A personal list of books covering bike racing, cycle-touring and travel, but excluding 'how-to' books and ride guides.
‘Top tens’ like this are inevitably based on personal opinion, but I’d love to know what you think of the list, of the individual books, or any glaring omissions - join the discussion here. I’ve excluded ‘how-to’ books and ride guides. There is inevitably some British bias, and I am still looking for a great mountain biking book.
In classic Oscars fashion, the results are in reverse order.
10: Put Me Back on My Bike: In Search of Tom Simpson by William Fotheringham
Tom Simpson’s death on Mont Ventoux in the 1967 Tour de France is seared into the memory of generations of cycling fans, especially British and French. This is a workmanlike account of Simpson’s life and death.
9: Snow on the Equator (Collected in The Seven Mountain-Travel Books) by H W Tilman
H W Tilman was a legendary mountaineer and later small-boat sailor. In 1933, he made an almost impromptu solo cycle ride across Africa, related in the final third of this book. Colonial attitudes may occasionally jar, but Tilman is a wonderful writer with a dry, insidious wit.
8: Rough Ride by Paul Kimmage
Irish rider Paul Kimmage turned professional on the European circuit but soon became disillusioned, especially by the prevailing drug culture. The book’s a few years old, but drug scandals still surface with depressing regularity and it makes sobering reading.
7: After the Gold Rush: A Bicycle Journey Through American History by John Stuart Clark
Clark follows the route of the 1849 California Gold Rush. Travelling by bike recaptures both the slow pace and the real hardship endured by those pioneers, but the book is also revealing about America today.
6: French Revolutions by Tim Moore
Sometimes hilarious, often painful (anyone who’s ever struggled on a bike will wince in sympathy), this is the story of one novice rider’s journey along the route of the 2000 Tour de France.
5: The Escape Artist: Life from the Saddle by Matt Seaton
Not quite a cycling book, rather a slice of autobiography in which cycling looms large. The ultimate accolade is that you are left longing for a sequel.
4: Travels in a Strange State by Josie Dew
Just one of half a dozen books by the irrepressible Josie Dew, who has now pedalled her way through most of the world. I picked this one because American readers will surely be intrigued by its unique take on their nation - very British but also just very Josie.
3: Bicycle: The Noblest Invention Various authors; foreword by Lance Armstrong
An affection and handsome celebration of the bicycle in all its forms, compiled by the editorial team at Bicycling magazine.
2: Full Tilt: From Dublin to Delhi with a Bicycle by Dervla Murphy
An enduring classic of travel literature, not just of cycling literature. Unmissable.
1: It’s Not About The Bike by Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins
A legendary story that surely needs no introduction. But hey, it is about the bike - and a whole lot more.
