Showing titles in Cycling

Deep down, Mark Cavendish thought he was finished. After illness, setbacks and clinical depression, the once fastest man in the world had been written off by most. And at the age of 36, even he believed his explosive cycling career would fade out with a whimper. The Manxman hadn't won a single Grand Tour stage in Italy, Spain or France since 2016. But then came his incredible resurrection at the 2021 Tour de France.

This is the account of a three week bike tour through some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. The book is packed full of beautiful photographs, maps, useful information and the account of the journey made by Tom and Harry. Starting in the city of Chandigahr, they cycled along the famous Manali to Leh Highway and then over the highest motorable pass in the world. On the way they experienced stunning landscapes, fascinating wildlife, the kindness of strangers, wonderful campsites, illness, negotiated their way around landslides and visited Buddhist monasteries. Reading this book is...

Award-winning author Steven Herrick journeys across Central Europe from Basel to Budapest on a bicycle, following the Eurovelo 6 along the iconic Rhine and Danube rivers. Accompanied by his wife, Cathie and their two hardy bikes christened Jenny and Craig, this is an enticing adventure across five countries as they cycle through small villages and along quiet back roads, meeting the locals and enjoying the bounty and diversity of each region. Spending almost as much time in restaurants and cafes as in the saddle, the author explores the pleasures and pathways of an area renown for history, ...

"I've read many books about cycle touring and this is by far the best one. Well written and funny...” "Had me genuinely laughing out loud every few pages." “I honestly think that Chris’s book is by some way the best of its type that I have read... a true epic odyssey.” “I spent the first afternoon beneath a big blue sky, riding safely on quiet back roads through rolling hills of green and yellow crops, where the only sounds were pigeons cooing and bees buzzing. I felt so alive, and I took a big, satisfied inhalation of fresh country air to appreciate where I was. The overpowering ...

From 2015 to 2017, Peter Sagan achieved the seemingly impossible: he won three road race World Championships in a row, ensuring his entry into the history books as one of the greatest riders of all time. But to look at Peter’s record in isolation is to tell only a fraction of his story, because Peter doesn’t just win: he entertains. Every moment in the saddle is an opportunity to express his personality, and nobody else has succeeded in making elite cycling look so much fun.

In November 2015 Sarah Outen completed her five-year, 25,000 mile journey looping the planet by cycling across Europe, Asia and North America and canoeing and kayaking across the North Pacific and most of the North Atlantic.

After signing his wife Rachel up for her first marathon without her knowledge and living to tell the tale, George is now struggling to keep up with her. He risks her wrath once again by entering her into a half-Ironman triathlon against her will: a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run. Did Not Try sees George and Rachel travel to Barcelona, Cornwall and the Cotswolds, and helps answer the age-old question: what happens when you are bursting for a wee while riding your bike, but an injured ankle means you can’t unclip your cycling shoes?

Rachel is a cyclist. But she was never meant to be. After gaining mental strength and healing through running, she thought she was free. Her depression alleviated, she came off antidepressants, winning races and collecting medals at marathons. But when an injury stopped the only thing helping to quiet the voices in her brain, Rachel found out what she is truly made of. As body dysmorphia began to grip her in earnest, she knew she had to find a different way to kick her mental health demons for the sake of her sanity.

In 1887 a 21-year-old newspaperman named George Nellis (1865-1948) rode a bicycle from Herkimer, New York, to San Francisco in 72 days, surpassing the transcontinental bicycle record by several weeks. He averaged 50 miles a day pedaling a 52-inch, high-wheeled Columbia Expert "ordinary" bicycle with a tubular steel frame and hard rubber tires, and he lost 23 pounds in the process.

In 2001, when the bible of the sport, Cycling Weekly, ran a poll to decide the greatest British cyclist, Chris Boardman's was the name that topped the list. It was Boardman's lone achievements in the '80s and '90s - Olympic track gold, the world hour record, repeatedly claiming the yellow jersey in the Tour de France - that lit the spark for modern British cycling. His endeavours both on and off the bike have made him the founding father of current golden generation - without him there would simply be no Hoy, Wiggins or Cavendish.

His cheeks are as tender as raw meat on a butcher's block. And those are just the cheeks of his face. As he slumps in the saddle, watching the road disappear into the distance, he aches in parts of his body that he's only just discovering he has. When Mark travels to Ecuador to go hiking and climbing, he discovers a land of dramatic volcanoes rising through the clouds and wide-open horizons rich in history.

Julian Berrendero's victory in the 1941 Vuelta a Espana was an extraordinary exercise in sporting redemption: the Spanish cyclist had just spent 18 months in Franco's concentration camps, punishment for expressing Republican sympathies during the civil war. Seventy-nine years later, perennially over-ambitious cyclo-adventurer Tim Moore developed a fascination with Berrendero's story, and having borrowed an old road bike with the great man's name plastered all over it, set off to retrace the 4,409-km route of his 1941 triumph - in the midst of a global pandemic.

Still living in the shadow of a global pandemic, George and Rachel attempt some of their toughest events so far. Rachel decides to sign up to her first iron-distance triathlon. But a broken bone threatens to derail George’s chances of joining her. They take on their longest ever run, most challenging swim, their first swim-run event, and a backyard ultra—a race that can only have one finisher. Ludo—the family’s hairy four-legged friend—gets in on the action as an official competitor in a muddy fun run.

The year begins positively with George and Rachel running every single street of their local town. Just days before the country goes into lockdown, they take on the 20 miles of the Grizzly. A race so muddy that firefighters are stationed at the finish line to hose down runners. Then the year takes a dramatic turn. Food shortages, homeschooling, quiet roads, home haircuts, yoga, Rachel’s new marathon a month challenge and a walking holiday...in a different part of Devon.

Soon to turn 40, George and Rachel decide to take a break from the usual organized events, instead seeking adventure elsewhere. Two different cycling adventures in France follow. One a race against time. The other a race against wine. To celebrate his milestone birthday, George and Rachel take on their longest run yet - 40 miles along Britain’s oldest road. There’s yoga, a funeral, self-imposed running and swimming challenges, and a marathon with the hangover from hell.

Despite the trauma of the previous year’s Dartmoor Classic, George and Rachel sign up again. This time the weather takes a turn for the worse and Rachel is forced to make some creative wardrobe improvisations. Having completed several long bike rides, George now considers himself a relatively experienced cyclist. On the road.

Rachel marks her cycling sportive debut in style with 110 horrendously hilly miles that are apparently all George’s fault. Now officially a better marathon runner than George - and a rapidly improving cyclist and swimmer - Rachel is pushed to the limits after reluctantly agreeing to an ultramarathon. Did Not Start also features more family camping holidays, a visit to Paris, the arrival of the Beast from the East, and some unexpected news from a former neighbor.

With a bike, a turbo trainer, and the right advice, you can beat anyone. No one but Graeme Obree has the clarity of vision to get to the heart of the "problem" of how to improve as a racing cyclist. His innovative approach took him to the top of world cycling, twice breaking the world hour record - a story picked up in his Hollywood biopic The Flying Scotsman. It can draw the same outstanding athletic performance from you.

Biking from Oregon to Maine is no small feat, especially for two newly retired women who carry everything they need for three months, powered only by the strength of their legs and a desire for adventure. Alice Honeywell and Bobbi Montgomery invite listeners to follow their ride by bicycle across the United States, as they face scorching sun, driving rain, buffeting winds, equipment failures, killer hills, wild fires, and even a plague of grasshoppers.

Jools Walker rediscovered cycling aged 28 after a decade-long absence from the saddle. When she started blogging about her cycle adventures under the alias Lady Vélo, a whole world was opened up to her. But it's hard to find space in an industry not traditionally open to women - especially women of colour. Shortly after getting back on two wheels, Jools was diagnosed with depression and then, in her early 30s, hit by a mini-stroke. Yet, through all of these punctures, one constant remained: Jools' love of cycling.