the Hey Mom book.

A few other suggestions:

It's Not About The Tapas: A Spanish Adventure on Two Wheels (http://www.amazon.com/Its-Not-About-Tapas-Adventure/dp/0385339925/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196537831&sr=8-1). I very much enjoyed it, although some people didn't like all the history trivia she included in her narrative. I liked it, she describes the historical events in a very humorous way.

Bicycle Love: Stories of Passion, Joy, and Sweat (http://www.amazon.com/Bicycle-Love-Stories-Passion-Sweat/dp/1891369458/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196538072&sr=1-1). A wonderful collection of bicycling-themed short stories, personal essays really. There are a lot of people out there just as crazy about cycling as we are!

The Long Season: One Year of Bicycle Racing in California (http://www.amazon.com/Long-Season-Bicycle-Racing-California/dp/1891369326/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196538253&sr=1-1). An interesting inside look at bicycle racing (non-fiction), and what a tough road it is to move up in the ranks.

Tour de Life: From Coma to Competition (http://www.amazon.com/Tour-Life-Competition-Saul-Raisin/dp/0974849227/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196538847&sr=1-1). I know there's a recent thread about Saul, this book describes his amazing recovery from a life-threatening head injury he suffered while racing.

Happy reading!

[han-grrl]

There's a book by Neal Peart called the masked rider - its about his bike trip in africa. he's a really good writer

I also liked metal cowboy (i think mentioned already)

there's also Wheel within a wheel which is a short narrative about a woman learning to ride in the 1800's (or was it early 1900's). its a great read

On the trail of marco polo by fotheringham is about the authors ride along the silk road. another great read.

one gear no breaks by Lori Ann muenzer

if you want a no bike book that's funny read Julie and Julia, its a riot!

Happy reading!

han

[snapdragen]

I'll second the suggestion for Llamas and Empanadas, I really enjoyed Eleanor's story.:)

[kelownagirl]

I can't recall the author, but there is a great nonfiction book called Twenty-One Days In July.

It is a very interesting and engaging book about the TdF. Well written and lots of fun...not dry, but also very informative.

John Wilcockson. I have the book. All about Lance and the tdf.

[Starfish]

John Wilcockson. I have the book. All about Lance and the tdf.

Funny, I don't remember it being so much about Lance. I learned so much about the TourDF itself, and the towns, etc.

[elk]

I had to put Riding with The Blue Moth down....I tried and got 2/3 of the way through...but the writing was so incredibly numb, affectless and sentimental that I couldn't finish it. His homilies and metaphors were so overwrought, they read like afterthoughts.

I was drawn to it because I loved the title..."blue moth" is a great metaphor for depression....but he doesn't go deep enough to do more than say I was depressed.

I kept waiting to share the bike and the feelings of grief... but it all stayed on the surface...Anyway...

I did start reading Dan Coyle's Lance Armstrong's War...what a thriller! And he's a good writer...

[crazycanuck]

Tim Mulliner's Long Ride For A Pie

It's the story of an expat NZlander who bikes from London to NZ..Not a bad book!

c

[elk]

what a great title!!!

[bikerchic]

Besides It's Not About the Bike which I liked a lot.

I've read Miles From Nowhere and I liked it a lot too.
Weird thing about reading that book my daughter and sil were on their honeymoon in Tahiti and Moorea just as I was finishing the book! That's where the bike journey finishes for the Savages too. When they came home and told me all about the islands I really felt I had been there too.

I have but yet to read this book; A Crossing by Brian Newhouse
A ride from the Pacific to the Atlantic. I'll keep it out and start reading it tonight. Thanks for the reminder!:)
And thanks for the good suggestions!

[Zen]

it's the best book I've read in a long time.
Madscot13 sent me A Walk In The Woods (http://www.amazon.com/Walk-Woods-Rediscovering-Appalachian-Official/dp/0767902521) by one of my favorite writers,Bill Bryson.

[horsemom]

Not about biking, but worth reading for any outdoorsman---Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales. Read about it here: http://www.deepsurvival.com/

Laura

[HoddyToddy]

I second It's Not About the Tapas. I loved it, and wanted to run away and do a solo bike trip! Hubby and son vetoed that idea! :)

[elk]

Finished Lance Armstrong's War which I really enjoyed...I rented the 04 TdeF so I could see some of the events he describes. Some inspired moments in that book. I think it is my fave so far.

I ordered the Krabbe book and another called , I think, The Need for a Bike....

I want to read the Llamas book...anyone want to do a trade?