We leave you a list of our favorite cycling books. Would you add any?
We are quarantine, locked at home and perhaps it is the perfect time to start crossing out some of the titles that we had been adding to the list. pending reading list. We have already started to do it and, as great cycling enthusiasts who we are, we are going to recommend some books about cycling, cycle tourism and bike trips I'm sure you'll love them too.
Because there are many ways to train at home and reading is one of them. Some of these books about cycling They will help you to know anecdotes and curiosities about the world of cycling, others will allow you escape and travel to incredible places without leaving your sofa at home and others will invite you to plan future trips and adventures and will help you stay motivated during these weeks of confinement.
If you have read any of them, do not hesitate to tell us what you think, this way you will surely help others decide which one to start with 🙂.
Cycling stories and legends
Lead in Pockets – Ander Izaguirre
We cannot hide that Ander Izaguirre is ours cycling journalist favorite. All of his books on cycling hook us. In this, Izaguirre narrates 18 stories of different protagonists of the Tour de Francia: of its champions, of its runners-up, of its losers and of cyclists who never made any headlines.
Stories that span from the beginning of the Tour to the present day. 'Lead in Pockets' is a perfect symbiosis between sports journalism and literature.
The Forced of the Highway. Tour de France 1924 – Albert London
The 'Forced from the Highway' is a chronicle of the 1924 Tour de France of the great war correspondentto Albert London. And as if it were a war chronicle, the story includes protagonists who face countless sufferings in search of uncertain glory.
“There are fantasists who swallow bricks and others swallow live frogs. I have seen fakirs spitting molten lead. They are normal people. The real nuts are some enlightened people who on June 22 left Paris to eat dust.” Thus begins this delicious chronicle that, despite talking about another era, deals with issues that are still relevant to cycling today, such as doping.
The Solitude of Anquetil – Paul Fournel
The 'Solitude of Anquetil' tells the story of a myth. From one of the great cyclists of all time and at the same time one of the most controversial and who spoke about doping without shame. From the first great modern cyclist who, with his independent style, won five Tours, two Giros and one Return on his rivals and detractors.
Fournel makes a here very personal portrait of the myth. Remembering his childhood devotion to the cyclist and weaving his memories with details of the idol's life, approaching his figure with a literary brilliance that made him win several awards for this essay.
Ocaña – Carlos Arribas
The journalist specialized in cycling from the newspaper El País narrates here the story of Luis Ocaña, the curse of Spanish sport.
His bad character and his eccentricities erased his exploits on the bike but Arribas could not resist delving into the life of this character and assures that that of this cyclist, “It has been the best story of Spanish cycling”.
Training guides for cyclists
Plan your Pedaladas – Chema Arguedas
With this book we abandon literature and immerse ourselves fully in training planning, because 'Plan your Pedaladas' has established itself as a true best seller among books on sports cycling.
Arguedas makes his knowledge available to the reader as coach, physical trainer, cycle tourist and sports nutritionist and makes a training guide with everything you need about loads, metabolism and training basics. If you have decided to set the goal of participating in a cycle tour, this book will help you start now and arrive well prepared.
Books about bicycle trips
The best bicycle routes in the world
This gem brings together the stories from more than a dozen cycling writers who narrate their best bicycle trips. There is something for all tastes and each story is totally different from the others, so each type of cyclist will find one with which they can identify and will be able to find inspiration for future adventures.
Of course, all the stories have something in common: they show that the bicycle is an unparalleled tool to get to know places, people and cultures.
100 unique places to cycle – Claude Droussent
This guide by Claude Droussent collects the most incredible places to travel by bike. From the jungle of Bali to the slopes of a volcano in Hawaii.
There are a hundred unique places that invite travel the world by bicycle and which are classified into four modalities for all levels: asphalt, off-road all-terrain, urban circuits and adventure trips. Good ideas for when the quarantine is over. Because #Wewillcomeoutagain.
