Marvellous being a very underused word!
LaineMithra Cyclecraft! Was invaluable to me, as a person who had never cycled before, in London, and who didn’t drive either. V good.
stephenallport Book recommendation Tomorrow, we ride by Jean Bobet
ianpatterson99 This Matt Seaton list is a good summary. And I really enjoyed the first – The Rider – too. http://tr.im/ECZq
BikeCarson Check out Joe Kurmaskie’s work. Great books!
coconino Good question, "Have you ever read a cycling book you could really recommend?" Yes, Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman.
chasbooth Richard’s New Bicycle Book. It’s the cyclists’ bible.
mineret1 "Bicycle Love‘ stories about cycling
suspectpackage lance Armstrong it’s not about the bike – but it’s not really a cycling book
suspectpackage @cyclingamericas = mark Beaumont the man who cycled the world
TBag75 I read The Man Who Cycled the World By Mark Beaumont whilst on holiday – great read.
RichTheRoadie Graeme Fife, The Beautiful Machine – great read
CyclingRentals just read the really excellent 150 page ‘The Rider‘ by Tim Krabbe
Excellent recommendations. I’ve been wanting to read some good cycling books for a while and now I have enough recommendations to last me. It seems that for anyone who wants to take their cycling to a book level there’s a pretty vast array of options to dive into.
I have ordered Cyclecraft, not because I want to improve my “safe cycling skills”, as they are already amazing, but because I want to see what all the fuss is about. Plus it may be a very good book to review considering no doubt many cyclists who visit here are beginners.
I have also ordered The Man Who Cycled the World because it looks very interesting and I enjoy travelling and The Rider because the Guardian put it as their number 1 must read. As they said “dark and philosophical” sounds like a good combination to me.
I have also launched a page here on London Cyclist with cycling books reviews. I will make sure any I read are reviewed and placed here. I have already added my opinion on 5 bike maintenance books and a couple of routes books so checkout that page and let me know what you think.
If you have any more suggestions for others as to what to read then please leave it in the comments.
I have recently read Joe Parkin’s great book on his years racing in Belgium: A dog in a Hat. A recommended read.
I would recommend “In Pursuit of Stardom: Les Nomades du Velo Anglais” by Tony Hewson.
Nice list: Not sure if it is still in print but ‘Around the Wold on a Wheel’ by John Foster Fraser the true tale of 3 gents cycling around the world on their safety cycles at the turn of the last century is a cracking good read if you can get hold of a copy (http://www.amazon.com/Round-World-Wheel-Foster-Fraser/dp/0701126094).
For those interested in the psychology of road racing, Krabbe’s The Rider is excellent and not too long giving more time for riding.
And currently reading French Revolutions, Tim Moore’s account of his journey along the route of the 2000 Tour de France is quite good for his amusing descriptions of earlier Tours
Will you forgive my vanity if I recommend my own books?! Sorry!
http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/books
Al
Well if you are one of my twitterers then its fine!
I think Helen is sending me a copy of your book actually so I look forward to having a read of that 🙂
Thanks Andreas! I am a regular lurker on your site so I hope our paths cross one day soon…
“Need for the Bike” by Paul Fornel
Just finished Alastair’s first book on pedalling across Africa. Was very good! Moving on to second one shortly. Can’t believe he did all that distance with that little money. Loved the commentary on being thrown stones at parts of Africa and how destroyed the bike was by the end!
David – Thanks for recommendation
What about “One kilometer more and we’re in the shower”? One of the best book about cycling I have read.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/One-More-Kilometre-Were-Showers/dp/0006532284
I can recommend Cycling Back to Happiness by Bernie Friend. Great book about the North Sea Cycle Route and one man’s battle to beat his anxiety problems after going through some awful family stuff. Had me laughing and crying in equal measure! Best thing was, he wasn’t some majorly buff cycling fanatic, just a normal bloke on two wheels.
I can vouch for Cycling Back to Happiness, it is a very good, and funny book, once the journey gets going. The first couple of chapters were quite tough, because of the author’s personal ordeal.
I’d also like to recommend Mike Carden’s books, The Full English and his new one, A Bit Scott-ish, which are also very funny and easy to read.
Just read Rob Lilwall’s Cycling Home from Siberia – a great read, very humble for such a great achievement
Thanks everyone for the extra suggestions. I’ll update the cycling books page soon and add some more.
The daddy of all endurance cycling books must be Around the World on a Bicycle – Volumes 1 & 2 by Thomas Stevens, the first man to cycle round the world (on a penny farthing in the 1880s). I haven’t read it, but you can download it from Gutenberg. His grave in East Finchley is one of the top cycling pilgrimage spots (if there are such places) in the UK.
Dervla Murphy’s first book, Full Tilt: Ireland to India With a Bicycle is a great read about cycling to New Delhi on a sit-up-and-beg bike with only one gear in the early Sixties. She’s one of the travel writing greats and quite often writes of her adventures on a bike.
As well as reading Alastair Humphreys’ books, I’d also recommend trying to catch him give a talk. A very engaging chap with a really remarkable story.