Top 10 cycling novels

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Top 10 cycling novels

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1sonyagreen
oct. 15, 2010, 3:01 pm

"From murder to romance to the 'atomic theory' whereby bikes develop human characteristics and vice versa, the author of Cyclopedia takes a spin through fiction's best bikes"

William Fotheringham's top 10 cycling novels

2thorold
oct. 15, 2010, 6:47 pm

He doesn't sound very convinced, really: it looks more like "the only ten novels about cycling I could think of." I'm sure we ought to be able to do better, but I can't think of much offhand. Trouble for Lucia should be in there, of course.
I haven't come across The wheels of chance - I'd have picked The history of Mr Polly, though.

3sonyagreen
Editat: oct. 19, 2010, 9:50 am

Good point -- like "here are 10 cycling novels I googled, and really you should read my book anyway."

What about David Byrne's Bicycle Diaries?

Also, here's the tagmash for cycling and fiction!

4thorold
oct. 19, 2010, 11:34 am

Hmm - if you do "cycling, fiction", then De Renner comes out on top; if you do "bicycles, fiction" then it's Duck on a bike, which oddly didn't make it onto Fotheringham's list...

5JimThomson
gen. 21, 2011, 4:38 pm

Have just borrowed 'BIKE SNOB; Systematically & Mercilessly Realigning the World of Cycling' (978-0-8118-6998-0) by BikeSnobNYC (2010) from the local Library. As many of us realize, many Cyclists enjoy the feeling of Moral Superiority engendered by habitual Cycling, not to mention the feelings of Freedom, Independence and Self-Reliance that go along with it. Though we all know that the automobile is 'King of the Road,' the French know the bicycle as the little 'Queen of the Road.'
Some riders are able to take the feeling of superiority to extremes. In this work, the author "spares no one, not even himself, as he lampoons the missteps, pretensions and absurdities of bike culture, all the while maintaining a contagious enthusiasm for cycling itself."

6thorold
gen. 24, 2011, 1:01 pm

>5 JimThomson:
Hmm - the reviews are a bit mixed - let us know what you think! Call me old-fashioned, but I'm always a bit suspicious of writers with no spaces in their names.

BTW: I read De Renner before Christmas - definitely recommended, even if you're not into racing. Fotheringham calls it a "surreal Dutch novel" - by my reckoning it's neither a novel nor surreal, but it is certainly Dutch...

7stellarexplorer
jul. 31, 2011, 7:56 pm

Reading The Rider by Tim Krabbe. Well known though the first words are, they still take one by surprise:

"Hot and overcast. I take my gear out of the car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of those lives shocks me."

Love it.

8stellarexplorer
ag. 18, 2011, 4:21 pm

Finished The Rider.

It was good, but I suspect better if you already have a feel for bicycle racing. Lots of clever insights into competition, and droll one liners:

"His specialty was the sprint for sixth place; in that he was truly invincible."

"Bicycle racing is a hard sport. A rider's body has to ripen; it's also a mature sport. The average winner of the Tour de France is twenty-nine years old. You do have the occasional prodigy, but those who mean him well keep him from exhibiting it. In 1977, the nineteen-year-old Italian Saronni was one of those. He skipped over all kinds of phases and was right away one of the so-many best riders in the world. Publicity! His managers wanted him to ride the Giro d'Italia. Saronni himself thought that was a wonderful idea. But, shortly before the race, he broke his collarbone. 'The best thing that happened to Saro in in 1977,' Merckx said later, 'was that he broke his collarbone.'"

9runner56
oct. 26, 2011, 11:29 am

Just finished David Millar's book racing through the dark a great expose of doping in cycling but for my all time fav book it has to be Lance's It's not about the bike...